Why Your Sales Are Struggling

It's been a tough time for many reasons and on many levels; there's no doubt about it. Many companies—big and small, established and start-ups—have struggled to hit their sales, revenue, and customer growth targets. But it's a cop-out to blame the economy and a lack of customer demand. Many organizations, unfortunately, simply aren't executing on all cylinders when it comes to sales and marketing.

What's more, when economic conditions improve, those same problems and misfires will still be around, and they can hurt your chances of accelerating sales and market share as the overall market and selling environment improves.

Below are six reasons your sales numbers might be suffering, each of which is within your control to address and improve—in good times and bad.

1. You Aren't Selling to the Right Buyer

Make sure you understand who the right decision maker is for buying your service. Is that person different from the eventual end user? Is there a third "influencer" that needs to be on board before the buyer will sign?

How well you understand the purchase and decision making ecosystem within the buying organization can make a big difference in whether or not you can quickly get to a "yes."