The thing about an uncertain economy is that it is … uncertain. No one knows what’s going to happen.


J.P. Morgan reports global GDP will increase by just 1.5% in 2023 and the U.S. GDP by 1%. Bloomberg predicts a U.S. recession, with continued inflation and higher interest rates. The Deloitte forecast shows very slow growth in the first half of 2023 but not a recession. And some investors are bullish.


Long story, short, we don’t know what’s


around the bend. And, that makes it hard to plan. Sometimes it feels like packing for a vacation without knowing your destination. Should you toss the ski gloves and goggles into the suitcase? Or the sunscreen and swimsuit? Of course, there have been downturns before. But we haven’t come out of a global pandemic in the modern age. Certainly not while facing climate change, a war, and supply chain pressure. Remote workers feel disconnected from their teams and insecure about their jobs. Many of today’s salespeople weren’t in the workforce during the last downturn. Think about it: Today’s 30-year-olds were in middle school during the 2007-2009 Great Recession. So, while downturns might not be new, they’re new to them. As you look at your sales organization, you need to evaluate how to prepare for any possibility. There’s probably not room for both the ski equipment and the beach gear.


SO, WHAT’S AN ORGANIZATION TO DO? The good news is that there are steps you can take. As 2023 rears its uncertain head, being fiscally conservative is likely going to be required, but to do so as a knee-jerk reaction is not the answer. Being intentional can make the difference between an organization in chaos and one leading through innovation. In uncertain times, organizations are facing two mandates that, on their face, seem contradictory: reduce spending and increase productivity. In fact, those goals can complement each other, if you think about them as motivation to invest in your sales team and create agile, well-trained sellers, armed with the right tools, who can sell efficiently regardless of market forces.


Forward-thinking organizations will connect key sales capabilities—onboarding and training; content and messaging; coaching and collaboration; product launches and rollouts, and virtual selling—to build the sales force of the future.


BE RESILIENT When the ground beneath you is unstable, the key to survival is the ability to move quickly to safer footing. When McKinsey investigated the relationship between companies’ organizational health and their financial performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, it found that those with resilient behaviors were more likely to stay solvent than those that did not. Resilient companies bounce forward, innovating through change, rather than bouncing back after adversity. “In fact, organizations can grow through downturns,” explains Mark Magnacca, president and co-founder of Allego. “Companies that harness intentional corporate resilience are those that will thrive while others will flounder in uncertainty.” Easier said than done, of course. So, what counts as resilient behaviors? Empowering knowledge sharing, conducting continual training and upskilling, and fostering bottom-up innovation, among others. A resilient workplace is one that is populated by people who are adaptable and flexible.


START WITH STRATEGY To make resilience a reality, take a step back and look at the big picture. All the detailed tactics in the world won’t help if you don’t have clear goals and a game plan for what you want from your sales force and your team, says Mike Kunkle, Vice President, Sales Effectiveness Services, SPARXiQ and author of The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement. His approach to building blocks uses corporate strategy as a foundation and then layers on the tools and techniques to achieve company goals. Examining budgets, desired outcomes, market forces, metrics and external pressures can help you figure out what you want your future sales organization to look like and how to build it. If you start with reactionary actions—such as


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