How to Increase Sales: 12 Strategies That Actually Work
Whether you're an individual rep, a founder, or a sales manager — these 12 strategies will help you close more deals, faster.
Why Most People Struggle to Increase Sales
They Focus on Volume, Not Quality
Chasing more leads instead of having better conversations. A bloated pipeline full of bad-fit prospects creates noise, not revenue.
They Skip the Discovery
Jumping to pitch before understanding the buyer's real problem. If you don't understand the pain, you can't present the right solution — and the prospect can tell.
They Give Up Too Early
80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups. Most reps stop at 2. The deals you're leaving on the table aren't gone — they're just waiting for one more touchpoint.
12 Strategies to Increase Sales
Sharpen Your ICP
Stop selling to everyone. Define your ideal customer by industry, company size, job title, and pain point. Every hour spent on a bad-fit prospect is an hour stolen from a good one.
Script
"The 3 questions I ask before any cold outreach: What's their role? Do they have budget authority? Have they shown a trigger event?"
Lead with Insight, Not a Pitch
Open every conversation by sharing something the prospect doesn't know — an industry benchmark, a common mistake, a surprising statistic. Buyers engage with reps who teach them something.
Script
"I noticed most [role]s in [industry] are still doing X manually — we've seen teams cut that time by 40%. Is that on your radar?"
Master the Discovery Call
You can't sell what you don't understand. Spend 70% of the first call asking questions, not presenting. Find the pain, quantify the impact, understand the urgency.
Script
"What's it costing you right now to leave this problem unsolved — in time, in revenue, in team frustration?"
Follow Up Relentlessly
80% of sales happen between the 5th and 12th contact. Most reps give up after 2. Create a follow-up sequence: email Day 1, call Day 3, LinkedIn Day 5, email Day 8, breakup email Day 14.
Script
"I know you're busy — I'll make this easy. One question: is solving [problem] still a priority for Q[X]?"
Handle Objections Before They Arise
The best reps pre-empt objections rather than react to them. Address price, timing, and competition before the prospect brings them up.
Script
"I want to flag something before we go further — you might be thinking [objection]. Here's how we think about that…"
Use Social Proof Strategically
Buyers trust other buyers more than they trust you. Drop a relevant case study, testimonial, or data point at the moment of maximum doubt.
Script
"A [similar company] was in exactly this position 6 months ago. Here's what they said after 90 days: [result]."
Shorten Your Sales Cycle
Every day a deal stays open, it's at risk. Create urgency with a logical reason to decide now: a pricing deadline, an onboarding window, a competitor who's also evaluating.
Script
"We have two onboarding slots available in [month] — if you wanted to hit [goal] by Q[X], that's the window. Does that timeline work?"
Increase Your Average Deal Size
Don't just close — upsell, cross-sell, and bundle. Ask about adjacent problems the same buyer has.
Script
"You mentioned [adjacent problem] earlier — we actually have something that addresses that too. Would it make sense to solve both at once?"
Win Back Lost Deals
20–30% of deals marked "lost" can be revived within 6 months. Re-engage with new information, a changed situation, or a fresh angle.
Script
"I know the timing wasn't right last time — I wanted to reach out because [new development]. Is it worth a 15-minute conversation?"
Improve Your Closing Technique
Most reps don't ask for the business clearly enough. Use the assumptive close, the calendar close, or the direct close — but always close explicitly.
Script
"Based on what we've covered, this feels like a strong fit. What do we need to do to get this moving?"
Build a Repeatable Prospecting Habit
Reps who prospect daily close more. Block 60 minutes every morning for prospecting before anything else. 10 personalized outreach attempts per day = 50/week = 200/month = a full pipeline.
Script
"I review my prospecting stats every Friday: dials, connects, meetings booked. If the number is under target, I book the time back in next week."
Review and Improve Every Week
Top performers review their own calls and deals weekly. What worked? What stalled? What would they do differently?
Script
"I do a 15-minute deal review every Friday: 3 deals I won this week and why, 3 deals I lost and the real reason, 1 thing I'm changing next week."
How to Prioritize These Strategies
Not all 12 strategies deliver equal returns at the same time. Here's how to sequence them based on impact and effort:
Biggest impact, fastest results
- →Discovery
- →Follow-Up
- →Objection Handling
Compound over time
- →ICP Sharpening
- →Repeatable Prospecting
- →Deal Review
Multipliers on a solid foundation
- →Social Proof
- →Upselling
- →Win-Back Campaigns
Go Deeper on All 12 Strategies
The Futureproofed Sales Playbook covers all 12 of these strategies in detail — with full scripts, frameworks, and real-world examples. Instant download.