Beneath all the daily operations that your company engages in-from marketing, customer service, and even providing deliverables-is revenue. And if you want your business to grow, the first step is growing revenue.
While the obvious answer is to generate more income, there’s much more to it than that. Below I’ve listed tactics that will either make closing deals more likely, or show you different ways to get them so that the steady stream of sales you have now will turn into a roaring river of revenue.
1. Examine the Sales Model
Find out how your reps are selling. Are they talking up the advantages of the product? Or are they emphasizing how it can help solve a business problem and demonstrating that ROI? The second approach is much more effective as it opens the door to a relationship with prospects through discussion of their pain points.
Ensuring that your sales staff is keeping the focus on the customer is key, and with a little training in this area, your reps-and your company-will start to see more success.
2. Expand-or Contract-Your Territory
Do some research on what areas are being served with with your offering. This means that you can’t assume that a competitor already has an area covered; for all you know, that competitor might have also assumed that you were serving that area. In that case, it’s time to expand your territory.
On the other hand though, reducing the miles that a rep is responsible for can allow them to focus more deeply on the companies there. Or, depending on your business model, allowing reps to focus only on a certain vertical frees them up to learn about all the key players and companies while being able to speak more authentically to a prospect’s pain points.
Deciding which approach to take will take some fact finding and experimentation, but the resulting boost in sales will be worth the extra work.
3. Circle Back to Current Customers
It’s no secret that it’s easier to sell to customers that you already have as opposed to ones you’ve never worked with before. Go into your records and find out if any of your current customers are using outdated versions of your product. Find out how their business has changed since your first, agreed upon deal. You might discover that you could better serve them with an increased engagement or more up-to-date product.
4. Harness the Power of Content
A longer-term approach, generating insightful content that highlights your expertise and answers the questions and concerns of your prospects can help generate the revenue you need. As prospects go through the sales cycle, well-written, thoughtful content can educate, assist, and overcome objections. Created consistently, it can truly bridge the sales gap.
These techniques for growing your revenue can work individually, but you’ll get much more powerful results if you combine them. With your newfound success, you’ll be able to in turn grow your company and serve more business and people with your products and services.