What Causes Sales?

Just about every business tracks its sales in some way or another. But not all of them track what causes sales. Curious, don’t you think? If we know what causes sales, we can do more of that (whatever “that” is), and our sales will go up. So why wouldn’t we want to track what causes sales?

In some cases, it’s pretty easy to see what causes sales. A company that relies heavily on telemarketing knows that if a salesperson makes 100 calls, he or she will reach the correct decision-maker 35 times, and of those, 10 will result in an appointment. Of the 10 appointments, 4 will result in a sale. So it’s simple. Calls cause sales. So if you want more sales, just make more calls.

Another company, in the construction business, consistently wins 16% of all the bids it submits. Want more sales? Just submit more bids.

A gourmet restaurant noticed that whenever a newspaper or magazine gave them a favorable review, their reservation calls surged. So they redirected money from their advertising budget and hired a public relations firm.

But what causes sales is not always so apparent.

Consider a business that advertises heavily in a variety of different mediums but can’t track which mediums are working and which are not. As a department store mogul once famously said, “I figure only half of my advertising works for me, but I don’t know which half.”

Or worse yet, consider the business that depends on referrals to bring customers to its door. Typically they will say, “We don’t know. People just come to us.” What they should be saying to themselves is, “If we’re a referral business, how can we drive referrals?” Maybe they should intensify their networking activities, or maybe they try offering an incentive of some kind for past customers to refer new business.

The point is, we can’t drive sales unless we know the root activity that starts the sales ball rolling. What causes sales is different for every business, and in some cases where the sales driver is not obvious, it may take some creativity and effort to find it, but it can always be found. And once you find it, you will have the tool you need to set a sales pace that’s appropriate for your business.

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