3 Things That Impact Sales – And How to Fix Them

Do you own a business and sales aren’t exactly where you hoped they would be? Are you eyeing 2023 and setting higher sales goals? While goals are great to have and can act as a blueprint for a business, the real question is how you plan to achieve them. Fixing sales isn’t usually a quick solution, but rather a multi-prong approach that can take weeks, even months for results to become clear. 

Let’s take a look at three things that impact sales and how you can fix them, setting the business on a much better trajectory for 2023.

Having No Direction or Plan to Follow

One of the biggest mistakes that businesses can make from a sales standpoint is to not have a sales and operations plan or to have a loose plan that no one follows. Just chugging along with no plan, no direction, and no care for how sales impact other areas of the business, including the process and supply chain, is bound to lead to disappointing numbers. 

Supply Velocity stresses the importance of S&OP consulting so that sales and operations planning isn’t overlooked. Not only does there need to be a solid sales and operations plan in place, but it also needs to be followed to the letter, tracked, and used with only one family of products at a time.

Just bringing about efficient organization, processes, and critical steps to follow can drastically improve sales.

Are Products Priced Competitively?

You can’t lament about poor sales without also assessing your product pricing. It’s not about what you think is fair and reasonable, it is about what the market deems competitive. If your products and services are priced well above the competition, then you probably have a steep hill to climb. You’re going to need to convince customers/clients why your products and services are so much better and worth the high price tag.

With inflation soaring across the country and the globe in the past year, pricing has become a much bigger topic for many businesses. It has led to price increases in several industries. If this is something your company is considering, the key is to be open and transparent with customers. Explain why the price increase is necessary and give them a warning that it is coming.

Customers Aren’t Blown Away by the Sales Experience

Then we have the actual customer experience, which should never be underestimated. If customers are left frustrated, disappointed, or underwhelmed by the sales experience, this can impact their decision of whether or not to do business with your company again. 

Sales staff needs to be properly trained to handle any scenario and always ensure the customer experience is positive, from start to finish. This is how you build a loyal customer base that will help boost sales.

Changes Need to Be Made on a Variety of Fronts

The fact is that so many different things can impact sales, and this is just a small look. It’s important to examine company operations from the ground up, looking for areas that are calling out for improvement and changes.