Why don't individual salespeople or even entire teams fulfill their sales plan? Often neither managers nor company leaders can answer this question. Instead, more excuses are made, hasty decisions are made, but the situation does not change.

Qvidian, a business solutions company, tried to find out what was behind the low performance and conducted a study ( 2015 Sales Execution Trends study), which reflected the latest trends in the modern world of sales.

It turned out that the degree of responsibility of sales managers is greatly exaggerated: only 30% of company heads surveyed cited poor coaching skills of specialists as the reason for low sales. On the other hand, the two most common responses made us think about the quality of salesperson training: 42% of managers complained about an excessively high failure rate, and 41% were convinced that their employees simply did not know how to profitably present a product.

Main priorities

The main concern of most companies in 2015 is achieving high financial performance: 94% of managers expect an increase in profits and 87% - the fulfillment of sales plans. Based on the data obtained, the authors of the study identified the TOP 5 reasons why salespeople fail to cope with their responsibilities:

1. Too many deal refusals (42%)
2. Inability to competently present the product (41%)
3. Overload with administrative tasks (36%)
4. Long waits for results from new employees (36%)
5. Poor training of salespeople (30%)

“Tip for 2015: Provide better training and motivation for your employees.”

In the endless race for big profits, do not forget about the key sources of growth and income of the company:

1. Finding new clients (59%)
2. Increase in average check due to cross-selling (43%)
3. Increased sales efficiency (35%)
4. Optimization of transaction conversion rate (31%)

Most businesses today are gradually realizing that they need more rigorous forecasts regarding their trade policies. Almost 46% of executives admit that their understanding of the modern sales cycle and consumer behavior needs clarification.

"Tip for 2015: Study your customers' behavior and create relevant content"

According to the study, in the business world, along with high competition, there is an increasing gap between new and old technologies: the growing popularity of modern CRM systems (by 7% compared to 2014) is adjacent to a clear commitment to old channels of interaction with customers (by 11%). since 2014). This discrepancy cannot but affect the overall sales process.

One of the biggest difficulties today, according to 24% of company heads, is the insufficient effectiveness of managers in training employees. Compared to last year, this figure increased by 15%, which indicates the need to increase the competence of management personnel and update knowledge in the field of sales.

Advice for 2015: Invest in modern technology and business analytics

Conclusion

A study conducted by Qvidian illustrates the current business situation by 2015. As long as most companies are concerned with the transition from cautious development to aggressive growth, obstacles such as incompetence, poor employee onboarding, irrelevant data on purchasing behavior, inappropriate customer communication channels and poor business intelligence will remain the main reason for poor financial performance and slow growth. .

It can be caused by various circumstances: crises in the economy, an ill-conceived company management system, problems in production and sales, seasonality or unfavorable weather conditions.

Reasons for the decrease in profit of a business entity

The following reasons are identified that lead to a decrease in the revenue of an economic entity:

• General economic. Rising inflation, depreciation of the national currency, which makes it more difficult for a company to pay for goods and services of foreign partners. The category of general economic factors includes crisis phenomena in the financial system, leading to a reduction in consumer income, unemployment, and a slowdown in the flow of funds of an economic entity.
• State. Reluctance (inability) of the state to timely pay private firms for work performed or services provided. The establishment of administrative barriers that lead to downtime for companies (for example, a long period of time for obtaining permits to start business activities), increased taxes and fees that increase the costs of business structures, corruption, unsatisfactory work of the courts, due to which disputes between counterparties take months to be resolved.
• Market. A decrease in a company's profit is a consequence of increased competition in the market and the emergence of cheaper and (or) high-quality alternatives to its product. Financial indicators may worsen due to the lack of government support for domestic producers and the influx of analogue goods from abroad. Errors in supply planning contribute to a decrease in profits, leading to the presence of a large number of intermediaries in the chain who charge a commission. Other reasons include instability in stock markets and problems in the banking system.
• Force majeure. The company's profit decreases sharply when emergency circumstances occur. These include a fire in a warehouse or office, natural disasters, declaration of martial law in the country, theft of valuables or disclosure of confidential information.
• Operating rooms. The company loses a significant portion of its income if it does not effectively use the fixed assets at its disposal.
• Financial. The decline in profits is caused by a large share of loans and advances in the company's capital, inefficient use of credit resources, ill-conceived pricing policies, a significant amount of costs in the cost structure (for example, renting an unreasonably expensive office), and overdue accounts receivable from large buyers.

