10 Signs You Need To Revise Your Sales Strategy

Devising a sales strategy for your business should be done with the consideration in the mind of shifting trends and company fluctuations.

What may serve you well one year may be made redundant the next. It is, therefore, vital to allow breathing space for regular adjustments to be made if necessary. 

You may hold great confidence in the plan you’ve laid out for the coming years. If, however, you plod along without proper oversight of how your sales are tracking, you may place yourself and your company at risk.

Acknowledging the drops in revenue and customer base is crucial when deciding how to best move forward. Keeping an eye out for any other alarming signs that may be indicative of a failing business model is also recommended. 

Potential signs that may urge you to revise your sales strategy may include:

1. Marketing trends have changed

When drawing up your techniques of promotion, you may have focused solely on what methods were effective at that specific time.

While this may have proved beneficial for a time, failing to update your sales plan to cater to the new and improved marketing strategies sweeping through the consumer sphere may lose you a hefty number of customers. (1) 

Video content, for example, wasn’t always as popular as it is today. If, however, you neglect to include the latter in your current campaigns, your competitors may see this as an opportunity to sweep in and offer prospects what you currently aren’t. 

Ensuring your brand remains well-recognized and valued may require you to constantly monitor what’s drawing in the most leads and include your findings within your sales strategy. 

2. Your budget has altered 

Depending on your company’s progress, you may be bringing in a lot more revenue than previously expected; or you may be losing significant amounts. While you may be able to predict what your future budget looks like when finalizing your sales strategy, you can’t be sure of what is around the next corner. 

If your budget changes, even a little bit, you may need to rethink what your current plan outlines as worth pouring money into and/or determine if you can afford to dedicate any more dough to your quest towards conversion success. 

Overhead costs, facility fees, wages, capital investment, and various other expense factors may determine how much you can afford to invest into your sales tactics. 

3. You have new products or services available 

If your team has created one, two, or even 20 new products and services for your clients to relish, your current sales strategy may fail to reflect such. If, for example, your website is littered with outdated photographs of items that you don’t even stock anymore, your customers are less likely to embrace your new forms of innovation. 

Clear and strategic marketing of any new additions is crucial to effectively sell them to your desired audience. If your current sales plan doesn’t reflect the nature of what you are currently offering, you may be digging yourself into a hole filled with miscalculations and inaccuracies rather than giving your business the best chance to seal the deals. 

4. Your lead generation is lacking 

If your current marketing analytics suggest an underwhelming number of generated leads, your sales strategy most likely needs rethinking. More often than not, failing to land new leads comes down to how you are targeting your desired audience as well as who that audience actually is. 

If your target market is too broad, your services may not appeal to or succeed in attracting the few who are interested in your niche. Honing in on a particular group who have already shown interest in your market area and/or are more inclined to do so than others may prove more beneficial than throwing generic bate into a sea of shopping carts. 

A few common mistakes in lead generation include:

• Failing to understand your audience.

• Neglecting search engine optimization (SEO).

• Your sales and marketing teams aren’t aligned. 

• You are using the wrong channels of communication/online platforms. 

• Your marketing content is stale or outdated.
  

5. Your target market is diminishing 

If you’ve set up camp within a specific market niche, thinking that it’ll never die out, you may be forced to face some harsh realities of the everchanging nature of consumerist trends.

What is popular one month may be completely obsolete the next. Of course, some markets will remain relevant and only continue to grow.

If, however, you suspect that your service/products will become replaced by other companies’ levels of innovation or simply fall victim to a short lifeline, it may be wise to choose a different market to create within. (2) 

6. Website traffic and conversion rates are low 

If your sales strategy has failed to acknowledge the level of significance around website functionality and traffic optimization, you may have shot yourselves in the foot. To maintain and increase conversion rates, it is essential to ensure that your website is appealing and user-friendly. (3) 

If you have succeeded in turning prospects into leads, it is vital to confirm that your page’s functionality and aesthetic appeal completes the sequence of converting said leads into paying customers. 

If, for example, your beloved audience reaches the checkout only to be met with bugs and glitches, they are more likely to bolt the other way rather than complete the transaction. Pouring an appropriate amount of your budget as well as your overall business plan into website enhancement is crucial. 

7. Your use of communication channels needs to improve   

Similar to the last point, if you are failing to attract customers through your existing platform use and methods of advertisement, it may be time to adopt new channels—social media—and upgrade your current platforms by implementing creative techniques. 

This may include:

• Posting new photographic and video content.

• Offering giveaways.

• Asking for feedback.

• Hosting webinars and live chats.

• Utilizing influencers and brand ambassadors.
  

8. You are failing to deliver consistently 

If you’ve promised too much of your company and its abilities to your customer base within your sales plan, a revision may be needed.

If you can’t keep up with the demand, your business may be more likely to flop sooner than anticipated, or your employees may head straight towards burnout. Adjusting your strategies according to what you can realistically produce/handle is key. 

9. Poor feedback and reviews

Poor customer feedback and low-star reviews may be indicative of miscommunicated or misleading material on your part.

If you are confident that your products and services are worthy of sale, then negative responses may be a result of unprofessional communication and/or dysfunctionality of platforms (as mentioned above)—ultimately leading to disgruntled and misunderstood clients.

10. Your competitors are taking over

If your competitors are running circles around you and poaching your company of their leads, it is probably worth adjusting your methods of sales accordingly and confirming that you hold onto a competitive edge.

To stay ahead of the game, it is important to have some form of security at the foundation of your company that can’t be easily crumbled by a market rival. 

Final thoughts on revising your sales strategy

If your current sales strategy is failing to effectively reach and inspire potential leads or your existing clientele, there may be several reasons for such worth considering and rectifying.

Covering all your bases and ensuring every company department is optimized to allow your sales and marketing team their best chance at delivery is key. This may involve closely inspecting your company’s progress as well as customer behavior to your promotional material. 

Rolling with the punches and staying up to date with the current trends of the sales world may save you from becoming redundant and outdated. Keep an eye out for any alarming signs and be ready to jump to action to address them effectively.  

References: 

1. “The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Trends in 2021”, Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-trends
2. “5 Steps To Find Your Perfect Niche Market”, Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2019/03/17/5-steps-to-find-your-perfect-niche-market/?sh=1f066e29c39f 
3. “What’s a Good Conversion Rate? (It’s Higher Than You Think)”, Source: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/03/17/what-is-a-good-conversion-rate