Chapter 1 – Get Real & Get Focused
Economies And Industries Change, That’s Not Your Fault. But, Responding To The Change Profitably Is Your Responsibility. – Dave Lakhani
You likely picked up this book because you are experiencing a sales slump of some sort. It could be caused by the economy or a change in your industry, or maybe a run of bad days. Whatever it is, I want you to know right now that you can change your results and it won’t take a long time.
This chapter is about reality, how you think, and how you work. You’ll be tempted to skip this chapter and go right to the sections that have tactics that you can use. I’ll caution you not to do that because if you do you’ll be missing one of the biggest lessons in how to overcome any economy and any slump. And the hidden lesson here is that being thorough, being complete, and taking all the steps is what leads to success in learning and in sales.
One thing every professional salesperson can be sure of is that throughout their career many things will change, there will be exceptionally good times, very average times, and some really tough times, it is the nature of sales. Economies change, industries change, buyers change and the most successful salespeople are able to react quickly, learn what they need to succeed and take action. When it comes to selling in challenging times implementation is everything and money follows action. If you choose to sit around and think the sky is falling you’ll miss the many opportunities that show up that didn’t exist when anyone could show up and get a sale. Challenging times hones you to a fine edge that makes you effective and profitable when others struggle and that allows you to prosper even more in the good times.
You likely picked up this book because you are experiencing a sales slump of some sort. It could be caused by the economy or a change in your industry, or maybe a run of bad days. Whatever it is, I want you to know right now that you can change your results and it won’t take a long time.
This chapter is about reality, how you think, and how you work. You’ll be tempted to skip this chapter and go right to the sections that have tactics that you can use. I’ll caution you not to do that because if you do you’ll be missing one of the biggest lessons in how to overcome any economy and any slump. And the hidden lesson here is that being thorough, being complete, and taking all the steps is what leads to success in learning and in sales.
One thing every professional salesperson can be sure of is that throughout their career many things will change, there will be exceptionally good times, very average times, and some really tough times, it is the nature of sales. Economies change, industries change, buyers change and the most successful salespeople are able to react quickly, learn what they need to succeed and take action. When it comes to selling in challenging times implementation is everything and money follows action. If you choose to sit around and think the sky is falling you’ll miss the many opportunities that show up that didn’t exist when anyone could show up and get a sale. Challenging times hones you to a fine edge that makes you effective and profitable when others struggle and that allows you to prosper even more in the good times.
When Nobody’s Buying The People Become Predictable
When economies or industries change sales managers begin chanting their predictable mantra. “You just need to cold call more, push people harder, cut back on your expenses; no more client dinners or paying for golf.” If simply cold calling new prospects and cutting back on client entertainment were the answer there would never be a lack of sales. But with changing economies, with changing access to information, with changing, consolidating industries sales strategies have to change too . . . yet they’ve remained fundamentally the same for years.
When economies and industries change, CEOs, Vice Presidents, and buyers of all kinds begin chanting their own mantra “We have to make across the board cuts, make do with the technology we have, cut back on all spending, negotiate everything and put a hold on all contracts until we see what is really going to happen.”
And with that salespeople pick up the phone and start cold calling trying desperately to reach buyers directly that they’ve never spoken to before and buyers develop more sophisticated strategies for avoiding their calls. Companies struggle to meet revenue projections and salespeople wonder if they should look for greener pastures. Business continues to stagnate and decline.
But it doesn’t have to.
You are about to learn what works today, you are going to learn how to think differently and to act differently so that you can always sell when nobody’s buying and sell even more when they are.
When economies and industries change, CEOs, Vice Presidents, and buyers of all kinds begin chanting their own mantra “We have to make across the board cuts, make do with the technology we have, cut back on all spending, negotiate everything and put a hold on all contracts until we see what is really going to happen.”
And with that salespeople pick up the phone and start cold calling trying desperately to reach buyers directly that they’ve never spoken to before and buyers develop more sophisticated strategies for avoiding their calls. Companies struggle to meet revenue projections and salespeople wonder if they should look for greener pastures. Business continues to stagnate and decline.
But it doesn’t have to.
You are about to learn what works today, you are going to learn how to think differently and to act differently so that you can always sell when nobody’s buying and sell even more when they are.
Sign Up Here To GetThe Latest Research, Selling Tips, and Free Training From Dave Lakhani. Enter your name and email below and press submit for exclusive access. | |
| |
Connect With Me
 |  |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
There are two thoughts about selling in tough times. The first is that times are not tough, it is really all in your head and you just need to work harder and with a better attitude to sell more. It is tough to accept that argument when the businesses you sell to no longer exist or when a major change in your industry or the economy has caused people to behave differently. The second line of thought is that the sky is falling; everything is bad no matter where you look. Don’t waste a lot of time trying to sell anything, no one is buying anyway. It is time to commiserate with others who feel the same way, they understand. Listen to the media for very long in any economic change and you’ll soon be convinced that the apocalypse is on your heels and the only thing to do is bury your head in the sand and wait for the inevitable . . . whatever it is.
