So the title of this article made you read a little further, if only to find out who this nut is who says the economy is great?
If you are like me, you are weary of the countless reminders that we are in a poor economic climate. We are bombarded with it on the news every day. Most of us have been affected in many ways, and many have lost jobs in cutbacks. The pundits keep saying there is no relief in sight, at least not in 2009. The bad news is everywhere, and it is very depressing.
Those of us who sell and have to produce revenue for our companies – not to mention income for our families – have found that most industries are experiencing longer sales cycles, fewer decisions to buy, and smaller orders when they actually do buy. There is an awful lot of grumbling going on out there.
Strategies to survive run mostly along the lines of deep discounting and creative financing. Many consumer goods are practically being given away. The inference is that many companies have decided that revenue with little or no profit margin is preferable to no revenue at all. Most of these companies are cutting back on all of the expenses they can and still be in business.
There is another strategy being used by other companies, the strategy of being more assertive in the selling conversations. Forget discounting – business means making a decent profit – these companies are looking for (and finding) prospects who are willing to invest in transactions that will enhance their ability to compete and thrive. This kind of strategy is recession-proof. Find those prospects that understand your value proposition and help them to see how it will help them to increase market share, stay financially healthy, and dominate. They are out there, and they will come out of this poor economy in great shape, like a race car accelerating out of a turn.
Finding them means increasing the number of prospecting activities you are currently doing. You have to sift through the many "laying low" prospects to find these aggressive prospects. That does not mean that you are wasting time, however. All it takes is adding one more major question to your arsenal of qualifying questions as you have these prospecting conversations: "Mr/Ms Prospect, what is your strategy for conducting business in this current economy?"
That's it. That's all you need to do differently. Those who are shrinking and cutting back will be revealed quickly, and you can politely but firmly close their file for now. This keeps you from wasting your time trying to chase them and convince them to invest money with which they do not want to part. On the other hand, those who answer your question with something like "we're looking to expand, to take market share from our competitors while they cut back," those are the people with whom you spend your time. Those are the prospects who will thrive. And you will thrive, too, if you help them discover how your product or service is critical if they are to achieve those aggressive goals.
Yes, they are out there, and they will be the ones who will be still standing when the dust clears. Go find them. Is this a great economy or what?
Al Simon is president of Simon, Inc., an authorized licensee of Sandler Training. He can be contacted at www.SimonSaysSell.net
