Marketing Advice How to overcome a sales slump


Colin Sinclair McDermott, aka The Online Print Coach, provides some crucial advice for when you may be struggling to get over that dreaded slump in sales.


I


t’s something every single business in our industry will suffer from at one point or


another – the dreaded sales slump. I often refer to sales as being a bit


of an emotional rollercoaster, plenty of peaks and troughs and it’s in those dips that we can find ourselves that we find we need to top up that inevitable pipeline so how do we get back to keeping it full? So why do the slumps happen? Is


it because we’re bad at sales? Is our service that bad? Are we having quality issues? In the majority of cases, NO, but from my experience working with a vast number of businesses just like yours, it does often come down to a few things.


False sense of security Often, we can fall into that false sense of security when the peaks hit. When sales are going well and there’s plenty of work to keep us busy. We get a little lazy maintaining our sales approach and take our foot off the gas a little. It can also come down to factors like the quality of leads that are coming in simply aren’t good enough. Maybe you’re speaking to the wrong people? Perhaps you’re not qualifying them well enough and establishing the needs and budgets thoroughly? The sooner we get to the core reason for the dip, the sooner we can take action. One of the hardest things to overcome


is not to take it too personally. This is a trait I’ve seen with many sign company owners and I used to be the same too. One thing we’re all guilty of is comparing ourselves to other people, to our competitors, and often we wonder why they are seeing more success than us. It’s easy to forget that we all have different starting points. I’ve had clients get frustrated because the signage company down the road always seems to be doing better than them but when I point out it’s not comparable because they are 10 years more established, they start to go a little easier on themselves, and realise it’s not actually as bad as it seems.


| 34 | November/December 2024


Why have sales dipped? To establish why sales have taken a dip, consider all the elements of the sales funnel and work your up from the bottom to establish where it’s going wrong. We know we’re not selling enough so are we generating enough leads? Getting to speak to the right people, the key decision makers? Are we converting enough? Could we do more to look after our existing customers? Sales is a numbers game. If you’re generating 50 quotes per week and converting 40% of these, you either need to go out and find more quote enquiries or look at ways you can increase that conversion rate, or better still, do both! Another thing you can do is ask


for feedback on your sales process. Sometimes it’s hard to be self-critical and we get clouded by our own judgement. Ask an outsider, a coach, a mentor, or even a client.


Become visible Lastly, the one piece of advice I would give is to become the hardest working, most visible signage company in your area. Up the ante, build those strong sales


habits again, get on the phones, and show up consistently. Get yourself out networking, post and engage on your chosen social media platforms, and get more creative with your marketing. Establish what channels are working best for you and maintain them. It won’t take long before you start


to see results and momentum builds again. Set yourself goals and put KPIs in place to measure what you are doing, to keep you accountable, and ensure you stay on track. Follow these rules and you’ll benefit from a much stronger and more predictable sales pipleline reducing those dips and keeping your business on course for success.


www.signupdate.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76