Why Sales Process Solves Your Biggest Small Business Concern: CASH FLOW

You can say it in many ways. You can define it in many terms – from the technical to blunt: CASH FLOW is KING for small business.

The ability to survive and the opportunity to thrive for a small business both hinge on access to available cash.

Surviving means you have the necessary cash to cover overhead, expenses and payroll.

Thriving means your cash flow can support the orders, the inventory and the opportunities to move quickly.

When you don’t have available cash flow, surviving is a struggle and thriving is a fantasy.

If you don’t have access to cash, it’s difficult to hire effectively, order or manage inventory to maximize profitability, or expand/invest in capital expenditures at the right moment because you don’t know how or when you can fund these opportunities. {A business line of credit is a short term, temporary fix}.

What can help Small Businesses close the gap or prevent Cash Flow crisis?
A Smart Sales Process.

You might have thought of a different answer like “Sales. More sales solves all the problems”. But that’s simplistic thinking and you’ve still got to execute. It also glosses over a big way that sales strategy and sales process can help relieve some of the cash flow stress and uncertainty.

The key to maintaining positive cash flow is to ensure that you can maintain a steady inflow to compensate for your outflow. And “hope” does not ensure you maintain a steady inflow. You’ve got to have a strategy to sell consistently to make cash flow steady and a process that delivers repeat performance of sales.

When you create and execute your strategy through a smart sales process you can start projecting and predicting revenue – which helps you plan and appropriate your cash flow.

The activities and behaviors in the sales process are key to scalability and growth of your business in that they generate –

Predictable Outcomes – documenting buyer behaviors and successful triggers lead to intentional actions, desired outcomes, increased sales conversions and potentially higher margins.

Repeatable Activities – consistency in action by all sales and company talent reinforces customer experiences and expectations for success.

Measurable Results – sales performance, selling activities, customer acquisition costs, and campaign performance can be quantified and evaluated to understand success metrics and value of future business in pipeline (so you can make growth and investment plans).

– you’re not desperate for deals and tank margin for revenue just to pay the bills or cover inventory. You can also afford to be choosier and take better business. You’re not stuck accepting orders from customers who couldn’t pay or changed their mind. When you aren’t desperate, you can afford to do more pre-qualifying and reference checks.

Executing your sales strategy through your sales process is a stable foundation for stopping cash flow crisis and creates long term benefits that allow your business to not just survive, but THRIVE.

Until next time, stop hoping, start SELLING!

-sks

PS – What should your Sales Process include? Here’s our guide as why and what your Sales Process should include and if you decide to “Stop Winging It” – we can help you build a beautifully effective Sales Playbook.