If sales are down, it’s easy to blame the economy, industry, government or your sales staff. However, these factors affect all businesses and your competitors equally. If your sales are down, it’s nobody’s fault but your own.

As the owner, you need to take “ownership” of your company’s sales. Some of you who came from the corporate world or don’t have a professional sales background probably get knots in your belly with the thought of making sales calls. You need a targeted, disciplined and accountable sales program. Whether you have delegated the sales function or are actively involved in it on a regular basis, you, as the business owner, must run regular reports, analyze and take appropriate actions to hold the team accountable.

Here are some creative ways to increase sales profitably.

Get out from behind the desk. It’s easy to hide in your office and “pretend” to be selling. Talking to only your favorite clients or suppliers is not selling. Get out of your comfort zone and be in front of your prospects and customers to build, nurture and strengthen relationships.

Maximize your “selling” time. Soliciting for new business, getting in touch with prospects physically or virtually, and putting together proposals, ideas and promotional solutions constitute selling time. Don’t justify attending things like luncheons and golf outings as selling time; look for ways to increase your sales productivity.

Diversify your customer base. Don’t have all your eggs in one basket. If the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that there are risks of over-concentration in a specific vertical market. Who would have thought financial institutions and the hospitality industry would ever crash as they did? As a result, several distributors deriving substantial income from these markets experienced a considerable drop in revenues. They were forced to lay off staff, and some, unfortunately, had to cease operations.

Strengthen cordial relationships with suppliers. It made me cringe when I first learned that some distributors ask for favors as a condition for supplier representatives to come in for a sales meeting or showcase new products. These favors range from food for the entire staff to exquisite gifts. Relationships built on mutual respect last much longer and are more meaningful than the ones in which suppliers are made to feel inferior.

A cordial relationship with the supplier rep could translate into a special pricing structure, privilege, service or concession that can sometimes be the difference between you winning or losing a contract. Suppliers are your partners – how can you expect to serve your customers well if your suppliers don’t come through?

“A cordial relationship with the supplier rep can sometimes be the difference between you winning or losing a contract.”

Become a trustworthy advisor. Many people in the industry write their title as consultant, solution provider, idea creator or other impressive-sounding words. But how many really and genuinely perform and deliver as such? Position yourself as an extension of your customer’s ever-shrinking department; be somebody whom they can trust and lean on. Make them heroes in the eyes of their supervisors.

When your customer’s supervisor calls to thank you for coming up with great ideas for the promotional campaign, do you simply accept the compliment? A better response would be to give credit to your customer and her creativity. This unselfish gesture goes a long way in cementing your relationship with your customer. With that type of attitude, on future projects, will price be as high on her list of concerns? I don’t think so. That’s how you shut the door on your competition.

Be a customer-service champion. Whenever a prospect asked me about my competitors, my answer was always: “When it comes to products, there are plenty, but as far as service is concerned, there are hardly any.” These weren’t just words – I meant them. I delivered what I promised every single time.

Always under-promise and over-deliver. Provide the most reliable and personalized service and become indispensable for your customers. Always be on the lookout for how you can do things that your competition can’t or won’t.

Stay ahead of the curve. What do you do after you come back from an industry trade show or educational event? What do you do with the catalogs, product samples, fresh info and new ideas? Don’t let them sit in a closet and collect dust – spend time learning about them. Along with product knowledge, stay current on industry trends and invest in self-improvement. Become a resource your customers can count on.

Develop raving fans. Building from the above two points, why would I need a sales staff if my customers were my raving fans out there? They sent me new customers and talked me up to other departments. With almost no sales expenses, what do you think it did to my profitability?

I will leave you with a magic question that can help you increase your profitable sales and open doors for additional orders. When you email a customer with their order tracking number or thank them for their order, end it with: “What other projects are you working on that I may assist you with? This open-ended question motivates the client to write a response rather than just a yes, no or thank you. I would love to hear the results you achieve with this.