What are 4 general ways to increase sales?

Sales and marketing departments tend to be perceived as “sales VPs” who are looking for new ways to drive revenue. In a perfect world, every marketing and sales strategy would align with the company’s mission and meet the needs of target customers. In reality, however, these teams often struggle to see eye-to-eye on strategies that will grow the business.

Sales teams are often concerned about revenue numbers above all else – after all, that’s what gets them recognized by upper management. As a result, marketing departments may feel like they’ve got their back against the wall when it comes to driving new sales strategies. Even so, there are plenty of ways you can drive growth in your department while ensuring that everyone is still aligned with the overall goals of your organization. Here are 4 general ways you can increase sales:

Welcome your customers to the company meeting room

When you think of a company meeting room, you probably picture a space filled with big wooden tables and leather chairs. Maybe there’s a whiteboard on the wall, or a projector and screen setup in the corner of the room. In short, it’s a professional environment for conducting business. And that’s exactly the vibe you want to give your customers when they enter the sales process with you. That might sound a little daunting, but it’s not as hard to do as you might think. The key to welcoming your customers to the sales meeting room is to make the sales experience feel professional, yet approachable. You want to give your customers the feeling that they can trust you while keeping their guard up just a little. That means not going overboard with the business jargon and fancy acronyms, but also keeping your communication concise and to the point. At the same time, you also want to make your customers feel like they can approach you if they have questions or need help navigating the buying process.

Run smart ad campaigns

Marketing teams (and their planners) love to come up with new ways to increase sales by creating ad campaigns that reach a larger audience. Whether you’re doing retargeting, creating a PPC campaign, or using other paid marketing methods to get your product in front of more people, these campaigns are focused on driving more sales.

But how can you make sure that your sales team is happy with these new strategies while also meeting your overall company goals? The key is to make sure that the campaigns you’re creating make sense for your industry and target audience. If your product or service is meant for a very specific group of people, it likely won’t make sense to place ads on a general interest website like Huffington Post. That’s not to say that you can’t use these types of channels to reach your audience – it’s just important to make sure that you’re not wasting your marketing dollars by advertising in places that don’t make sense for your business.

Change up your selling strategies

The sales process is a journey that begins with the very first interaction your customer has with your brand. Getting them to the point where they’re ready to buy is a long process that involves lots of different strategies. And while most of these are geared towards putting your product in a positive light, there are times when you want to take a more objective approach. When a salesperson has spent hours getting to know a potential customer and presenting their product in a glowing light, it can be hard to change gears and ask the customer what they think of the product and if they’re ready to buy. If your sales team has been using a consultative approach, it’s important to change up your selling strategies periodically to put the customer in the driver’s seat.

Ask your customers what they want

One of the best ways to drive sales is to find out exactly what your customers want – and then deliver it. While sales teams often have a pretty good idea of what their customers want, marketing teams are focused on a much broader group of people. That means there’s a good chance that your marketing strategies are focused on things that aren’t relevant to your target audience. Instead of trying to guess what your customers want, why not just ask them?

Customer surveys are an easy and cost-effective way to find out exactly what your customers want. You can use them to ask questions about the products and services they use, their buying habits, and what they think your company should be focusing on. In addition to surveys, you can also try using focus groups or gathering information at events and tradeshows.

Bottom line

The best way to increase sales is to ensure that everyone is aligned on the company’s mission and that they understand how each department can help contribute to that goal. To do this, sales and marketing teams need to be communicating with one another and actively trying to understand where the other team members are coming from. When you make an effort to understand what drives your sales team and what your marketing department is trying to achieve, you’ll find that it’s much easier to work together towards a common goal.