4 Sales Strategies for Protecting and Improving Operating Margins
In today's competitive business landscape, protecting and improving operating margins is crucial for sustainable growth. This article presents expert-backed strategies that can transform your sales team into effective revenue guardians. By aligning incentives with contribution margins and encouraging off-market deals, businesses can boost profits while rewarding sales performance based on both revenue and margin metrics.
- Empower Sales Team as Revenue Guardians
- Align Incentives with Contribution Margin
- Incentivize Off-Market Deals for Higher Profits
- Link Sales Rewards to Revenue and Margin
Empower Sales Team as Revenue Guardians
We once had a driver sell a same-day, last-minute airport transfer at 11 p.m.—with an 80% profit margin—without calling me.
That moment marked a turning point. Before, I used to handle every booking myself to avoid price errors or unprofitable routes. But after investing in a margin-driven pricing sheet and empowering drivers with incentives tied to profitability—not just volume—I saw a shift. I trained our team to upsell premium services (like luggage help or bilingual assistance) and gave them clear guardrails: minimum pricing per zone, a percentage bonus for bookings above target margin, and freedom to close without waiting on me.
This structure didn't just protect margins—it grew them. In Q1, our average margin per ride rose 17%, even as volume stayed stable. The key was treating sales not as order takers, but as revenue guardians. With full transparency on costs and net profits, they started acting like business partners, not just drivers.
Letting go of control was scary. But turning pricing into a shared mission paid off.
Align Incentives with Contribution Margin
A sales team isn't just responsible for driving revenue—it's a frontline player in protecting margin, too. The key is ensuring they understand that bigger deals aren't always better if they eat away at profitability. One strategy that has worked well for me is structuring incentives around contribution margin instead of just total sales. We coached our team to think more like operators: What's the cost to serve this client? How much support will they need post-sale? Instead of pushing discounts to close a deal faster, they started focusing on deals that were good for the business long-term. We backed this with transparent reporting and cross-functional input from ops and finance—so everyone saw the full picture. When salespeople understand how their deals impact the bottom line (not just the scoreboard), you get smarter decisions and stronger margins.
Incentivize Off-Market Deals for Higher Profits
At Fast Vegas Home Buyers, our sales team is crucial in protecting our operating margin because they're the ones on the ground, evaluating which properties hold genuine potential after factoring in renovation and carrying costs. One strategy I've found effective is giving our sales representatives extra incentives when they bring in off-market deals that meet or beat our margin targets—so they're always looking for creative ways to source properties that set us up for profitable renovations, not just quick transactions. This has led to some of our best projects, like when a team member uncovered a hidden gem in a tight market and negotiated a deal that exceeded our profit benchmarks.
Link Sales Rewards to Revenue and Margin
Our sales team plays a direct role in margin by focusing on deal quality, not just volume. One strategy that worked: we tied incentives to both revenue and average margin per order. This approach encouraged smarter selling and attracted better-fit customers. As a result, profitability increased without slowing growth.
