Always be selling

Jill Konrath

Jill Konrath is  a  Twin Cities sales trainer, author, speaker and all around sales guru. I asked her to share some of her knowledge today in light of what an old boss told me once - ALWAYS BE SELLING. How do you do that when the economy is down in the dumps? Be sure to check out Jill's blog but until then, READ ON to hear what she has to say -

Cautious companies, unsure of what's happening in the economy, are postponing decisions left and right. Their wait-and-see mentality is driving salespeople crazy as promised orders fail to materialize. If you're responsible for sales or business development, start using these five things right away to keep your sales momentum and bring in more business.

1. Don't let any of your current customers get away.  The first thing you need to do is to solidify your customer base. Make sure that set up appointments today with your existing customers. Start by identifying any unresolved service issues. Once that's done, you'll want to have a heart-to-heart talk about how the economy is impacting their business. Learn about any issues and challenges relevant to your offering. Then work on helping them achieve their goals and objectives. Make sure you're bringing valuable ideas, insights or information to the relationship. It's the only way you can protect yourself against price-slashing competitors who will do anything to steal your customer during tough times.

2. Focus on what you can control & forget the rest. It's so easy to slip into "woe is me" thinking when the stock market is in a free fall or your best customer just laid off 24% of their workforce. But when you're stuck in that rut, it's literally impossible for you to take action on what you can control. Increase your activity level. It may take more calls to uncover prospects.Call on different companies or industries. Prepare more and improve your sales effectiveness. Or, to come up with new ideas, you can challenge yourself with questions. How can I find more customers? How can I sell more to my existing customers? What businesses are least impacted by the economy?

3. Don't put all your eggs in a few baskets. Many companies have a few key clients that make up a huge share of their business. If that's the case, you're in a very vulnerable position. Pursuing new customers should be a top priority.  Don’t work with just one person in an account, develop relationships with other decision makers. Otherwise, if your main contact gets laid off or reassigned you could be at risk.  Don’t have only one strategy to win the business. Develop a Plan B and a Plan C. Always have options ready to go for the various scenarios you might encounter.