How Are You Spending Your Sales Capital?

by Jason Ogden | May 9, 2017

As I see it, there are three basic categories where sales opportunities originate:

1. Existing customers
2. Inbound (I’m using this term in a broad sense to include web leads, referrals, and opportunities you happen to come across being in the market.)
3. Target markets

If that is even loosely true, then a productive question is how are you allocating your sales capital across those 3 buckets?

I like to define sales capital as:

1. Time
2. Energy
3. Focus
4. Dollars

How are you allocating your sales capital?

Most small companies likely spend a less-than-ideal amount of capital on existing customers and target markets, and too much on inbound opportunities — especially if they lack the discipline to say no to the inbound opportunities that aren’t right for their business (here’s how to find your ideal customers).

If that’s true for your business, what can you do about it?  

Here are 5 things you can start doing once you realize you’re not allocating your sales capital correctly:

1. Admit it. Admit your current allocation isn’t what your business really needs and that changes need to be made.
2. Get disciplined. It’s okay to say no to inbound opportunities. Know when an opportunity is a bad fit for your company and get disciplined about saying no.
3. Focus on your existing customers. The energy you were likely wasting on inbound opportunities should turn into serving your existing clients. Remind them of additional products or services you offer, and find ways to upsell.
4. Dedicate time to focus solely on target markets. Make this a discipline. If financial resources aren’t there, use your time and energy. It will make a difference.
5. Check in. Be mindful of your ideal allocation and check in on it regularly — monthly or quarterly. If your capital spend doesn’t line up or is getting off track, make adjustments.  

We focus our marketing efforts on the right areas for your business so you can be sure you’re allocating your sales capital correctly. When you’re ready to see how we do that, let’s talk.