Other factors that reduce profits include seasonality, ill-conceived marketing policies, unfavorable weather conditions (important for agricultural producers), and lack of motivation among managers and ordinary employees.

Is revenue falling?

Let's talk about unpleasant things. Sooner or later, a situation happens to any store owner when reporting for a period inexorably says: compared to the previous period, revenue has fallen... And here there are different reactions.

Someone, without giving himself the trouble to think about why, waves his hand: well, it happens that the month or quarter turned out to be unsuccessful. The next one will be better.

And this is the surest path to trouble. Because a drop in revenue in a clothing store is always a wake-up call.

Someone panics, vomits and rushes, fires staff, abruptly and thoughtlessly, rashly changes the assortment...

And this is also not the best thing that can be done. What is happening is not ruin, not bankruptcy. Yes, this is an alarming signal and cannot be ignored. But in order not to make a mistake, you need to react thoughtfully. Not at random.

What to do? How to increase revenue?

The first thing you need to do is analyze the reasons for the decline in revenue. Consider the following:

• Are the reasons seasonal? What did the revenue dynamics look like for the same reporting period last year?
• What happened to sales? If the same number of units of goods were sold as in the previous period, and revenue has fallen, look for reasons in your pricing policy
• If sales have fallen, what about your product range? Is it appropriate for the season?
• What has changed in the store compared to the previous reporting period and even earlier? Some negative changes do not have an effect immediately, so look for the reasons one or two, or even three periods ago.
• Did it happen that you stopped doing something that you were doing before? For example, advertise outdoors or conduct active sales within the database? It is precisely such actions that have a delayed negative effect. And replacing the seller with a less professional one is immediate.
• If you yourself haven’t changed anything or stopped doing anything, it’s time to pay attention to the actions of your competitors. Perhaps they did something very successful, drawing away customers from you?
• Do you trust your employees? Are internal reporting in order? Is everything logical in it or does something require close attention? There were cases when revenue did not fall at all, just part of it changed its destination, missing the owner.

First, stop digging...

What to do once you understand the reasons for the decline in revenue? There is such a good phrase: “When you suddenly find yourself in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging.” So, if there is a reason for the decline in revenue, the matter will not improve on its own. Whatever happens - the cause must be eliminated. Even if this is your new sign, which cost you a lot and you really liked. Even if the new seller, who does not communicate competently with clients, is a friend’s daughter and generally a “good girl.”

Seasonality of sales is a change in demand associated with changing seasons, temperature fluctuations, holidays, customer habits, etc. In some seasons, demand grows without much effort, in others it falls, despite all the efforts of the seller. And if trading at the peak of consumer activity brings companies super-profits, then a decline in sales entails losses and troubles.

In this article we will talk about how to prevent the negative consequences of seasonality in demand.

Seasonal demand or wrong strategy?

Before taking active steps, we need to find out what exactly we are dealing with. Perhaps the decline in sales is not due to seasonality, but to other market factors - the emergence of substitute products, the opening of a new supermarket in the neighborhood, or the aggressive marketing strategy of the main competitor.

To make an accurate diagnosis, you need to analyze the seasonality of sales over several years and find out whether the periods of decline coincide in time. The difference between seasonal and non-seasonal revenue will help assess the scale of the tragedy and develop an adequate plan.

