Too Quiet? Sales Is Your Life-blood
A client forwarded me a Sydney Morning Herald article about the Lloyd Group going into administration. They built a lot of the government schools and projects and had 59 projects under way and employed 200 staff. This news follows hot on the heels of the news that Porter Davis is also in liquidation. They employ 470 staff, and put an immediate stop on 1700 new house builds. This news is concerning because Australia is meant to be more economically stable than us. I have been following the liquidation of building companies and sub trades in New Zealand as these have been escalating through the year.
As of April building and construction companies are being liquidated at twice the rate of food and hospitality industries. According to Waterstone Insolvency, construction company failures ran at 29 percent of all liquidations. This is grim news on multiple fronts. We need more houses in NZ and each business that goes into liquidation means people without jobs, families without income and any sign of a solution moving further off.
Any economy goes through the inevitable highs and lows. There are many cliches but one I found captures this well is, “We might all be in the same storm but we are all in different boats.” Is your business storm worthy? There are many factors you need to consider and it is really important to ensure you, your team and your business monitor key business drivers and ratios; and scenario plan should one of your major clients and/or suppliers get bowled over by the storm of the current environment.
Some things however do not change. People still spend money in tough times. Businesses still need to sell and generate cash if they are to stay afloat. Have you looked at your sales pipeline recently? Do you even have a sales pipeline? When was the last time you connected with your top 20% of customers? Are you able to project your sales this month, and next, and the next?
There are a lot of moving parts in business. In tough times you have to be hungry and chase the work that is out there. You can have the best business with everything perfectly placed but without sales it is like a car with no fuel. Don’t get left behind in the race to get the work that is out there. Make sales your priority. Gear your business and your teams to be client focused and equip everyone to help move all enquiries to the next step. What would happen if everyone in your team developed a sales mindset? I often hear the concern that “we might get ‘too’ busy.” This reply, in and of itself, is testament to the fact that you can steer your ship through this storm.
If you are looking where to start, I strongly suggest you start with your sales strategy, sales team and sales activity. Then collectively focus all your energies on connecting with customers and adding massive value. Being too busy is a far preferable problem to being too quiet.
