Sales & Marketing Management - January/February 2009 - (Page 18) TRAINING TECHNOLOGY INCENTIVES TRAVEL/MEETINGS The future is in your hands How to get your team up to speed in a recession market “I never worry about the future; it comes soon enough.” —Albert Einstein salesperson is, “We don’t have the money … for you.” What are they spending money on? What aspects of their business are they considering mission-critical? What message is missing for the client to understand that your product meets a critical need? Is your salesperson dealing with the person who controls the purchase decision, or the one following marching orders about curbing spending? Has the salesperson gotten “inside the head” of the client, predetermining what their new issues will be based on the economic climate? Or is he basing his presentation on the same old way of doing things? What new markets are available where your product has become more relevant? These questions are silver bullets to derisk your sales pipeline. They illustrate sobering points to your salespeople: that you genuinely want their business to prosper, and you are not willing to allow the two or three potential roadblocks to stop the sale. Remember, a recession doesn’t mean every company woke up one morning with no money, no profits and no customers. It just means that, looking to the future, companies are being far more conservative in their spending. But they will be spending. You have to re-underwrite your business to account for a slowing of your sales, but not a complete stoppage. 2. Over-communicate with clients and your internal teams. Every purchase W ell, the future is here … and it’s a recession. So the question becomes, how do you coach your team to sell in such an inhospitable environment? Answer: by looking to the following five action steps, each of which is essential to your success. 1. Re-underwrite your business to a recession scenario. As noted, we’re in a recession. That means your sales are probably down, or will be soon. It also means your clients’ sales are down, or will be soon. Therefore, you cannot operate your business the same istock photo way and expect positive results. A shift must take place, and it must start from how you are looking at your business, how you look at your current clients’ businesses, where you are looking for new business and how you are assessing the competition. Start the re-underwriting process by asking some hard question of your sales team. You need to understand the challenges they are facing. Many times you’ll hear, “‘Client X just doesn’t have the money.” You need to go deeper, because what the client really told your JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 decision made in a recession is under scrutiny, with teams having to justify why they really need your product now. Once they make that decision, you need to help them avoid “buyer’s remorse” by keeping them up to date every step of the way, reinforcing the reasons they said yes to your product or service. Over-deliver at every chance. It is essential that your team understands and plays back the specific goals and challenges of your clients at every point of contact. Each time you do this, your client has the chance to enhance this understanding. You also have the chance to further tailor your recommendations based on this feedback to lock out your competition. Your team needs to effectively communicate your www.salesandmarketing.com www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com 18 SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com
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