If you want to increase your sales dramatically then you need to shift your sales focus from attracting new customers to enticing your loyal customers to buy again. The best sales prospect is a prospect that’s already converted - in other words, one of your current customers.

For example, if your business is located in a small town with a population of 1 000 people, and you sell a sprocket to everyone in that town, then you’ll have sold 1 000 sprockets and saturated your market. It may seem like your sprocket-selling days are over and you might wonder if it’s time to pack up and move on.

This may not necessarily be the case. If you start focusing your sales efforts on your proven customers then you’ll be able to increase your sprocket sales dramatically. And these ways of increasing your sales will also help to build up your customer loyalty as well. It’s best to try one or all of these ideas to grow your sales:

1. Set up a sales incentive programme

It’s important to give your sales staff a reason to get out there with the main focus to sell. A successful business knows that they rely on their staff to drive sales and because of this have incentive programmes in place.

This is because they know that offering their staff a selection of incentives for a set amount of sales works well. Your sales incentive programme should be sweet, simple, and attainable.

2. Encourage your sales staff to suggestive sell

Suggestive selling involves adding related products or services to your line and making it convenient and necessary for customers to buy them. It is not enough to place more products near your usual products. You need to ask yourself: how can you increase your sales? Once you know the answer then you need to persuade the customer of the benefit. 

3. Give your customers the inside scoop

If you have a promotion or sale coming up then you must tell your customers about it. They’ll more than likely come back and will probably bring some friends with them too - thus increasing your sales even more. And don’t forget that customers love feeling like they have the inside edge. You can give your customers the inside scoop by emailing, calling, or posting on social media.

4. Tier your customers

As a business owner, you should create a clear difference between your regular customers and other customers. This difference needs to show your regular customers that you value them. You cannot expect customer loyalty if all customers are treated as ‘someone off the street’. 

There are many ways that you can show your regular customers that you value them from simply greeting them by name to offering extended credit or discounts. 

5. Create a customer rewards programme

Many large businesses have a customer rewards programme in place and it’s also possible for a small business to implement a similar process. It can be as simple as a discount on a customer’s birthday or as complex as a points system that earns various rewards such as discounts on merchandise. If you get it right, a rewards programme can help build customer loyalty and increase sales.

6. Distribute free samples

Distributing free samples when your clients buy other products from you is a great way to increase sales in several ways. For example, the customer who bought the original product will most likely try out the free sample, like it and then buy it in the future. Or they may pass it on to someone else who will like it and become a new customer. At the very least, the original customer will have positive associations with your business and hopefully tell others about it.

Increase sales with less effort

Attracting new customers is always a good thing but it’s not the only way to increase your sales. Shifting your sales focus to enticing your current customers can encourage repeat sales and generate more business quickly. If you successfully build customer loyalty, then you’ll be on your way to a large sales growth.