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Casual Articles - Sell More Accessories - Jimmy Ralph's Tips to Build a Successful Accessory Sales Plan
Did you know there's something you do every single day that you could be using as an opportunity to market your business?What is it?Sending email. How many email messages do you send in a day? I recently went back and counted the messages in my Sent folder. I use several email accounts, but in just one of them I found an average of 10-12 messages a day. That's 70-84 message per week!Two Chances for Free PromotionDid you realize every time you send out an email, you have two opportunities to market your business?#1 With Your Email AddressTake a look at the email address you're using for business.
5. Sales incentives
“Motivate your team,” he says. “It’s the old ‘what’s in it for me?’ routine.” Ralph says that although most retailers offer salespeople incentives to push accessory sales, one way to “kick start” a sales drive is to offer short-term incentives that aren’t necessarily money.
“Create tiered sales go
Tech companies, it’s true: your customers care. They care about how you treat them and about what you’re doing to help them. They care about working smarter with you. They even care how other customers are using your products and services. But especially, they care about you, because they depend on you. In many cases, their businesses won’t run nearly as well—or at all—without your product.More than any other kind of organization, a technology company—especially those that make custom software—must forge strong relationships with its customers. There’s no better way—in addition, of course, to making sure your product fills their needs and
The President of Retail Business Development, Inc., an independent wireless retail consulting firm, Ralph insists accessories are both needed and wanted. But in order to fulfill such customer needs and wants, he says, “You’ll need a plan.”
Before putting together a plan, a retailer must first take stock of what his/her store is currently doing, in terms of total accessory sales, sales per location, and gross profit from accessory sales. From this information, Ralph says, you build your accessory sales plan.
1. Accessory assortment
To determine which accessories you plan to sell, it’s obviously best to look at what handset models you carry and match accessories to them. “This process will identify why items are missing from your current assortment and which items overlap,” explains Ralph.
It is also important to organize accessories based on categories (i.e. utilitarian versus fashion accessories, car accessories, Bluetooth, etc.) and also carry a range of items that clearly vary based on features and price. “Look at it from the consumer’s point of view and build your assortment from there.”
2. Merchandising
From the assortment plan, the merchandising plan can be made. “Evaluate your store space. Do you have the proper display fixtures?” Ralph asks. He suggests talking to professional fixture companies about affordable “off-the-shelf” merchandising solutions and asking accessory suppliers about vendor displays that highlight particular items.
“Merchandise in categories, together with proper signage,” he says. Fashion items should be most visible. “Fashion purchases are emotional. If a customer sees something they like, they may buy it. If they can’t see it, the chances of them buying are slim. Your merchandising will act as a silent salesperson, complementing the efforts of your sales team.”
3. Pricing and promotions
Base pricing should be relative to your competition’s pricing and strategy, Ralph says. “You don’t need to have the lowest price,” he adds, however. “In fact, many retailers leave thousands of dollars in profitability on the table by pricing their accessories too low.”
Ralph suggests setting your base pricing then creating bundles or package deals. “This gives your customers a reason to buy multiple items, increasing your revenue and profitability; and just as importantly, it gives your sales team a value proposition and something to get excited about.”
4. Training
Product knowledge and sales techniques are paramount. “Your staff needs to know what you carry, where to find it, how it works and what it fits.” A big challenge is encouraging the sales team to take the extra step in asking customers to buy accessories, notes Ralph. “They often feel guilty asking… (or) prejudge and don’t think (customers) want them, or that customers don’t have the money.” The sales team must shed their insecurities and offer up accessories confidently, just as they do handsets. Ralph suggests pairing accessory sales training with a strong incentive program.
5. Sales incentives
“Motivate your team,” he says. “It’s the old ‘what’s in it for me?’ routine.” Ralph says that although most retailers offer salespeople incentives to push accessory sales, one way to “kick start” a sales drive is to offer short-term incentives that aren’t necessarily money.
