How To Overcome Sales Hurdles For SME Growth
by Andy Gibbins on 31-Jul-2023 13:00:00
SMEs are the backbone of the British economy, but also face some unique challenges that do not apply to larger businesses or smaller independents – particularly when it comes to sales - which can hinder growth. For these reasons, which we will explore in this article, many SMEs reach a glass ceiling beyond which it is difficult to grow. To turn these obstacles into opportunities, we will look at each of the key sales challenges in turn and offer practical and cost-effective solutions that will help you drive more value and growth in your SME.
Developing A Strong Sales And Marketing Team
A strong sales and marketing function is crucial for any SME serious about its growth potential, and business growth is often limited by the time and resource constraints of the in-house sales team. The straightforward solution is to expand sales capacity by recruiting more people. However, recruiting and training the necessary talent in-house isn’t always straightforward, especially when capital is limited and skills are not widely available in your local area. However, there are several ways to overcome this hurdle:
- Make Your Hires Wisely – When hiring in-house, look for candidates with a solid background in sales and marketing, strong communication skills, and a passion for your industry. These aren’t always the most experienced and highly tooled candidates – promising young recruits or apprentices can also be a good long-term recruitment strategy.
- Invest In Training And Development – Ongoing training and upskilling opportunities will help your sales team stay competitive in an evolving business environment, increasing their value over time.
- Work with an agency/outsourcing partner – Remember that a strong sales and marketing function does not have to be exclusively based on in-house resources. Partnering with an experienced agency, such as JDR Group, will help your in-house staff resources go further, and magnify the total time, technology, and resource capital available to drive business growth.
Scalability Issues
As your business grows, you will inevitably reach capacity and operational issues that limit your ability to scale in response to demand. To successfully grow an SME beyond this point, you’ll need to find a sustainable strategy to maintain momentum while managing increasing demands. The most cost-effective approach to this hurdle is to engage the services of an experienced marketing agency, helping ensure that your SME is well-equipped to tackle scalability challenges head-on. Benefits of this approach include:
- Expertise – By partnering with a marketing agency like JDR Group, you’ll gain access to a pool of industry experts who can execute a fully-integrated and results-driven marketing strategy for your business, without you having to invest in the infrastructure internally.
- Time Savings – Let the marketing experts handle your marketing and sales strategy, enabling you and your team to focus on critical internal aspects of your business operations and decision-making.
- Cost Efficiency – Working with an agency can save you crucial money in the long run that can be invested in increasing your customer service and operational capacity, or on efficiency investments in other areas.
Time Constraints
Time is frequently a scarce resource for SME owners, who often have to wear many hats in order to keep the company going. To overcome this challenge and prevent it from impacting your sales potential, consider adopting a marketing automation platform and integrated CRM, such as HubSpot.
- Streamline Your Sales Processes – By automating routine but time-consuming tasks, such as email marketing, lead nurturing, and social media management, you free up more time to focus on strategic growth initiatives and business relationships.
- Personalise Your Customer Experiences – A marketing automation platform enhances the potential for customer engagement and personalisation, helping you retain customers and drive repeat business.
- Track Sales Performance – Leverage real-time insights to help you make better, data-driven decisions, optimise your sales strategy, and track your return on investment.
Technology Issues
Many SMEs struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing field of information technology, and it’s difficult to stay ahead of the curve and ensure sustained growth without sacrificing productive time that should be devoted to your core work. Working with an agency can benefit you by giving you access to the advantages of technology without having to invest time and capital into this field directly.
- Adopt Sales Enablement Technologies – An agency can set you up with tools such as cloud-based CRM systems, website chatbots, and video conferencing tools to maximise the potential of your sales team, improving their connectivity and efficiency.
