During this down economy, I have been approached by several colleagues on how to increase sales. The typical question I receive is “What is the fastest way to increase sales in our current economy?” This particular message was sent from the CEO of a mid-size company. During these difficult times, it is a whole different ballgame and you need to target your sales efforts differently.
Everywhere you look companies are slashing budgets, but you can still make the sale. How do you handle that less than desired answer “We don’t have a budget for that.” You want to make sure your sales people have the right focus.
According to the Harvard Business Review, “In a Downturn, Provoke Your Customers” (March 2009), by using provocation-based selling, they persuade customers that the products or solutions you bring to the table are not just nice, but necessary. How do you change your existing sales force to this new way of thinking? Recognize them for making the transition to the new desired tactics.
Here are 3 steps provided by the Harvard Business Review that you can do to ramp up your sales force.
- Identify a critical problem facing your customer, something so large that the company will locate the funds. Ask yourself “What is keeping the CEO up at night”?
- Bring a new perspective to the problem; use research and brainstorming to create a new view for the problem. For example, you are thinking X, and maybe you should be thinking Y.
- Target the executive to lodge the provocation with someone that has the power to approve it. Many of the executives you and your sales force have forged relationships with are no longer there, but you can motivate those new contacts by using provocation-based selling.
Of course, this approach is not going to happen overnight or be the answer to all selling situations, but it can shine a new light on age-old selling problems. It can get everyone thinking in the right direction.
No matter what your sales strategies are for 2010, it is most important to reward those sales people who are creating innovative solutions and those who break new sales barriers. Take a look at my white paper, “Impact Your Bottom Line Now, Build a Culture of Recognition.” Creating a culture of recognition can and will impact your sales people by creating engaged and motivated employees.
What are your strategies to increase sales within your organization? Does it include recognition? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Posted by Recognize Right