Selling in Turbulent Economic Times Blog Part 2
Looking at the diagram of economic cycles included in this article we notice one major thing; these peaks and valleys are driven by raw human emotion. At the top of an economy people do not just spend the money they are making, they spend the money they think they are going to make. Eventually, banks and lending institutions pull back finance due to the fact that en masse, the average person and average business is over- extended.
When this credit is pulled back, people reduce purchases; this creates negative news, bulging inventories, fear and panic. In service businesses bulging inventory is people. Lay-offs begin, purchases reduce, inventory is liquidated, and more bad news hits the marketplace and the fear multiplies. The severity of this most recent downturn has been created by the evaporation of available credit due to the insolvency of so many major banks. Eventually we hit a point of excessive pessimism in the marketplace. (I had to dig through the entire business section of the New York Times to find one positive article yesterday).
The question is: “What stops the economy from continuing its downward plunge?” The answer is of course “Smart Money.” We all can recite the phrase “buy low and sell high” and a few smart individuals begin to do just that. The “Smart Money” is bargain hunting for everything from stock to real estate, and corporate acquisition targets stabilize the market, it creates the floor. From there the tide begins to turn as optimism builds.
You as a sales person or entrepreneur don’t have to have Warren Buffet’s billions to profit from this environment, but you do need his mindset. Realize that your competitors, not unlike today’s investors, do not see the real value of the market, and most are refusing to really play. They are too busy hiding out by the water cooler and watching the stock ticker and the negative news on CNN.
So here are 7 tips on how to profit from today’s economic downturn:
- Build a fence around your key accounts. Of those clients that you are presently doing on-going business with, how many do you have really strong relationships with? Make a list of your top 20% and immediately call them, if possible go visit them. Not to sell them stuff, but to find out how you can better service them. If things are really slow, take advantage of it, engage them more, buy them the lunch you never had time to when the economy was hot.
- Harness physical and web-based networks in order to connect with positive people. Most of us have goals and dreams that require resources beyond those that we possess. By engaging your online and offline communities, sharing resources, ideas, and inspiration, you can collectively achieve greater things. Now is not the time to go to less Board of Trade meetings, it is the time to really connect.
- Reach out beyond your existing community with social networking tools such as Linkedin, Twitter, and FaceBook. Recently as a resident of Vancouver, BC Canada I secured a new client in Asia through my blogging and activity on Linkedin, while some of my existing markets are suppressed, I am finding new ones across the Pacific Ocean using technology (free technology!).
- Have a pro-active game plan for every day. You have fewer competitors now, and the ones that are still in business are probably not that motivated. This trend will continue until we reach the bottom of the downturn. This is the time to gain market share. Get to work an hour early, and plan your day out the night before. It may take more calls to land the same number of clients, but also realize that you will be able to gain more market share due to less competition, or at least a mentally weaker competition.
- If you have some cash reserves start investing in your business. If you use advertising as a tool to attract clients you can now negotiate a better rate with publishers, and because competitors have pulled back their ad spend your message will have less noise to compete with in the marketplace. Fuel prices have dropped and people are traveling less, this also means better rates for business travel to far-away markets.
- Take control of your own mental economy. The most expensive thing we can do as sales professionals and business people is have a day of negative thinking. When we are focusing on what we don’t have, and we are wallowing in our own self-pity, we’re not thinking about creating positive business outcomes. My suggestion is to commit to reading at least 30 minutes of positive news, or personal development books per day, find some great motivational CD’s or podcasts (iTunes has thousands that are free) and pro-actively seek out and associate with other people that are refusing to participate in the recession.
- Be disciplined in your execution. At the top of an economy when clients are abundant and optimistic, closing the deal is easy. If you miss a deal because of bad follow-up, or a poorly written proposal there is always more opportunity out there. Anyone can look like a rainmaker when things are hot. When things slow down our bad habits become more evident. When you do have a great prospect in your sights, have a sound sales process and follow the fundamentals of great selling obsessively. There are no mundane steps in a sales process, treat every detail like it is the deal-maker, especially when prospects are fewer and more easily dissuaded to buy.
“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. ” – Abraham Lincoln
Sales Blog Entry – The Number one Sales Currency
F.E.A.R. as defined by many personal development gurus (the revered and even the self-proclaimed) is defined as False Evidence Appearing Real. To close big deals, and large clients, especially in turbulent or uncertain times is all about taking the F.E.A.R out of saying yes.
Often the prospect has a dozen good reasons why they should do business with you, they even admit it, but still no deal. There’s a hesitance, a pause, then more questions, a couple stalls and more meetings hesitations and stalls. What are they afraid of? Often it’s an undefined sense of uncertainty. It’s emotional intuitive issue, they don’t trust us, or they don’t trust a number of factors that influence their business that are related to the transaction.
“Sales is about creating an environment where an act of faith can take place.”
This act of faith us based upon trust and credibility. Trust is in my opinion the number one sales currency. Too many people think it’s a product, a pitch, a better deal, or a nice suit. These things are important, but all will fall short without trust.
