Changing Your Sales Technique In A Time Of Recession
Our economy is suffering a severe time of recession
. For anyone in sales, this has probably been very tough in many ways.
Some sales professionals prospered, while others suffered. The difference between those who failed and those who continued to succeed lies in the ability to change your technique to fit these trying times.
This has been an ongoing factor for many years with continual downsizing and cut backs. However, the recession forced many companies to scale back even further than they normally would have.
For those in sales, it means people are stretched even further and are even busier than ever before. It means it will become even more difficult to connect with decision makers.
It means projects will be put on hold because people will be too busy to implement them. It means you need to find a way to help your customers deal with this.
Make your solutions easier. Assist with the implementation.
This also means respecting their time when you meet. If you have sixty minutes allotted for your meeting but you can wrap it up in forty-five, then do so.
Your customer will appreciate it and it will help you stand out from the crowd. There is no question that decision makers in corporate America have changed the way they make buying decisions.
Caution is now a standard business practice and I suspect that it will remain that way for years to come. This means you need to become more adept and proficient in your discovery process. You not only need to find out who is responsible for the buying decision but also what internal factors your key decision makers are facing that may derail the sale or prevent the process from moving forward.
This has always been part of the sales process or at least it should have been. However, it is even more critical to uncover this information as part of your discovery process. The sales professionals who get this will outshine their colleagues and competitors.
The sales professionals who prospered this past yea,r were assertive in generating business. They did not use the recession as an excuse.
They did not wait for business opportunities to come their way; they took responsibility and did whatever they could to reach their targets. This has always been a distinguishing factor between high-performing sales professionals, and it will become even more important in the future.
Many decision makers no longer have the ability to sign-off on the same level of expenses or purchases that they were once accustomed to previously. This has a real impact on sales situations as a whole.
Picture yourself in the executive office, perhaps a VP of Sales, or Marketing. Until last year, you could approve any purchase under twenty thousand dollars.
Now, you need to get approval from a purchasing committee for any expense over five thousand dollars. Although you understand the philosophy behind this policy, it is challenging to deal with because in your eight year history with the company you have never made a poor buying decision.
While this can be frustrating, you must take ego out of the equation, and roll with the punches. The more flexible and humble you are, the easier this time will be for you.
You may now have to deal with buying committees, and if you are not careful, you will not even get the chance to meet them. That means the decision to use your product, service, or solution could be vetoed.
Some purchases simply will not be approved because of the extent or nature of the expense. Even though your solution may benefit the company, the organization may choose not to move forward simple because they know they will not get approval for the expense.
It is not fair but it is a fact of business. This is where that humility comes into play.
Once again, this means that you need to ask more questions to uncover the approval process. Be sensitive to the decision maker's position, if you discover that they no longer have the authority to sign-off on your product or service.
Look for ways to help them facilitate their decision. Work with your company to extend payment terms in certain circumstances.
If you make the changes necessary in your sales strategy, you can ride out this economy with as little grief as possible. Don't forget-your job is only as good as you decide it is going to be.
by: Jack Landry
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