What Sales People Need in a Down Economy
What Sales People Need in a Down Economy
It takes something special to sell in a down economy. Unless sales people are properly equipped, it's easy for them to get discouraged and give up, perhaps before they even get started. When salespeople stop selling, falling revenues eventually cause pain for all employees and can threaten the very existence of the business. That's why it's in everybody's best interest to ensure that every salesperson has the one thing that will keep them producing sales in a down economy.
CLUE ME DOWN.
First, how can we be sure we're experiencing a down economy? Here are some headlines that appeared in newspapers over the last 30 days:
-- Home foreclosure rate soars in 2007
-- State's unemployment rate jumps
-- Bankruptcy filings up 24% in Georgia
Statistics like that could easily discourage any sales person. The changing environment means they'll soon be facing unfamiliar selling challenges they are not confident they can handle. Any salesperson could righteously proclaim, "The economy is killing me!"
If that were true, I should already be dead.
LEGGO MY EGO.
As I share this story from my past, please don't discount it as self-serving ego aggrandizement. I offer it to give perspective. Besides, facts are facts, and these are the facts.
I started my consultative selling career in 1979. In 1981 and 1982, I was an award-winning sales leader at my company (ask me, and I'll show you my diamond ring, earned through an incentive program. Actually, I earned two diamonds; my wife claimed the bigger one). Here are some indicators of how the economy of 1981 compared to 2007:
2007:
-- 6.34% = Mortgage Interest Rate
-- 4.61% = Unemployment Rate
-- 2.85% = Inflation Rate
1981:
-- 16.63% = Mortgage Interest Rate
-- 7.62% = Unemployment Rate
-- 10.35% = Inflation Rate
To come close to duplicating the horrific economy of 1981, you'd have to go back to the Great Depression of the 1930's. Yet here I was, a "newbie" salesperson facing an economy that could easily kill off my new sales career. Yet I had something that enabled me to not just survive, but thrive in a difficult environment.
SELL YOURSELF WITH CRITICAL THINKING.
My competitors may have gotten discouraged, but the daily news didn't bother me much. I learned to use critical thinking skills to evaluate what I was reading in the newspaper. When I saw "state's unemployment rate jumps," I looked closer. The "jump" was from 4.2% to 4.6%, a 9.5% increase in just one month... pretty alarming. But what does that really mean to me as a salesperson? It means that last month, out of 250 people, 10.5 were unemployed. This month, 11.5 are unemployed. We lost one suspect out of every 250 people. Should that slow down our selling efforts? I don't think so.
What about "home foreclosure rate soars in 2007"? The article reveals that the rate is 79 percent higher in 2007 compared to 2006. While that's a sizable increase, it still means that 99 percent of all U.S. households are NOT facing foreclosure, leaving them as potential suspects for you.
Check out the bankruptcy filing statistics, and in a like manner you'll find that the vast majority of people still have jobs. They are earning money they can spend on your products and services... if you have what it takes to stay in the selling game despite a down economy.
GET RID OF DIS.
When you're feeling discouraged with the down economy, you need only one thing to "sell the lights out": courage. The difference between where you are and what you need is simply dis. Remove dis, and you can replace discourage with courage. You can gain all the courage you need to succeed through Perspective, Plan and Persistence.
CREATE YOUR OWN COURAGE.
PERSPECTIVE involves using your critical thinking skills to evaluate the reality of your situation. Reporters write headlines to sell newspapers, not to help you keep an optimistic outlook. Use critical thinking skills as in the examples above to ensure you keep proper perspective. This down economy, like every other one before, is temporary.
PLAN a way to deal with the challenges that a down economy can bring. Write down your goals and objectives, and find ways to gather and measure feedback as you execute. Retain flexibility so you can make course corrections and adjust your plan as you learn what's working in a down economy.
PERSISTENCE is perhaps most important of all. It means getting up every day and putting your plan into action. It means continuing to sell even when the headlines suck. It means being too busy selling to even bother reading the headlines.
MAKE TIME FOR P's.
It's easy to get discouraged in a down economy. Everyday the media is happy to tell us why things are so terrible. As Nicholas Murray Butler noted, "Optimism is the foundation of courage."
Discouraged, you fail. With courage, you succeed. The difference is simply dis.
Salespeople can find courage to thrive by beginning each selling day with a review of the importance of Perspective, Plan, and Persistence. Do that and you can find diamonds in any down economy.
What Sales People Need in a Down Economy - To learn more about this author, visit Paul Johnson's Website.
