This is a continuing article of a series on Key Revenue and Profit Drivers. This article covers how to increase the frequency of sales. This metric helps to describe how you can improve your profit margins

1. Can You Negotiate A Better Deal With The Supplier?

Many businesses use the same supplier year after year never bothering to review their pricing and make sure that it is in line with the market realities. Also, if your business has grown, your supplier is also getting more business from you and may be willing to provide you a discount. You just need to ask.

2. Can You Buy In Bulk?

Buying in bulk is typically cheaper. Make sure your purchases are aligned with your sales so you don’t end up with “dead” inventory.

3. Drop-Ship or Use Just-In-Time?

Having to manage an inventory adds a significant cost to running a business. Having your supplier drop-ship the goods directly to the customer can eliminate the need for stocking the products yourself. Just-in-time deliveries reduce the inventory and its associated expenses.

4. Can You Re-Package Or Re-Create Your Product?

Just packaging an item differently can add value to the product and at the same time reduce your cost. Sometimes by offering a smaller quantity of the same item you can open yourself to a totally new category of customers (e.g., healthy-choice menus for a restaurant).

5. Specialize

Not only can you get paid more as a specialist, you can dramatically improve the efficiencies of your business if you focus on a specific type of customers or specific types of products and services. You won’t need to “re-invent the wheel” every time you get a new customer, won’t need to buy new equipment or learn through trial and error, and your costs will go down.

6. Systemize Your Operations And Procedures

If you have certain operations or procedures that happen over and over in your business, installing standardized systems and processes that are completely foolproof and that will work even if you remove yourself from your business and have someone else run it can make your business infinitely more efficient and will save you time and money.

Next week I will  review some ideas on how to increase the average revenue dollars per sale.