So what do you do to continue selling and even increase your sales in a tough economy? The simple answer is stick to the fundamentals. No matter how bad the economy appears to be there are always people ready and willing to buy what you have to offer. The fundamentals of sales don't change just because the economy is taking a tumble. In fact this is when they are the most important.
Some of you in sales probably have sales managers that are trying to tell you that the economy doesn't have any impact on your sales. I beg to differ. The fact is sales are down across the board for almost every single sector. Unless, of course, your goods or services are the type that are really popular and needed when the economy is going through a tough spot. Being in denial is not going to help you pull your sales out of a slump and it certainly won't help you take your sales to a whole new level.
So unless you're in a truly recession proof industry the economy is going to have an impact on your sales. The real question is what are you going to do about it?
That brings us back to the fundamentals. These are the things you should be doing consistently but when things are going well we tend to take short cuts and develop bad habits. The key to maximizing your sale efforts and making the greatest number of sale possible is to work each step of the sale to it's fullest. When you take the time to properly qualify a lead so that you genuinely know if it's a suspect or a prospect you are saving yourself time in the long run. When you work with a prospect to determine if they are a lead or not you are moving along the sale process.
The key to making more sales in a down economy, or any economy for that matter, is properly working the steps of the sale and paying particular attention to properly qualifying your leads. You can't afford to spend time with someone who will most likely never buy. The primary difference between top closers and the rest of the pack is their qualifying process. How else do you think they could have such a high closing ratio?
In order to properly qualify a lead you need to have your sales process mapped out so that you know where you at with a lead. If you're spending all your time educating prospective buyers about your goods and services you're not working smart you're working hard. Sales people need to spend their time with people that are ready to buy and the best way to do that is through qualifying and education based marketing.
It's marketing's job to educate the prospects to the point that when sales gets involved most of the major questions have already been answered. Look at it like this; if you are grading your leads on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being a sale then you really should only be talking to 7's, 8's and 9's. Anything lower than a 7 should be getting what they need from your companies marketing process. So, if you talk to a prospect and determine they are a 6 or less you put them back in to the marketing system and you follow up when they have done something to indicate that they are now a 7 or better. Occasionally you can work a 6 to a close and get the deal but that isn't the best use of your time.
Now, in order to do this you have to lay out the steps of your sale and determine for yourself what value to put on each lead based on where they're at in the process. For example just having their name might make them a 1 but if they filled out a request for information form and sent it in maybe that makes them a 2 or 3. Take a look at your sales process and assign values to each step of the process and start tracking your leads based on this system. When crunch time comes at the end of the month, quarter or year only spend your time working with 7's or better and you'll be pleasantly surprised at your increased sales.
If you don't have the luxury of a company marketing department then you need to automate a nurturing process on your own to free up your time so you can continue to prospect and work with leads that are ready to buy.
Don't' let the economy be the excuse for less sales. Look at it instead as an opportunity to capture more market share and hone your skills. Practice what you've learned and continue to improve your skills. Get out there and network. Be more diligent in your qualifying process and make sure you nurture your leads. Also, think about this. Tough economies have a way of eliminating the competition which puts you in the drivers seat if you are nurturing your leads and listening to your clients and prospects.
Champions meet and exceed their goals in all types of economies but usually have record breaking years when the economy is supposedly bad.
Go sell something and help the economy recover,
Mike McMahon
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