Leverage Sales Inertia

Many of the companies I work with and observe have certainly benefited from the growing number of new tools available both on and off-line to sell and market their products and services to target customers. However, I find that more often than not, it’s an old law of physics that companies must understand first if they are to increase sales and improve profitability: INERTIA.

Sir Isaac Newton described inertia in his First Law of Motion way back in 1687. Summarized, it states that, “In the absence of a net force, a body is either at rest or moves in a straight line with constant speed.” Anyone that has ever managed a sales force would agree that the laws of inertia Newton first defined hundreds of years ago might be the perfect way to summarize the behavior of many a modern sales rep. Inertia can be a powerful barrier to growing sales that have flattened or are in decline. However, the good news is that there are a variety of positive ways to introduce what Newton called a “force impressed” to increase productive sales activity, and once increased, the laws of physics will work in your favor.

My favorite “inertia breaker” is a targeted, customized, 30 to 90 day sales blitz. This is often the perfect catalyst to move bodies at rest into action. Designing and implementing a successful sales blitz doesn’t require hours of experimentation or a degree in physics. Just follow 3 simple rules and you and your sales team are almost certain to generate lasting, revenue enhancing results:

1) Set the Goal: Schedule a kick-off meeting. Make sure you define the goal of the blitz and answer the question sure to be on your team’s mind: “why are we here”. Assuming sales are stagnating or declining, outline the situation for them and discuss openly the impact on company profitability. Tee up the blitz as a catalyst to re-focus the team on achieving the company's true sales potential.

2) Define the Target: By definition, a blitz targets a specific result. In football, it is designed to sack the quarterback. For your purposes, make sure to define a specific product, service, or customer segment you want to attack. I find it helpful to engage in a brainstorming session with the team at this point. What product or service does your company have that is unique? At what customer type does that product best fit in your marketplace? Don’t ignore existing customers during this process. Sometimes the best opportunities are right under your nose.

3) Measure & Communicate Progress Frequently: There are several reasons to do this. For one, remember that sales people (good ones anyway) are competitive and like to know whether they are winning or losing. In addition, measuring and communicating frequently demonstrates that this initiative is important, and that leadership is watching. You might add a spif or other way to recognize significant contributions.

Banyan recently worked with a customer in the contract packaging business to design and implement a 90 day sales blitz using the principles above. The blitz generated over 100 new projects and increased sales by over 47%.

As Mr. Newton taught us, "An object will retain its state of motion, including stationary, unless acted on by an equal and opposite force." If you’d like some assistance getting things moving, please contact us. We’d love to help.

Darrin Dingman is President of Banyan Business Partners, a consulting firm providing outsourced executive management talent and hands-on consulting services to entrepreneurs, owners and C-level executives looking to add human talent to their organization without making long-term financial commitments.

Contact Darrin via email: darrin@banyanbiz.com