Let’s say your company did $10 million in sales this year and wants to increase sales next year by 10 percent. You’ll need to find another $1 million in sales, right? Wrong!

You’ll actually need to find another $1 million in sales plus enough additional revenue to replace lost business from customers who went out of business, switched to a competitor or don’t kneed your product or service anymore.

Straw polls done at seminars I conduct across the country show that most companies believe they need to replace 10 to 20 percent of their business each year just to stay even!

If this is true, your $10 million company needs to find $2-$3 million in new sales to replace lost business and meet a 10 percent growth goal. I suggest you use this higher number to help justify your sales, marketing and marketing communications budgets.