Improve your sales in the fourth quarter

In recent months, the demand for manufactured goods has softened, according to published statistics.

This may be a normal summer phenomenon, or it may be as a result of the contentious election ahead this fall, where companies are waiting to see the results while they firm up their plans for the balance of 2024 and going into 2025. Many business owners feel that they need to know which party will have the majority in the election, as the tax policies appear to be completely different from one party to the next, which will impact their businesses substantially going forward.

Regardless of the tax policies after the election, companies need to be mindful of improving their sales going forward for the rest of the year to meet their goals for this year. When the demand is lower for the products of the company, it is time to take another look at the sales of the company and how to improve those sales. How is this done? Here are a couple of different ways that may help your company:

• Go old school — Some of the old adages come to mind such as, when the going gets tough, the tough get going; or, someone is buying the product that you are selling, why aren’t they buying it from you? Many companies send their sales team out with these old adages thinking that the adages will help the sales representatives for the company to sell more. The best sales reps that the company has may end up selling more with these adages, but they may have sold more anyway, just because they are great sales reps.

• A better way — Your company may sell a variety of product offerings. It is a good idea to analyze the products that you sell and who the buyers are who buy them. If you are selling to other companies who are in a market that still is robust, or relatively recession-proof, that may be a market to concentrate on by marketing more to that sector.

• Once you have identified this sector of the economy, have your company be present in that sector. If there are trade shows or associations that your ideal customers are part of, be a part of those organizations. Have your team be proactive in volunteering in those organizations, so that they can meet more prospective leads in that sector.

• Identify the needs of those customers in that sector, along with who is the competition that sells to those customers, and determine what those competitors are not providing to those customers.

• Provide education and insights to your prospects in that sector, whether these be industry trends, value ads that help the customer increase their sales by using your products, or your company’s leadership in that sector.

• Look at what your company does post sale. What can you do to keep the existing customers coming back for more?

• Consider speaking at events, as management consulting firm, trade groups, and others are always looking for speakers for their events that will add value to those events.

• Listen to customer feedback. This can provide valuable insights into how you can change your product offerings, provide more compatible products that give your customers better results. Sometimes it takes a time of less demand for your company to listen to your customers.

• Most of all, train your sales team for the current sales reality, and what they can do about it. Don’t leave your B-players in the lurch to find their way in this economy, as they will get discouraged and leave you. Instead, train so that your B-players can get better and become more like A-players.

If you execute a plan using these items, you not only will increase current sales, but you also are creating sales well into the future, along with your company becoming known as the go-to company for your customers.

• Denice Gierach is an attorney, CPA, Northwestern University business master's graduate, and has owned several businesses, including in real estate and manufacturing. She is the lead attorney at Gierach Law Firm in the Chicago area.