Would You Like to Super Size Your Order?

McDonald’s made this question famous, and at the same time increased sales by asking it. I won’t bother discussing the movie that was made about, or the witch hunt that ensued by making America fatter.

So the questions to ask yourself is, “How do you use a similar strategy in your business?”

By asking that simple question McDonald’s was able to increase the average sale in each store all over the country.

At my wife’s little sandwich shop one of the way’s we continually grow the business is to expand the average sale. For example if someone comes in to buy a sandwich it’s a simple question to ask, “Would you like chips and a drink with that?” Bam! The average order increases, simple huh?

You see it in restaurants all the time. In fact they probably do it better than any other business. Our other question is, “Have you tried one of our awesome cookies?” Bam! Average sale goes up. The client is happy, and so am I. Everyone loves cookies!

When I sold Caterpillar tractors for a dealership we never just wanted to sell a plain jane tractor. For example on an Excavator there were some attachments that could help increase the productivity of the tractor, such as a hydraulic breaker to bust up concrete.

If the Excavator was normally $150,000 new without the extra hydraulics, the extra hydraulics may add another $15,000. This increased the average sale. You also had the opportunity to add a hydraulic breaker to the sale, which could bring in another $50,000. This could take the average sale on that Excavator up to $215,000, a $65,000 up sell.

Now this is not done just to sell more stuff, but with the intention of making the client more productive. The client also saved money in the long run by adding factory hydraulics rather than after market which will save the client another $5,000 at least. They also immediately increased the resale value of the Excavator.

One other added benefit was that by helping the client be more productive with the extra attachment they can also make more money. When you can help your clients add to their bottom line you’re are now moving from being viewed as just some vendor they’re doing business with to a trusted advisor. The trusted advisor is the ultimate relationship you want to strive for in your business with as many of your clients as possible.

So the bottom line here is that you have increased the average sale for your business, which means more growth in your small business. You have expanded the value you bring to the relationship with your clients. And…by doing all that you will be able to continue to help other clients and further your business mission of market place dominance.

So how do you put this into action in your company? I have shared two examples of how I have increased the average sale for your viewing pleasure.. You can start putting this to work by answering this question every week, “What are we doing to increase our average sale today?”

By focusing on this area of business growth you and your people will start making a conscious effort ask your clients and prospective clients, “Would you like to super size your order?” You may want to ask it a little different, but you have the basic idea.

Thinking in terms of increasing your average sale will also help you see if your people are selling everything that you offer. You may find people selling easier items in your line-up that have a smaller profit margin, but avoid tougher to sell items with bigger margins. As you know, in business, profit is king. You don’t care about the top line if there is nothing on the bottom line.

Now go and take action on this one part of your small business growth this week.

Be awesome.