Great Sales People Can Sell In Any Economy
While business cycles are certainly very real, and will impact your business, the hype and perception doesn’t often measure up to the reality. The media has a job to do selling newspapers and attracting eyeballs. It’s in their best interests to create a stir. But that doesn’t mean that we have to panic every time they say the sky is falling. Besides, the ‘economy’ isn’t some huge behemoth made up of pork bellies and percentages – it’s a way of thinking about the millions of small buyers and sellers that make the world go.
Understanding it in this way is the key to keeping a good perspective, not to mention a healthy one. When one market or industry is up, another is down and vice versa. The important thing to recognize is that there is always buying and selling going on, always someone who is doing well and someone who isn’t. Even the biggest booms have their unfortunates; companies can go out of business when the economy is hot.
At the same time, there are always big sales being made, even in the frostiest economic times. In fact, for all the press devoted to forecasting recessions and slowdowns, I actually think that the good times are the most dangerous for salespeople. When things are slow, it’s easy to maintain your focus. Salespeople know they’re going to have to fight for their money, and so they take up prospecting, learning about their products, and following up with existing customers – all the things they need in order to be successful in any environment. But what happens when there’s lots of money and business flying around, when buyers seem to be everywhere Human nature kicks in. They take their foot off the accelerator a bit and coast. Bad habits set in, along with a false sense of security.
Hunters Become Order Takers
Instead of hunting for new business, they become order takers. This might not be such a problem in the short-term, where there’s enough business to mask the trouble. But sooner or later things start to go south. And when they do, it’s the salesperson that has been working smart all along that’s in a position to keep hitting the numbers and enjoying the bonuses. In this way, getting away from your sales fundamentals is a bit like being out of shape. When you’re in the habit of going to the gym, it’s easy to keep going.
Each weight lifted, each mile run, makes you feel stronger and more relaxed. But what happens when things get too good There’s the temptation to let up a bit. That one day on the couch, that extra burger – what kind of damage could they possibly do After all, you’re in great shape. And it’s true; that lazy weekend, the extra slice of extra cheese, won’t do any harm. But one turns into two, which turns into four or more. A day off from the gym turns into a week, and then a month. One dinner out turns into a steady diet of fast food, and sooner or later you can barely walk to the scale, much less run a few miles. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be happy when it’s good. Just don’t be so happy that you take your eyes off the road.
Don’t Get Caught Up In The News
The best way to be prepared for a shifting market is by not getting caught up in the drumbeat to which everyone else is listening. Never convince yourself that the economy is always going to be good, because sometimes it won’t. And just like you shouldn’t get carried away with the good times, don’t get too down when things are slow, either. Just keep to what you’re doing, and make sure to tell yourself – and your customers – that everything is going to be just fine. Lots of salespeople, in the middle of a tough sales environment, like to whine and complain about how difficult it is to find new customers. Naturally, this kind of attitude doesn’t exactly attract orders.
If you want people to buy from you, your enthusiasm needs to reflect that. Henry Ford once said that if you aren’t looking for business, you’re going out of business. To me, that’s good advice in any economy. The same things that will make you wealthy and successful when life is good will make you wealthy and successful when it’s not. The only difference is how many people you’ll need to talk to in order to make it happen. Booms and recessions are real, but only to the degree that we, as salespeople, choose to participate in them.
Make More Sales Calls, and Shake More Hands
Sales still is, and always will be, a matter of finding the right people and doing the right things. A few ticks on the stock exchange will never change that. Keep your concentration where it belongs, on your sales fundamentals, and what the rest of the world thinks about the economy won’t matter as much
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