It is Easier to Increase Sales than to Cut Costs


By Bill Truax


We are constantly hearing about the importance of cutting costs to get a business back on track. I certainly believe that we should spend wisely, but serious cost cutting is killing some companies who could direct their efforts in a more productive manner that would benefit their company, their investors, and their employees a lot more. That is increasing sales.

Logically, you can only cut costs to a point after which you are basically out of business. Sales, however, have an unlimited potential. Why do folks not focus on sales as much as costs? I have asked business owners that question many times and here is what I conclude from their answers.

First, cost cutting is usually immediate and gets people's attention. So there is a quick return. Second, it is something that generally every department can do, so there is a dramatic impact on expenses. These of course are all short term answers to bottom line problems.

The intermediate and long term answer is increasing the top line – sales. That does take longer, but it sure has a lot more benefits. You can keep your employees, pay bills, and grow the business to name just a few.

The key for increasing sales is to start before disaster is knocking at the door. If your sales team has stalled in their growth, give them a boost. Get them Prospecting for new business. Get them some sales training. Get them out of their doldrums.

I don't mean to focus on Rah Rah stuff, I mean that they have to start doing something new. Remember, if you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same results!!! You want different results, so get them doing different things.

Being a sales trainer with a specialization in Prospecting, I feel this is the way to really get a sales force pumped up and producing. Sales Management has to lead the way in this regard. No sense in crying over spilled milk. Simply get on with changing the daily activities of the sales team.

If you don't have a formal Prospecting System get one. Have the sales people start Prospecting within their customers. Most of the people I work with are not selling all they can within their existing customer base because they only call on one or two of their Prospects. Call on everyone within a customer who can use your products or services.

Follow up on old customers and Prospects on whom you have given up.

Then start Prospecting on new people. Prospect every week, not just certain times of the year. Sales Managers should be keeping track of new Prospects and the follow up made on them.

Pretty soon you will see that the top line is growing and for some reason everyone in the company will start feeling better. This all happens when leaders learn that it is easier to increase sales than to cut expenses.

Sell Well and Often,

Bill Truax

© Copyright 2006 WJ Truax

Bill Truax is a sales trainer and consultant living in Cleveland, OH. He has written 3 books and recorded 2 CD's regarding Prospecting in the commercial/industrial marketplace. He offers Prospecting Kits and other materials for sales professionals. Visit his website http://www.BlitzCall.com and sign up for his Free Prospecting Tips.


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Management Information:

Related Articles

Seeking Help
Where does the time go? Billable time. As a consultant, your practice may be doing reasonably well; you're charging $100-150 an hour.
Lessons From Innovative Companies
What do the companies 3M, Polaroid, and Walt Disney have in common? All have innovation in their blood. All encourage an innovative spirit at every level of their organization.
Why Your Company Needs An E-Mail Policy
Everyone at the office thought that using the company e-mail system to share jokes and funny stories was great fun. That is, until one offended employee decided to sue his employer for having helped to create a hostile work environment.
Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Begin With Goals
Goals are critically important for the success of a meeting. You must know what you want so you can ask for it.
Using, Choosing, and Using an educational consultant
IntroductionThe aim of this document is to provide advice and guidance in choosing a consultant in the field of education. You may be the headteacher or principal of a school or college, an officer in a local education authority (LEA) or school district, or the director of a private company wishing to undertake work in the educational sector.
How to Get the Best from Outsourcing
There's a great little article ('Business Lifeforms') on the back pages of the UK's leading management magazine, Management Today each month. It's a spoof (at least I think it is!) about some fictitious key player in a fictitious organisation.
25 Super-Practical Steps to Build Your Business!
For the past several weeks, we have focused on some wonderful but (to my way of thinking) rather fancy ideas about life. I wrote about motivation (I don't believe in it).
6 Steps to Effective Communication
Effective leaders are known for being excellent communicators. Here's what to do.
Get Down With OCP: Evaluating DBA Job Applicants in an OCP World
Not long ago, weeding through DBA applicants with a tech interview was a straightforward process. You'd ask candidates 200 or so technical questions.
Creativity and Innovation Management :- Thought Leadership
Leadership is only sustainable when leaders consistently come up with good ideas - when they are dependable thought leaders. It follows then that leaders would be more effective if they knew how to manage creativity and innovation.
Avoiding The Sheep Dip
It is a sad fact that many employees are still being subjected to the age old training ritual of "sheep dipping". This is a process by which employees are "refreshed", "cleansed" and "re-invigorated" by ensuring they attend set training courses or, perhaps, are placed on the ubiquitous "refresher" course.
Leadership in Troubled Times
Leadership in Troubled Times The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive. - Joe BattenLeading an organization can be challenging, even when times are good.
Dont Hire Squirrels to be Your Top Dogs
Bad hiring decisions cost organizations, both in dollars and lost opportunities. But getting the right people in the right places doing the right thing is not easy.
How Managers Can Help Retain Their Best Employees
A major problem for employers today is attracting the best talent, and then retaining key employees. Research shows that the key ingredient for retention lies within the manager's ability to understand what employees really want.
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines:Choosing an Effective Employee Recognition Program
This article relates to the Recognition competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of how one company found the right recognition program by paying attention to employee feedback.
3 Ingredients of Highly Profitable Organizational Change
As waves of organizational change sweep across the business landscape, a huge question arises: What must a leader do to make sure change produces highly profitable results?To find out, I uncovered exactly what executives did who planned and implemented organizational change that produced $10-million - $1-billion in profit improvement.I discovered that highly profitable organizational change requires three key ingredients.
Juggling Demands in an Organization
JUGGLING DEMANDS: All leaders constantly juggle a multifarious array of demands from those of their organization, employees, and themselves. Good leaders, never drop one demand at the expense of another equally important requirement.
The Professor Makes A Minus Power Move
If you think the power move has costs, consider the alternative. We are talking -- four friends -- bringing one another up to date on our personal and professional lives.
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Creating a Culture of Empowerment
This article relates to the Culture & Climate competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. AlphaMeasure defines climate as the effect an organization has on the employees, while culture refers more to the acceptable behaviors, attitudes, and habits of the organization as a whole.
Quality Staffing: Stop Placing the Wrong People in the Wrong Jobs
You can possibly teach a turkey to climb a tree - but it is a lot easier to hire a squirrel. Quality staffing means selecting the right people with the right skills for the right jobs and at the right time.