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© 2008 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.
It takes something special to sell in a down economy. Unless sales people are properly equipped, it's easy for them to get discouraged and give up, perhaps before they even get started. When salespeople stop selling, falling revenues eventually cause pain for all employees and can threaten the very existence of the business. That's why it's in everybody's best interest to ensure that every salesperson has the one thing that will keep them producing sales in a down economy.
CLUE ME DOWN.
First, how can we be sure we're experiencing a down economy? Here are some headlines that appeared in newspapers over the last 30 days:
-- Home foreclosure rate soars in 2007
-- State's unemployment rate jumps
-- Bankruptcy filings up 24% in Georgia
Statistics like that could easily discourage any sales person. The changing environment means they'll soon be facing unfamiliar selling challenges they are not confident they can handle. Any salesperson could righteously proclaim, "The economy is killing me!"
If that were true, I should already be dead.
LEGGO MY EGO.
As I share this story from my past, please don't discount it as self-serving ego aggrandizement. I offer it to give perspective. Besides, facts are facts, and these are the facts.
I started my consultative selling career in 1979. In 1981 and 1982, I was an award-winning sales leader at my company (ask me, and I'll show you my diamond ring, earned through an incentive program. Actually, I earned two diamonds; my wife claimed the bigger one). Here are some indicators of how the economy of 1981 compared to 2007:
2007:
-- 6.34% = Mortgage Interest Rate
-- 4.61% = Unemployment Rate
-- 2.85% = Inflation Rate
1981:
-- 16.63% = Mortgage Interest Rate
-- 7.62% = Unemployment Rate
-- 10.35% = Inflation Rate
To come close to duplicating the horrific economy of 1981, you'd have to go back to the Great Depression of the 1930's. Yet here I was, a "newbie" salesperson facing an economy that could easily kill off my new sales career. Yet I had something that enabled me to not just survive, but thrive in a difficult environment.
SELL YOURSELF WITH CRITICAL THINKING.
My competitors may have gotten discouraged, but the daily news didn't bother me much. I learned to use critical thinking skills to evaluate what I was reading in the newspaper. When I saw "state's unemployment rate jumps," I looked closer. The "jump" was from 4.2% to 4.6%, a 9.5% increase in just one month... pretty alarming. But what does that really mean to me as a salesperson? It means that last month, out of 250 people, 10.5 were unemployed. This month, 11.5 are unemployed. We lost one suspect out of every 250 people. Should that slow down our selling efforts? I don't think so.
What about "home foreclosure rate soars in 2007"? The article reveals that the rate is 79 percent higher in 2007 compared to 2006. While that's a sizable increase, it still means that 99 percent of all U.S. households are NOT facing foreclosure, leaving them as potential suspects for you.
Check out the bankruptcy filing statistics, and in a like manner you'll find that the vast majority of people still have jobs. They are earning money they can spend on your products and services... if you have what it takes to stay in the selling game despite a down economy.
GET RID OF DIS.
When you're feeling discouraged with the down economy, you need only one thing to "sell the lights out": courage. The difference between where you are and what you need is simply dis. Remove dis, and you can replace discourage with courage. You can gain all the courage you need to succeed through Perspective, Plan and Persistence.
CREATE YOUR OWN COURAGE.
PERSPECTIVE involves using your critical thinking skills to evaluate the reality of your situation. Reporters write headlines to sell newspapers, not to help you keep an optimistic outlook. Use critical thinking skills as in the examples above to ensure you keep proper perspective. This down economy, like every other one before, is temporary.
PLAN a way to deal with the challenges that a down economy can bring. Write down your goals and objectives, and find ways to gather and measure feedback as you execute. Retain flexibility so you can make course corrections and adjust your plan as you learn what's working in a down economy.
PERSISTENCE is perhaps most important of all. It means getting up every day and putting your plan into action. It means continuing to sell even when the headlines suck. It means being too busy selling to even bother reading the headlines.
MAKE TIME FOR P's.
It's easy to get discouraged in a down economy. Everyday the media is happy to tell us why things are so terrible. As Nicholas Murray Butler noted, "Optimism is the foundation of courage."
Discouraged, you fail. With courage, you succeed. The difference is simply dis.
Salespeople can find courage to thrive by beginning each selling day with a review of the importance of Perspective, Plan, and Persistence. Do that and you can find diamonds in any down economy.
What Sales People Need in a Down Economy - To learn more about this author, visit Paul Johnson's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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