“Create tiered sales goa
Any business has physical resources, such as machines, buildings, equipment and facilities to run its operations. These fundamental resources are also called enterprise assets. Organizing these assets in an orderly and systematic manner to produce an integrated unit is called enterprise asset management.In your business, enterprise asset management is very important to achieve greater profit and success. Your factory or plant must be able to maintain an appropriate temperature and an uninterrupted supply of electricity. The machines that manufacture your products must be reliable and functioning well. Your computers must store all records
1. Accessory assortment
To determine which accessories you plan to sell, it’s obviously best to look at what handset models you carry and match accessories to them. “This process will identify why items are missing from your current assortment and which items overlap,” explains Ralph.
It is also important to organize accessories based on categories (i.e. utilitarian versus fashion accessories, car accessories, Bluetooth, etc.) and also carry a range of items that clearly vary based on features and price. “Look at it from the consumer’s point of view and build your assortment from there.”
2. Merchandising
From the assortment plan, the merchandising plan can be made. “Evaluate your store space. Do you have the proper display fixtures?” Ralph asks. He suggests talking to professional fixture companies about affordable “off-the-shelf” merchandising solutions and asking accessory suppliers about vendor displays that highlight particular items.
“Merchandise in categories, together with proper signage,” he says. Fashion items should be most visible. “Fashion purchases are emotional. If a customer sees something they like, they may buy it. If they can’t see it, the chances of them buying are slim. Your merchandising will act as a silent salesperson, complementing the efforts of your sales team.”
3. Pricing and promotions
Base pricing should be relative to your competition’s pricing and strategy, Ralph says. “You don’t need to have the lowest price,” he adds, however. “In fact, many retailers leave thousands of dollars in profitability on the table by pricing their accessories too low.”
Ralph suggests setting your base pricing then creating bundles or package deals. “This gives your customers a reason to buy multiple items, increasing your revenue and profitability; and just as importantly, it gives your sales team a value proposition and something to get excited about.”
4. Training
Product knowledge and sales techniques are paramount. “Your staff needs to know what you carry, where to find it, how it works and what it fits.” A big challenge is encouraging the sales team to take the extra step in asking customers to buy accessories, notes Ralph. “They often feel guilty asking… (or) prejudge and don’t think (customers) want them, or that customers don’t have the money.” The sales team must shed their insecurities and offer up accessories confidently, just as they do handsets. Ralph suggests pairing accessory sales training with a strong incentive program.
5. Sales incentives
“Motivate your team,” he says. “It’s the old ‘what’s in it for me?’ routine.” Ralph says that although most retailers offer salespeople incentives to push accessory sales, one way to “kick start” a sales drive is to offer short-term incentives that aren’t necessarily money.
“Create tiered sales go
Originally begun as a way for people to broadcast their own radio programs Podcasting is a new experience for many, and has recently garnered the attention of advertisers looking for an economical way of marketing their products to a targeted audience.Since the first podcast in 2001, numerous channels have opened to allow anyone to get their virtual message out to the public. Many websites are using Podcasting to improve the quality of the messages about their products going to the public or to a specific audience.Anyone with a computer, the right software and hardware and a little instruction can produce their own podca
“Merchandise in categories, together with proper signage,” he says. Fashion items should be most visible. “Fashion purchases are emotional. If a customer sees something they like, they may buy it. If they can’t see it, the chances of them buying are slim. Your merchandising will act as a silent salesperson, complementing the efforts of your sales team.”
3. Pricing and promotions
Base pricing should be relative to your competition’s pricing and strategy, Ralph says. “You don’t need to have the lowest price,” he adds, however. “In fact, many retailers leave thousands of dollars in profitability on the table by pricing their accessories too low.”
Ralph suggests setting your base pricing then creating bundles or package deals. “This gives your customers a reason to buy multiple items, increasing your revenue and profitability; and just as importantly, it gives your sales team a value proposition and something to get excited about.”
