The third way to grow your business - Increasing your sales conversion rate

The third way to grow your business is to increase your conversion of prospects to sales.

This is relevant to all businesses, but particularly relevant to those who prepare proposals and quotes on a regular basis.

What you can measure you can manage.

First, work out your current sales conversion rate for the past quarter by dividing the number of quotes converted into sales by the number of quotes prepared. For example, if you sent out 156 quotes, 85 of which were converted to sales, your conversion rate for that quarter is 54% (85 / 156 = 54%).

Now you know your conversion rate, it's likely you're drawn to the revenue you're missing out on by not achieving a higher conversion rate. If the above business increased its conversion rate from 54% to 64%, and if the average sale is $6,500, that's additional sales of $405,600 over one year.

In other words, it may be well worth the time, effort and some cash outlay to improve your systems and train your sales team to increase your conversion rate.

Which of the below ways to increase your conversion rate are most relevant to your business?

1. Your sales system.

Ensure your entire sales process is documented, step by step. Include your sales meetings, quoting and proposal processes. For example, how long after gaining conceptual agreement should a proposal be sent? What is the follow up process if a prospect doesn't respond to the proposal? The more comprehensive and effective your sales process, the better your conversion rate will be.

2. Your sales team.

Every team member should be following the same system. If some team members consistently achieve a higher conversion rate, find out why and share those learnings with the rest of the team.

3. Follow up, follow up, follow up!

Follow up every meeting, proposal or quote and you'll get better sales outcomes. If prospects don't respond to your follow up call, keep going until you get an official no. Did you know most business is won on the fifth and subsequent contact with prospects?

4. Offer a product or service guarantee.

This might sound scary at first, however it's the easiest way to remove doubt. It's also a powerful way of demonstrating your absolute commitment to quality. Only guarantee what you can manage.

5. Proposals with options.

Presenting a proposal with three service options increases your chances of having at least one of those options accepted. This sales technique is often referred to as 'the choice of yeses'. Make sure you keep it simple and limit the options to three or four, or your prospective customer will be overwhelmed by too much choice.

These are just some of the ways to improve your sales conversion. Talk to us about creating an action plan to improve your results.

"Repeat business or behaviour can be bribed. Loyalty has to be earned." - Janet Robinson