Sales declines usually trace back to the same handful of avoidable mistakes: no dedicated sales function, playing defence instead of dominating, treating customers as wallets, no real sales plan, and no relationships beyond the transaction. Each one has a specific, actionable fix.
Why do sales strategies actually fail?
“Through my experience and interaction with different business owners and entrepreneurs I’ve learned that there are many reasons why a company’s sales may be down,” says Themba Nkuna, founder of the How to Sell Academy and author of How to Pitch, Sell and Multiply. His most common findings: businesses selling to the wrong target market entirely, or simply failing to track their leads once a conversation starts.
What happens when the founder is the only salesperson?
Nkuna’s first warning targets a common small-business trap: being the Chief Everything Officer instead of the Chief Executive Officer. “No one can run a business alone and no one can succeed alone,” he says. His fix is direct, build a team of skilled salespeople whose daily job is finding more business, because without a dedicated sales function, growth depends entirely on the founder’s own limited time and energy.
Is it enough to just avoid losing customers to competitors?
No, according to Nkuna, that’s a defensive posture that eventually loses. “So many companies are doing so much to avoid losing their customers, but not investing double the effort to gaining more customers.” His recommendation is to dominate rather than simply compete: invest in marketing and strategies that constantly communicate value to both existing and potential customers, rather than only reacting when a competitor makes a move.
Do customers notice if you only care about their money?
Nkuna asked business owners directly what comes to mind when they see a customer, and the most common honest answer was revealing: “We are mostly interested in their wallet and nothing else.” His fix is to go the extra mile with genuine added value, and to ask customers directly, “Is there anything else I can do to help?” Customers who sense they’re only being seen as a transaction disengage faster than those who feel genuinely served.
What does a “functional sales strategy” actually look like?
Nkuna’s diagnosis for businesses without one is blunt: things happen as they occur, with no real understanding of the sales cycle, which is precisely why sales aren’t happening consistently. His fix is a proper sales plan with measurable targets and systems to track progress, treating selling as a numbers-driven process rather than something that happens organically if the product is good enough, a framework covered in more depth in Shark Tank’s Marnus Broodryk on the sales advice new founders ignore.
Why does relationship-building matter more than the pitch itself?
“People buy from people they know, trust and like,” Nkuna says, and his practical advice reflects that directly: invite customers for coffee or lunch, to a sports game, or a round of golf, deliberately moving the relationship beyond pure transaction into something more personal. Customers who feel a genuine relationship with a business are measurably less price-sensitive and more loyal than those who only interact transactionally.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the single biggest reason small business sales decline?
According to Nkuna, the absence of a dedicated sales function, the founder trying to run every part of the business including sales, which limits growth to the founder’s own available time.
Should I compete on price to win back declining sales?
Not as a primary strategy. Nkuna recommends dominating your market through consistent communication and added value rather than purely defensive, price-based competition.
How do I build a proper sales plan if I’ve never had one?
Start with measurable targets and a system to track leads through your actual sales cycle, rather than relying on ad hoc effort whenever sales feel slow.
Originally published in May 2019. Updated September 2026.
