When you think of sales, you probably think of a pushy salesman at a supermarket or exhibition. Let’s be honest, most of us literally walk past them.

We’re literally so turned off by these hardnosed tactics that we pledge to never be pushy when it comes to selling our own products and services. However, some things are easier said than done.

What if you’re a business owner yourself and have great stuff to sell?

Hypothetically, you see someone walking down a street where your business exists and this ‘stranger’ doesn’t give a look at your store because he’s never heard of you or your product.

As a business owner, what do you do when you are in a universe full of strangers who don’t care about you or your business offerings?

It can be downright frustrating. You may have the best quality product in the market, but if you can’t sell, nothing else matters. A crucial aspect of business success is sales.

Top 3 Strategies to Increase Sales

1. Ask for Referrals: One marketing strategy which many businesses have failed to use to its complete potential is referrals. For as long as people have been selling, they’ve relied on word-of-mouth to up their numbers. If your product or service is good and is making some customers happy, why not extend the same to their friends and family as well? Also, there’s nothing to feel shy or pushy about when asking for referrals. Most biggies follow it, and it really works. You can even offer an incentive to your customers that bring in referrals that ultimately convert to sales.
2. Upselling: A lot of business owners refrain from upselling because they consider it pushy and sleazy. However, it’s not. If you’ve ordered at a fast-food drive-through, you would have come across the cashier asking “Would you like fries with that?” Well, this is a classic example of upselling. It’s all about encouraging your customers to make an additional purchase. When done right, it can increase sales.
3. Educate your audience: Maybe a potential customer isn’t shopping from you because they don’t know much about your business. When you’re a new business with a fairly new product in the market, you need to connect with your leads and prospects and convince them to buy from you. For example, if your brand offers a portable steam iron that is very new in the market, you need to educate your audience by writing blog posts and creating demonstration videos. When you begin to shape that trust in their mind, they will be more open to buying a product or service that you sell. This can further lead to referrals too.

Today’s entrepreneurs need to learn that sales are the lifeblood of every business. If increasing the overall bottom line of your brand is the goal, you need to keep improving your business’s sales efforts.