Ways to boost sales this holiday seasonby Bob and Susan Negen, My grandfather, Steve Nibbelink, an old Dutch farmer from
Pella, Iowa, always told me, “Bob, when the sun is shining, you gotta’
make hay.” Well, the Christmas season is our season to make hay.
Here are my 24 favorite ways to boost your sales and save
your sanity this holiday season. There’s no single Christmas miracle
on this list, but the combined power of these tried and true ideas is
truly miraculous! We guarantee it. Read on. 1. Attempt to add on to every sale. Pick an item or two with high margins and universal appeal. Then get everyone on your staff to ask every single customer if he or she would like one. This simple act will generate thousands of dollars in sales. 2. Load up on impulse items and display them all over
your store. Think stocking stuffers. 3. Sell up. ‘Tis the season to be generous, so always
show your better quality merchandise. 4. Keep demonstrating. “Show, show, show until they
say no.” 5. Make shopping easier by using as many signs as possible.
Good signage is like having an extra salesperson on the floor. 6. Eliminate buying resistance by clearly communicating
any and all guarantees your products have. 7. Make the holidays easier for your customers by offering
gift wrapping. 8. Get out on the selling floor. Now is the time to lead
the charge, and it can’t be done from the quiet and comfort of your
office. 9. Train and coach your staff! The time is now. If your
staff, including seasonal help, is not well trained and coached you are
probably losing thousands of dollars in sales. 10. Keep a close eye on your best sellers. Running out
of your most popular items not only costs you sales, it’s bad customer
service. 11. Always know the status of important orders. If that
huge order of your most popular thing-a-ma-bob isn’t coming in on
time and you don’t make adjustments, it’s going to cost you,
and maybe cost you big. Remember, the ports on the West Coast were closed
down for a while this fall. Don’t take any chances that your best
sellers didn’t make it to the warehouse in time for this years’
holiday season. Be proactive! 12. Increase your store hours. During hay season my grandfather,
the farmer, was out in the field at sunup and didn’t come in ‘til
sundown. There was money-making work to be done! 13. Make shopping fun. Fun sells, especially during the
holidays. It doesn’t have to be hard, or fancy. Have a “guess
the number of candy canes in the big glass bowl contest” or something
of the sort. 14. Have lots of sales games for your employees. Sales
games make the season fun for your staff. They also appreciate the chance
to make a little extra cash or get merchandise they can use as gifts. 15. Put a “spiff” on high-margin, high-volume
items. It’s a great way to get your staff selling what you think
is important. A “spiff” is a payment for selling a particular
item—for instance, $2 for every $150 turbo-charged, turquoise widget
sold. 16. Mark down slow-moving merchandise on time. It’s
much easier (and more profitable) to sell slow movers at 20 percent off
in December than at 50 percent off in January. 17. Use bag stuffers. Stuff bags with a schedule of events,
a coupon good in January or an invitation to your winter open house. Get
your holiday shoppers back in your store after the holidays are over. 18. Collect names and addresses. Knowing who your customers
are allows you to contact and sell to them during the rest of the year. 19. Decorate your store, and the bigger the better. Get
in the holiday spirit and your customers will, too. 20. Make your regular customers feel special—because
they are! Don’t let them get lost in the crowd of holiday shoppers. 21. Wear good shoes. 22. Eat well and drink lots of water. Staying healthy
and physically strong is a challenge this time of year. A healthy body
will help you be mentally sharp. 23. Get as much sleep as you can. 24. Smile. Remember, it’s Christmas! |