Less than half of today’s business-to-business sales professionals have ever weathered a true economic downturn. These folks learned how to sell in the nifty ‘90s which was one of the longest business expansions in U.S. history. Hey, it’s not that hard to hit quota with double digit market returns and huge growth in the number of new jobs. But what should you do when the economy starts to tap the brakes?
Rule one—don’t blame the economy.
Companies still have to buy goods and services no matter what the economy is doing. They may buy different, they may buy less, but they still have to buy. If you can’t convince prospects that what you’re offering is a solid investment with meaningful return, then maybe the problem lies closer to home.
Let’s look at this a different way. The major objection most reps face during slow times is, “I have no money.” How is that possible? If your customer has no money then they’re out of business. What they are really saying to you is, “Your ideas stink or I don't know you.”
What can you do to close more business in a slowing economy? Start by answering these three questions that will put you back on the path to success. I can’t guarantee that they will work for you, but I can guarantee that they work.
How much energy are you wasting on insignificant activities?
You’ve probably been told that business will improve if you just make more appointments, increase the number of demos, give more presentations and ramp up your number of cold calls. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing incorrect with increasing these selling activities; especially if you sell low-value products to one time customers.
Experience tells me that chasing everything that looks like an opportunity keeps you busy but makes you very ineffective (time management 101). You’ll be working hard, but you won’t be working smart. Eventually you’ll burn out your prospects and yourself – toast for two!
Start today by re-qualifying every prospect and work on cleaning out your funnel. Focus on your best selling opportunities and put your energy there. You’ll create more success by investing the right resources into ten solid opportunities than you will by chasing twenty five half baked leads.
Are you making every conversation count?
Clients and prospects should be impressed with your preparation for every sales call. When you demonstrate that you’ve done your homework it becomes easier to have an open and honest dialogue with you. When the economy slows down, people get nervous. They don’t want to waste time meeting with sales reps unless they see some potential value and benefits for them.
The “smile-n-dial” mentality of simply pounding on more doors with the same pitch may produce extra appointments. But it also creates the fear that you’re going to sell them something that they don’t need.
Open your next client conversation with this simple phrase, “In preparing for this meeting I took some time to…” Then simply highlight the two or three critical things that you did to prepare and watch what happens to the atmosphere of the call. You will blow away the last rep that opened their meeting by announcing that they were just “checking in” to see if anything new was going on.
The goal is to stop “educating” your customers about your company and what you can do for them. They don’t care unless they are engaged. Talking about your company, your products and your reputation will not engage customers. Talk about them (the customers), ask about them, provide ideas for them and communicate in terms of them.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Who are you talking about—you or them?
Do you have any questions?
Knowledge is a key ingredient to sales success, especially in a slowing economy. The more you demonstrate knowledge, the more prospects will take time to listen. And the best way to establish expertise is not by pitching features; it’s by asking questions. Questions that can differentiate the value you bring to every call.
Many reps fall into the common trap of asking questions that are self serving. “What does your purchasing process look like?” is a mind numbing, self serving question that doesn’t create new insights. Your customer hears these types of questions every day and they bring zero value to the dialogue.
Instead ask questions that get customers to stop and think. Ask questions they haven’t been asked before. Ask questions that get the customer to pause and say, “That’s a really good question.”
Creating high impact questions takes extra time. But it’s worth every minute. Start investing sixty percent of your time doing research, forty percent of your time making calls. I know this contradicts traditional wisdom, but this isn’t a traditional selling environment.
Don’t pick up the phone or walk into the lobby until you’re absolutely ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue. You’re not going to get a second chance in a slowing economy, so make sure every one counts!
CUSTOMERS/PROSPECTS TODAY PURCHASE FROM THOSE THEY KNOW AND HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH, DO YOURS HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU!
GETTING PERSONAL:
Re-connect with your current customers (it costs less) and TRY to build relationships with the new prospects rather than "selling" them right away; get to know them better, see how things are for them in this economy and what are they doing to stay above water...in other words build and cultivate those relationships. TAKE THE TIME TO GET TO KNOW THEM!
Get personal with your past customers and prospects by turning them into clients for life, it is easy to do, find a way to connect on a personal level and you are half way there, future sales are easier and they may/will start introducing you to colleagues and associates. Here are some things you should know about your customers/prospects and if not, why not?
- Where did the customer grow up and go to school?
- Do you know their birthday, spouses name and wedding anniversary (how many years)?
- Do you know the anniversary date of the time they first did business with you?
- How many kids do they have and what are the names/ages/birthdays?
- Where do the kids go to school?
- What does the customer like to do in his/her spare time?
- Hobbies and etc?
- Where do they like to vacation and why?
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