HOW TO BOOST SALES

FIVE TOP TIPS FOR CHRISTMAS

INTERNATIONAL award-winning business coach Darryn le Grange, the owner of ActionCOACH Ignite, shares five top tips for business owners to consider ahead of the busy festive season:

◆ Stock management. Ensure you have sufficient, high-demand stock ahead of the busy period. If you are sitting with a lot of slow-moving stock items consider a clearance sale to move these items. This will make space and improve your cash flow.

◆ Marketing. Plan and finalise your year-end marketing ahead of time to ensure you get your slice of the available pie. With consumer spending under pressure, you want to make sure your business stands out and that customers think of you first. This would be a good time to have a strong offer or call to action to bring customers to your business, allowing you the opportunity to up and cross sell to them.

◆ Staff. If you need to hire additional staff over the festive season, ensure you follow a sound recruitment process and that your additional or casual staff are properly trained with all the required product knowledge, because they will be representing your business and you don't want to miss any opportunities due to poorly trained staff.

◆ Additional services. Consider offering your customers value-added services, such as gift-wrapping or delivery to their homes or places of work, in an effort to make it as easy as possible for them to buy from you.

◆ Cash flow management. Extra stock, additional staff and increased marketing can have a significant impact on your cash flow, so ensure you have an up-to-date forecast to base your management decisions on over this period. | Staff Reporter