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Increase Sales Means You Must Confront Those 800# Gorillas

Guest post by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Article Overview: What 800# gorillas are you avoiding to increase sales? I believe now is the time to discuss one those gorillas. Possibly, the avoidance of these 800# gorillas contributes to the high failure rate of small businesses where for each one that opens another one closes. (Source: Small Business Administration)

Increase Sales Means You Must Confront Those 800# Gorillas

What 800# gorillas are you avoiding to increase sales? I believe now is the time to discuss one those gorillas. Possibly, the avoidance of these 800# gorillas contributes to the high failure rate of small businesses where for each one that opens another one closes. (Source: Small Business Administration)

Today's 800# gorilla is the "p" word – plan. I have lost count of the number of small to mid size business owners that lack business sales plans. These individuals do not write down their sales goals, continue to actively embrace the roles of "Captain Wing-It" and then complain about their inability to increase sales. From my sales coaching training experiences, at least 40% have revenues in excess of $1,000,000 and up to $20,000,000.

For the 60% with revenues under $1,000,000, the two most common excuses are procrastination and a lack of money. What is unbelievable is that these business owners know that they need a sales plan and need to follow the plan! But, they continue to procrastinate by reading another sales skills improvement book, attending another FREE seminar because they cannot afford to pay for one, bending the ear of another sales coach o business consultant, rather than taking action to bite the bullet.

Let's be honest. Indecision is a decision. How much money are you losing because you made a conscious decision not to take action? You have easily lost three to 10 times the money that you would have invested in creating a goal driven sales action plan.

If you truly want to tackle this 800# gorilla, these three questions need to be decisively answered:

First, do you enjoy living in a stressful environment where you are just covering the bills?

Second, do you want to be the owner of a thriving business where you have additional dollars and time to invest in truly enjoying the fun rewards from vacations to taking in a weekday matinee to having a night out with the family?

Third, are you committed to doing whatever it takes to get the job done? If you answered yes, then I challenge you to save this article and read it this time next year.

Take Action Sales Coaching Tip: You cannot afford not to have a sales action plan especially during down economic times. If the lack of money is an issue, ask for flexible payments. Many business consultants and sales coaches who work with small business owners understand cash flow. Find one who will work with you and your financial constraints. Now is not the time to ignore this 800# gorilla.

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  Bad Business Profits Are Not the Way To Increase Sales

Article Tags: avoidance, business consultant, business owners, business sales, coaching training, conscious decision, failure rate, free seminar, gorilla, gorillas, improvement book, indecision, matinee, mid size business, procrastination, sales goals, skills improvement, small business administration, stressful environment, thriving business



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