Reality however is something different. Difficult, challenging times offer unique opportunities for smart salespeople to make more than they ever have before and to position themselves for extreme success when the cycles change. And, selling when nobody is buying requires a different approach and its not the one that your sales manager learned in 1974 or even the sales techniques you learned a year or two ago, it requires that you learn some new but very simple skills that will allow you to dominate the current marketplace no matter what the condition. It also requires that you do even more of what you are doing well. The exciting part is that as the marketplace changes you’ll constantly be evolving on the front edge of the change, not in the back where all the competition is. Before I get further into that idea, let’s take a look at business cycles.
Dr. Clement Juglar (1819 -1905) was one of the first to develop the idea of a business cycle. His work has led to many more advanced business and economic cycle discoveries and definitions. For sales people his initial business cycle description is probably the most useful in terms of thinking about selling. The four cycles according to Juglar are:
1. Expansion
2. Prosperity
3. Contraction
4. Recession
In the current economy (2009) we’ve seen wholesale devastation of the housing market, bailout of banks, economic stimulus packages that really did nothing and businesses and jobs are disappearing at record rates. I think most people would agree that we are in stage four, recession.
And that is the best time to sell.
In recessionary times several things happen. Many people steer away from sales jobs leaving the market ripe for the picking. Even more salespeople believe that no one is buying because the techniques they’ve always used aren’t working so they stick their head in the sand and do nothing. Coincidently, I believe it is precisely what salespeople do that kicks off stage 1, expansion.
Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial salespeople get hungry, they go out, find and sell solutions, they create opportunities in the vacuums left by others exiting. They take massive, focused action. The result is nothing less than expansion in industries where these pockets of revolutionary thinking exist, where people like you create the future. They do whatever it takes to be successful. They ask their clients what they can do to help and then they get busy doing it. The law of reciprocation says that people are much more likely to give you something when you’ve given them something first.
There is a gap between recession and expansion that is ripe for focused salespeople to really make their mark and here’s why. After the expansion phase has kicked off and is about half way through the cycle everyone jumps on the band wagon and tries to grab what would appear to be low hanging fruit. Everyone loves to sell in the good times. They see opportunity everywhere because the economy is flourishing. But, in the space covering recession and expansion is real opportunity for those salespeople who think better, work smarter, and try harder. Those salespeople create expansion and they reap the rewards. This book is all about how to leverage that time as well as how to position yourself to sell even more in the expansion and prosperity periods.
The great news about economic cycles is that the good times last a lot longer than the bad times, since the great depression of the 1930s we’ve had a good number of setbacks in the economy and we’ve consistently recovered faster from each one. Where recovery took almost a decade after the Great Depression, we’ve recovered from most recent economic slumps in a few years or less. The same is true of your industry, unless you are in an industry that is really going away then the need for your product or service is going to return to the masses more quickly.
Reality however is something different. Difficult, challenging times offer unique opportunities for smart salespeople to make more than they ever have before and to position themselves for extreme success when the cycles change. And, selling when nobody is buying requires a different approach and its not the one that your sales manager learned in 1974 or even the sales techniques you learned a year or two ago, it requires that you learn some new but very simple skills that will allow you to dominate the current marketplace no matter what the condition. It also requires that you do even more of what you are doing well. The exciting part is that as the marketplace changes you’ll constantly be evolving on the front edge of the change, not in the back where all the competition is. Before I get further into that idea, let’s take a look at business cycles.
Dr. Clement Juglar (1819 -1905) was one of the first to develop the idea of a business cycle. His work has led to many more advanced business and economic cycle discoveries and definitions. For sales people his initial business cycle description is probably the most useful in terms of thinking about selling. The four cycles according to Juglar are:
1. Expansion
2. Prosperity
3. Contraction
4. Recession
In the current economy (2009) we’ve seen wholesale devastation of the housing market, bailout of banks, economic stimulus packages that really did nothing and businesses and jobs are disappearing at record rates. I think most people would agree that we are in stage four, recession.
And that is the best time to sell.
In recessionary times several things happen. Many people steer away from sales jobs leaving the market ripe for the picking. Even more salespeople believe that no one is buying because the techniques they’ve always used aren’t working so they stick their head in the sand and do nothing. Coincidently, I believe it is precisely what salespeople do that kicks off stage 1, expansion.
Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial salespeople get hungry, they go out, find and sell solutions, they create opportunities in the vacuums left by others exiting. They take massive, focused action. The result is nothing less than expansion in industries where these pockets of revolutionary thinking exist, where people like you create the future. They do whatever it takes to be successful. They ask their clients what they can do to help and then they get busy doing it. The law of reciprocation says that people are much more likely to give you something when you’ve given them something first.
