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The Threat of Recession and The Field Sales Professional
Written by: Bill TruaxArticle Overview: The threat of a recession makes the sales professional an even more important member of the corporate team. We need to Prospect more to spread the economic risk among more customers. We need to put our eggs in as many baskets as possible since we don't know how all of our customers will weather this economic downturn. Prospecting is the only skill we have to expand our business.
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The Threat of Recession and The Field Sales Professional
The news is full of the fears of recession. The stock market has taken an unbelievable dive. The sub prime housing fiasco seems to have hit many of our largest financial institutions hard and the Fed dropped the prime rate by ¾ of a % yesterday - which is a lot. That is the news.
So, for those of us working stiffs in sales who are still going to work every day, what does all this mean?
It means we need to go to work and keep doing what we always do, but in a more proactive manner.
In my recent experience I have seen that the majority of sales professionals spend a lot of their time with existing customers securing that business. This makes them totally dependent on the success of their customers for their well being. They are putting all their eggs in a few baskets. And in this economy, that is very risky.
When the economy is unpredictable, we need to grow our customer base so that our "eggs are in a lot of baskets."
The only way to do that is by Prospecting. No other skill allows us to grow our business or use all our selling skills. We need to get out and talk to everyone who can use our products and services.
There are two components to a complete Prospecting system. Tele-Prospecting and face to face Prospecting. Of these two, Tele-Prospecting is the most utilized and face to face the least - by far. But neither are used correctly or enough
Therefore, most Prospecting systems are unbalanced and need dramatic repair.
Most importantly is a continuous Prospecting effort. Not just quarterly, but every week you should have a set number of Prospecting calls you make. The number of Prospecting calls should be determined by your goals, not just an arbitrary number pulled out of the sky. Then you MUST actually make those calls every week.
Also, when you are in the field never drive past a potential customer without stopping. Make those face to face Prospecting calls. Use our BLITZ CALL® System or some other, but don’t miss those opportunities.
Since we all know that sales are made after the third call in Commercial/Industrial sales, follow up is the life blood of sales. So a follow up system must be part of your Prospecting program and you MUST have timely follow up.
Remember, some people sell simply because they keep following up. When we are proactive lots of wonderful things happen to us simply because of Serendipity.
I have made a lot of sales simply because I kept following up. Remember, a follow up call or contact shouldn't take more that a couple of minutes. We can all afford that.
Also, we must be smart enough to know when to step back or drop a prospect that just isn't right and is wasting our time.
One of the wonderful aspects of Prospecting on a regular basis is that you will have a continuous supply of potential customers. So no one Prospect is critical.
It is the person who isn't Prospecting regularly who must sell every one they call on because they have such a limited number from which to choose.
So, Prospect regularly and you will come through these tough economic times without the stress that so many of our competitors will face.
Sell Well and Often,
Bill
Bill@BlitzCalll.com
© copyright 2008 WJ Truax ® BLITZ CALL is a registered trademark of WJT Truax
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Article Tags: arbitrary number, baskets, blitz, customer base, economy, eggs, existing customers, fears, fiasco, financial institutions, prime rate, proactive manner, recession, sales professionals, sky, stock market, tele, working stiffs
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