- Stay Up-To-Date – Your agency partner will help you research and incorporate new technological advancements that benefit your industry and enhance our performance, without risking your time being wasted on passing trends.
Find Out More
Systematically approaching your growth restraints and sales hurdles head-on will empower you to overcome your day-to-day challenges and realise your business’s potential. To find out more about JDR Group and the approach we take, please get in touch with our team.
Image Source: Canva
- Inbound Marketing (SEO, PPC, Social Media, Video) (807)
- Strategy (350)
- Marketing Automation & Email Marketing (180)
- Sales & CRM (176)
- Website Design (157)
- Business Growth (145)
- Hubspot (123)
- Lead Generation (109)
- Google Adwords (97)
- Content Marketing (91)
- News (46)
- Case Studies (43)
- Conversion (43)
- Ecommerce (36)
- Webinars (30)
- SEO (22)
- Events (19)
- Video (17)
- LinkedIn Advertising (15)
- Video Selling (15)
- AI (13)
- Software training (13)
- Niche business marketing (11)
- The Digital Prosperity Podcast (10)
- Facebook Advertising (6)
- September 2025 (1)
- August 2025 (14)
- July 2025 (14)
- June 2025 (5)
- May 2025 (19)
- April 2025 (15)
- March 2025 (13)
- February 2025 (13)
- January 2025 (8)
- December 2024 (2)
- November 2024 (4)
- October 2024 (21)
- September 2024 (4)
- August 2024 (8)
- July 2024 (14)
- June 2024 (16)
- May 2024 (25)
- April 2024 (15)
- March 2024 (18)
- February 2024 (5)
- January 2024 (10)
- December 2023 (6)
- November 2023 (10)
- October 2023 (13)
- September 2023 (12)
- August 2023 (14)
- July 2023 (13)
- June 2023 (14)
- May 2023 (15)
- April 2023 (13)
- March 2023 (14)
- February 2023 (13)
- January 2023 (15)
- December 2022 (13)
- November 2022 (6)
- October 2022 (8)
- September 2022 (22)
- August 2022 (15)
- July 2022 (13)
- June 2022 (16)
- May 2022 (14)
- April 2022 (16)
- March 2022 (17)
- February 2022 (11)
- January 2022 (8)
- December 2021 (6)
- November 2021 (7)
- October 2021 (11)
- September 2021 (10)
- August 2021 (7)
- July 2021 (7)
- June 2021 (4)
- May 2021 (4)
- April 2021 (1)
- March 2021 (3)
- February 2021 (5)
- January 2021 (4)
- December 2020 (7)
- November 2020 (6)
- October 2020 (5)
- September 2020 (9)
- August 2020 (18)
- July 2020 (17)
- June 2020 (17)
- May 2020 (10)
- April 2020 (21)
- March 2020 (24)
- February 2020 (21)
- January 2020 (12)
- December 2019 (23)
- November 2019 (12)
- October 2019 (14)
- September 2019 (16)
- August 2019 (15)
- July 2019 (13)
- June 2019 (6)
- May 2019 (8)
- April 2019 (4)
- March 2019 (2)
- February 2019 (2)
- January 2019 (2)
- December 2018 (3)
- November 2018 (24)
- September 2018 (11)
- August 2018 (9)
- June 2018 (3)
- May 2018 (6)
- April 2018 (14)
- March 2018 (12)
- February 2018 (16)
- January 2018 (15)
- December 2017 (15)
- November 2017 (18)
- October 2017 (23)
- September 2017 (19)
- August 2017 (28)
- July 2017 (27)
- June 2017 (25)
- May 2017 (18)
- April 2017 (17)
- March 2017 (16)
- February 2017 (17)
- January 2017 (14)
- December 2016 (21)
- November 2016 (27)
- October 2016 (25)
- September 2016 (16)
- August 2016 (20)
- July 2016 (19)
- June 2016 (14)
- May 2016 (20)
- April 2016 (24)
- March 2016 (22)
- February 2016 (28)
- January 2016 (27)
- December 2015 (28)
- November 2015 (19)
- October 2015 (9)
- September 2015 (12)
- August 2015 (5)
- July 2015 (1)
- June 2015 (10)
- May 2015 (3)
- April 2015 (11)
- March 2015 (14)
- February 2015 (15)
- January 2015 (12)
- December 2014 (2)
- November 2014 (23)
- October 2014 (2)
- September 2014 (2)
- August 2014 (2)
- July 2014 (2)
- June 2014 (7)
- May 2014 (14)
- April 2014 (14)
- March 2014 (7)
- February 2014 (2)
- January 2014 (7)
- December 2013 (9)
- November 2013 (14)
- October 2013 (17)
- September 2013 (3)
- August 2013 (6)
- July 2013 (8)
- June 2013 (4)
- May 2013 (3)
- April 2013 (6)
- March 2013 (6)
- February 2013 (7)
- January 2013 (5)
- December 2012 (3)
- November 2012 (2)
- September 2012 (1)
Subscribe by email
You May Also Like
These Related Blogs

HubSpot: Your Secret Weapon For Small Business Growth
If you’re struggling to build and maintain strong relationships with your customers due to limited time and resources, HubSpot is your secret weapon f …

Maximising Your Time: The Role Of An Elite Hubspot Partner In Your SME
The UK is home to thousands of marketing agencies, from small family outfits and independent consultants to large content strategy and full-service ma …

Scaling Up With Marketing: Driving Your Growth Plan
In the unusual social and economic landscape of 2024, SMEs face a unique challenge when planning for growth. While the economy is now growing at a mod …