Capture Market Share in a Weak Economy
Doom and gloom! The report from my financial advisor painted a gloomy picture. Although I understand from the stock market’s volatility that the economy is in a difficult period, I sensed that the bearish news was intentionally crafted to curb my expectations.
And then it struck me. How frustrating it must be for company executives and sales leaders when their salespeople whine, “It’s going to be difficult to exceed quota this year. You know, the economy is tough. You can’t expect much from us.”
Actually, a weak economy is the perfect environment for seizing market share from weak competitors—when you have right sales people on staff, people who have strong hunting, qualifying and closing skills.
Read about salespeople who are successful in any type of economy.
A client who sells capital equipment in the U.S. market is already hearing from his staff that they won’t be able to make their 2008 revenue goals. Even though it’s February, they’ve decided they’re going to miss their goals! It’s almost unfathomable to think that salespeople would base their entire success factor on the economy, when there are so many other aspects of their jobs that are controllable.
Just as I have to question my advisor’s investment acumen when he isn’t offering contingency strategies during this time,
when you hear the “economy excuse” you should question whether you have sales talent who are committed to returning
bottom line results.
If your current sales force is predominantly made up of order takers (those who do well in a strong economy but flounder when they have to start really selling), you have some difficult choices to make. You can either hunker down for lean times, devise backup strategies to compensate for their weaknesses, or upgrade your sales team. After all, when the times are lean... it’s eat or be eaten.
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To find out if your sales organization will take market share from or give some to your competitors, call 612-267-3320, or email Danita@SalesGrowthSpecialists.com. I’ll help you fortify your sales force with hunters who can and will sell in a difficult economy!
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Here’s an excellent post from Dave Kurlan on Sunday, Feb. 10th, entitled, “Companies and Their Sales Forces React Differently to Recession.”
http://www.omghub.com/SalesDevelopmentBlog/tabid/5809/Default.aspx.
