It’s no secret that cross selling can grow your revenue by 10% while increasing market share and improving productivity. Some major retailers have increased their revenue by 35% simply by offering suggestions that were relevant to their customers’ interests. Not only do these sales techniques increase revenue, they also show more value to your customers.
Going Beyond the Sales Team
Cross selling strategies are often part of a sales associate’s job, which makes perfect sense because they have direct contact with customers. Unfortunately, even if they are properly trained, they may lack the time or motivation to follow through on prime opportunities. They may also be limited in giving customers a range of suggestions. You can overcome these problems by doing some research.
Start by Looking at the Numbers
To get a good understanding of where your opportunities are, you should take a look at your sales data:
- Average sale per customer
- Average number of units per transaction
- Average sale per customer by employee
The average sale per customer measures the average dollar amount for each transaction. This gives you a good baseline to guide you through setting milestones and goals.
The average number of units per transaction indicates how many items are being purchased during every transaction. As a retailer, you want to sell more than one thing to each customer. Higher numbers show that you provide more value to your customers.
The average sale per customer by employee will tell you who sells more per transaction. The interesting thing about this report is that the employee with the highest sales may not be the leader for average sales per transaction. The sales leader may be working during peak business hours, so total sales per employee do not indicate who is creating more value per transaction.
Know Your Customers
Cross selling depends upon knowing who your customers are, what they want, and when they want it. When you gain a better understanding of your customers, you’ll know what they are looking for, which may not be on your shelves.
This requires communication through email or in-store surveys. And all it takes is just a couple of questions to get the answers you want. The key here is to make them easy to complete, either online or in person. You should also look at online reviews and social media. What are they recommending? Why?
Talk to Your Vendors
It’s important to know your products and how they fit together with the many other offerings in your store. Vendors are one of your biggest resources for sales and marketing information. There may be product categories you’re not aware of that fit nicely with the products and services you do offer. Take the time to ask them about other potential opportunities and how they will translate into more revenue. While you’re talking with them, you may be able to strike a better deal on the products you’re already selling.
Identifying Opportunities Takes Research
By providing your employees with more opportunities for cross selling, you’re offering more value for your customers. But, improving your cross selling is a process that takes sales data, research, and customer information. While you add items to your shelves, you may also find that you can eliminate a category or two that don’t sell. Remember that this process also takes time to analyze the biggest opportunities that will increase your revenue. By taking your time and basing your decisions on market research, you’ll eliminate the risks of introducing new products into your store.