If your answer to this is no, then I would be very surprised!

Every business in the world wants to increase sales revenue and it is a challenge that is real. Sales are the fulcrum of any business, as without sales of your product or service then you don’t have a business.

I know from experience that EVERY business bar none has challenges and when you think about it logically, the solution can be funnelled back to sales activity.

So you have a Sales Manager, or perhaps you are the Sales Manager – either way there are targets to meet and KPI’s to achieve.

What happens typically is there is a weekly meeting with the MD / CEO and direct reports to discuss performance and brainstorm ideas. Often those direct reports get hammered as to why this is not happening and everyone gives reasons. Then the meeting concludes and everyone has coffee and more often than not – NOTHING CHANGES! The end of the month is looming and the sales team are getting beaten up and morale is not good. This is not always the case however, as the culture of some companies has kept up with the demands and expectations of the Y generation (not limited to before you shoot me down) as well as technology.

Every business has gaps in their internal processes – take 30 seconds and jot down 3 things that cause you pain day in day out. Then prioritise those pain points 1 – 3 and spend a minute of quality think time to see if you have any solutions to try that you haven’t tried before. Have fresh ideas?  – give it a go!

DID YOU KNOW – when Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Canaveral – destination THE MOON, most of the control systems were powered by valves (vacuum tubes). Anyway, with this primitive technology, Houston managed to change direction of Apollo 11 no less than 63 times in order to hit the target – that target being the moon.

RELEVANCE? – No matter what your target or business objectives, there is a way to get you to where you want to be with all of the technology at our fingertips. You just need to be prepared to change direction. Just open your mind and try to think outside of the box.

Rick Kemp