Whether you own a multinational company or a small home business, sales are what keeps your business running as that’s what brings in the money and helps you pay the bills.
Every business works to increase their bottom line and one of the easiest and most common ways to do so is to increase sales.
However, it is easier said than done with stiff market competition and other such reasons often causing sales to drop.
Almost all businesses have to go through such times. When sales fall, the most important thing to know is the reasons your sales are failing.
To help you in this regard, given below are four main causes of why sales typically fall:
1. Changes in Company
Changes within your company can range from management changes to policy changes. They all have the ability to impact sales, some in a positive manner and some in a negative manner.
Remember that you will not see changes in your sales right after you implement a new strategy. There is a time lag and hence results may be slow.
Some of the policy changes such as lesser health benefits or higher product prices can have a significant effect on sales. Management changes such as a new senior officer can also be the reason for decreased sales.
However, sometimes these changes are temporary and the dust settles on its own.
For example, it takes a few months for a new employee to get used to the environment and for the staff to get used to a new boss. But once that happens things begin to fall into place.
2. Outdated Sale Strategies
Remember the times when sales reps would knock on your door only to convince you to buy what they had to sell? This traditional sales strategy worked in the past, but is obsolete now.
In fact, names such as John Paul DeJoria and Nick Woodman started by first selling their products door-to-door and are now known entrepreneurs running big corporations.
However, in today’s work environment such a sales strategy will not work because things have changed. If you are still stuck with the old formulae, then you’re only wasting your resources.
Read also: The Inner Game of Sales: 9 Things I Did to Get More Confident Selling
3. Poor Human Capital
Sales reps are the backbone of any company. You cannot make any sales without reliable sales representatives by your side.
They need to be skilled, diligent, and passionate about their work. Many experts believe that a good sales person is one who can sell you a product even when you do not need it.
This may sound like a strange statement, but some salespeople are indeed this skilled.
While you might not be able to find such magical sales reps, you still need to find skilled employees as having employees that do not know their job is the main cause of falling sales.
Moreover, on your part, you must make sure to train your employees and keep them motivated.
4. Your Opponent
Another reason for a decrease in sales can be your competitors using better marketing techniques or offering better products at lower prices.
So make sure to pay attention to your competitors and try to outdo them.