Is the Problem Your Sales Force or the Economy?
It Is Your Sales Force or the Economy?
With poor economic news coming in daily, how can management determine whether a dip in sales is due to a sales force that just isn’t doing its job or whether there are outside economic factors at play that are nearly impossible to overcome?
Answering this question is not always easy, however it is always important when determining how successful your company is now and the future potential of the organization.
Below, you will find a few points that ought to help you determine whether a dip in sales could be the team in the business development office or whether the economy is simply not being favorable.
1. What is your competition doing? How do you perceive they are doing?
As an executive, you should not focus on your competition all too much, as keeping the course regarding your own business plan is more important and typically a better use of your time.
However, if one or more of your competitors are aggressively hiring, the economic conditions of your industry may not be all that poor and a deeper look at your sales team may need to be on your “to-do” list.
2. What is the overall mood in the sales department?
When you walk into a room, executive or not, human nature will allow you to gauge the mood and whether the interaction between the individuals in that room is positive, negative, neutral or nonexistent.
If you decipher it to be one of the latter three adjectives, the economy may be holding up, the problem may be your sales team.
Even though the members of your sales team are not required to be the best of friends, the friendlier, or at least, the more upbeat and communicative they are, the more successful and cohesive your business development team is going to prove to be.
Continued – How are their cold-calling and overall prospecting techniques?
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Well put. I think this is especially prevalent in publicly traded companies. The stress is definitely there at just about every company, but it the ones who can think longer term and remain positive who win.
Thanks for reading.
Ken
RE: point #2 — it may be the age old question of which camd first, the chicken or the egg? If the economy has depressed sales — as it certainly has in some industries — and management has responded by increasing the pressure on the sales force to work miracles and make sales when customers are non-existent then that negative vibe you are sensing may well be due more to management’s pressure than to any inadequacy in the sales force. Unless management engages sales associates in meaningful dialog to address the problem and continues to provide support during a difficult period, two things will happen: sales will continue to decline and good sales people will jump ship.