Sales revenue growth is generally top of mind for most management teams. First, it increases shareholder value and financials. Secondly, sales revenue growth allows for reinvestment in people, innovation, and facilities.

It’s not accidental or magic. Sustainable and predictable sales revenue growth is a result of quality leadership, culture, and strategy. When they effectively work together, the organization develops competitive advantage.

When sales revenue is strong every department looks like a positive contributor. When sales are challenged, departmental imperfections are illuminated. The financial reality is that when sales revenue is off plan, it’s sometimes a result of other internal performance challenges.

Sales revenue growth and profitability are a result.

In our view, each and every department contributes to sales revenue growth, not merely the sales team. Each department contributes to competitive advantage and customer loyalty.

All Eyes on the Customer

Organizational quality is not just about product quality, it’s the result of every department focused on improving the customer experience. Customer satisfaction is transactional. Customer loyalty is earned from the total experience and perception of the organization.

When customers have positive transactions and perception time after time, customer loyalty grows. When transactions are inconsistent for any reason, so goes customer satisfaction and ultimately, some level of customer loyalty.

Customer Retention

What is not true is sales departments have 100% responsibility for customer retention. This occurs when company business practices are responsible for customer attrition.

More often, it’s because the organization failed to be customer centric. That is, when the entire organization fails to be focused on customer satisfaction.

Quality customers limit their exposure to risk. Sometimes customers use price as an excuse. More often, it’s about deficient business practices and communication from departments other than sales.

When customer attrition exceeds new customer acquisition, sales revenue diminishes. It’s the leaky bucket syndrome.

The following are five top influencers of sales revenue growth. 

Sales Revenue Influencers

Communication

Customers want to trust suppliers. Suppliers effectively communicating with customers build positive perception. Often, positive perception allows suppliers to become preferred suppliers. These suppliers gain competitive advantage.  

The same holds true for employees. Quality employees want to trust company management. They want to communicate with customers and know management is supportive and working to solve their challenges.

Enterprises with superior internal communication skills build positive employee perception. Employee retention is a key performance indicator of communication quality. And remember, every employee is a customer ambassador.

Failure to communicate really means an “Absence of Quality”.

Communication is a cornerstone of leadership, cultural environment, and effective strategies.

Does your organization effectively communicate with both customers and employees?

Sales Team Quality – Focus on Strategic Accounts

Strategic accounts generally have three criteria.

  • Those with the greatest potential for significant and profitable sales revenue volume
  • Those with the ability to become satisfied and loyal customers
  • Those who invite innovation

If the customer profit margins are so low there’s no room for sustainable profit, is the strategic customer really strategic?

Organizations choose their customers to solicit. Quality customers realize low price suppliers have liabilities. They often mean poor quality, service, and support. Fair profit means fair value for both parties.

Sure, smaller accounts are generally easier to sell. Every company needs an abundance of smaller quality customers who are loyal, pay their bills on time, and are open to innovation.  

However, smaller customers often do not have the capacity to significantly grow a company’s overall business. Generally, it takes a substantial number of smaller accounts to equal a strategic account. And overall, the cost of sale is generally higher with smaller accounts.

Does your sales team have the capacity and skills to sell strategic customers?

Distribution Quality- Order/Fill/Ship

Customers expect 100% of their orders to be consistently and accurately filled and shipped on time. Industry purchasing agents generally report a significant amount of their time is spent tracking down incomplete or late orders.

Suppliers consistently achieving close to 100% customer order-fill-ship gain positive customer perception. Quality suppliers form a preferred relationship with customers. To be fair, it’s not a perfect world.

Occasional challenges are different than frequent challenges.

Inconsistency forces customer purchasing departments to become indifferent to suppliers. Suppliers become irrelevant with inconsistent business practices.  

Then there’s larger customers who measure order, fill, and ship KPI’s (key performance indicators). These customers do understand source versus symptom.

If we place ourselves in the customers chair, why would we risk inconsistent performance from a supplier?

Does your organization order-fill-ship performance indicators approach 100%?

Customer Service Quality

Customer Service is a communication gateway. I’ve found the department is a barometer for customer perception and satisfaction.

What happens when identical customer challenges happen daily or frequently? Is customer service solving for source or symptom?

Today companies use technology for order transactions. However, it’s Customer Service who interprets customer challenges, and resolves complaints. They contribute to establishing customer perception of the organization.  

When companies fail to distinguish between source or symptom, customers go elsewhere.

Does your organization measure and benchmark the customer experience?

Product or Service Quality

Customers assess the quality of their product or service with every order. Realistically, it’s challenging to be at 100% in manufacturing or service.

However, effective Quality Assurance should identify challenges before they reach the customer.

Quality Assurance is the gatekeeper of the manufacturing/customer relationship.

How customers value the brand certainly is influenced by quality. Inconsistent quality contributes to customer attrition and negative sales revenue growth.

Again, it’s not a perfect world, but we can mitigate customer risk though best practices.

Does your organization measure and benchmark product or service quality?

Summary

Sales revenue growth and profitability are a result. When all departments focus on achieving customer satisfaction, sales revenue expands.

Positive customer perception allows for greater innovation opportunities. By providing more goods or services, the more valuable a supplier becomes. Greater penetration means greater competitive advantage.

Article Author

Paul R. Fournier is President of Tacticware Business Systems. He provides and supports business systems in Management, Culture, and Strategy.

Our systems allow organizations to go faster and further. Systems training, cultural assessments, and consistent support allow us to achieve your vision. Learn more about transforming your business by contacting Paul Fournier.

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