Glaring at your screen, you cannot believe those stats. It seems like the bar charts, spreadsheets, algorithms are all mocking you right in your face!
You were so confident of having a grip on the weird, wonderful world of sales. But what happened? Where did you go wrong? Was it the promo? The service? Or a rival’s conspiracy? All such questions make your brain cells go frantic!
Before you begin playing the blame and shame game with your partners, stop!
What you need to do instead is, evaluate your sales procedures. Why does the figure bum you out in every session?
Perhaps it’s your managing style, or maybe, the credibility of your business is unfathomable by the prospects. Whatever the reason is, do not call quits unless you’ve tried your level best.
The SBA states that only 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years, while 66% fail during the first ten years. The SBA goes on to state that only 25% make it to fifteen years and beyond.
Given you’re on this page, I’m sure you are looking for a way to fall into the last category. A clear articulation of your sales strategy will help you beat all hollow. Without further ado, let’s scan 4 key ingredients that will accelerate the sales of your business:
Investigate the Market
So you’re about to step in garments retail, and you finally have the means to do so. But your desire to open an outlet blinds you to the fact that customers are leaping towards eCommerce.
A glorious digital portal is more enticing for them than a glamorous physical store. Ignoring this element is your drive towards doom from day one of your venture.
A wiser move is to analyze the market. Ask questions, and listen to your customers. Assess their needs and how companies are failing to fulfill consumer expectations. To identify market opportunities, the entire business model needs a critical overview. A few elements you must reflect on are:
- Consumer segmentation
- Direct competition analysis
- Complementary products/services
- Foreign market analysis
- Environment analysis
Besides these factors, there are some generic elements, like supply chains, brand value proposition, and legal issues, to take care of. Tapping useful information sources to provide answers to as many questions as possible will improve your odds of success.
Upgrade Promotional Tactics
There are two reasons that marketing may lead to business failure:
- It fails to do enough marketing
- The marketing campaign wasn’t viable
Each spells disaster for a business, and so having it apt from the initiation is crucial for the prosperity of the business.
A correct marketing approach enables your potential customers to gain insight into your business and helps you to maintain your relevance in the market. Remember, the competition in the market is going to be stiff. You must constantly voice your brand in the industry to ensure it stays a part of the industry.
Alternatively, Marketing is also a new tactic you can opt for. It is when companies can have one department, which aligns sales and marketing. It works seamlessly to land more business opportunities. According to Aberdeen Group’s CMO Agenda Report, by successfully aligning sales and marketing, you can:
- Generate 32% higher revenue
- Retain 36% more customers
- Achieve 38% higher win rates
A piece of advice here, never get sleazy when competing against your rivals. Work to upgrade and improve your promotional techniques but do not stoop below the perceived levels of decency. Just focus on the delivery of optimized products/services.
Build up your Social Media Presence
Social media is a not-so-new buzzword in the corporate world. It isn’t only about advertising your products but covers so much more than that. It all started back in 2012 when Facebook went public. Ever since then, business all across the globe are cultivating their presence on all the right social channels.
Whether it is an online leather jacket store or a mobile app development agency, each business knows the worth of gaining a firm footing on social media. They are actively involved in improvising their approach with every passing day.
Pew Research Center, 69 percent of American adults use social networks. Therefore, your presence on each of these forums will touch nearly every customer surfing in the digital waters. When working in this regime, you have to focus on building a strategy, automate posts, engage your audience, and maintain a constant presence on the media.
In the meantime, keep a close eye on metrics to know if you’re sailing in the right direction.
Hire and Retain Talent
A perpetual ingredient of improving business sales is to have skilled people, a pool of talent, who work to carry the business forward. It may seem to be the simplest of all steps. Yet it isn’t so.
People no longer want to work for a single company throughout their careers. Instead, they are looking to widen their skill range by exploring various opportunities. And this is terrible news for businesses.
You cannot expect to grow your sales if your workforce retention rate is below average. The solution lies in crafting a strategic talent management policy. Promises of cushy perks and pay are the most common techniques they use.
A Work Institute Report provides that employers will pay about $280 billion as turnover costs in 2020. On the subject, Danny Nelms, president of Work Institute, says, “Employees have career options, and our study shows they are not hesitant to leave their current positions for jobs that better fit their preferences and expectations.”
The drastic impact of this issue on sales is quite extensive. You should work on providing better career development opportunities and work-life balance to retain the talent.
Final Words
A fruitful business is one with a perfect combination of all ingredients with a garnish of luck. It may start in your head and end up as a magnanimous empire, only if you design a meticulous plan prior.
Apart from the ones we mentioned, what do you think makes a business successful? Share with us in the comments.