Strategies for Reducing Sales Prevention in Your Company
Sales prevention issues show up in businesses of all sizes and in all industries—and are almost always unintentional consequences of internal policies put into place for the good of the company. Any rule that you have that’s good for the company’s internal operations, but bad for your customer, is something that is causing sales prevention.
While internal policies, procedures, and systems are important and keep the business running efficiently, they may actually inhibit sales by making it harder for your customers to get the help they need, or for your employees to help the customers.
Do you have a Sales Prevention Department?
Additionally, in some companies, there’s the Sales Department and then there’s the Sales Prevention Department. Not literally, of course. But often, there’s the sales department and then everyone else (such as Marketing, IT, Operations, Purchasing, Human Resources, Research and Development or R&D, Accounting and Finance, and Management). These other departments become what is known as the Sales Prevention Department because they don’t understand the role that they play in the company’s sales, they don’t understand salespeople, and/or they have policies in place that work for their department but inhibit sales.
Strategies for Reducing Sales Prevention in Your Company
Although sales prevention is often unintentional, there are intentional actions you can take to reduce sales prevention, increase sales, and make your customers happy.
Hire a Secret Shopper
Pretend to be a consumer or hire a “secret/mystery shopper” to walk through your business in person and/or online. Identify the pinch points in your sales process and then brainstorm solutions to those issues.
Ask Yourself “Is this good for our client?”
Review your company policies, procedures, and systems, and ask yourself if and then how they will affect your clients. Determine if you really need that policy or if there is a better option that will protect your business without restricting your ability to close a sale.
Build a Strong Team
The most important thing that you can do to reduce sales prevention in your company is to foster a strong team atmosphere. Everyone needs to be on the same page and the sales team should have the support of every other department. After all, if you aren’t making sales, you don’t have a business.
When your entire company is on the same page, sales prevention issues will be eliminated, and your business will be free to thrive.