Jeffrey, What would be your first recommendation to a company whose sales are decreasing?

When sales go down, all kinds of hell breaks loose, and all kinds of fingers get pointed. All kinds of blame gets issued, and all kinds of panic sets in. Most people blame it on the economy when, in fact, the economy has little or nothing to do with it.

It’s interesting to note that at the point sales go down, more companies are interested in maintaining their “numbers” than they are in maintaining their relationships.

My first recommendation would be to call your existing customers and find out why. But this is almost NEVER done. When sales are decreasing, there’s a reason. Unless you find out the reason, you’re not likely to fix it.

Here are some strategic areas to look at:

1. The quality of your product is declining, especially as it relates to the pricing. The easiest place to detect this is reorders. If your customers have slowed their reorders, it might mean your quality or your technology is lagging behind.

2. Your competition is undercutting you and trying to steal some of your customers. This is a bigger problem if your customers perceive little or no differentiation between your products and your competition’s products.

3. Your salespeople are being outsold. The quality of your presentation does not beat the quality of your competition’s presentation. When sales are declining, one of the first areas cut is training. This is the one area that should be expanded.

4. Your sales tool technology is outdated. Here’s a good rule of thumb to follow: Every time you see a new model announced in the technology world (new phone, new computer, new iPod), immediately take a look at your own. Especially as it compares to your competition.

5. Your hours of operation are not in sync with your customers’ needs for your product. Call your business after hours and try to place an order for your product or your service. Or try to talk to someone in your company. See how easy or difficult it is. Then try to do the same thing with your competition. Customers tend to do business where it is easiest to do business. Visit your competition’s Web site. Now take a look at your own Web site. Which one would you prefer to buy from? Which one is easiest to navigate?

6. It’s not as easy to do business with you as it used to be, as it could be or as it should be. If you’re losing business to the Internet, it’s because someone else has made it easier to acquire the product or services you’re selling. If you’re moaning about it, you’re going to die. If you invest in it, you keep up or even get ahead.

7. You are not available enough, or not responsive enough, to your customers. What I am saying here is you’re being outhustled. This usually happens to people who have “been in the business for 20 years.” They’re the same people who can’t turn on a computer or complain that they continue to lose a sale for price. They’re also the ones who complain that their product has become a commodity.

7.5. Your market may be in decline, and even though there’s business for you to get, there’s not much of it. Take a look at the history of sales in your marketplace. Since last year, has your market expanded, stayed the same or declined? If there’s less business in the market, it means you have to fight harder to keep your share.

If you’re looking for a place to start, start by stopping. Stop blaming. Stop whining. Stop looking for excuses. Stop cutting. And for heaven’s sake, don’t panic. Invest your time in strategic planning with simultaneous implementation. Intensify training and have daily meetings that encourage rather than threaten.

Call your customers; they have the answers. Once you have assembled as many answers as you can, take action. Continue to get customer feedback until you begin to see the trend reversing. When it does, throw a huge thank-you party for your customers to reward them for rewarding you.

Wanna know what to ask your customers? Go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time user, and enter the words POWER QUESTIONS in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com.