There is a gap between recession and expansion that is ripe for focused salespeople to really make their mark and here’s why. After the expansion phase has kicked off and is about half way through the cycle everyone jumps on the band wagon and tries to grab what would appear to be low hanging fruit. Everyone loves to sell in the good times. They see opportunity everywhere because the economy is flourishing. But, in the space covering recession and expansion is real opportunity for those salespeople who think better, work smarter, and try harder. Those salespeople create expansion and they reap the rewards. This book is all about how to leverage that time as well as how to position yourself to sell even more in the expansion and prosperity periods.
The great news about economic cycles is that the good times last a lot longer than the bad times, since the great depression of the 1930s we’ve had a good number of setbacks in the economy and we’ve consistently recovered faster from each one. Where recovery took almost a decade after the Great Depression, we’ve recovered from most recent economic slumps in a few years or less. The same is true of your industry, unless you are in an industry that is really going away then the need for your product or service is going to return to the masses more quickly.
Reality Is What You Face Every Day
I’ve noticed that no matter how good times are there are a lot of salespeople who can’t sell and when times are hard there are a lot of salespeople who are getting rich. And as you’ve probably heard before, whether you think you can or think you can’t you are right. And boy would it be nice if it were that easy.
For exceptional salespeople, reality is not just looking at what is happening in the economy or in the market. Reality is in fact taking in everything that is happening in your industry, in your market, and in your company and developing a powerful plan for leveraging that in your favor to help your prospects while getting what you need as well. The question that will arise is: “How do I do that?” And the answer is quite simple.
For exceptional salespeople, reality is not just looking at what is happening in the economy or in the market. Reality is in fact taking in everything that is happening in your industry, in your market, and in your company and developing a powerful plan for leveraging that in your favor to help your prospects while getting what you need as well. The question that will arise is: “How do I do that?” And the answer is quite simple.
You Do Whatever It Takes
As I travel around the world training salespeople I get the same question over and over “What can I do to sell more now?” And, the answer I’ll give you is never the answer they want to hear. The answer is, you do whatever it takes to meet your quota and to get the sale. Of course that doesn’t give you permission to be unethical or untruthful but it does give you the permission to start thinking differently. I also tell them that they need to take the time to learn what is working now.
Doing whatever it takes means just that, it means you dig deeper, you look harder, and you build relationships deeper and deeper in the organization. And, your sales manager got it right, you make the extra calls, you call those people who are on your inactive list, you call new prospects, you call people who were doing business with you and left, you call old prospects you didn’t close business with. Too many salespeople leave money on the table because they don’t go back and talk to people who’ve raised their hand and asked for information even if they didn’t move forward before. But that is only part of the equation, you’ve also got to become an aggressive prospector who develops phenomenal skill at getting the appointment. A mistake many sales professionals make is asking this question, “what can I sell to people who have money to buy today?” The question they should be asking is “how do I find the people who have a need and a capacity for buying the product I have to sell?” The difference is that flitting around trying to match products or services to people with money is a losing game and you’ll never come out on top.
When nobody is buying it is time to do whatever it takes to find the people who are, to learn new influence strategies to sell to the ones who are on the fence. It means that you have to get more creative than ever with the budget you have to reach the clients you need. It means working harder, longer, and often without immediate financial reward in order to achieve great success. The payoff in the long run is that as the economy changes or as your industry changes you’ll be on the front end of profitability from the hard work you did today.
Doing whatever it takes means just that, it means you dig deeper, you look harder, and you build relationships deeper and deeper in the organization. And, your sales manager got it right, you make the extra calls, you call those people who are on your inactive list, you call new prospects, you call people who were doing business with you and left, you call old prospects you didn’t close business with. Too many salespeople leave money on the table because they don’t go back and talk to people who’ve raised their hand and asked for information even if they didn’t move forward before. But that is only part of the equation, you’ve also got to become an aggressive prospector who develops phenomenal skill at getting the appointment. A mistake many sales professionals make is asking this question, “what can I sell to people who have money to buy today?” The question they should be asking is “how do I find the people who have a need and a capacity for buying the product I have to sell?” The difference is that flitting around trying to match products or services to people with money is a losing game and you’ll never come out on top.
When nobody is buying it is time to do whatever it takes to find the people who are, to learn new influence strategies to sell to the ones who are on the fence. It means that you have to get more creative than ever with the budget you have to reach the clients you need. It means working harder, longer, and often without immediate financial reward in order to achieve great success. The payoff in the long run is that as the economy changes or as your industry changes you’ll be on the front end of profitability from the hard work you did today.
Focus Is The Real Key To More Sales
In an over communicated, over stimulated world most people will tell you that they are able to effectively multitask and to focus and in reality nothing is further from the truth. Study after study is beginning to emerge that demonstrates that the time lost between focus when attempting to multitask is much greater than the time people believe it save.
Go Here To Get The Book And Continue Reading!
Go Here To Get The Book And Continue Reading!