Thoughtful Thursdays - Sales and business management

In most new or emerging small ventures the owner is responsible for managing all aspects of the business. No surprises here.

As discussed in an earlier post titled "Do you manage your sales activities?", time is the resource that the new business owner often runs out of first.

Today's thought is about managing your sales force activities from a business management point of view. As sales manager, you work closely with other members of your management team; marketing, operations and finance.

Exceeding sales expectations is a cause for celebration yet requires and benefits from detailed analysis, just as much as the opposite situation of having a sales shortfall does.

• What affect are your actual sales having on cash flow forecasts?
• Are accounts receivable being received on time?
• Will enough cash be available to pay for forecasted expenditures?
• Do activities have to be postponed or can they be accelerated?
• Are your costs of sales higher or lower than expected?
• How will this affect your planned activities?
• If activities have to be postponed, or can be accelerated, what effect will that have on achieving future sales?
• Is the excess or shortfall significant enough to warrant re-forecasting?
• Are you prepared to scale up or pare down?
• Are you set up to hire contractors or employees?
• Have your operational costs been accurately estimated?
• What affect is that having on profitability?
• Is your business profitable?

At any given point in time it is critical to know where you stand with respect to the following:

• Sales revenues
• Accounts receivable - what money you are owed
• Accounts payable - what money you owe other

There is an interesting case study about a business that experienced dramatic early growth. This sounds like a good situation, and if well managed it can be.

Click here to view the Ivey Institute for Entrepreneurship case study.

Good selling,
Richard