Gut-wrenching conversations about sales (or lack there of)
I have had some gut-wrenching conversations with business owners about revenue, or lack there of. People make operational decisions based on achieving a certain level of sales. When they don’t materialize, tough decisions lay ahead.
The first reaction is to cut expenses – not a bad choice if you know you are overspending in some areas or have under-performers on the staff. Unfortunately, companies rarely cut expenses enough to achieve prosperity. Good revenue has covered up a lot of mistakes.
The second reaction might be to redirect resources or even spend more. So if you are lucky enough to work for a company that decides to spend more to increase sales, what do you do?
Do you:
1. Implement a highly targeted direct marketing program?
2. Increase advertising (or start)?
3. Hire a new sales person?
4. Hire a public relations firm or add a staff PR person?
5. Refresh the company’s Web site?
6. Conduct market research?
7. Invest in product development?
8. Create a podcast series with the CEO?
9. Sponsor a user forum, often called a user group meeting?
10. Attend additional tradeshows?
11. Conduct webinars?
What do you do? Actually these have all worked for companies in the past (except #8). The trick is to know the right one, or combination, that will work best for you at this stage in your company’s development. How do you make the right choice? Only time will tell if you are a hero or a goat.
Self-assessment can help point you in the right direction:
• Are your sales people selling or are they providing excuses?
• Where are your sales leads coming from now? Have you picked all the “low hanging fruit?”
• Are your best prospects your existing customers?
• How well known is your company? Are you a trusted brand? Does the market have the wrong impression of your company?
• Is there something truly unique about what you are offering?
• Do prospects understand what you are offering or is there some education that needs to be done before a sale can be made?
• Is your product or service “mission critical” or “nice to have?”
• What does your average sales call cost?
• Do you have a product or service that squarely addresses spending priorities for financial institutions, such as compliance/security or reducing risk?
If you don’t have the resources in-house and don’t want to increase head count, you are going to have to select the people who can help you get where you want to be.
Give me a moment to share some mistakes I’ve made in the past. At one time, my company would do anything for a buck -- we were struggling to survive. We were an “integrated marketing” firm always looking for the next assignment. What we figured out over time was that we were “average,” to “above average,” at a lot of things. For us, narrowing our focus was key.
You cannot be great at everything. As with marketing, sometimes the best solution is to select a team of people (or best of breed) who are passionate about your business, who practice “integrated thinking” -- not someone who says they do it all.
The first reaction is to cut expenses – not a bad choice if you know you are overspending in some areas or have under-performers on the staff. Unfortunately, companies rarely cut expenses enough to achieve prosperity. Good revenue has covered up a lot of mistakes.
The second reaction might be to redirect resources or even spend more. So if you are lucky enough to work for a company that decides to spend more to increase sales, what do you do?
Do you:
1. Implement a highly targeted direct marketing program?
2. Increase advertising (or start)?
3. Hire a new sales person?
4. Hire a public relations firm or add a staff PR person?
5. Refresh the company’s Web site?
6. Conduct market research?
7. Invest in product development?
8. Create a podcast series with the CEO?
9. Sponsor a user forum, often called a user group meeting?
10. Attend additional tradeshows?
11. Conduct webinars?
What do you do? Actually these have all worked for companies in the past (except #8). The trick is to know the right one, or combination, that will work best for you at this stage in your company’s development. How do you make the right choice? Only time will tell if you are a hero or a goat.
Self-assessment can help point you in the right direction:
• Are your sales people selling or are they providing excuses?
• Where are your sales leads coming from now? Have you picked all the “low hanging fruit?”
• Are your best prospects your existing customers?
• How well known is your company? Are you a trusted brand? Does the market have the wrong impression of your company?
• Is there something truly unique about what you are offering?
• Do prospects understand what you are offering or is there some education that needs to be done before a sale can be made?
• Is your product or service “mission critical” or “nice to have?”
• What does your average sales call cost?
• Do you have a product or service that squarely addresses spending priorities for financial institutions, such as compliance/security or reducing risk?
If you don’t have the resources in-house and don’t want to increase head count, you are going to have to select the people who can help you get where you want to be.
Give me a moment to share some mistakes I’ve made in the past. At one time, my company would do anything for a buck -- we were struggling to survive. We were an “integrated marketing” firm always looking for the next assignment. What we figured out over time was that we were “average,” to “above average,” at a lot of things. For us, narrowing our focus was key.
You cannot be great at everything. As with marketing, sometimes the best solution is to select a team of people (or best of breed) who are passionate about your business, who practice “integrated thinking” -- not someone who says they do it all.
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