“Sorry, we don’t carry that item.” Or perhaps, “No, that’s not part of our service package.” How many times a year do your salespeople utter these words or ones like them? The specific number is critical because, if you do not know it, you could be losing out on profit potential.

Although you have to focus on your strengths and not get too far off base, your customers may be crying out for a new product or service. Among the best ways to hear them is to track lost sales data and decipher the message.

Three steps to success

A successful lost sales tracking effort generally involves three steps:

1. Get the data. Ask your sales associates to log every customer request and to question customers further to get at the heart of what they need. Train sales associates to record information such as the date of request, item requested, and the reason the item was unavailable.

2. Crunch the numbers. Calculate how much you could sell if you had the new items in stock or offered the additional service. Naturally, you will need to keep in mind that meeting customer demand might involve spending money on equipment or personnel to expand your product or service line. Key data points to examine include:

• Estimated potential purchases
• Potential sales losses
• Estimated gross profit losses

Develop a report that lays out this and other information, so you can see it in black and white.

3. Talk about it. Run a lost sales report monthly and discuss the results with your management team. Seek to establish consensus on where your best strategic opportunities lie. Sometimes you will want to be patient and let trends develop before acting. Other times, you might want to strike early to seize an underdeveloped market.

A better grip

Lost sales are lost opportunities. By getting a better grip on your customers’ needs, you can build a stronger bottom line. Please contact us for help creating and maintaining a lost sales tracking system that best suits your company’s distinctive needs.