In the summer of 2001, our sales team was sucking wind. Like many companies, we had just come off several consecutive years of double-digit growth, and the high expectations were still present. However, reality was smacking us in the face. The tech bubble had burst, and the automotive bubble was starting to leak – and the rest of the economy was following closely. Our customers and prospects were buying nothing – zero, zilch, nada. Sales people were scrambling between looking for their next safe landing place and trying to close anything. It wasn’t as bad as the Great Recession a few years later, but it was pretty bad. We were all struggling.
Except for one of us. One of our Regional Sales Managers (RSM), Marcus, was doing just fine. He wasn’t killing it, but he was staying consistent in his activity and his sales. At a trade show that the two of us attended, I asked him what he was doing. His answer was simple, but also very good…
Marcus is about 15 years older than I am. He referenced earlier recessions when I was still in college or Jr. High. This was the first economic downturn I had experienced as a sales professional. He explained that he developed a plan during the last downturn, when he was looking at the ceiling every night wondering if tomorrow was the day he’d be let go from his job. He didn’t really explain it in a consultative or systematic way – he just started telling me stories and how “that wasn’t going to happen to me again”. Being as process-oriented as I am, I went back to my hotel room and developed three principal ideas from his anecdotes. Below are the three ideas that Marcus followed, and every sales person should follow, to be prepared for the next recession.
When times are good, every sales person should …
- Understand the monetary Return on Investment (ROI) of your solution. Marcus asked me: “Do you know the monetary ROI of our products?” I answered in the negative. Why would I know that? We had new and disruptive technology, and it was expensive. We didn’t talk about saving money for our customers – that’s blasphemy. Our customers paid premium because of how great we were.
Well, not in 2001 or any down year. Marcus got in the door because of two case studies that illustrated hard dollars that our technology saved our customers. He built the case studies. He claimed that he begged our marketing team to do so, but they declined. During a recession, the easiest way to get in the door is to illustrate how you can provide a real ROI. Not imaginary exaggerations – a real, hard savings. Most of you (if not all of you) have products and services that deliver a real ROI. Before the next recession, figure out how to illustrate the ROI, and start talking about it. If marketing doesn’t help, do it yourself.
- Build your database. During a recession, no one wants to meet new friends – except those that are looking for a new job. Take time now, when the economy is strong, to grow your database and build your relationships. Attend networking events, speak at association meetings, and get to know all contacts at your clients’ sites. When a recession hits again, your database becomes your best friend.
- Save your money. You’re not as bad as your numbers indicate during a recession, and you’re not as good as your numbers indicate during a boom. Don’t get caught up in a record-breaking year and buy the mansion on the lake. Don’t do it. In fact, save your money.
When Marcus and I spoke, he calmly looked at me, with my bloodshot “am I getting fired today” eyes, and said: “If I get fired tomorrow, I’ll be fine for about two years.” What? Wait … what? Two years? No wonder he was so calm, and appeared so confident to his prospects. Meanwhile, the rest of us appeared to be desperate beggars in front of our customers.
He had a few other ideas, but these were the three that I really took away as the cornerstones of his success and consistency. Don’t think this recovery is permanent. I’m not a gloom-and-doom person, but I do understand math. Expansion and contraction happens – it’s the regular cycle of an economy. When the contraction hits, be ready! … And by the way, these are three pretty good habits for anytime!
