trouble, I might ask my sales manager to be hard on me and see if I can work around him,” says Delpardo. If it appears the problem lies in your sales technique – you’re meeting with the right people but not closing enough sales – it helps to refocus on sales basics. For example, Kristine Long, sales manager for a manufac- turers distributor, has the sales force complete customer evaluations. “They get in front of the customer and ask questions about how we’re doing, the level of satisfaction, how we can improve, and what the next sales opportunities are. Then, rather than a me-focused sales process, it’s customer focused,” she says. Doing that type of blocking and tackling may not break you out of a slump imme- diately, but it paves the way for sales over the long term.
Another suggestion: listen. During
presentations, whose voice do you hear the most – yours or your custom- ers’? “You can put yourself in a slump by talking more than your customers,” says Delpardo. “It’s important to get the customer to talk. If you’re talking, you’re not selling.”
An indication that lack of drive and enthusiasm is the culprit: lots of calls but few contacts – and even fewer ap- pointments. “If you’re just dialing and not making connections, or you’re leaving voice mails, you’re not really doing your job,” says the consultant. To get back in the game, Del-
pardo recommends setting smaller daily goals for yourself. “Maybe just a
SELLING TIP Peak Sales in Any Economy
Boom times – as well as periods of economic uncertain- ty – can produce peak sales if the number one factor in selling is always considered: buyer motivation. Although the specific reasons for purchasing your
product or service will change from client to client – and from recession to recovery – there will always be one or more motivators determining the buyer’s interest. Some of these motivators are security, status, speed, comfort, money saving potential, and convenience.
second interview or meeting with the contact’s boss. I might consider that a success, rather than writing a contract that day,” he says. Smaller goals don’t necessarily move you farther away from your overall sales target. “You’ll meet your goals and, by taking those smaller steps, it may spark something within you to get selling again.” The consultant maintains his motivation by reading and listening to business- and marketing-related works that inspire him. Breaking a sweat helps, too. “I exercise more to build stamina and strengthen my im- mune system. You have to do some- thing to shake things up.” He also recommends reaching out to mentors and confidantes; they may be just the fix needed to restore your confidence. Investing time and money in a training course is another way of putting some sizzle back in your sales routine. If all else fails, reflect on harder times. “If I’m in a bad place, I remember a time that was worse. Then I can say to myself, ‘I made it through that, and I can make it through this,’” reports Delpardo. If you conclude that you’re doing all the right things and your enthu- siasm really is in high gear, then the problem may be the particular market you’re working in – if not the economy as a whole. In either circumstance, Lang’s message is not to think you’re down for the count. “If you’re not number one in the market, there’s still an opportunity, even in a recession,” he contends.
Long made it through the last reces-
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Respect is one of life’s greatest treasures. MARILYN MONROE
sion by “focusing more on customers and improving my interactions with them. I tried being a better listener, and I noticed more opportunities – and, more importantly, I recognized problems,” she reports. “When you take on a consultant role, you embrace problems rather than running away from them, and 50 percent of prob- lems turn into a sale of some sort.” Another way to ward off the ill ef- fects of a bad economy or sector is to pull yourself out of the sales grind. “If you’re buried in it instead of viewing it from on top, you can’t see the prob- lem. If you can be more anticipatory and proactive, it will put you more in control,” argues the consultant. “The challenge is that sales is such a day- to-day tactical activity, many people never take a strategic view of their market or industry.”
But how can you put aside time to
read trade publications when you’re fighting to meet this quarter’s sales target? “We get addicted to busy work, and it takes a lot of courage to carve out time. A person in a slump has to work longer and harder and invest in themselves,” he says. “Quit- ting at 5:00 doesn’t make it when you’re in a slump.”
As a salesperson, your job is simple: give the client a
reason to buy. Benefits – not a long, dry list of product or service features – will convince your customers it is to their advantage to purchase what they need and want from you.
In boom times, many salespeople become order takers. They lose their edge. When the competition becomes fierce, their bare-bone presentations are only skeletons of an effective selling program. Put some meat on your sales call for a peak success rate – no matter what the economy is like – by giving your clients a presentation that will turn benefits for them into profits for you.
– VINCE PESCE SELLING POWER MARCH 2019 | 13 © 2019 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
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