by Thu Nguyen

Created on: August 20, 2010

Sales are the motivation behind every company and the unexpected increase can either make or break future businesses. For that, depending on how you manage and adjust accordingly a system which is already in place, smooth as you may think of it now, when it reaches a spike in sales it might take more than hiring, expanding or some other short-lived decision made on a whim. Reason being is it might only be temporary.

The secret thereon lies in a little planning ahead so that all the departments from operations to management, financial and finally staffing will be able to handle the workload. It might take a little bridging between a few departments but what other way will your employees become better connected to your company than at a time when you need them most? With that, here are some tips for handling the sudden spike in sales that may come.

~ Bringing in the Temps ~

A lot of things can happen during a spike but the most notable one in particular is how your staffing may be coping with the sudden outburst. As you don’t know how long the surge in sales may last, the urge to hire comes with the territory. This might be a big mistake as the spike may be short-lived and you end up with hirees whom you now don’t need. Then the decisions which weigh in can cost you more in the long run than help you profit. So temporary hiring is an option you might want to consider at this point when extra staffing is needed.

~ Cross Training Staff ~

Another way to handle the spike is to cross-train your staff. Give them incentives like bonuses, overtime and even a nice challenge that they won’t feel cheated for the extra work or even work of which they weren’t hired to do. Write a memo, have a general meeting and announced this so and schedule days which will let each department prepare and cross-train internally. Down the line, your employees will have then prepared for the emergency and will have act on it accordingly because you’ve already alerted them so.

~ Manage Sales Operation Conflict ~

How long it takes a product to be produced and how much orders are placed can conflict during a time of sudden need. Therefore it is essential that your sales team know exactly the timeframe on production that if the excess amount is ordered, it will not be delivered too late. This is crucial as the communication between both sales and operations can improve and in turn they can help each other out based upon the demand.

Priorities can then be made and those

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