A lack of speed kills sales.
We live in an “on-demand” world. Your favourite show or movie is available on Netflix at the click of a button. Your closest family and friends are all “in your pocket” and a quick text away.
This “on-demand” culture isn’t limited to entertainment. It translates to the business world as well.
Let me share an example.
A client we’ve worked with required their quotes to go out within 24 hours. They worked in a very fast-paced industry, and their customers would often reach out to a few companies at a time and go with whichever company was able to provide a quote first.
We discovered, though, that the quotes often weren’t going out within 24 hours. In fact, in various instances, the quotes would go out after 48 or 72 hours. And in some cases, they wouldn’t go out for a week!
Why? Because there was a single person on that inside sales team who was in charge of approving all pricing. She was a “pinch point” in the organization.
A similar example is with another company I worked with that involved a single member of a shipping staff being responsible for signing off on every order that left the warehouse. That means, if he called in sick or even went on a lunch break, shipping would temporarily be disrupted until he was able to return. Not a very efficient way to do business!
Yet, these scenarios are common across a variety of industries in businesses of all sizes.
So, it’s important for you to take a deep look at every area of your business and identify your own pinch points.
Are invoices being sent off in a timely matter? Are orders being shipped out with minimal delays? Are customer service representatives prompt in their replies to customer inquiries?
A lack of sales, yes, can be attributed to the sales department, but it’s not always so simple. You may need to take a closer look at other areas of your organization.
Get clear on your pinch points, and remove the friction other departments may be experiencing so you can capitalize on your opportunities…at a speed that your clients will appreciate!
I’m not saying you need clients’ beck and call every hour of every day, but they shouldn’t be humming Jeopardy music to themselves waiting on you either!
