Increase your sales in 90 days

A quick boost in sales is achievable providing you plan properly, set clear targets, take actionable steps, and measure results.

Learn how to increase sales quickly and create your 90-day sales plan by following these 5 steps.

Step 1: Set measurable goals to increase sales now

Put clear goals in place so that all your employees understand what you want to achieve. If you’re not clear about what you want, the harder it’ll be for you and your team to succeed.

Rather than setting a vague goal such as “increase sales,” be specific with your 90-day sales objective.

Some examples:

• Acquire 100 new customers who will spend $500 each
• Get 20 existing customers to each make a second purchase worth $1,000
• Drive 2,000 visitors to the website each week and convert 5 percent of them into buyers
• Generate $50,000 in new revenue from online sales by tapping into new distribution channels
• Close one new contract worth $100,000

Step 2: Involve your team to achieve your sales goals

You have a better chance to increase sales quickly by working closely with your team. Once you’ve laid out your goals and objectives, be sure to:

• Write down your plans so everyone in the business can see them every day
• Assign specific tasks and responsibilities to members of your team capable of implementing them
• Meet every 30 days to review your team’s progress toward meeting 90-day targets
• Think about rewards you can offer employees for meeting sales goals
• Be available to your team with answers and support

Step 3: Increase sales by selling more to your customers

It’s tempting to think you need new customers to grow sales. While you may need some new customers, it’s a lot easier to sell to customers who already buy from you – so start with them.

Sell more of what you already have:

• Set up a call or email campaign to promote directly to your existing customers. Focus on the 20 percent of customers who generate 80 percent of your sales. Ask if there is anything they need (you’ll be surprised by how many say “yes”), and offer them pre-payment incentives or discounts.
• Analyze customer buying behavior from your accounting software or customer relationship management (CRM) system. Identify complementary products and services your customers should have purchased in the past, and then contact them with an offer to buy now.

You can also find new products and services to sell:

• Survey customers to ask them what else they need and sell it to them.
• Conduct a competitor analysis to see what else is selling well that you may be missing.
• Go online and identify any new products or services you can offer.

Step 4: Get more customers

In addition to selling to existing customers, you may need to go out and get new customers as well.

• Sales calls – For B2B companies (and some B2C firms), the best way to get new customers is direct selling. Use your prospect list to set up meetings. You may find success doing an online demonstration of what you sell, sending a proposal and following up to close.
• Trade shows – Check to see if there’s a trade show opportunity in the next 90 days. You might accelerate your sales by exhibiting at the trade show and collecting leads – or selling on the spot.
• Advertising – If your budget supports it, try placing a few ads where your target market will see them. Ads could be placed online, in a trade publication, in a local newspaper, on the radio station, or on transit vehicles.
• Social media – Freshen up your website and get active on social media to help draw in visitors. Post original and relevant content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or another platform favored by your target market.
• Free trials – Remove the risk of testing your product or service by offering prospects a free trial or sample.
• Networking – Identify local networking opportunities, conferences, trade shows or other events where you can connect with prospects. Search Meetup.com for local networking events relevant to what you do.
• Sell through channels – Look for new distribution channels to expand your customer base, such as third-party sellers (like Amazon, e-bay, or iTunes) and your website. Review your product range to identify what you can sell online.

Step 5: Increase sales by selling to your customers more often

Called a frequency strategy, your goal is to get the same customer who bought from you today to buy again tomorrow, next week or next month. Use these tactics to increase your sales quickly:

• Monitor customer buying behavior or use your software to identify patterns
• Reach out to your customers when you think it’s time for them to buy your service again or when you estimate they’ll have depleted the current product
• Offer incentives to make another purchase within the next 30 or 60 days. For example, a hair stylist can give a 10 percent discount on the next appointment if the customer books today

Set yourself up for sales success

Support your 90-day plan by setting a budget, measuring results and pursuing the right kind of customer deals.

• Set a budget

  You’ll need to spend a bit of money to achieve short-term sales results. Set a budget now so you can measure results and determine what works best. For example, a budget of $10,000 might be used to buy radio spots, attend a trade show and place targeted ads on Facebook.

• Measure results

  Check that the promotional methods you’re using can be tracked and measured. For instance, asking new customers how they heard of your business will give you the feedback you need to buy more advertisements or sign up for the next trade show.

• Ensure sales are profitable

  Don’t sacrifice profit and strategy for a sales growth number. An extra $100,000 of revenue that: has low margin; has cost overruns; has wastage; has product returns; is time-consuming to implement; involves poor-paying customers; or takes you away from the core business isn’t going to help your business long-term. Your sales strategy needs to focus on the best products and best customers.

Just like running a sprint, a 90-day sales push is a long enough period of time to achieve significant results but short enough to sustain an intense effort. Once you successfully complete your first run, consider scheduling another 90-day sales sprint within a few months.