Recently I surveyed a number of senior investment advisors with one of Canada’s largest brokerage firms and asked them a very straightforward and open-ended question; “What does is take to move a big client (along with their with money) from a competitor to your firm?”
Every single one of them, without exception, said “the relationship.” This relationship was built upon a series of trust building interactions, very few of which were related directly to immediate gains in stock picks or better brochures than the competitors. They described knowing the client personally through lunches, dinners, inviting them the VIP events and being very accessible and transparent in their dealings with them.
I asked “what about your great research, your name in the press, the brand, and of course your track record?” The response: “That will get them to open their account with you and allow you to send them the odd e-mail or prospectus.” To move a large lump sum of money for you to manage they told me “you need trust, a real relationship based upon it.”
I recently landed a fortune 50 client. I knew I was up against bigger competitors. After the RFP and final presentation was done I got the news. The deal was mine. When I asked the Senior VP of Sales for this company why I got the deal his answer was little surprising. He said “I don’t know, the other guys are well branded, they said the right things, but you just made us feel comfortable, you were open with us, I felt that our team would relate well to you.” Relate well? I thought. What about the results I’ve landed for other clients? Our great training modules? Our experience in their sector? Comfortable? They bought comfortable!? What kind if competitive advantage is that?!
What my broker clients and I experienced is the same thing.
Our value proposition, our branding, our stats and track record opened the door for us. To close the deal, and grow the client it was our ability to establish trust that was the deciding factor.
What is trust? Trust from a prospects perspective, is a sense of comfort, a belief that we’ll do what we say we’ll do regardless of a contract or what we’re obligated to do. Seems simple, but so many people today feign concern but don’t deliver. The truly empathetic sales person that is grounded and transparent has a huge advantage in the marketplace. Trustworthiness is a rare commodity, if we focus delivering it as out core value proposition we can lock clients in for a lifetime.
So how do we establish it? Here’s some quick concluding thoughts on the topic:
#1) Know your product and service capabilities, all of it’s applications and all of it’s limitations. Close deals that fit and be willing to walk away or refer them to someone else. Basically take on clients you know you can hit a home run with.
#2) Keep even the smallest commitment always, Even things like being on time are unspoken and implied commitments. If we can’t be trusted with minor details how can we be trusted with business critical issues?
#3) Never talk about other clients to prospects, unless you let them know that you have pre-approval. They’ll enjoy the story but then later wonder what you’ll say about them.
#5) Manage their expectations up front. Let them know what to expect, even in regards to product and service limitations. Our clients are grown-ups, they know there’s no perfect product or service and they’ll appreciate our candor.
#6) Have conversations that are broader and deeper than our competitors are capable of having. Do this by educating ourselves more, researching more, assuming nothing, and customizing every interaction with the client.
#7) This final point is by far the most critical. Be good at establishing genuine rapport. This happens by being totally aware, present and functional and having a highly developed capacity for listening and asking great questions. People will sense our level of empathy and sincerity more from the questions we ask then the stories that we tell.
Author’s Bio
Shane Gibson is President of Knowledge Brokers International and author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals. With 14 years as a professional speaker Shane is in high demand as a conference speaker and a sales training and sales performance specialist. KBI’s clients include organizations such as BMW, Siemens, Ford, Vodacom, the Vancouver Board of Trade and dozens of professional associations and corporations in Canada, USA, South Africa, South America and the Middle East.
Sales Podcast and Blog – Rapport Building in Sales
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Today’s podcast is on rapport building in sales. The ability to develop instant rapport and credibility is often the foundation for a successful sale, even in long sales cycle and complex sales situations. You can download todays podcast here: http://www.salesvideopodcast.com/mp3audiopodcast/closingbiggerdotnet012008.mp3 Shane Gibson is a leading sale performance and sales training specialist and co-author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals.
Can you close too big? Downtown Partners Closes their doors
Globeandmail.com’s small business section recently noted that Downtown Partners a leading Canadian advertising agency closed their doors for good after losing their biggest client:
The advertising agency that was once one of the hottest in the country is closing its doors on Feb. 15, a move largely linked to the loss of its prized Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. business. Downtown Partners, a division of Omnicom Canada, was dealt a fatal blow last November when Labatt decided to streamline its agency roster and hand the coveted Budweiser beer account to its long time agency Grip Ltd. Downtown, which had had the account for six years, wasn’t even given a chance of bidding on the brewer’s other businesses. “The agency is a victim of consequence,” Dan Pawych, creative director and a founding member of Downtown, said yesterday. More at Globeandmail.com
This is something I’ve mentioned in a few podcasts and sales blog entries. Closing Bigger is about the 7 figure deal. Sometimes though we forget the term “deal”. Deals can be finite, and if we base our whole business on one big client, we’re not in business; we’ve got a deal. I have yet to do a full in depth read on what lead up to this event but I’m assuming that big ole Labatt Brewing Company ate up much of Downtown Partners time, energy and resources, and several critical errors were made. One was somehow being totally out of sync with the client, how do you have a business dependent on one major client, and not have the business intelligence and inside connections to see this coming? The next question is who was responsible for hunting down and landing more big clients?
