What can you do to help us increase our sales? Distributors and manufacturers likely pose that question to their sales and marketing staffs on a regular basis.

It’s a question, however, you should ask of every department in your company: “What can you do to help us increase our sales?”

How about the shipping department? What can they do? Obviously, shipping the right products in the right quantity at the right time helps. How about the drivers who deliver the products? In most cases your company name is all over your trucks, so if drivers are courteous and the trucks are clean, it adds to the image of your company. The opposite can certainly hinder your ability to increase sales.

A customer once called to tell me he didn’t appreciate the way our driver unloaded six brand-new two-motor upright vacuum cleaners onto his receiving dock. We agreed his “throw and slide” method might be fine for cases of paper, but not for vacuums. Good communication helped us keep our delivery function in check.

How about receiving and warehousing? Proper information for receiving products, accurate recordkeeping for backorders and correct inventory counts all reduce shipping delays and keep customers happy.

That brings us to the folks in purchasing. Ordering the right products and having them delivered “just in time” and in the proper quantity helps keep inventory balanced and at the best price. This will go a long way toward increasing your sales.

The accounting department: do they think about helping to increase sales? Correct invoicing of quantity and pricing keeps customers happy and speeds up collections. Accounts receivable: a courteous phone call when accounts are overdue should be their first step in customer relations. Accounts payable: good relations with suppliers go a long way in keeping goods flowing into your warehouse consistently.

If you ignore these issues, it could injure your ability to increase sales.

How about your customer service personnel? In most cases, these folks are an extension of your sales force. Therefore, good selling techniques and phone etiquette are a must. Do you have a training program in place for this important aspect of your business? Should you?

Training involves problem solving, handling customer questions, making product recommendations, making recommendations about cleaning procedures, and knowledge about price and quantity. Customer service representatives should have the ability to suggest companion products that increase each order, know how to close the sale and how to write the order.

Who is the first person who introduces your customers to your company? It’s probably the person or persons who answer your telephone. Have you reviewed the techniques used in answering your phones and transferring calls to another department or voicemail? How much training is done for this part of your business? Does a live person answer your phone or do you use an automated answering system? Either way, whatever happens once the phone is answered can increase or decrease your sales.

Try calling your number or have a friend do it to analyze how a customer would feel when calling your business or being transferred to someone. You might flinch when you try this one. Pay attention to how many times the phone rings before it is answered. How does your greeting sound? Is it music or commercials customers hear when they’re on hold? How does it sound? How is the transfer handled? Do you get transferred to a person’s voicemail without being asked if it’s all right with you? Do you keep getting bounced back to the operator again and again? How many times would you call your company back to place an order before you’d give up and say, “Ah the heck with it!” and call a competitor?

Your service/repair department can really help or hinder your sales effort, too. The same goes for your personnel department (HR); they can help increase sales by hiring the right people and implementing proper training programs for all of the departments we have mentioned. And what about vendors? How can each of your vendors help you increase your sales? Beyond their own product lines, can they grow your total business? Ask your vendors to prepare a plan, then evaluate each plan to see what vendor can help you most increase your sales.

Finally, what about key management personnel? Ask them, “What can you do to help us increase our sales?” They should also be able to prepare a plan that will do just that. Business is hard enough to come by. Don’t handicap yourself by ignoring the guidance and training that’s needed for each of the important departments within your organization.

To share your selling ideas, fax: (414) 228-1134, contact Mr. Dixon at (877) 379-3566.
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POSTED ON: 6/1/2002