5 Things to Do to Achieve Your Sales Target
Yes, it’s near that time of the year again: your annual sales target review. By now, you should be able to see where your brand stands in the road to that final end-goal.
If you’ve ticked all (or almost all) of the boxes, you still have time to go further and exceed your sales target. On the contrary, if your goal is some distance ahead, worry not, it’s not too late to give it a final push. Whichever it is, the action plan below will help you get closer to your target.
#Hustle: Action Plan to Achieve Your Sales Goals Now
In order to ensure you’re on the right track, there are 3 things that you need to review now.
- Inventory management
- Evaluate December’s newness levels
- Improve visual merchandising for Christmas
The plan to hit your sales target revolves a lot around your assortment and how you display them.
Also read: Creating the best-selling assortment, every single time.
#1 Inventory management
Deep dive into your inventory and identify the volume of products left by ageing — for each category and subcategory. Devising a plan to liquidate aged stocks is necessary, as trends in any fashion industry move fast. In other words, what is selling now may not sell later, which is why it’s important for you to clear them off as soon as possible — especially if they’re dependent on seasonality.
Even if your inventory is relatively healthy, it is still wise to re-look into current numbers. What other products can I replenish? Would it be best to clear this out before it becomes an issue? Should I stock up more?
This brings us to our next point.
#2 Evaluate December’s newness
While newness is key throughout, it isn’t as prominent in the last month of the year. Most new products are typically brought in during October, giving you sufficient time to clear them through. It might be best to delay launching any new collections, especially non-seasonality sensitive products, until the new year.
There are two scenarios that could happen.
Scenario A: You have an overstocking issue. In this case, you can…
- Plan for promotions on seasonal products
These usually include heavyweight outerwear, sequins and dark-coloured items. As these products are only popular for a certain amount of time, it would be best to quickly clear them out. If there’s still a balance, it can go into post-Christmas markdowns.
- Review selling price
For items with high volumes, it may be best to lower the prices down to avoid stiff competition.
Besides that, you can also drive marketing or PR activations to promote newness, such as creating bundle deals or even hosting a Christmas giveaway. Ultimately, it boils down to your customers and what they engage with best. Naturally, sales is another option, but remember to practice the right discounting strategies for your business before moving forward.
Scenario B: You have low or stable inventory levels. You should still review your internal process and determine next steps — this way you’ll never miss out on an opportunity.
- Replenish top performing SKUs
Instead of bringing in entirely new products, negotiate with your vendors for quick replenishments on top performing pieces.
- Review selling price
Look for places of opportunities to increase prices on sought-after items, such as limited editions or premium-perceived value items.
However, if you were to bring in new items, it can be in the form of seasonal items — since you’ll be providing consumers what they are already looking for. For example, you can stock up on back-to-school products and Christmas-themed items.
#3 Improve visual merchandising for Christmas
In the United States alone, holiday retail sales show a strong year-by-year growth. The biggest holiday of them all, one that primarily focuses on giving, is none other than Christmas. During this high peak shopping season, it’s a good idea to channel your resources here. To attract consumers to your online or offline platform, one effective way to do it is through visual merchandising.
Forever 21‘s Visual Merchandising Strategy for Christmas
Brands and retailers often underestimate the power of visual merchandising, especially on eCommerce sites. By displaying each product image according to well-planned themes, it encourages consumers to stay longer, leading to higher chances of conversion.
Three of the above tips are sales strategies that you can implement now, which allow you to hit your sales goals indefinitely.
With that said, what else can you do to ensure the process is smoother next year?
Your Sales Strategy Plan for Next Year… and Many More Years to Come
Yes, it’s never too early to start planning. Setting a sales target review now, as well as steps to achieve them, helps tremendously. Here are a further 2 steps to consider:
- Set Sales Target
- Review Lessons Learnt
#4 Set Sales Target
While it may seem like an obvious point, many companies often forego this step. Setting a sales target ensures the team is on the right track. While you should focus on hitting (or exceeding) your goals, it’s equally important to plan for the future. If you don’t have a sales strategy set for next year, it’s time to start now.
When planning for your next sales target, ensure they are realistic, timely and specific. This way, you’ll be able to gauge the current situation and define the next steps. The common factors to consider are:
- Historical sales data: how did your brand perform over the years?
- Product promotions or marketing activations: what were the best (or worst) performing promotion channels?
- Assortment mix: should you bring in more premium lines or venture into other collaborations?
#5 Review Lessons Learnt
A great way to learn and grow is to review past performances, especially in the last quarter of the year. Your Fall/Winter performance is an indicator of your brand’s most current standing. Is your speed to sell-out slower than your Spring/Summer collection? Did you stock up too much? Which consumers keep coming back — which ones do not?
Past lessons may be painful to re-live, especially if the numbers aren’t growing, but it’s important to discuss it openly and find areas to improve.
