Selling in Hard Times Selling your way out of recession

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• Selling in Hard Times - Selling your way out of
  recession
• Guy Aston - Mid-markets Business Director

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Half of B-to-B sellers have never sold in a
recession

• Does this ring true for your salespeople?
• How well equipped are they to face recession?
• And your managers, do they know where to lead?
• Can they coach and encourage their people?
• Will they all avoid the common traps?

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Sales pressure

• In low value or some consumer sales, pressure may
  work
• However, research in higher value, B2B sales
  shows that pressure does not work
• The world has changed. The techniques used over
  the last decade have lost their efficacy
• Pushing the MORE button will not achieve the
  expected results.

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B2B sales

• A greater customer focus upon purchasing
  decisions
• More people involved, and at a higher level
• Research shows that in recession, decisions take
  on average 40 longer
• Pressure creates lots of activity with little or
  poor reward
• Salespeople soon start to flag.

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Focus on the best opportunities

• Average sellers rush to produce quotes to meet
  activity targets
• Orders won are often small and at low margin.
  (Its expected isnt it?)
• Effective sellers focus on the best
  opportunities, plan strategies and detail call
  planning
• The focus is on the customer and their needs
• They build and cement relationships.

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Recession demands higher skills

• Focus on customer, not product
• Understand customer needs
• Network to maximise account potential
• Negotiate for win/win deals
• In reality, a higher order of skill for every
  aspect of the sales process
• Business counsellors rather than sellers.

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Price isnt the only factor

• Price is a factor and never more so than in a
  recession
• In recession, a safe pair of hands is seen as a
  major factor, We must invest wisely
• The customer cannot afford mistakes
• A perceived premium solution is often the safer
  bet. No one got fired for buying IBM!

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Interesting facts

• A survey of 244 senior executives from global
  companies revealed that poor selling, not trading
  conditions, was the cause of under performance.
• 61 saw the sales force as the major growth
  factor.
• Over 50 saw themselves as no better than the
  competition and 20 worse than the competition.
• This research was conducted by Accenture in 2004
  during a time of growth!

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• If skills are so important, which skills should
  we focus on in recession?

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Uncover and develop needs

• Dont employ selling, focus on consulting
• Push pull styles
• Create value
• In the 1980s recession, Motorola ran an
  evaluation project. Sellers trained to sell in a
  consultative way saw sales rise by 17, whilst
  the control group of classic sellers fell by 13.

17 increase in consultative sales
13 decrease in traditional sales
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Develop competitive advantage

• Understand your customers buying criteria
• Understand your own solutions strengths
  weaknesses
• Understand your competitions strengths
  weaknesses
• Create value in the areas where you have the
  advantage.

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Develop stronger perceptions of value

• Customers will focus on cost
• Sellers must build the perception of value
• Telling does not build value
• Help the customer think through the benefits and
  savings for themselves
• They will identify the return on investment, not
  you!

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Handle concerns about risk

• In a recession, most customers are risk averse
• A safe pair of hands is often a key buying
  criteria
• The flight to quality
• Identify the perceived risks and handle them early

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Develop negotiating skills

• Recession is perceived as a buyers market
• Even after successful value building, price
  pressure is inevitable
• Always trade, preferably TCs
• Give a little rather than reduce price
• Effective negotiating skills can save ,000s.

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In summary

• Dont focus all your efforts on cost and
  price-cutting
• Dont dissipate your efforts by chasing every
  sales opportunity
• Focus your efforts on the best prospects
• Develop your sales teams skills to cope
• Keep your negotiation skills highly tuned.

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• Selling in Hard Times - Selling your way out of
  recession
• Guy Aston - Mid-markets Business Director