It has always been difficult to grow a company, but things appear to be even more challenging in today’s era of hyper-competition. Major innovations are disrupting industries and salespeople need to acquire the latest product knowledge to stay relevant. With information changing at a faster rate, it’s increasingly harder to keep up.
While some companies are flourishing, others are floundering, and one of the major things that separate these companies is the rate at which business problems are resolved.
Let’s take a closer look at four challenges in a business and touch upon how they affect sales in an organization:
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1. The challenge of finding the right salespeople.
There is no magic formula for recruiting the right salespeople, no infallible training method that engages all team members, and no proven methodology to get everyone on board skilled up. When sales teams work well, it’s usually because of a combination of the right factors creating a perfect storm.
Small and mid-sized businesses are often like a family, and like a family, everyone may be able to get along and work well together or the family could be dysfunctional. Meanwhile, large companies are challenged by office politics and finding the right mix of employees for the workplace. No matter what size the business, it is always important that teams communicate effectively. Using a collaboration platform between marketing and sales teams can help projects run more smoothly.
One key to success when it comes to managing salespeople is tailoring a management style that knows how to deal with different types of personalities and that can figure out how to work with each individual’s strengths, talents, and natural abilities.
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Another key is finding the right people with the right skillsets for the job. This is especially necessary for technological and manufacturing jobs. In order to run the business properly, a company in these industries requires salespeople with computer skills, a knack for deductive reasoning, and team players who have been formally trained on how to close.
2. The challenge of selecting the right market.
Consumers enjoy a wider selection of goods and services in the 21st Century because it is now easier for anyone to start a business. If you have expertise in a subject, it’s easy to buy a domain name or to register a business built around that. However, once you have started a business, it is more complicated staying in business because there is more competition than ever before.
However, success in business is not always about having the best products or services. Instead, those who thrive are those who have won the battle of perception, persuading the general public through customized sales presentations that their product or service is superior in some way to those of other vendors with similar offerings.
3. The challenge of managing cash flow.
Although a company may look good on paper, showing a handsome profit in their financial statements, they will not be able to stay in business long if their capital expenditures are draining their cash or there is a problem with their receivable collections due to poor invoicing practices. Unless a business is properly capitalized or has built up sufficient cash reserves, it will not be able to meet all its financial obligations, handle a slump in sales, or deal with any financial emergencies. One area, however, that a company should not make cuts to is its sales force. Hiring fewer people or cutting back on training may harm revenue generation.
4. The challenge of finding the right marketing and sales channels.
Unless a business can effectively generate leads, convert prospects into customers, and retain customer loyalty, it will be difficult to stay in business. The challenge is not due to a shortage of technology—like smartphones, video sharing sites, or email marketing—nor is it due to a paucity of channels—like, print advertising, search engine advertising, or social media advertising. The problem is due to information overload. How does a salesperson select the right channels? Where should he or she look for customers? How should customers be contacted? What is the right message to send them?
All challenges facing businesses today require the use of superior sales techniques to grow and deploying the most appropriate technology. Superior strategies arise from accessing relevant information and processing it accurately while deploying the right communication technology is a result of finding the best type of automation software to cut costs and increase efficiency.
