BizSugar.com › Sales › What to Do When You Need Sales Fast : Issue 1 of the Outside In Newsletter | Ian Brodie

In the current economic climate, many professional firms are facing the challenge of bringing in new business in a very short space of time — for example, to replace the lost revenue of a major client who has stopped buying, or to “fill the gap” when engagements are delayed. In some cases it's a “do or die” situation — they need to chalk up new sales in a month or two or face layoffs or worse.

Unfortunately, for professional service firms, accelerating sales is not simply a matter of running a campaign or pushing the partners and business developers harder. The lead time for a sale is usually much more dependent on the client's timetable than the professional's — and pushing too hard, too fast can very often backfire.

However, there are ways of generating sales in short timeframes — if you have a strong understanding of the key sales drivers.