Less enquiries and sales this year? What you can do about it!

Less enquiries and sales this year? What you can do about it!

You may have noticed that enquiries and sales have slowed a little this year compared to last year. It’s not surprising considering we have experienced a Federal election, a State election in NSW, the banking royal commission and a downturn in the property market. However, enquiries and sales have definitely spiked a little since the election result was decided on May 18,  but what can you do to give your business the boost it may require?

Get Proactive

It all begins with your attitude and approach. Nothing will change if you complain about a slowing of enquiries/sales and just focus on protective strategies. Remember, if you start feeling the pressure and don’t have a clear plan on how you will inject some vitality into your business, everyone within your business network (team, potential clients, suppliers, alliances) will be negatively affected by your lack of positive action.

Get more proactive with your marketing

It’s crucial to have some marketing strategies that you constantly use every month. The key is to be consistent and don’t sell to your audience all the time. The mistake some businesses make is they only actively market their business when work slows down. This is a reactive approach that only has minimal success because consistent marketing has an accumulative effect and must be done regularly – 12 months of the year. If you are a little stumped and need some inspiration, I suggest you look at some of the businesses in your industry and beyond that market their business well.
Also, what have you been doing to build the relationship with your current and prospective alliances that send you work or could send you work.

And remember plan your social media posts so the messages and images resonate with your target market. I think you get the picture…Get Proactive!

What other key areas need a revamp

Another important business development strategy is to look at other key areas of your business with someone else (like a Co-Director or Manager) and be honest about the effectiness or clunkiness of your current processes and systems. In other words what works well and what could be improved.
These key areas are Sales, Quoting, Tracking Jobs, Project Management, Finances (P&L), Team Building and HR, Morale, Accountability in many areas, Office Administration.
Just take one area and conduct a brain storming session with the other person or people you select. Be honest about your current processes and what needs to be changed. Even if you don’t necessarily know how to change them, don’t let that deter you. Discover what needs to improve and then chat to a friend or peer who runs a business and exchange ideas.

Shaving Costs

Many business owners automatically start shaving costs when the market tightens, but be careful not to cut costs and affect the standards you have set in your business or create an obstacle to winning more work. It is important to maintain the high standard you have developed and keep progressing forward with a strong intent to grow sales.

Also be careful not to focus on just cost cutting when you would be better off focusing more time on implementing marketing strategies or improving another area to make it run more efficiently and profitably. I am not saying don’t save money where you can, but don’t make this your only key strategy.

So in a nutshell the core message in this article is about being proactive in your business, and by taking this approach your business will benefit beyond expectations.



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