How to Achieve Higher Average Sales in Every Sales Department

Picture this: you’re in the drive-thru lane to order at your favorite fast-food restaurant. You make your order and the employee asks over the intercom “do you want to make that a meal?”

Would you say yes? How many people would you think say yes to that question in a day? How much more money do you think this upsell racks in for the business?

Average sales go up and down based on a variety of factors, but there are effective methods in place that, if used the right way, can increase your average daily sales exponentially.

So if you’re struggling with getting that average sales number up, you might want to consider a few new strategies that have been known to work for the most prosperous businesses you see in the market.

What Exactly is Average Sales?

Sales average is the average amount of sales a business makes in a given period.

To calculate average sales, you just need to divide the total number sold throughout a particular period (e.g., week) by the days in which it occurred.

Let’s say you have a company that makes and sells widgets. You can calculate average monthly sales by taking the value of all your sales over a year and dividing it by 12 (the number of days in a year). If you’ve got $1 million in sales for the year, your monthly averages would be roughly $83 thousand.

What is a Good Average Sales Cycle?

The average SaaS B2B sales cycle length is 83 days, according to a HubSpot study. Most B2Bs take at least four months to win their next customer.

The best way to understand your Sales Cycle Length is by comparing it as a single number, usually in months, with a previous time period. This will allow you to visualize and measure progress to see what changes may need to be made in order for the number to increase over time.

What is a Good Amount of Sales for a Small Business?

Small businesses are the backbone of our country, but it’s not always easy for them to thrive.

The revenue and income statistics show that while many may be successful at first glance, most business owners bring in more modest earnings.

Despite not bringing in nearly as much money as big corporations, about 80 percent of small businesses make it past their first year while having about a 50/50 chance at making it past the first five years.

So with that, what would the calculated average have to look for you to make, and possibly exceed that 80 percent demographic?

If you’re a small business with no employees, you’ll want to make more than $44,000 per year in average sales. If you have employees, you’ll want to make more than $4.9 million in average sales to stay above standard.

8 Valuable Tips To Get Higher Average Sales

Any sales department within any type of business should have the motive to increase their average sales.

Whether you are a start-up that needs to get a good momentum going or an established business that needs to escape the hutch of stagnation, you must utilize all the tools available to you to ensure revenue is always moving up in succession.

This will not only help you gain higher profits but it’ll also get you closer and closer to actualizing your business’ fullest potential.

So without further ado, here are eight valuable tips we’ve assembled to help you achieve higher average sales in every sales department of your business.

Add-On Sale

Simply put, this is when your customer is buying a certain product of yours and to up the value of the sale, you invite them the option to add another product of yours to their purchase.

This could be asking the customer at a movie theater if they want a fountain drink with their popcorn, or if you have a footwear business, asking if they want to buy shoe polish to go along with their boots.

This tactic, along with a persuasive sales team will guarantee higher sales numbers. Give them the option, show them why the add-on increases the value and you’ll be surprised how many take the bait.

Another way to encourage add-ons is by creating checklists for products that are related in some way. For example, if you have an art shop and somebody comes into your store looking specifically to buy acrylic paint, give them a checklist with other relevant products like brushes and canvases. This will help them save time from having to go back out again on separate shopping trips and will ensure you make a higher sale per customer.

Set Targets for Your Sales Team

When your sales force is aware of your target sales value, they will have a better idea of what they need to bring to the table to reach your goal.

Focusing your sales staff on specific products for an extended period is a great method in generating additional revenue when you’re running a business.

Say you owned a cafe. Having your team highlight a seasonal coffee flavor one month and a bakery item the next will attract regular customers and new customers who may not have bought from you otherwise.

You can also offer special promotions at checkout counters that motivate shoppers into buying more than they intended, known as an “impulse sale.” This can be seen at many grocery store checkout lanes.

Offer Premium

If you’re struggling with how to grow your business, consider adding more high-end items.

By taking away lower-priced items and replacing them with premium products, you will be able to better direct your customers towards the pricier option that provides a better, more appealing value.

High-end, premium products mean a higher average sales price (ASP) and will significantly boost your average sales numbers.

Consider Selling in Bundles

This brings us back to the example question I asked at the beginning of this article, “would you like to make that a meal?”

You can encourage customers to spend more if you make it a bundle deal that is cheaper than buying each product separately.

Even though it is cheaper as a package deal, it will still elicit customers who were planning to only buy one item into buying multiple, thus, spending more money than intended.

Many car repair shops do this with a tune-up, lube job and oil change all rolled into one visit. It’s more convenient for customers and boosts your overall average sale rates.

Build up Loyalty Programs

Loyal customers are the lifeblood of any business. Repeat visitors and loyalists alike spend more on each transaction, which means that you can rest easy knowing your marketing dollars were well spent with the long-time customers that have your back.

Giving your customers opportunities to earn points and privileges for their loyalty is a great way of making them feel valued. It also helps you distinguish yourself from other competitors by offering special deals or coupons that are only available through this program, which ultimately accelerates the loyalty life cycle.

There’s research to back this up too– recent studies have found that customer loyalty programs lead to an increase in revenue that can grow profits by 12 to 18 percent per year.

Therefore, if your business doesn’t have a loyalty program yet, it would be wise of you to get right to it!

Provide Employees with Incentives

Sales incentives are a great way to both increase sales and promote company culture.

Sales incentive programs have been proven effective in influencing sales reps to put forth their best marketing and sales efforts and earn rewards for their sales skills and performance.

There are many types of incentive plans available, but here are a few to consider:

Referral programs.
Bonuses or raises.
Rewards and recognition.
Profit-sharing.
Professional development.

By incorporating just a few of these useful incentives, you’ll see your average sales rise in no time.

Make Sure to Showcase All your Products and Services

If you don’t showcase all the products and services you have to offer, then your prospects and customers won’t have a clue that they exist.

To ensure your customers get to see all the wonderful work you do, make sure it’s easily accessible and not hidden in some secret location.

Creating newsletters, signage and other forms of content can also help put the spotlight on these hidden products.

If you’re unsure whether your customers are aware of all your products or not, have them fill out a survey. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of all the tools you can as they will further help you in improving the number of average sales.

Don’t Be Too Cheap

Think about how much you can charge for your product or service before deciding on a cheaper price. You may be surprised by what people are willing to pay when they really want it!

Price your products or services on the high side and figure out how to offer more value. Being cheapest isn’t necessarily going to pay the bills, so you’ll be left high and dry when your competitors beat your price!

If your business has been around for a while, bumping up prices by five to 10 percent is more than safe. Most customers won’t care and you’ll increase your average sales rate as well as improve investment turnover. If you lose a few customers along the way, it won’t make any difference.

Conclusion

The key to maximizing every transaction and increasing your average sales is by using tactics such as these. When you do, the cash keeps flowing and your business can get off of its feet and enter flight mode.

Mastering the art of supersizing sales early will pay off many times over, so make sure not only are they big but also creative in their design.

At Selling Revolution, we’ve got the experience to get you to higher gross profits, higher average sales and higher closing ratios in every one of your sales departments from CSR’s to Sales. Book a call with us today to get started!