John Lennon famously referred to life as what happens while you are busy making other plans. This quote is particularly apt now when many businesses find themselves working to capacity and beyond. According to many articles and news items, the unprecedented demand created by the pandemic has meant that many are trying to deliver 12 months’ work in 3 months, which obviously puts a lot of strain on staff and systems.
One direct result of this situation, which we come across a lot currently, is companies putting their sales operation on hold. If you have limited resources to support your existing clients and you are struggling to recruit new staff, the thought of new clients coming on board may seem like complete madness. I agree that existing clients always come first and providing good service is key to your reputation. However, I don’t think you should ever let go of your sales operation as it’s the life blood of your business.
Since most things, good or bad, do not last forever, the current surge in demand will also come to an end and you will be back to chasing new clients. This will be hard to do having abandoned your sales activity for a long period of time. So how can you manage to keep on top of your sales operation whilst being stretched in all other directions? Here are a few ideas for your consideration:
Review your sales strategy. It may well be that you are very busy and stretched but potentially you might also be allocating the wrong resource or banging your head against a brick wall. If this is the case, reconsider your current sales strategy and operation:
- Where would you like to be at the end of next quarter?
- Are you approaching the right target markets?
- Have you got the right case studies and sales collateral?
- Are the right people in your team covering the right roles?
Review your sales process. Like many other processes, it may well be held up by various bottlenecks and unnecessary admin slowing it down:
- Where are most opportunities being held?
- What are the biggest obstacles?
- What could you do more?
- What could you do less?
- How are you measuring success at the moment?
Consider technology and new tools. Once you have looked at reshaping your strategy, consider the tools you are currently using to makes sales happen:
- Is your CRM working for you and the team?
- Is the CRM set up to support your sales process?
- Are there software tools that can support your sales operation better?
- Could some of you selling be done using digital marketing?
- Would an effective content marketing help?
Ask yourself if this is the time to outsource or bring in an expert? Often sales success can be stuck in your blind spot. It may well not be your area of expertise or passion. Given that you are very busy but don’t want to let go of sales, why not consider asking someone else to help?
At YBDT we can help you with both lead generation and sales consultancy which means that we take the ownership for creating a strategic, tailored plan and then deliver on it. In the past 12 months we have increased our sales consultancy offering and you can read more about it here. Get in touch to see how we might help.