Let’s face it. Things are bad out there. Businesses aren’t buying. They’re either scared or can’t get credit.
When times are good, anybody can sell. It’s at times like this that you find out if you’re really a sales professional… or just an order taker.
Here’s the good news. Chances are your competitor — the sales guy down the street — is obsessing about the economy when he should be out selling.
So that means that you’ve just been handed an incredible opportunity to capture what business is still out there.
Here’s EXACTLY how to turn the financial crisis into a sales opportunity:
- STEP #1: Calm Yourself First. Above all, keep your own negative emotions in check. You may be worried about the economy, your job, and everything else, but you can’t let those worries rule your thoughts and actions. Rather than focusing on the “big picture” of a collapsing economy (if that indeed is what’s happening), think about your current situation as if you’re starting a new sales job that presents some interesting challenges to overcome. Remember: even during the worst of times, some people (especially sales pros) end up winning. Let’s make sure it’s you.
- STEP #2: Assess Your Firm’s Viability. Take a good, hard, realistic look at your firm. How vulnerable is it? Is it about to go under? Is it at risk? How much risk? Stand back and look at your firm as if you were a customer. Would you want to do business with it? If the answer is no, then your first order of business is to find a job in a company that’s not going to go under. However, if your firm is basically sound and not at much risk of failure, there’s no reason for you not to go out there and sell like there’s no tomorrow.
- STEP #3: Craft a Corporate Message. The customer is going to be worried about lots of things. You don’t want the viability of your firm to be one of them. Figure out how you’re going to communicate the stability of your firm in a way that the customer will understand and believe you. Your personal guarantee won’t be enough. You should show the customer enough detail of your corporate financials so that they know, beyond all doubt, that your firm isn’t going to be a victim and that buying from you is a safe bet.
- STEP #4: Tune Your Solution Message. Here’s some good news. Your customer is afraid, so you don’t have to create an impetus to buy. All you need do is position your solution so that buying it lessens the customer’s fear. This is not the time for messages of of high risk that emphasize inspiration, empowerment and innovation. It’s the time for messages of low risk like protection, security and stability. Show how your product will protect your customer contact’s job and you’re 90 percent on the way to a done deal.
- STEP #5: Research Your Pricing Options. If there was ever a time to figure out different ways to finance a deal, this is it. Work with your CFO or other financial gurus on alternative financing plans, delayed payments, subscription fees, discounts, whatever… Because the customer might be having cash-flow problems, you want to be able to walk into EVERY sales situation with a bag of tricks that will allow them to make the smart decision and buy from you.
- STEP #6: Re-prioritize Your Opportunities. The financial crisis is changing the business landscape very quickly. As a result, a company that three weeks ago looked like a hot prospect might be a dead loser today. Therefore, you must run though your entire list of leads and opportunities and, based upon what you know and can learn with some research, prioritize your opportunities, based upon likelihood to buy and ability to pay quickly. Put your long-term “strategic” opportunities on hold.
- STEP #7: Re-qualify Your Customers. Each time you get in contact with a customer or prospect, use your questioning skills to determine whether or not they’re going to be a victim of the meltdown before they pay you. Once you’re relatively certain they’re a reasonable risk, use the flexibility of your financial options to determine the payment plan or method that will both make it easy for them to say “YES!” and maximize the likelihood that your firm will get paid.
- STEP #8: Work the Numbers. Set up an ambitious schedule of working through the steps of your sales process. And then follow it. One of the best things about a sales process is that it forces you to focus on the mechanics of selling rather than your emotions about the crisis. The regularity of making your 20 cold calls, or 10 referral calls, every day, like clockwork, is a great way to get a sense of accomplishment, even if your hit rate is (understandably) lower than usual.
- STEP #9: Decide to Enjoy Yourself. Everyone knows you should party when you pull off the big wins. But when things are difficult, you need to give yourself credit and lots of it, simply for plugging away. Your challenge is to keep enjoying yourself and your job, even though times are tough. Decide to feel good and then do it. If you’ve got the emotional moxie to stay calm when everyone else is talking Chicken Little at the water cooler, this could be one of most successful sales seasons of your entire career.
- STEP #10: Become a Leader. It’s going to be a bit harder to make the deals than it was a few months ago. So what? If you’re doing everything in the above steps, you’ll be outselling the competition, because your competitors will be busy fussing about the economy and wringing their hands. There’s a saying that true leadership consists of being able to remain calm during a disaster. This is that disaster; and this is the time for YOU to remain calm and make the best of the situation.
That’s my best advice, which is based upon my own experience during two recessions, as well as discussions I’ve had over the years with these top sales gurus:
- Sharon Daniels, CEO of AchieveGlobal
- Linda Richardson, Founder of Richardson
- Julie Thomas, CEO of ValueVision Associates
- Jerry Acuff, Author of The Relationship Edge in Business
Thanks guys!
Readers: Any further suggestions?