4. Training
Product knowledge and sales techniques are paramount. “Your staff needs to know what you carry, where to find it, how it works and what it fits.” A big challenge is encouraging the sales team to take the extra step in asking customers to buy accessories, notes Ralph. “They often feel guilty asking… (or) prejudge and don’t think (customers) want them, or that customers don’t have the money.” The sales team must shed their insecurities and offer up accessories confidently, just as they do handsets. Ralph suggests pairing accessory sales training with a strong incentive program.
5. Sales incentives
“Motivate your team,” he says. “It’s the old ‘what’s in it for me?’ routine.” Ralph says that although most retailers offer salespeople incentives to push accessory sales, one way to “kick start” a sales drive is to offer short-term incentives that aren’t necessarily money.
“Create tiered sales go
If you're running a small business, then at some point you may be faced with the problem that you want to gear up your marketing in order to grow the business, but at the same time you're afraid of getting it wrong and losing whatever you invest in it.Whilst large businesses can afford to throw large amounts of money at campaigns, and absorb the losses if their marketing doesn't work, small businesses need a return on every pound they spend. They need some level of certainty that the money and effort they invest is going to produce good results. Otherwise, what can happen is that they keep doing what they're already doing (which probably i
Ralph suggests setting your base pricing then creating bundles or package deals. “This gives your customers a reason to buy multiple items, increasing your revenue and profitability; and just as importantly, it gives your sales team a value proposition and something to get excited about.”
4. Training
Product knowledge and sales techniques are paramount. “Your staff needs to know what you carry, where to find it, how it works and what it fits.” A big challenge is encouraging the sales team to take the extra step in asking customers to buy accessories, notes Ralph. “They often feel guilty asking… (or) prejudge and don’t think (customers) want them, or that customers don’t have the money.” The sales team must shed their insecurities and offer up accessories confidently, just as they do handsets. Ralph suggests pairing accessory sales training with a strong incentive program.
5. Sales incentives
“Motivate your team,” he says. “It’s the old ‘what’s in it for me?’ routine.” Ralph says that although most retailers offer salespeople incentives to push accessory sales, one way to “kick start” a sales drive is to offer short-term incentives that aren’t necessarily money.
“Create tiered sales go
Points You Want To Remember When Branding Your BusinessIt’s easy to get lost in the business shuffle these days. There are hundreds of companies that produce similar products or provide parallel services, but how do you make yours distinct? There are a lot of ways and only one highly important characteristic to a successful business. It is branding. Below are key points to follow when brainstorming your brand.Identify With Your BuyerEveryone is not your buyer. There may be a mass amount of people that purchase your product, but that’s not everyone. Dig deep and research your audience. Find th
5. Sales incentives
“Motivate your team,” he says. “It’s the old ‘what’s in it for me?’ routine.” Ralph says that although most retailers offer salespeople incentives to push accessory sales, one way to “kick start” a sales drive is to offer short-term incentives that aren’t necessarily money.
“Create tiered sales goals by store and/or salesperson. For each tier, pay out prizes – make them progressively better as the tiers get higher. Lay out a big prize for outstanding performance – a trip to Las Vegas or a plasma TV.”
Ralph also suggests appealing to salespeople’s emotions by publishing weekly updates and rankings so everyone can size up the competition and create excitement. “The secret here is that for a reasonable investment you can create the sales behaviour that will continue even after the contest or promotion is over.”
6. Launch plans
“Start your (accessory sales) program with a bang,” says Ralph.
Launching everything at once – inventory, displays, new signs, training materials – catches everybody’s attention. “The bigger deal you make of your new accessory sales drive, the more effective it will be.”
7. Follow up
After launch, the excitement needs to stay high. “Set your goals, monitor them and communicate progress. Award the winners and coach those not yet on the program.”
Ralph boasts that a recent Retail Business Development project, a multi-store chain followed these simple steps and saw immediate improvement, doubling its accessory sales virtually “overnight.”
See what Jimmy Ralph’s accessory-selling secrets can do for your wireless retail business…
Source: “Hidden Treasure: The Secrets to building a successful accessory sales plan” – Dealerscope, April 1, 2006
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