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By Mark Faust Echelon Management
Our sales improvement business has always thrived during recessions, and one reason is what a recent Harvard Business Journal report showed in how the faster growing companies with aggressive management have been shown to invest in growth strategies during down times and reduce costs during the up times contrary to the typical approach of business. Thus it is easier for us to sell the better companies on growth strategies during a downturn.
We’ve noticed these companies tend to gain market share during down times. If they can do it, why can’t you? Isn’t your competition facing the same pressures as you? Aren’t the sales reps of competitors as likely to use the recession as an excuse as anyone? Much of what it takes to beat a recession is the concerted effort and decision to not let it happen to you, but to take it head on and innovate your way out of being a victim of lower sales.
Here are just three of the many strategies a company can take during the midst or beginnings of a recession to actually increase sales.
1. Talk about it, decide as a team to no let it be an excuse
2. Begin building a list of innovations in the marketing and selling of your business then prioritize and act on them
3. Create a list of reasons as to why you are the best company to do business with during a recession
Some examples of selling and marketing innovations are:
- Create a marketing campaign that can be as simple as 3 inexpensive mailings followed up by strategically timed sales calls with your top 20% customers and highest growth potentials.
- Create incentives for tying up business with you, or buying more from you. Focus on creating incentives that don’t cost you much or anything at all, but actually should be lowering your total COS/Cost of Sales. Your customers benefit because they are securing a better than average cost during the recession.
- Survey your customers for what they most fear during these times and what problems most impede their performance during a recession, and then find unique solutions your team can deliver to those needs. The survey in and of itself, if done over the phone or face to face will act as a selling accelerator. Never conduct surveys through email or in the mail.
- At the same time while conducting depth interviews with your customers in a way that is an open ended qualitative face to face or phone approach; ask about what makes you different, and why they prefer you or the competition. This helps to further clarify your positioning in the marketplace. This analysis helps to prioritize your competitive advantages and weaknesses. The process also helps you to better target your idea customers, demographics etc. Improving the focus your sales and marketing efforts have on the right prospects will improve sales results as well.
- Hire more sales people, put a company-wide focus on new sales and marketing strategies and create new incentive packages or sales rewards for securing new customers.
- Getting the team to set a mission critical company growth goal and have every one identify ways that they individually can help reach that central sales growth objective brings the entire team’s focus onto the most important focus during a challenging economy.
- Only focusing on cost savings gives a company a fraction of the potential in the profit improvement process as costs can only go so low. Sales and production are the open ended and often unlimited potential areas of focus for health sales and profit improvement.
Bring the team together immediately and start on the three steps toward growth in these challenging economic times.