If the difference in sales is only 10-20%, there is no need to worry - even everyday goods such as bread and milk are subject to such natural fluctuations in demand. This is a temporary decrease in sales, it does not cause much harm and does not require intervention.

There is no point in spending money on marketing even if in low seasons the demand for your product drops by 80-90%. The reality is that artificial trees and sparklers sell well before the New Year and lose their relevance in January. Accept this as a fact and move on to other products or services.

An example of seasonal fluctuations in New Year's goods.

But you can fight against a 30-40% seasonal decline. We will tell you how to do this now.

Organize trade in seasonal goods

If your product is not selling like hot cakes, it means that people need something else at the moment. Determine which customer needs come to the fore this season and adjust your assortment.

For example, companies that install plastic windows switch to interior doors in the winter, thereby leveling out the dips in demand during the cold months. And fitness clubs, in order to retain clients, with the onset of summer, introduce new exclusive programs:

How to “wake up” clients in the off-season - an example of a fitness club

Sell ​​additional products

If you can’t find a suitable option for the main product, try placing a bet on additional goods and services, “upgrade”. From this point of view, the experience of the Leonardo hobby hypermarket chain is interesting. These stores are distinguished by a wide range of materials and tools for needlework, but most of the profit, as well as the main influx of customers, comes from the sale of office supplies.

On the basis of these trading platforms, festivals and master classes on handicrafts are held. They not only attract the target audience, but also smooth out the pronounced seasonality of the product, stimulating sales of paints, colored paper and fabrics for patchwork - sewing from scraps.

Offline events where customers gather are an effective way to brand yourself, increase loyalty and increase sales during the off-season.

Expand your target audience

This method of dealing with falling demand has long been used in the hotel business. After the end of the “hot” season, many hotels stimulate sales by providing venues for business meetings, seminars and conferences. Thus, their clients are no longer only guests of the city, but also its residents interested in hosting the event.

An excellent example of a strategic approach to expanding the audience was shown by the Japanese cleaning company Kikuya. Seasonal downturns in the dry cleaning industry forced the managers of this company to come up with an additional service - free storage of out-of-season clothing for up to 6 months. This turned out to be a real salvation for many Japanese families living in cramped apartments. Thus, the company not only increased the number of clients, but also maximally leveled the load on equipment and personnel.

The next step for Kikuya was the storage service for seasonal sports equipment - snowboards in the summer and bicycles in the winter. And then it turned out that many clients were not averse to paying for cleaning of this equipment.

A little later, after several other innovations, the company opened paid courses for managers called “Study of the Kikuya production management system.” Thus, the desire to overcome the seasonal decline in demand was the beginning of great commercial success.

Adapt to the needs of each client

Artur Salyakaev, a business coach and sales expert in Russian jewelry retail, advises working competently and individually with each of his clients. In his business, nearly half of his revenue comes from the days before January 1st and March 8th. But if sellers know the birthdays and important dates of their customers, they will be able to make them attractive offers and actively sell jewelry throughout the year, increasing sales during the off-season.

Targeted sales are another way to increase the activity of the target audience. Special offers for older travelers help tour operators make a profit even in the low seasons - after all, old people do not like crowded summer beaches.

Pharmacies are in demand for consultations for diabetic patients with subsequent ordering of appropriate products. Not every city has a specialized store, and the number of people suffering from this disease is increasing.

A sales consultant is a living tool for increasing sales during the off-season.

Run promotions and give discounts

Don’t forget about discounts and bonuses - this is perhaps the easiest method of influencing potential consumers. shows that people are gradually getting used to seasonal sales of clothes and shoes, pre-holiday discounts and “Black Fridays”, many families specifically set aside money to buy a seasonal wardrobe during the “off-season”.

Even Russian Railways actively uses reduction factors for the sale of train tickets. And the endless promotions of Ozone and Labyrinth bring considerable income all year round.

How Russian Railways is struggling with the seasonal decline in sales.

