Want more sales? You might be missing these 3 things.

So you’ve built your products, labored over your branding and finally launched your website… but where are the SALES?!

There’s nothing more depressing. I know.

As e-commerce store owners, post-launch is often where we lose our excitement, our momentum and even worse; our confidence.

And that’s bad news…

Because the willingness to iterate and try new things is essential to growing a product based business.

So here’s a practical, no-nonsense way to get your confidence back.

We’re going to talk numbers.

If that makes you throw your hands in the air and yell “but I hate numbers!” Don’t worry.

Click here to listen, or read on….

Tracking these 3 Key Metrics will absolutely save your business, as well as your sanity.

They’re easy to find and all you have to do is track them weekly.

I promise you’ll feel a whole lot better about crafting a sales plan once you understand what you have to do before you can get reliable sales.
So stop tinkering with your brand colors, website buttons, or product designs.

None of that matters if you’re not getting enough Traffic to your site.

Yep, that’s the first metric.

But there’s 1 crucial question I need you to ask yourself before we go ahead: Do you have Proof Of Concept?

Have you sold your product in its current form to a real customer? As in… not your parents or BFFs, but actual strangers who just really love your stuff? Whether these sales took place online or in person, it doesn’t matter – they’re Real Sales. 👍

When someone who is NOT your mom buys your product… that’s proof of concept!

Don’t have proof of concept yet? Make this your number 1 goal before doing anything else.

Taking a preventative step now will save you a tonne of heartache later. So get your product on Amazon, Etsy, eBay, or Facebook marketplace. Or even set up a table at a local event. The objective is to get your products in front of eyeballs!

Alternatively, you can partner with a more established business. Just like I did with Mark Ruskin of American Doxie. He sells dachshund-inspired clothing to dog lovers. When I launched my project store, Sock Doggo, I didn’t have proof of concept. My shop was new and unknown.

I asked Mark to collaborate with me and offer a bundle of my new products to his customers. 😃 Our collaborative bundle sold well. Mark earned a healthy commission on the sales we made, I sold lots of socks, and walked away with the proof of concept I needed.

If you want to learn how to float your product in front of someone else’s audience, I break it all down for you here.

Already have proof of concept? Congratulations! Now it’s time to dive into your 3 Key Metrics…

• Traffic

• Average Order Value (AOV)

• Conversion Rate

Your metrics are here to guide you. There’s a lot of things you can do to tweak these 3 Key Metrics and get sales rolling in.

Track your Metrics  in a spreadsheet every week. You’re going to not only feel better about your business, you’ll also have a clear action plan.

Traffic
What is it?
Traffic (also known as web visitors) is simply the amount of people coming to your website. If 500 people landed on your website last month, your Traffic was 500 for that month.

Why is it important?
Not enough Traffic means not enough eyeballs on your site to get sales.

So what do I need to do?
Your goal is to track your Traffic every week. And think of ways to get at least 3000 people coming to your store every month. This is the minimum amount of Traffic you need to start getting regular sales.

How do I grow my Traffic?
Run a giveaway on Facebook, email your subscribers, write a blog post, invite your followers to a Treasure Hunt… there are many ways to drive Traffic to your store – including paying for ads.
Need to learn how to use ads on Facebook and Instagram? Learn here with this step by step, easy to implement course, Traffic Bootcamp.

Here’s a reality check.
New ecommerce stores often have under 1000 web visitors (or Traffic) a month. Not enough to get regular sales. But don’t worry, now that you’re tracking, and aware of the magic number (3000 web visitors), you can actively drive traffic to your site.

Celebrate your Traffic wins!
Success is growing your traffic each week. This is the work every ecommerce brand does quietly behind the scenes before welcoming in a regular flurry of sales.

Conversion Rate
What is it?
Your Conversion Rate is the percentage of website visitors (Traffic) that actually buys from you. Say 100 people landed on your site last month and you got 1 order. That means your conversion rate was 1% last month.

Why is it important?
The average conversion rate for an ecommerce store is 1% – 2%. If you have 3000 good quality web visitors (Traffic) every month, you should get 1-2 sales a day. If your traffic is below 3000 a month, most store owners will be able to reach their sales goals.

What do I need to do?
Your goal is to track your conversion rate each week. And think of ways to increase it to 1%. This is all you need to get the (sales) ball rolling.

Reality check.
New stores often have a conversion rate of 0.5% or less. If this is you, don’t worry – that low number is normal. 

So how do I increase my Conversion Rate?
This is the hardest metric to tweak. Just track it weekly for now. You need to get 

your Traffic to 3000 visitors a month first, then you can focus on improving your Conversion Rate.

Once your Traffic is over 3000 a month find my Top 3 Tips For Improving Your Conversion Rate.

Celebrate your Conversion wins!
Success is growing your Conversion Rate to only 1% or 2%. You can do this!

Average Order Value
What is it?
Your Average Order Value (also known as AOV) helps you figure out how much money the average customer spends. Say three people bought from your store last month. One person spends $10, another spends $20, and the third person spends $30. The average of these 3 numbers is $20. So your Average Order Value was $20 last month.

Why is it important?
Say your Average Order Value is $40. And you get 500 orders each month. If you can increase your average order value to $42, you can increase your sales by $1000 each month without having to find any new customers!

What do I need to do?
Track your Average Order Value every week and think of ways to increase it.

How do I increase my Average Order Value?
Raise your prices by $1 and this alone will plump up your AOV. You could also offer bundles or introduce premium products with higher pricing.

Want more AOV ideas? Go here.

Celebrate your Average Order Value wins!
This metric is completely under your control and it’s the easiest one to change. Success looks like tweaking your pricing (and possibly product offering) – to slowly raise your AOV week by week.   

Now that we’ve plunged into cold, hard data… let’s get your mindset right.

Please don’t skip over this. Managing your emotions can determine whether you solve your business woes, or give up on your dreams completely.

So here’s how to prime your mind for tracking numbers like a pro…

Adopt a problem solver’s mindset.
You’ve already solved lots of problems during your lifetime. Getting sales is just another problem to solve. Focus on the process and work your way through the steps. Understand that everyone starts small. 

You’re quietly building a foundation for reliable sales. Be proud of this! 😃 

It’s not you, it’s your numbers.
Stop doubting your abilities or your business chops. Just track the metrics that matter – and you’ll eventually find out what’s really going on. Let the numbers be your guide.

Flip your thinking on what success looks like.
As ecommerce owners we think success means sales. We’ve been conditioned to believe we should start our store and instantly get lots of sales. When that doesn’t happen, we get depressed. Don’t fall into this trap.

Success IS tracking your metrics.

Success IS increasing your Traffic and AOV.

Because this is what always comes before you can start making reliable sales.
Building your foundation to sales is a success in itself. This realistic approach will keep your emotions in good standing as you track your numbers. 

So start your weekly spreadsheet now. Track your 3 Key Metrics every week and I promise you’ll start to see results.