Selling In Difficult Times Requires Having a Mind for Sales

Regardless of what’s happening around you, it is still your job to make things happen, to make sales, and to deliver the numbers.  

We can’t change the world, or what is happening around us, but we can change how we respond to what’s happening around us.  Little did I realize that when I sat one year ago to write my newest book, A Mind For Sales how appropriate it would be for today. 

Video:  Selling in Difficult Times:

Your customers need you more than ever during difficult times. Why do I say that? Because you have the ability to help them get through the difficult times that are out of their control.

During tough times, your customers don’t need to a reminder that times are tough; they don’t need your help seeing that. What they do need is a calmness, a stable voice and proven ideas they can use now.  In doing so, you will also benefit in becoming more stable and calm yourself as you help others. 

Difficult times bring out the real leaders.  In my book, A Mind For Sales I expound upon this idea: “sales is leadership and leadership is sales.”  Right now, you have the ability as a salesperson to magnify your calmness and become the sales leader others look to. 

It’s easy to wallow in the same mud as everyone else and get caught in what the internet is saying and social media is posting. Trust me, I get it. But hear me when I say that a pig playing in the mud requires no intelligence. All the pig–and all you– are doing in the muck is following the herd. Your focus shouldn’t be on what the herd is doing but rather on your customers; they need us now more than ever.   

They need your ideas, they need your solutions.  You must be seen by your customers as an extension of their R&D Department (research and development).  A lot of your customers are in a fog, because they’re preoccupied with the turmoil around them. It’s up to you to stay calm and show them where they need to focus their energy and mind.  And guess what? You can’t do that if you’re caught up in the same mayhem. You can only do that by focusing on tomorrow’s opportunities rather than today’s challenges.

It’s time to double down and get after it!  The key is making it simple for your customer to do business with you. You want to be able to lay out in very simple terms how you can help.  During difficult times, it can be tough for customers to focus. A transaction that requires extensive time to understand, or an excessive number of sales calls, won’t be to your advantage. 

How do you handle things when you find yourself caught up in the confusion and difficult issues surrounding our world today? First of all, relax! Then, do 3 things:

• Know that tough times don’t ever last. It’s just fact – they never do.  Things might seem dark today, but tomorrow always offers us new opportunities.  From a pure economics perspective, every recession in the past has ended… always!

• It’s in tough times that the best solutions are found.  When times are good, it’s amazing how quickly we can look past things. However, as soon as things slow, our eyes are opened to significant opportunities. 

• Most importantly, never stop believing in yourself.  You are your greatest asset. Your ability to impact others will never change and your ability to view each day as an opportunity for growth will never disappear. Be the optimist. Take the initiative and lead. 
  
  For myself, the most beneficial fuel is living my faith in accepting the fact that I don’t have all the answers, but there is One who does. That is where I put my trust. Without getting spiritual, let me just be blunt… those who truly put their faith in God can maneuver through difficult times better, and with joy!

Coronavirus may or may not be a factor on the radar screen one week from now, or one month from now. You don’t know.  I don’t know. Nobody knows. The one thing I do know is that today, I will strive to be the sales leader I’m capable of being with every person I meet.

My new book, A Mind For Sales is a must read, especially in times like this.

Copyright 2020, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog.  Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.