What if Sales Growth Isn’t Your Priority?

What if we prioritize culture and community impact over sales growth? This unconventional approach highlights the importance of adaptability in sales strategy, emphasizing quality over quantity. It’s a reminder that sustainable growth requires a holistic approach, focusing on client mix, strategic clarity, and embracing counterintuitive ideas for real progress.

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I had lunch with an executive who shared with me that they weren’t focused on sales growth. In fact, it wasn’t a goal at all to add more staff, increase sales, or to exponentially increase the size of their organization. They were perfectly content with where they were, the culture they built, and the impact they were having in the community.

I had to sit with that one for a moment, because it isn’t at all a typical conversation I have with prospects, clients, or leaders. Taking in this completely opposing viewpoint made me realize it’s the perfect fodder for this week’s blog.

Seven Lessons from an Unconventional Approach to Sales

There are some great lessons to take away from that one comment.

1. There’s no substitute for getting out of your office (home or otherwise) and sitting down in person with others. I learn more about myself, others, and ways I can help my clients when in person. There’s also power in getting into a completely different environment to challenge my thinking and create an abundance of new ideas. For more on that, I wrote a recent LinkedIn post about the latest professional retreat I attended.
2. Growth strategy and B2B sales strategy don’t live in a vacuum. Any strategy is impacted by disruption, unforeseen circumstances, global events, or industry shifts. While you can’t anticipate all of them, you can create an organization that consistently scans the horizon and is adept at change.
3. There’s power in subtraction when creating your sales strategy. My clients hire me to help them improve their businesses through sales strategy design. While often the focus is on addition – adding activities, adding metrics, adding processes, adding staff – we also get into deep conversation about what needs to be subtracted to create more room for success. What not to pursue in your sales strategy is even more important than what you choose to pursue.
4. Don’t pursue sales growth, well, because it’s what you “should” do. That’s the bigger message in the executive’s comment. Whether organic growth, or growth via merger or acquisition, not all sales growth is created equal. In fact, some sales growth can be so detrimental in that you can’t finance the growth, you can’t staff the growth, and the growth hurts your existing clients and culture.
5. Pay attention to and repair sales strategy leaks. Your sales strategy will “leak” in several key places: accountability to stay the course, prioritization when other challenges or opportunities arise, ongoing leadership support, lack of talent to implement the strategy, and infrastructure that doesn’t support the strategy.
6. Have clarity on client mix, and product/solution mix. This is about staying focused on marketing to and selling to your ideal clients, and strong clarity on selling solutions where you excel. Too many organizations get out of their lane by chasing a hot trend or pursuing unnecessary verticals. The outcome is shallow growth, and not growth that is sustainable for the long-term.
7. Counterintuitive ideas can fuel the sales growth you do want. Smart sales leaders absorb counterintuitive comments and alternative positions; they don’t immediately rebuff them. I could’ve rebuffed that executive’s comment as invaluable and an outlier. Instead, I said…”to be candid, that isn’t something I hear often. I’m interested to hear more.” Without that ability to absorb an alternative viewpoint, this article wouldn’t exist. I wouldn’t have been in a growth mindset to find the lessons in it and create ideas you can use to improve your business.

Optimize Sales Growth with the Right Sales Strategy

There’s no better time than now to focus on enhancing your sales strategies. I can help you and your team grow sales results through my sales training program, sales consulting, and sales assessment services. Let’s talk. Contact me to schedule time for a discovery conversation.