What is the key to sales team motivation when the biggest sales event of the year has transitioned from a sprint to a marathon?
With Black Friday becoming a month-long sales event rather than a day of door-buster deals, it’s difficult to keep your salespeople on their A-game when customers can come in any day of the month expecting to get big deals.
This week we discuss how using leading metrics and the Goaling Report can help keep your sales team motivated and engaged throughout the holiday season.
THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS
- Black Friday: The transition from a sprint to a marathon.
- Coaching: How to keep your sales team motivated using leading metrics.
- The Fam: to be added
FOOT TRAFFIC INDEX
Here’s a look at last week’s foot traffic compared to the same time last year.
FOOT TRAFFIC TRENDS
Industry insights so you can convert your foot traffic into more sales.
Is Black Friday a thing of the past?
Black Friday has made the shift from a sprint, to a marathon. Waiting until Black Friday to offer deals or to do shopping of your own is quickly becoming the old way to do things.
With the combination of supply difficulties, worker shortages, and the ever-changing trends of shoppers, Black Friday is no longer symbolic of a day of crazy sales, but instead a month-long sales event.
In 2020, Black Friday sales began as early as October and did not end until early December. On average, prices were reduced by 48% for retailers in the US as many retailers had a surplus of inventory that needed to go, in contrast to 2021 where inventory has become scarce.
In 2021, the overarching message is to shop early to avoid disappointment. Thankfully for retailers, who can feel pressured to give big deals, most companies have reduced their discounts to the 5-25% range this year as supply chain issues make it increasingly hard to offer door-buster deals.
Despite the challenges, shoppers are still eager to get out of the house and start hunting for deals in person.
Sales team motivation
When you have stores that are prone to lower foot traffic than other stores due to their location or a variety of reasons, it’s difficult to directly compare their results to a store that has high traffic.
Keeping your salespeople motivated regardless of their day-end results requires finding small wins or positive behaviors that lead to desired results.
As a sales manager, John focuses on sales team motivation by looking at leading metrics, not trailing metrics. By using combined productivity rates with the data from Doorcounts, John can measure the productivity of their salespeople regardless of the level of traffic their stores have.
What are combined productivity rates?
“So if you closed your conversions at 30%, I believe you should have a combined productivity rate of 70%. And what I mean by that is you should close or get a prospect on four out of ten people to get to a combined rate of 70%.”
By using the Goaling Report on Doorcounts, John can set the exact goals he wants his teams to reach when it comes to the leading metrics that lead to desired results: sales conversion, average ticket, and prospecting.
The Fam
How to Sell Mattresses Around the 4 Components of Better Sleep
This week on The Fam, they discuss how selling mattresses is all about selling a better night’s sleep, rather than selling the features of the mattress.
As they explain, there are four main parts of a better night’s sleep that retailers can use to make more sales.
first, before you even discuss mattress options, you need to find a pillow that meets the customer’s needs.
Secondly, once the perfect pillow is found, have the customer carry the pillow around with them to try out different mattresses. By doing so, they can fully envision themselves sleeping in the bed with the whole sleep system in action.
Click HERE to read the full article on how to sell a better night’s sleep.
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