5 tips to maximise sales profits

It’s a formula sought after by every sales team across the world – how can you generate maximum revenue while spending the minimum?

It’s not a simple task. But it’s not impossible. And having the right tools to capitalise on all the opportunities that come your way is the most important step. But what are the processes your company should have within your sales operation to ensure you’re maximising profits?

Here’s 5 tips to help you maximise sales profits.

1. Bring your sales together on one platform

Whether selling through a website, online marketplace, trade counter or out on the road, it’s critical to find one central location to process your orders. Too often businesses will rely on dispersed systems to manage sales orders depending on the sales channel from which they originated. This commonly leads to staff jumping between systems to locate information whilst rekeying data across unconnected systems for sales to be processed.

Although a lot of businesses still rely on these methods, there are multi-channel systems available that enable companies to manage all their different sales channels from one centralised location. By using one of these systems, businesses can benefit from greater efficiency which can help drive the handling of greater order volumes and increased profitability.

2. Get more out of each sale

One of the oldest and most effective sales techniques is making till or checkout suggestions to their customers at the point of purchase. This could be items related to the product they are buying, something they have previously been quoted for but not yet purchased, or just a suitable alternative to the item they have if it’s not in stock.

Whether in-store or online, companies should ensure their sales team have the tools to maximise the profitability and value of each sale by suggesting related or alternative products.

3. Keep things speedy

It might seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget that the best way to maximise sales is to turn orders around as quickly as possible. The bonus of this is that be it an online or offline sale, fast service is good service as far as the customer is concerned.

So, whether businesses put systems in place that allow online orders to be automatically imported when they’re received, or a user-friendly EPOS interface that drives faster processing, giving sales staff the tools to move sales forward as quickly as possible.

4. Ensure the price is right

It’s vital that companies are not only offering their most competitive price possible but that they have effective control over product pricing, offers and discounts.

For wholesalers especially, it’s likely the business will operate with multiple different pricing lists as they strive to match the pricing of their competitors. Similarly, businesses may have customer specific pricing for their regular customers. However, trying to maintain this way of working with a structure in place can sometimes leave businesses vulnerable to underselling. In order to keep customers coming back, and profits high, businesses must ensure they have a comprehensive tool for managing product pricing.

5. Identify the origin of your sales

Too often businesses will forget to analyse their sales, meaning money is continuing to be spent on marketing campaigns, staff and sales channels that are simply not generating any sizeable revenue. When reporting on sales statistics in depth, for example, businesses should be on the lookout for any areas within their sales performance where targets are being missed or sales figures are below satisfactory levels.

Once these areas have been identified, companies should ensure they have the tools to drill down into the root of these problems – which sales reps are underperforming? Has a territory missed its target because one account manager isn’t pulling in the sales? By having a reporting tool that is able to provide the answers to why sales are the way they are, businesses can determine exactly where performance is strong and where improvements need to be made.

Finding further growth

Looking for more ways to maximise the sales in your business? Explore the power of an end-to-end ERP system.