Selling in a Down Economy

How do you sell when times are tight and people are nervous? A down economy creates an opportunity for smart salespeople to grow their business and even thrive.

So, what can you do? Now is the time to take a hard look at your sales efforts and see how you can adjust your strategy to maximize opportunities.

Here are 5 strategies to help you sell in a down economy:

1. Maximize each lead.
In an economic downturn, buyers take even longer than normal to research potential purchases. A prospect may need more hand-holding and solid, reliable information to make a decision. They are looking for facts, figures, testimonials, and case studies to verify that you can do what you say you will do. Be prepared to spend a little extra time educating prospects, answering questions, and reassuring them they are making the right decision.

2. Nurture your current customers.
We all know it takes more time and money to get a new customer than keep an existing one. Your firm may have less money to spend on acquiring new customers. So, spend more time marketing and selling to the people you already know. Contact customers just to let them know you care. Offer them something free or provide them with an extra little perk. For instance, give a business owner a calculator and tell him how you can improve his bottom line.

3. Remember the end of the buying cycle.
You may find that you need to focus more than ever on closing the sale when prospects are actually ready to buy. You can supply additional information to give prospects that extra push to make the purchase. For instance, a financial company can give details about its stability and track record. Or, you can provide white papers, buyers guides, checklists, or evaluations to show why your product or service is a sound financial decision.

4. Give prospects what they want.
If you haven't already, now may be the time to consider and on-demand system for marketing and sales. You can contact prospects and customers with communications that are more meaningful, industry-specific, and speak to the challenges of your target market. It allows you to nurture existing customers, cross-sell customers, and send specific, customized information to prospects. For instance, if you know that customers who lease from you also purchase insurance, you can send a cross-sell promotion to those customers. Or, you could send a series of mailings to prospects that contain information only about the products or services that interest them.

5. Appeal to common sense over emotion.
Buyers are looking for rational, practical reasons to buy your product or service. Spontaneous purchases of luxury items are replaced with more deliberate, cost-conscious purchases. In the past, you may have been able to appeal to desire to "keep up with the Joneses" or just because it's cool, but now consumers (both businesses and individuals) are looking to justify the purchase as essential, or a good business decision.

The bottom line: keep doing what you're doing. Now is not the time to panic and drastically change your sales efforts. Continue your sales and marketing efforts – just find ways to adjust your approach to address the needs and concerns of your customers and prospects.

The Power of Good Collateral Materials

I recently read an article that said "collateral materials don't sell for you." I agree that a brochure isn't going to pick up the phone and call a prospect, or email an estimate to a customer.

Yet, I believe collateral materials can play an important role in making the sale happen. First, what do I mean by collateral? Some marketers may limit the definition to a leave-behind brochure. To me, effective collateral is much, much more. It can include brochures about your company and products or services, sell sheets, flyers, case studies or testimonials, letters, business cards, even proposals, or a presentation folder.

All of these marketing materials can help support the sale. Different businesses or consumers are at different stages of the "buying cycle." If you're selling financing to lease an airplane, you need to catch a business at the time when they are ready to lease. If you're selling insurance, you need to address consumers who are at different stages in life. Some people know they need it, and are procrastinating. Others may need to be more educated about the benefits of your product.

Just because you call a prospect and ask him if he wants to lease and airplane and he says no, doesn't mean that sales opportunity is over. Now, you should keep in contact with him until he is ready to lease. You can send him a follow-up mailing with a brochure or flyer and your business card. If interest rates or some other factor should change that might make leasing more appealing, you can send him a letter letting him know about the new rates. Then, if you follow-up with a call, he is prepared to talk to you about this new development.

Here are some more ways that collateral materials can play an ongoing roll in the sales cycle.

Build a strong image of your company in prospects' minds.
Your prospect may know very little about you at the beginning of your relationship. By sending her ongoing communications, you create an image of your company and products/services in her mind.

Reinforce your company's brand identity with customers.
You may think that your customers know you and will call when they need something. This can be a costly assumption. It's important to say top-of-mind with existing customers. For instance, you can send a case study with a recent success story. Or, send a sell sheet with new information about a product or service.

Educate buyers about your entire product or service offering.
A customer who has life insurance with you may not realize you also offer long term care insurance and annuities. Collateral materials can help you cross-sell to existing customers.

Provide support and education.
An email newsletter, white paper, or blog can help you connect with your customers and prospects and position you as an expert in the industry.

You may worry that continuing to send materials to prospects will eventually decrease your response rates. However, the opposite is often true. That's because you're establishing a relationship or rapport with your customers and prospects that leads to both new and ongoing business.