No matter how successful we are (and many of us are guilty of believing our own positive press) we need new fresh leads, and new clients. It’s what keeps us sharp, fine tunes our pitch and lets us know what’s really going on in the marketplace.
Another title for this sales blog entry could have been “Prospect or Die” or perhaps “How to Be Eaten by a Whale”
One of my biggest challenges when sales training people is when their company lacks the leadership and structure to enforce a quota or at least a level of accountability where people, anyone, including sales people are held to their word and the goals they set. Over the years I’ve seen too many individuals on auto-pilot, then they’re shocked when their company goes under, yet they haven’t prospected for new business or looked for new niches in the marketplace for years.
My closing thoughts for this blog are “Closing Big but keep on closing.”
Shane Gibson is a leading sales performance and sales training authority based in Vancouver Canada. His company offers sales training, motivational sales seminars, and consulting through their offices in Canada, South Africa, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Sales Podcast Blog Entry – Selling Beyond the Bottom Line
This week’s sales podcast is titled “Selling Beyond the Bottom Line” and is also the title of my upcoming seminar with the Vancouver Board of Trade on September 27th 2007. (This is a repost of a August 31 2007 podcast that had technical problems with the file, if you downloaded that show please delete it… this one’s better anyway!)
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Click Here to Download the MP3 Now
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Our intentions impact the sale more than our attention!
Shane Gibson
This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.
Shane Gibson is the author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals and President of Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd. a leading sales performance and leadership development organization. Shane divides his time between his entrepreneurial projects, speaking at major conferences and mentoring salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Quick Links:
Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System
Closing Bigger Sales Podcast Entry on Managing Worry and FEAR – by Shane Gibson
Today’s podcast is about managing worry and fear. Too many of us are overwhelmed by our worry and immobilized by our fear in selling and in the rest of our life.
Download Shane Gibson’s Podcast Here
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Get focused, think bigger, and close bigger!
Shane Gibson
This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.
Shane Gibson is the author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals and President of Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd. a leading sales performance and leadership development organization. Shane divides his time between his entrepreneurial projects, speaking at major conferences and mentoring salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Quick Links:
Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System
Sales Podcast Entry – Video on “Setting and Achieving Powerful Goals” Full 30 minute seminar
A 30 minute keynote seminar by Shane Gibson at Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow Conference in 2007. This file is iPod video … ready just download it and add it to your itunes library for goal setting on the go.
Sales Podcast – Closing Bigger Sales Podcast and Blog – Radio Interview Episode 2 with Minto Roy on Careers Today
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Today’s sales podcast was recorded in studio at Careers Today radio show on 1040 CFUN here in Vancouver. The Host Minto Roy interviewed me on the topic of sales performance systems, training, coaching, and of course closing bigger deals and landing larger clients.
Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast
Get focused, think bigger, and close bigger!
Shane Gibson
This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.
Shane Gibson is the author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals and President of Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd. a leading sales performance and leadership development organization. Shane divides his time between his entrepreneurial projects, speaking at major conferences and mentoring salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Quick Links:
Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System
Sales Podcast Entry – Time and Priority Managment – The ABC’s of Targeting
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Today’s sales podcast is on the ABC’s of targeting and time and priority management. One of the biggest challenges we have as big deal closers when chasing opportunities and selling to big companies is that we can get distracted by the little things. In this sales podcast we will go through a brief exercise that will help us regain our immediate focus and close bigger!
Get focused, think bigger, and close bigger!
Shane Gibson
This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.
Shane Gibson is the author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals and President of Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd. a leading sales performance and leadership development organization. Shane divides his time between his entrepreneurial projects, speaking at major conferences and mentoring salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Quick Links:
Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System
Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast
Sales Blog Entry on Free Leadership Self Assessments
I have put together a series of self assessments on coaching and leadership which are provided free (not-for-profit use and distribution only.) Here are the assessments:
Five levels of leadership self assessment
Coaching skills assessment
Enabling versus equiping self assessment
I would appreciate any feedback and comments on the usefulness of these tools and how we may improve upon them.
Shane Gibson
Shane Gibson is the author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals and President of Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd. a leading sales performance and leadership development organization. Shane divides his time between his entrepreneurial projects, speaking at major conferences and mentoring salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Quick Links:
Sales Training Canada
Sales
Training South Africa
Sales Training Boot Camps Vancouver
Complete Sales Action System
Managing Complex Business
Relationships System
Subscribe in iTunes to this Sales Podcast
Sales Podcast – Sales Presentation Skills Part 3
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This week’s sales podcast on sales presentation skills is focused on how to effectively avoid and recover from common bombs and mistakes in sales presentations. Selling in the boardroom is a skill that can greatly accelerate our ability to close big deals in our sales career.
This sales podcast is presented by Shane Gibson.
Shane Gibson is the author of Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals and President of Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd. a leading sales performance and leadership development organization. Shane divides his time between his entrepreneurial projects, speaking at major conferences and mentoring salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Speaking and Training
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