increase sales in a bad economy period

Thanks Chris,

My company is located in Nigeria, we sell Inverters & solar products which many people need but the purchasing power of many are very low and no government grants for people to buy on credit.

The products are ment for many but the low income can't afford to buy and they are the majority in our society.

How can we make sales or improve our sales.

Regards, Femi

Femi, you are in a tough situation. You have a big market but nobody has the money to purchase. Are there government programs to help get local communities onto solar products?

Are these your products or are you just reselling and they are available for purchase in other nations and regions through other resellers?

We are reseller and we have other competitors who are the manufacturers from India that compete with us here too.

There is no government programs to help local people. How can we do it?

Thanks for your response.

Without knowing any more of the markets or your potential clients, it sounds that your home area is not a viable market for sales to consumers. I offer the following thoughts:

1. Are your competitors selling the product successfully? If they are, then they are selling for less than you. Unless you offer something of additional value above what your competitors offer, you will have to meet or beat their price to get sales.
2. Work harder to find those who have money and will buy the product at the price you want to sell it at.
3. Find out if the government is in the market for your products/services.
4. Look for other areas within your region or country who have the money to buy what you offer.
5. Go outside your region/country and find markets that can afford the products.
6. Look for other products/services to sell at price points that those in your region/country will buy.

Those are your only options at this point.

Hello Femi,
My company deals with office supplies but being in sales my whole career I have learned that it doesn't matter what the product or service is, it is more about who is selling those products and services. During the toughest part of the recession my company tripled in size. That is primarily because of our personnel. We were able to hire a great staff of people that in most economies would be overqualified for sales that includes a high amount of cold calling. We put a high focus on training, developed a STRONG commission package to motivate the guys to hit their numbers, and then mainly provided a great advancement opportunity for people who not only hit their sales targets but who mainly were able to develop and train others to do the same. Those people received an opportunity to manage future sales branches.
So basically if your guys are motivated based on the long term incentives you set for them your business will be successful. So focus on the people and not what they're selling.