Because of the tough economy, home sales have been slow in many parts of the country. And even the refinance market is not as strong as it could be, if one looks at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index.
But even in a sales slump, said David Mattson, chief executive of Sandler Training, businesses can be profitable and productive. However, they need to avoid "knee jerk reactions" that will keep them in a rut, he continued.
He created a list of seven things to avoid when confronted with a sales slump.
First, many companies abandon their sales procedures in a slump in an effort to find something that works quickly. Mattson explained a sales process defines what needs to happen in order to complete a sale.
The second mistake is to just focus on revenue. There also needs to be a focus on behavior. A business must know what behaviors are taking place in order to achieve favorable sales results.
Next is a big one, stopping prospecting activities. "While it is important not to neglect your existing customers, you always need to be on the lookout for new customers in anticipation of the peaks and valleys throughout the year," Mattson said.
Eliminating marketing and advertising is another mistake. Now is the opportunity to get "mindspace" with customers and prospects. Part of this is following up on leads generated through your marketing program. "Simply following up on leads could allow you to come out of the slump stronger than your competitors," he said.
Fifth is sales managers micro-managing the day-to-day activities of their staff, while sixth is pushing aside the activities that made the company successful in the first place.
Finally, failing to plan for seasonal slowdowns. Even though the mortgage industry is in a universal slump, the housing sales business still has seasonality to it and thus need to be taken into account.
