Now is the time for sales heroes
“It’s not affected me yet!” That’s what most salespeople and busines owners were saying to me about their sales results, when booking motivational speeches and sales training programmes, until a few months ago, “It’s not affected me yet!” Few clients or business people that I meet are saying that now. Far from it. 6 months ago most were hoping that this “correction” (“credit crunch”, “recession”… call it what you will) was going to pass them by if they kept their heads down. They figured that they’d heard doom and gloom from the media before and that it would all blow over and everything would be back to business as normal.
It seems that may not be the case and that with every passing day things keep seeming to get worse. Banks seem to be failing with alarming regularity, no financial institutions seem to be safe and many companies are making redundancies and cost-savings. Everyone seems to be battening down the hatches preparing for the worst.
On a personal level many people are worried about their savings, their investments and their jobs. And don’t even get me started on pensions! This lack of confidence is being carried back into the workplace and is affecting many salespeople, business people and entrepreneurs in the way that they act, how they behave and how they sell – in work and out of it.
Companies are acting the same way and are being cautious; very cautious. And rightly so. It’s right for companies to be pulling in their belts and preparing for what could well be tough times ahead. It’s right for companies to be prudent in how they spend their money. It’s right that we all reassess what we spend our hard earned cash on.
The times of credit, credit , credit are over… probably for good… and this is going to make the job of a professional salesperson harder in the future, potentially much harder, but also very, very important.
In the boom times that we have been experiencing, many salespeople didn’t need to be very good at what they did. I have long said that many so called salespeople in many supposedly high-end industries were little more than order takers. Well if there ‘aint no easy orders, there ‘aint going to be much for them to do in the future.
I have privately, and to my inner circle, predicted that many salespeople had a rude awakening coming when their markets changed and that failing to invest in themselves, their own personal development, their sales career and failing to learn to sell properly was like sleep walking into a furnace – lethal if you don’t realise you have before the door shuts behind you!
This is serious. This isn’t no X-Factor, fantasy football or fairy tale; this is real life and real life doesn’t rely on one good song to make your fortune and get you out of the smelly stuff. Real life requires consistent work to improve and better yourself and your business. Real life requires consistent effort and motivation. Real life requires you to have the ability to get up again when all around you give up.
Real life requires sales heroes.
Sales heroes know that they have to keep getting up when all around them fall. Sales heroes know that they have to keep persisting when all around them give up. Sales heroes know that they need to be 100% on top of their game.
Let’s get one thing straight, there is still business out there. You may have to work harder to get it. You may have to work smarter to get it. You may have to be a better salesperson than you are today to get it. But get it you can, if you want to and if you’re prepared to put the effort in.
One area that deserves more effort and energy in today’s markets is prospecting. Prospecting is the very life blood of salespeople and is essential in all markets and critical in tough markets like the ones that we currently face. Prospecting is the very air that you and your business require to breathe. But it’s an area that many sales and business people do not do consistently enough. And one area of prospecting that is avoided studiously by many is cold calling…
- Many salespeople believe that cold calling doesn’t work – they don’t know how to do it properly.
- Many salespeople don’t get the results that they deserve when cold calling – they don’t know the correct skills.
- Many salespeople aren’t consistent enough cold callers – they don’t know the mindsets and strategies of sales superstars.
- Many salespeople do no prospecting other than cold calling - they’re one-trick-ponies and no-one likes that!
Cold calling may not be right for every industry and for every product, service or solution but in many industries and situations cold calling is a proven, measurable and cost-effective strategy for creating new leads, new opportunities and new clients. As part of your lead generation strategy, cold calling more than likely will have an important role to play.
I recently recorded some short video clips on various sales training and business development subjects which were going to be sold as bitesize sales training and development clips but I have decided that special times require special actions so on my website you will find a short, snappy 10 minute video on how to become a confident and effective cold caller.
Its’ yours to watch for free, all I ask is that when you have benefited from this clip, please forward it to a salesperson colleague, a sales manager or a friend who will also benefit and encourage them to join my Sales Success newsletter too. I have embedded the video from Youtube so that it is easy for you to forward the video or you can just forward the link to the free sales training, cold calling webpage.
http://www.gaviningham.com/2008/10/10/10-tips-for-confident-cold-calling-sales-training-video-1/.
I suspect there are going to be some more bad news headlines this week and plenty more doom and gloom from the media. Why not join me and swim against the current this week? It’s time for us salespeople to take a hold of this economy… watch and enjoy my video and then get out there and make things happen for you and for your business. I know that’s what I am going to do.
Have a great week and sell with passion.
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cold calls are hard, and too often people tell themselves “I’ll get 10 good contacts today” and call their heart out. Setting a number that they can’t control ends up breaking their spirit. Saying “I will make 100 calls today” and not give yourself an uncontrollable measurement will make you feel better and more productive.
Tomorrow will only be a good day if there is 3 minutes of rain starting at 11h00 and finishing at 11h03.
A company that tightens their belt and prepares for what could well be tough times ahead is being safe. No matter what, at the end of they ear they can say that they ’saved’ (actually, didn’t spend) money. There is merit in this logic.
Right now is the time to make sales. Instead of saving that money it is the time to make every effort to make more sales. At the end of the year when we see the bottom line will you me more impressed with a company that did nothing, or one that worked hard and made sales?
The Sales count for me. Want to save money, have people re-negotiate every contract for service that you have - don’t cut back on sales.
Richard
Thanks for your comments, so true. I was speaking with a company yesterday who are cutting back on expenditure relating to their sales team in “anticipation” of difficult times ahead…
Act like that and you guarantee you and your business are in for a rocky road!
Sure, companies should be controlling expenditure, your advice is sound and I also agree with you that investment in your business (and that includes your sales team and your people) is now more than ever essential. Problem is, most people do not know the difference between an expense and and investment…
With many companies cutting back and sales teams slacking off believing that there is no opportunity out there right now, the hard working sales professional has an opportunity to prove their value to their organisation by fostering new client relationships and strengthening existing ones.