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Consistent Sales Growth

Written by: Tony Cole

Article Overview: I'm sure that some of you are saying, "We have sales growth." I'm sure that you do. However, is it consistent? Is it predictable? Is it at the level that you projected when you did your budget last year? Is it enough to overcome an unexpected loss of revenue from accounts, drop in rates, etc.? One of the problems about total revenue that I'm hearing this year is that "we're on target with new sales, but revenues are down because…? Well then, the reality is that new sales may be on target with what was budgeted, but they are not on target given your new adjusted budget deficits.

Consistent Sales Growth

Negative changes for budgeted recurring revenue and expenses REQUIRE that you INCREASE the budgeted number for new business! Where else is the revenue going to come from? Sure, you can cut people that support your sales, but then who is going to do the work? Your already overworked, underpaid staff?

The easy thing to do is get creative with expenses, get creative with your accounting or make cuts. It certainly solves the short-term problem. The HARD thing to do, but the right thing to do, is focus on new business sales. And that is YOUR job #1 - ALWAYS.

So, here's the heart of the message this month: CMBMQHM. This is the "secret" to consistent, predictable sales growth.

CMB = Close more business. This requires that YOU keep a closer tab on what opportunities are coming into your company. Make sure that 1) they are qualified opportunities and you're not wasting time, energy and resources "quoting" business that you have no chance of getting. It is a no-win deal. 2) Make sure that the prospect has "real" motivation to buy your product or service and that they have real motivation to leave their current relationship. Dealing with these two items alone will help you CMB. 3) The key here is YOU and YOUR involvement.

MQ = More Quickly. Pretty basic. However, how you get there isn't so basic. What you need to do is: 1) Challenge your own thoughts about your sales cycle. 2) Challenge the thoughts and beliefs of your sales staff about sales cycles. When I was in the life insurance business, I was told that an estate planning case took between 9 to 12 months to complete. My first estate planning case took 12 months. I heard a speaker suggest a technique of "setting the expectations" of the closing process with "This normally takes 90 to 120 days. What obstacles will we need to overcome to meet that time frame?" 3) You set the expectations. You shorten the sales cycle. Shorter sales cycle means your sales team can work on more deals.

HM = Higher Margins. Yes, I know, I'm back to business 101. But, this concept is often ignored by management and certainly by your sales team unless your compensation structure is based solely on the margin. But, even then, to the sales person, 25% of a deal is better than 33% of no deal. They really don't think about the margins that you need to sustain the business. Again, the key is YOU and YOUR involvement in monitoring and managing the profitability of the sale. You need to take into account not just the "mark up" on the product or service but also all the time, money, effort and resources that have gone into the sale and will continue to be invested in the sale. Is the business profitable at the price point that has been established? YOU must protect the margins.

So, here's the real issue. If your sales staff was already good at prospecting more effectively so that you CMB - closed more business- then they would be closing more business. If they were already good at MQ - more quickly- then again you'd have a shorter sales cycle and you'd be closing business more quickly freeing up time to close more. If they were already good at HM - higher margins- then you wouldn't be sweating the bottom line revenues and you wouldn't be using the excuses for not hitting the budget.

Your sales staff not only needs your involvement in this process but they need to get better. They need to improve those critical skills required to Close More Business More Quickly at Higher Margins.

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Article Tags: consistent sales growth, sales



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