15 Ways to Increase Your Company’s Revenue

Regardless of the industry, every company has the same goal: to make as much money as humanly possible.  The ways in which to accomplish this could obviously vary, based on the industry, products or services provided.  However, when you analyze it and really break it down, it mostly comes down to the following actions:

 

• Increase the amount of clients you have 
•  Increase the transaction size of the sale 
•  Increase the amount of transactions 
•  Increase your profit margins by raising prices
 

1.    Offer Something Free with Your Products/Services

Everyone loves to get something for free.  Some customers may want to pay for your products/services but may be on the fence.  A small complimentary offer might just be the incentive they require to follow through.  Even if your offer is small, you may be able to make up for the cost in the actual sale.  Even if you build the cost of the free item into the sale, the illusion of getting something for free may nudge the customer to proceed with their purchase.

2.    Bundle Products/Services

Just like the advertising technique mentioned above, if you give customers and incentive to spend more thinking that they are saving by doing so, you ultimately have generated more revenue than you would have selling a single product or service.  Costco has catapulted their way to the top of the retail chain utilizing this technique.

3.    Volume Discounts

If your margin on a particular product is $2 and you’ve made a profit of $1000 at the end of the week, would you consider dropping the price so that you made a margin of $1 if it meant you could make a profit of $2000 at the end of the week from all of the increased sales made by making your customers feeling they were got a better deal?  In the end, all that matters is how much profit you’ve made.  It’s a lot easier to sell more of something for less money.  Walmart has become the world’s largest retailer by utilizing this methodology.

4.    Up-Front Payments

If you have a business that can allow for multiple payments, instead of a pay-as-you-go arrangement, consider offering a discount if your customers pay up-front.  Not only will they feel better about getting a discount, but there is also a possibility they won’t take advantage of the remaining products and/or services.  The entire gift card industry makes considerably more from people who never cash in on their gift cards.

5.    Follow-Up More than Once

Most sales efforts are not followed through with a subsequent attempt to close on the deal, and therefore, they ultimately don’t.  Statistics show that a majority of the sales that are closed occur after 5-12 follow-up attempts.

6.    Build Shipping Costs into Your Price

Customers may decide to buy your products rather than your competitors’ for no other reason other than you don’t charge shipping.  Consumer perception (or misconception) is a powerful factor in any sales situation.

7.    Establish Referral Relations

Very few people you encounter in business will help you build your company out of the goodness of their hearts.  However, if you offer them an incentive, such as a sales commission, they may consider it.  For example, if you can identify other companies you’re not competing with who come in contact with people you might consider to be potential customers, offer them a percentage of every sale you get if they refer customers to you.  You can even give your customers an incentive to refer business to you.

8.    Expand your Reach

Some regional businesses are only as good as the community they’re in. If your business is not lucky enough to be in a high-traffic location, you may need to be creative in order to drive sales.  Having a website can help.  Advertising in certain publications can also let people know you’re there.  Opening a satellite office in a different location could introduce your company to a whole host of new customers.  Either way, limiting your clientele to one particular geographic region may not be enough to keep the lights on.  You may need to consider how you can reach prospects that are not in your area.  Extending your distribution channels can significantly increase your revenue.

9.    Offer Related Products/Services

If your business has been limited as to the types of products or services it offers, you may want to consider other ways to generate revenue alongside your current offerings.  Think to yourself, “If someone wants my products/services, what else would they also want?” Diversifying your offerings can make your company more desirable to potential clients.  Keep in mind that many people are lazy and would rather deal with a one-stop-shop rather than piecemealing.

10.  Manage Your Database of Existing Clients

It costs a lot more obtain new clients than it does to regenerate sales from existing clients.  You’ve already proven yourself to your existing customers and have already given them a reason to spend money with you.  If you’re not keeping track of who these people are, you could be losing out on the potential for future sales with them.

11.  Upsell When Appropriate

Would you like fries with that?  If your sales representatives are not asking for larger sales, they may not get them.  Sometimes it’s as easy as asking if the customers want more or additional items to go along with their purchase.  Other times it might take a little convincing so you may want to consider giving your customers a reason why the transaction should be larger than they originally intended.  If so, be prepared with a logical explanation as to why it makes sense for them to buy more.  Customers respond to logic if they don’t feel like they’re being pressured. 

12.  Make Their Day

People are more willing to do business with people they like and trust.  If your sales people aren’t making a conscious effort to be likable to your clients, your company is fighting a losing battle.  Treat every customer as if they are your biggest client.  Even if you’re not making any money off of them initially.  They may come back to you when they are ready to spend or they might refer a big client to you, just for helping them out when they needed it.  Kindness goes a long way.

13.  Reconnaissance

Most successful business people are smart enough to know that they’re not the only ones who have good ideas.  Keep your eyes on your competitors to see what they’re doing.  They may be onto something you haven’t considered and you certainly don’t want them to have a competitive edge over you.

14.  Shift Your Sales Approach

In challenging economic times, people buy want they need, not what they want.  If your products or services appear to be something that your customers want rather than need, make them realize how much they need them. 

15.  Create Customer Loyalty Programs

As mentioned above, it’s a lot easier to make money from existing customers than to try to obtain new ones.  Not that you should neglect trying to obtain new customers.  However, you may need to give past customers a reason to want to come back and continue doing business with your company.  Ways of doing this will vary based on the type of business but the message is still the same.  You are rewarding a customer for their continued patronage and giving them an incentive to continue to choose your company rather than another.

For more information on how to increase revenue for your company, call Ashlar Consulting Corporation at 305-849-9399 or visit www.AshlarconsultingCorp.com.