The one nu
mber in your business that can have one of the biggest impacts on your business is your conversion rate. Why? Simply consider if you doubled your conversion rate. That is the percentage of your prospects you turned into paying customers. If you had a conversion rate of 25% or you sold to 1 out of every 4 prospects and you doubled that to 50% or sold to 2 out of every 4 prospects, you would probably find in most cases that you would double your profit.
Now remember we need to watch our profit margins because if you are selling your products or services at cost, then doubling your conversion rate means that you have doubled your workload but not your profit. Let’s assume from here on that you have a nice, healthy profit margin.
What is the key to selling? You might be surprised to find out that the key to making more sales is not being a better ‘salesperson’.
When you think of a ‘salesperson’ who did you think of? Used car salesman by any chance? This is usually who people think of when they are thinking of sales and to say that their opinion of that type of salesperson is not a positive one would be an understatement.
If this is the person you thought of when thinking of salespeople, then this will be your first challenge. Why would you want to be a salesperson if this is who you think you need to be? Here’s a little tip to remember – no one likes to be sold to, but lots of people like to buy. The key to making more sales is not to be a better salesperson, the key is to speak to more prospects and help them better.
Whenever someone is about to buy, they have a need or want that they are looking to fix or fill. Prospects in effect have a problem that needs to be solved. Your job is to find a way that you are able to solve that problem. A slick sales presentation won’t necessarily help your prospect if all you are doing is ‘telling’ them how good you are instead of focusing on them and finding out what their problem is and then finding a way that you are able to solve it for them. So instead of selling, you are allowing your prospect to buy from you.
This may sound very simple, but it is effective. Are you finding more people that you can help?
Another tip to increase your conversion rate is to track it. Do you know right now, with absolute certainty what your current conversion rate is? If not, then this could help you increase it. It is a bit like losing weight. You need to weigh yourself to find out if you are (or aren’t) losing weight. Same thing with your conversion rate. If you measure it, you will be able to see if you are increasing it or not and also by tracking it you will focus on improving it just as you do when you are trying to lose weight. It brings it into focus.
Just a couple of short tips to help you increase your profit by increasing your conversion rate.
