Red flags in your business

Red flags are things that can threaten your sales and have a dramatic effect on the revenue coming into your business. Understanding what they are is imperative. They can be the simplest of things and I’ve listed below the four most common ones that I encounter:

1. Not knowing the buying process within a company – failure to understand what happens within a business when they wish to make a purchase will lead to disappointment. A simple solution to this is to ask, “what is your buying process?”.

2. Missing information, for example, start dates, how many other prospective suppliers are they speaking to, what quotes have they had, what are the details of these quotes, etc.

3. Not speaking to and identifying all the people who play a part in the buying process. Some businesses have more than one person who has an input. The person you speak to is not necessarily the one that signs off on the deal. Being aware of “who is who” is imperative. I don’t ask the person I’m speaking to “are you the decision maker?”, it can sound rude! I will ask, “what role do you play in the process and who else is involved”.

4. The “I think” phrase – when I speak to a salesperson or business owner about their pipeline, key accounts, existing clients, etc, and I hear the phrase “I think” I see a huge red flag. This signifies that they don’t have a full understanding of the situation.

If you have the answers to the points above, you will be in control of your sales process and the outcome of this will be secure revenue. To discuss how I can help your business, please contact Julie Futcher on 01604 532004 or email julie@thesalesace.co.uk