Running a business is a huge task, an on-going process. And while you are at it, you are sure to face ups and downs. Business is more than just making profits and living a lavish life. Business is all about owning up and all about customer satisfaction. These two are interdependent factors. For instance, if you don’t agree on the quality of the products, your customers won’t be satisfied and if your customers aren’t satisfied your sales are sure to drop. And if sales drop your downfall is nearing. So how do you avert the sales problems? Read on to know.
Longer sales cycle
As per many surveys, the reason behind sales drop is the longer sales cycle. Sales cycles get longer because your prospective buyer takes a long time to make a decision. So, how do you make them buy your product? Be at the top of the game. Employ a strong marketing strategy alongside sales strategy. Make sure your brand has a prime time in the lives of your clients. Follow up regularly.
Quality of the product
Improving the quality of the products and services to meet the customer satisfaction is an important aspect of doing business. So, it is essential to ask for feedback from the clients and work on it. Invite responses. Do surveys and market research to understand the needs of your clients.
Being a substitute
You need to establish the USP of your products and services. If you are just another substitute operating in the market, customers are going to hold that perspective about your product. But if you are going to stand out in terms of the services and the products that you provide, your sales are sure to boom. For instance, if your product is a bar of chocolate but there are thousands of chocolates and candies available in the market then how do you stand out? You market your USP which maybe a bar of chocolate that’s protein rich!
Trust factor
This is a driving factor that increases sales. Unless your clients trust your products or brand, they aren’t going to buy it. For instance, Johnsons & Johnsons or Maggi failed the customers when the government found defects in its products and making. To regain that trust, J & J and Maggi, had to bring about changes in its products as well as change its marketing strategy.
Marketing strategy
Your marketing strategy is your way of communicating with your clients. If you don’t have a strong marketing strategy, you won’t scale the sales ladder either. In the above example, I mentioned J & J. J&J had to bring mom bloggers on board to evaluate their products before launching them in the market again. Once mom bloggers had given a go ahead or their feedback, it was included in the making of the products. The continuous involvement with mom bloggers was marketed, making the process transparent to gain back the trust of the customers.
Too much attention to admin work
Often while dealing with one aspect of business, we tend to overlook the other aspects. The problem of sales occurs when too much attention is given to admin tasks. If stats are to be believed, sales representatives spend only less than 36% of their time selling and most of their time is spent doing the admin tasks of inputting data and generating reports. Have a proper software for that.
Communication of the sales reps
Your sales reps should be proficient in communication. They should know how to convert a potential client into a client. If the communication, technical know-how, language or body language of your sales representative’s falters, you aren’t going to get business. So, make sure to train your reps properly for sales.
Post-sales service
Your customers’ will recommend your product and services to their friends and family only when they like your services post sales. Perhaps you are a tech brand, say Lenovo and you haven’t satisfied your customer with your servicing policies post sales then they are sure not going to recommend you. So, your after sales service guarantees that a good word of mouth for your business.
Motivation
To get sales reps to reach their targets, money is motivation enough but for how long. Every aspect comes with marginal utility. And if there is not enough motivation to keep sales reps on their toes then sales are going to go down. So, provide timely incentives to your reps to keep them motivated. For instance, in a life insurance company you will always find these competitions to win a trophy or an international trip which keeps the agents churning out business for the company.
With this post we hope that you have understood why sales problems occur and how to solve them.
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