How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

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  1

  Mark Walztoni

  11/20/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Geoffrey,
  
  I completely agree with the points you've made, especially about the CEO speaking to customers.
  
  I also believe that the CEO has a place selling to potential customers because he or she can open peer dialogues with other C-Suite members, create urgency among the sales force when their CEO sets a specific date to set appointments, send the message that the organization is riding to the "sound of the guns" rather than hunkering down, and reinforce a sales culture.
  
  Best,
  
  Mark
  
  mark@markwalztoni.com www.sustainableventures alliance.com

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  2

  janetjbgb.com

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Geoffrey
  Excellent tips. We provide car sharing services to large corporates and councils. Although not lowering prices of existing products we are about to launch a new entry level product to make our services easily feasible for smaller organisations, who we currently don't deal with directly. No barriers for them to upgrade in the future. Shall also be taking on board some of the other points.
  
  Thanks
  Janet
  http://www.jambusterscarshare.co.uk

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  3

  tdhawkins

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  How timely is this? I've just had some email back and forth with the CEO of S&K Menswear, who is not too much of a big shot to answer some questions about this product and helped put me in touch with a local manager, and then I just read this. That CEO, named Joe, just cemented me as a customer because he served me.
  
  Now about the Big Three in Detroit (supposedly hat in hand) and their corporate jets!

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  TheFamilyInTheCar

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Thank you for the information. As an author in the market today, I need all the information I can get to continue promoting my work.
  
  Brenda Farrar-Ejemai
  author of: The Family In The Car, A Revelation
  www.TheFamilyInTheCar.com
  www.youtube.com/thefamilyinthecar

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  5

  TheFamilyInTheCar

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Thank you for the information. As an author in the market today, I need all the information I can get to continue promoting my work.
  
  Brenda Farrar-Ejemai
  author of: The Family In The Car, A Revelation
  http://www.TheFamilyInTheCar.com
  http://www.youtube.com/thefamilyinthecar

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  6

  Corporateplay

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Geoffrey,
  
  Much needed! I appreciate the succinct straightforwardness of your plan. I do respectfully disagree with #2 I understand the quality prospect theory. However you can severely limit opportunities by only calling on those who you "think will buy". Furthermore in the downturn economy when you run into the frozen budget excuse it often times is a legitimate excuse. So the prospect may be a great prospect just not able to purchase right now. This creates the opportunity to call on others who may be ignored by your competitors. Creating relationships now that will lead to future sales.I think #1 "getting aggressive" is tied directly to truly evangelizing your product while others are narrowing the scope. I recently posted a blog on this strategy.
  
  http://thecorporateplaybook.blogspot.com/2008/11/give-me-nos.html

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  Kristen Zatina

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Geoffrey,
  
  Your blog is truly a refreshing boost of positive energy at a time when all headlines across The Wall Street Journal and CNN leave me in a darker depression than the projected fate of our economy...
  
  Writing to you from a sales consultancy, we absolutely believe that a company???s best salesperson is its leader. I just checked our President???s Outlook calendar, and he???s actually on the road right now in between sales meetings. Why? Because as he summed up to our company???s team last month: ???If this is the winter of our economy, are we going to freeze to death or go for a sleigh ride???? Today, his SUV comes close enough to that sleigh.
  
  We recently posted a white paper that concentrated on the same idea of not just surviving the looming recession but actually thriving in it. While our paper focused mainly on the power of mindset in driving more sales, your tactical list is exactly the activity we believe should come from that winning mindset. (If interested, our white paper is available at http://www.entrequest.com/documents/EntreQuestWhitePaper-UpsellingaBadEconomyintoaGoodOpportunity.pdf).
  
  Thanks for this great sales call to CHARGE ahead and I look forward to reading more of your posts.
  
  - Kristen Zatina
  www.entrequest.com

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  CAROLV

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  I LOVE your blog and refer it my clients as well as quoting you on my blog (with full accredidation). What I am pronmoting in my seminars and consults is to 'sell into' the recession. There are stock market segments less affected than others -- find the companies and organizations within them and use them as your 'new targets' if it fits your market niche.
  
  I agree with the contrarian #1. WE have just had a book published and are launching a new web site with online trianing products and distance solutions.
  
  New Book -- Hotel Sales and Revenue Management Book 2.0 New web site www.carolverret.com - coming online next week!
  
  Keep it up Geoffrey -- I just choose not to read the RSS gloomy headlines that feed into my laptop and read your blog instead!!

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  BevBurger

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Hi Geoffrey,
  
  Thanks for the tips - all useful, and all easy to implement if "your company" is not already implementing them.
  
  Respectfully, I have one more to add.
  It is vital for companies MARKET THEMSELVES!
  
  I have seen a big drop off in marketing (especially in my field), and for those that are continuing to market their companies, they are still doing well (even in this market). (My department had the largest month we've had on record in October of this year!)
  
