It’s not okay to punt on the year, so how are we going to do it? I have four suggestions that have worked for me in the past and I believe will work for you in 2009. Here they are:
I. Sell solutions that deliver high value because they enable customers to:
Gain functionality at a significant cost reduction over their current approach.
Gain more revenue by attracting or satisfying more customers at a lower cost.
Accomplish more with the same or less labor.
Reduce costs by outsourcing acceptable services.
There are other examples of high value solutions that will sell in a bad economy, but one thing is for sure, if your solution doesn’t provide a hard return on investment (ROI) it probably isn’t going to sell.
II. High value solutions need to be sold at executive levels
Work the power base within your accounts and engage executives in your company within your sales cycles to place your high value solutions in the hands of senior level executives who can make strategic recommendations / purchases for their company.
III. Achieving sales success in a bad economy is not just a sales problem, it is everyone’s problem
Simply firing and hiring new sales reps and leaders isn’t going to fix the problem. Raising sales quotas is not going to fix the problem. Relying solely on sales is not going to fix the problem. Instead leaders of companies need to focus all functions on helping sales succeed. For example: Leaders can engage more externally, Product Managers can arm sales with revised products, ROI models, and other content that resonates in the current economic climate, F&A can make it easier to do business with your company, etc.
IV. Maximize face to face time with prospects and customers
The temptation may exist to decrease your call volume in a bad economy because prospects push back on meeting requests. However, the best place a sales professional can be in a down economy is in front of high caliber prospects and customers. Your targets possess valuable intelligence about their company’s and industry’s needs and direction. You can use this intelligence to determine where you may be able to sell a solution that offers high value now or in the future. In the event they are dealing with an extreme budget freeze you can at least strengthen your relationship for the future. Staying out of the office will also help you enjoy your job more and avoid morale depletion at the water cooler.
In summary, we can’t control macro level economics but we can control where and how we focus our time and efforts. You can invest your time wisely and achieve success selling in 2009.
Best wishes and good selling
