If you are trying to scale your business, selling more seems an obvious path to growth.

But what's going to get you to the destination faster? Developing the ‘driving' skills of your sales team to improve performance, or picking a different direction which includes changing your model and route to market?

The answer might not be as obvious as you think, so a good starting point is getting some independent advice so that you can appraise the situation with fresh expert eyes. It will be important to prioritise short and longer-term actions, too, depending on your starting point and the destination you've set.

Firestarter helps owners to get their businesses selling more, whatever their size or sector. For most, this requires some fine-tuning of practices, for others an entirely new direction unfolds.

So, based on our team's insights, here are three signs to look out for, and what actions each may require to get your business selling more, faster.

1. Growth has stalled and it's not clear why.

The problem

You've had successful periods, but growth has stalled and the business is plateauing. Why do the people and approaches that brought in sales in the past, appear to be less effective now?

The solution

Have you noticed inconsistencies in performance across your sales team in different parts of the country, or selling through different channels, perhaps?

When you get caught up in the sales cycle of pedalling hard to reach monthly targets, it can feel difficult to make time to lift your head and look around, and identify inconsistencies and possible causes. Perhaps you're not making best use of systems and data that you already have? Or it could be that you don't have the ‘rhythm and rigour' in your business to realise your full potential.

These are the fundamental building blocks of sales which not only help make improvements in the here and now, but also allow for accurate forecasting which supports longer term growth.

When it comes to your team, if complacency creeps in, this can also mean that leaders get drawn into the ‘doing'. This increased workload diverts attention away from broader strategic thinking.

2. It's harder than ever to get buyers' attention and complete the sale.

The problem

You have confidence in your product or service, but you're frustrated by how much more difficult it seems to get the attention and buy-in of new customers. The conversion pipeline is taking longer than ever.

The solution

Put yourself in your buyer's shoes. Ask yourself; what are they thinking? What do they really need? How is your solution going to solve their individual problems or challenges? Being able to clearly articulate what makes you different and better than the competition is an important part of this.

While this might sound obvious and overly simple, quite often businesses haven't given it proper consideration. What's most valuable to a customer may change over time, and if you haven't reviewed your value proposition in a while, the way you talk about your products may be unclear or lack relevance and need refining.

When you sit down and take stock, not only can it help provide much needed clarity and focus, but it can also reveal that what you thought you needed to do actually looks a little different. Really considering your proposition and the routes to market will help you sell more by reaching more people.

Having an outside perspective can be transformative. This can be a challenging process which requires honesty and a willingness to listen to feedback that might feel uncomfortable. Ultimately, it's about forming a shoulder-to-shoulder relationship that allows for growth by accepting improvements need to be made and embracing the journey to get there.

3. I don't have time to drive the changes needed.

The problem

You first established the business by getting out in the market and selling with deep personal conviction. You were hands-on and grew your sales team as the business scaled. Now, you recognise that it's time to implement some changes, but you simply don't have time to drive a programme forward.

The solution

Dependency on one or two senior people, with limited delegation routes, is a common challenge faced by clients. Businesses need someone to work with them on the ground to understand their challenges and help identify where improvements can be made.

Although it's business, it's also personal and this is an important. Often, there's a deep personal commitment from a business owner who is financially and emotionally invested. Leaders need support from an outside perspective, able to coach, guide and mentor them so that they have someone to talk to and advise them on the best course of action.

Often, that's all they need, but lack the confidence and/or resources to implement their own ideas, which is where the support of a trusted coach and mentor comes in.

So, whether you need support embedding practices that raise sales performance, or re-framing the entire business model, we can help you get to your growth destination faster.

If any, or all, of these three signs struck a chord and you'd like to know more about working with Firestarter, please get in touch firestartersolutions.co.uk