Seasonality of business is not a problem, but an opportunity

They say that restrictions spur creativity. It will be great if, overcoming the seasonal downturn, you suddenly discover an additional direction for your business or attract a new promising audience.

But even if at the moment you do not have the opportunity to increase falling sales, this is the maximum benefit. Preparing for the next active season, reorienting your business, streamlining your client base, setting up basic processes - all this can take you to a new level of income and completely recoup the unsuccessful period. But this is a topic for another article.

First of all, it should be noted that revenue represents money received by the enterprise as a result of the sale of products, goods or services. A decrease in revenue is characterized by a decrease in cash flow, received by the enterprise from the sale of products (goods, services), which can be caused by a number of objective or subjective reasons.

Revenue is very important for an economic entity, as it is one of the main sources of financing activities. In this regard, the management of the organization must regularly monitor any changes in this indicator and respond to them in a timely manner.

REFERENCE. There are situations when the management of a company deliberately reduces sales revenue (for example, in order to conquer new markets, the price of a particular product is reduced, which subsequently affects the amount of revenue).

What factors influence this indicator?

It should be noted that the amount of revenue is influenced by many different factors, which can be divided into two large groups:

Reasons why the fall occurs

The following are the most common reasons for a decrease in revenue:

1. Product obsolescence– sooner or later the market becomes saturated with a certain type of product, which causes a decrease in sales volumes and revenue.

   IMPORTANT. An entrepreneur should promptly update the range of products produced, giving it new quality characteristics or creating another product.

2. Seasonal drop in demand– there are specific types of goods, the demand for which fluctuates depending on the time of year. For example, swimsuits will be sold much more actively in the summer. However, in winter the demand for them drops sharply.
3. Increase in cost– for example, an increase in the price of raw materials and materials can significantly increase the cost of manufactured products. At the same time, it is not always possible for a commodity producer to raise the price, as this can reduce the competitiveness of the product. As a result, there is a decrease in sales revenue.
4. Weak advertising and marketing policy– today active advertising is one of the main factors contributing to an increase in sales.
5. Decrease in production volumes– for example, during a crisis, many enterprises significantly reduce production volumes, which ultimately affects the amount of revenue, etc.

For clarity, let’s look at the reasons for the decline in revenue using the example of a construction company and a store. In construction, revenue may fall for the following reasons:

If revenue has fallen in a store, this may be due to the following reasons:

• incompetence and rude treatment of sellers;
• weak promotional activities;
• lack of “tasty” offers, various discounts, promotions and bonuses;
• narrow range of products;
• unreasonably inflated prices (in this case we are talking about stores designed for a wide range of consumers), etc.

Step-by-step instructions: what to do if your income level has decreased?

So, if revenue falls, the following steps should be taken:

1. First, it is necessary to analyze the current state of revenue at the enterprise, as well as identify the degree of deviation of its actual indicators from the planned ones.
2. It is necessary to understand the main reasons that caused the decrease in revenue. This stage is very important, since timely identified causes of failures in the enterprise’s activities will allow the necessary measures to be quickly taken to eliminate them.
3. Having identified the main reasons for the decline in revenue, you should begin to select specific ways to increase it.

   The following ways to increase sales income can be identified:

   • reduction of production costs;
   • increase in production volumes;
   • conducting an effective advertising policy;
   • entering new markets;
   • expansion of the range of goods, etc.
4. Implementation of specific measures to increase revenue. This stage involves:
   • setting specific goals;
   • control over the implementation of assigned tasks;
   • analysis of the results obtained.

What not to do?

It should be noted that there are a number of prohibited techniques that are not recommended to be used when revenue is falling. Otherwise, the situation can only get worse. So, let's look at them in more detail:

To summarize, systematic decline in revenue is a serious cause for concern. At the same time, you should not make hasty decisions. First, you need to carefully analyze and weigh everything, and only then take specific actions.