Sales or scale? Why growth requires answering this question first.

If you want to grow the operation you're running and are ready to make some changes, there are a few questions worth asking yourself early in the change process. Among them are, “Do you want sales, or scale?”

There is no right answer. 

Increasing sales today and establishing the foundation for aggressive, scalable growth in the future are both reasonable goals. But they are assuredly not the same goal. 

The promised land for both is growth, so in some respects, the difference is timing and, well, scale. You are choosing between increasing sales by some amount today versus increasing sales by some larger amount in the future. 

“Sounds great, guy, let’s get started on both.”  - Fairly rational businessperson 

Have you ever trained for a triathlon and strongman competition at the same time. It’s not impossible, but the output of resources invested in one area negates the output of resources invested in the other. In other words, you’re either going to swim, bike, and run your muscles away, or you’re going to drown (read: sink) in the ocean. And even if you don’t, efforts aren’t being maximized. 

How does the output of resources invested into increasing sales today adversely affect scalability, or vice versa?

So glad you asked!

Let me give you a real-life example mirroring that of most of the businesses we work with right now. 

Say one person (or activity) has been responsible for most of your business development. That may be a founder, an executive, or a unicorn-like salesperson. You’ve been happy with that effort, but you sense that you are nearing a plateau. 

If you want to increase sales immediately, chances are that getting more out of what you already have is a good place to start. That may include sales coaching, sales training, compensation plan modification, or any other number of ways to marginally increase that person’s capacity to sell. And if done correctly, it will work. When all is said and done, though, you’ve increased sales while also increasing the concentration of business development from that one person (or activity). That’s the opposite of scale. 

If, on the other hand, you want to establish the ability to scale future growth, the course of action is going to be very different. That may be in the form of analyzing the sales process to understand how leads are generated and followed up on, how and where data is stored, and how the sales conversion process actually works.

The objective is to create a system that can be replicated. And if done correctly, this, too, will work. But this process creates distraction for the top sales generator and reduces immediate production. That’s the opposite of increasing sales immediately. 

“Yeah, yeah. So, anyway... I want sales today and aggressive growth tomorrow. How do I do that?” - Fairly rational businessperson 

You can train for a triathlon and a strong-man competition, just not at the same time. 

Clarifying and prioritizing the goal is the first step in creating a realistic path forward. It also ensures you are aligned with all the stakeholders involved and use your resources efficiently, which is only important if you don’t have an infinite amount of time and money. 

So, do you want sales or scale? Do you want better sales techniques, tactics, training, and accountability? Or do you want a strategic, beginning-to-end sales system that can be scaled? 

The good news is either answer is correct, so we offer solutions for both. Please visit www.rayjgreen.com for more information.