  We do a great deal of self-promotion, and have amped it up of late. I think the company that keeps their message out there will instill confidence in longevity.
  
  Thank you again for the tips.
  
  Bev Burger
  Director of Digital Solutions
  Hatcher Press, San Carlos, CA
  www.hatcher.com

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  10

  dg@...

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Whether it's a down economy or not the main objective of any professional sales person should be on need fulfillment (the customer's, not the rep's)
  
  Because of the economy,customer needs may be different than before but if there is no need (real or perceived) on behalf of the customer and you are still trying to "sell" them something, then you are probably just being annoying and alienating the possiblity of a future prospect.
  
  Help them solve a problem with your product/service/company and justify the cost in terms of what it will do for them and you will have earned that customer-in good times, or bad.

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  ndlicht1

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Thinking through why your product or serveice is even more valuable in a down economy to a prospect first is where to begin. Then define target markets, companies that can relate to the issue, agree with your identification of the issue and feel its pain. Now you are ready with a new 30 second commercial that "talks" in that way and can use it to call and get appointments to sell based on the connectedness of your approach.
  
  Thats a suggestion on how to sell in a down economy.

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  excellence2

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Geoffrey,
  Good points. However, shouldn't we ALWAYS be practicing these, and not just in a down economy? I would add, that in a down economy point #5 should be expanded to include everyone in an organization, i.e. everyone should be somehow involved in the sales and indeed the marketing process...everyone should become an ambassador for the company.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Brian Ward
  Principal - Affinity Consulting
  http://www.affinitymc.com
  http://www.Excellence2.com

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/21/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  QUOTE: However, shouldn't we ALWAYS be practicing these, and not just in a down economy?
  
  Uhhh... no. Restructuring a customer financial arrangement to be less advantageous to your firm is generally a very stupid thing to do. It only makes sense when you know that you might lose the customer if you don't. I don't believe in discounting your margin away just to make the customer happy.

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  clarkm

  11/24/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  I was very fortunate to enter my sales career with a company that believed every person in the organization was responsible for sales. Everything that you do, in some way, affects the customer. All of the executives sold as well, particularly the owner, CEO and Chairman of the Board (same guy). The president was our sales leader.
  
  This was a small business, yes, but a global organization with direct sales worldwide. So it can be done by anyone. Unfortunately it sold and now they're no different than anyone else. Customers expect to get an answering machine and openly express surprise when someone actually answers the phone.

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  michael@...

  11/25/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  Your point Number 2 if vitally flawed. You don't know who is going to buy, until you get out and visit them. Most salespeople try to over-qualify on the phone. You need to be seeing more people now and become more creative and flexible. Most people are not in the mood for buying and it will be hared to spot the ones who have the money, never mind the willingness. Your other points make sense, but your no. 2 point is old sales mythology followed by order-taking reps who are generally to lazy to work as a professional, proactive and useful salesperson.

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  16

  michael@...

  11/25/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  It's a myth that everyone in the company is a salesperson. It lowers the standing of true professioal salespeople, because it says that anyone can sell. Anyone can sound like they can sell (the "listen to me selling loudly" type) but very few people want to get out of bed each day, face into a quota or target and spend their time precisely in pursuit of that target. Leave that to the salespeople. If the CEO sells, give them a time-driven target, rather than letting them loose so that they start to (apparently) make the real salespeople look poor. CEOs love reporting back their big conversations and the ONE deal they would have landed anyway. Get them to move EXISTING deals along, or to open doors and/or carry a target, but don't have them running around like testoterone heroes. CEOs should be at the service of the salesperson, if the salesperson is any good or has any standing.
  
  www.dei-ireland.com

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/25/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  QUOTE: Your point Number 2 if vitally flawed. You don't know who is going to buy, until you get out and visit them.
  
  My my... still selling in the shoe-leather 1980s, are we?
  
  
  
  There is now ample technology that allows you to pre-qualify leads before contacting them. Use Jigsaw to retrieve the job titles that are most likely to buy and then use InsideView to retrieve news event ticklers that might indicate a high likelihood of buying. Then use ConnectAndSell to get through to the decision-maker immediately.

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  LoriJ521

  12/04/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How to Sell in a Down Economy, Pt. 1

  I know I'm a little late in the conversation but obviously some CEOs are proving that your number 5 point has a lot of value. The information below is the from the QVC lineup:
  
  DellTM - Computers - Michael Dell
  
  Sunday, December 07, 2008
  07:00 - 08:00 PM ET
  
  I thought you might find it interesting.
  
  Lori Johnson, Market Strategist
  Blu Morpho Marketing & Services
  www.blumorphomarketing.com

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  harrisa

  03/11/09 | Report as spam

  hello world

  I love bnet