1. Retail sales are tough, store traffic is down, your staff is
feeling sluggish and the end result are lower sales. What
can you do to increase sales and turn this trend around?
Start by motivating your sales personnel. Positive and
motivated salespeople sell more than the lazy and
grumpy.
2. It is easy to become bored with products over time and
this boredom can be reflected in sales presentations. It is
also a problem if the quality of a product declines because
salespeople lose confidence in said product and no longer
push this product. If you have just brought in a new
product, sales might be sluggish because your team lacks
product knowledge. Lack of product knowledge might
mean that they are not highlighting the
features, advantages and benefits desired by your clients.
You can do three things this week to improve your teams'
knowledge and to motivate them.
3. Set up a mandatory 30 minutes per week training session
for your entire staff. During these sessions, discuss
features, advantages and benefits of one or two products.
Star salespeople love to share their knowledge because
they know that it will lead to more sales. It is almost
impossible to discover if your product will solve your
clients problem or fulfill his needs if you do not have a
thorough knowledge and understanding of which benefits
your product does and does not provide.
4. Set goals for each team member as well as a group goal.
Place the group goal up on a wall so they can see it every
day. Track how well they are doing as a team. If you really
want to motivate them, attach a spiff to attaining the goal.
The spiff does not need to be expensive, be creative and
make it fun for everyone. Like any other goal, it must be
SMART: specific (sell 30 gadgets), measurable (you can
track gadget sales), attainable, realistic (if you have no
inventory of said gadget, it is not realistic to believe they
will sell) and time-targeted (before June 15).
5. Get rid of negativity immediately. If you have a naysayer
on your sales staff who brings every one else down the
minute he walk in, it is time to have a talk with him in
private. Address negativity by having him concentrate on
solutions instead of the problem. Place him on an
improvement plan with a deadline. When he starts to be
negative again, talk about solutions, not problems. In the
end, if this does not improve and your business is affected
financially, you might have to make a difficult decision and
either move him to another department where he will be
happier or ask him to leave.
6. While there are so many other things you can do to
motivate your staff, start with these three tips today.
Motivated, happy employees simply produce more than
negative employees, especially in sales. Lastly, consider
smiling, even when times are tough, and giving at least
one person a day a heartfelt compliment or words of
encouragement. It will make a tremendous difference in
your life and those who work for you.