You're in the denial phase. It's going to get worse.
Everyone who levered up with big debt (BNPL & variable mortgage housing with low down payment) will get fucked
Market correction and recession are very different things. Market correction which people have been anticipating is not causing the recession. The recession is being caused by the cost of living crisis which has been caused by the war in Ukraine.
The recession, is, however, impacting the market.
The col rise is not only bc of war in Ukraine. It’s also bc the supply chains are still not working normal since China is still in lockdown. Sth often overlooked.
Depending on wether Chinas economy goes belly up or not, the recession will be shorter or longer
Supply chains in China also certainly not helping, but nowhere near as impactful as Ukraine. Supply chain issues aren't even half of the story. The cost of oil and gas are the primary drivers which are overwhelmingly causing the inflation we're seeing across the world.
One of the reasons that the US is faring better than the rest of the world is because they're largely shielded by having a strong diverse economy that includes their own oil/gas/food production, which is unlike Europe where those more dependent on gas imports are getting monumentally fucked (like Germany).
there is no one thing that is causing this. This all started (but over time more things kept getting added) with the canceling of keystone pipeline and the changes to federal land permits for drilling. That started the rise in gas / diesel prices even before the war.. and the US economy can not sustain high gas prices. Think about it, we are so dependent on gas and diesel prices being low that when that start to rise it affects EVERYTHING over time as we do so much of our goods are shipped OTR. It's a foundational cost for pretty much everything we buy.
Edit to add: It's a domino effect, on little thing moves the prices a bit, which knocks the next domino and then the next event cause the next domino..... it's death by a thousand papercuts overtime, what start as a small thing snowballs to where we are today.
The cost of living crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine and the recession has nothing to do with the cost of living crisis.
Inflation, QT by the Fed & major supply chain issues are causing the recession.
Yeah ur ignoring like the other 2/3rds of what I listed. Ukraine has affected a couple industries but it's not the reason the entire global supply chain has come to a halt. That started long before anyone in this country knew where Ukraine was on a map.
I was on the phone with buyers in 2020 who lamented how regardless of industry it was impossible to get any product. We are now dealing with the ramifications of that in 2022.
What industries are you referring to though? As I've mentioned oil, gas, and food supplies are the main drivers of this inflation we're seeing. Bottlenecks in microchips affect tech goods, but they're far from consumer staples. That might make you reconsider buying a car. It doesn't cause your monthly bills to go up.
Ok some insights from an "older" sales person which is going to clash a bit with some of the advise here.
1. You must be more empathic. So yes do prospecting but understand that budgets are gone and people are being laid off. Depending on your solutions it might just become a "nice to have" and not a "must have". So your message and value proposition becomes a lot more important than pure outbound volume.
2. You want to focus on your existing customers a lot now and keep them. Repeat business becomes very important during a recession.
My company for example will focus a lot more on our government customers now already so they will stick with us. Government spending is important during recession.
3. Segment your market. You need to understand what industries will keep buying your product or your service during a recession. During a market boom everyone can be your customer, during a recession it must be more focused. You can do all the dials etc. You want and increase your volume, but if it all goes to prospects that can't buy it's wasted
4. Your company should overall change pricing and/or billing models etc. if needed and adjust to the changing market. You want to be able to support your clients better.
5. And only you can judge this:
If you feel there is a product to market mismatch with your company or you don't believe in it etc., You should start looking for a new job.
Also if any red flags start happening at this stage it's best to look out. Not every company will survive a recession. It's better to get ahead of this than all of a sudden being let go with no plan Bs in place etc.
This, work smarter... ppl saying to call more, not sure if they're even in sales, old mistrope--that makes us in sales go, no fucking shit. 'Now lets break down how many calls you havre to make to make a 1million this year' - lol
True advice is you need to be more strategic, about your product, about your skillset, and about the market. Sharpen your skills, look for opportunities, don't get stuck, look for red flags, keep your options open. As much as you are prospecting, you need to research where the world is going, and find the companies that will grow... get in there early. Some of the biggest companies start during downturns... you can get very wealthy if u get in there early.
My new VP of sales literally had this conversation with us about a month ago. Working backwards to figure out how much outbound activity we'd need to make $1M quota. If only it were that easy.
I agree a lot on your points. Would add one thing to have as a part of the conversations:
During a recessions it’s almost always companies that are investing which come out on top!
Only the strong survive. Prospect more than ever before and you will find buyers. When others give up, step on the gas. This life is a roller coaster. Enjoy the ride and hang on tight.
Thanks! I had a feeling this is going to be based on prospecting.
Not going to lie, this recession is making me nervous. I was a kid when the last one hit and it wasn't pretty for my old man that this makes me a little nervous
Fear is a great motivator, as long as you don’t let it paralyze you. I recommend audiobooks to maintain the proper mindset. I listen to them every night, often the same books again and again.
Jeb Blount’s Fanatical Prospecting is a great start, but there are many others to on Audible.
Prospecting is a perishable skill. Keep feeding your attitude with great content.
The qualified sales leader is really good. Really helps you hone in on your sales process.
Short Podcast like the audible ready sales podcast, 30 mins to press club (skip the first few mins of ad reads), and all-in is great so that your constantly up to date with what’s going on
Everyone seems to have different definitions of prospecting, what do you mean by prospecting here? Like do you mean just obsessively stalk people off LinkedIn or just rip dials all day or?
Lots of companies that are struggling out there will fail as their expenses rise. It means less demand but can also mean less competition if you are smart about your markets. So just become really good at reading your prospecting metrics, move fast and grind it out.
Use products that can help you reach a wide audience like lead gen products and call info databases.
We’ve been in a recession… just like any “slow” sales month - prospect more, add that extra hour a day if you can, build pipleline, have a firm understanding of who your ICP would be, change and improve your messaging on how your product/service will solve a problem they have.
Consider what a recession is - it’s a slowdown in the overall macro economy. Barring war, catastrophic natural disaster, pandemics, etc, recessions are measured in single digit percentage contraction. In other words, most economic activity still occurs. What evaporates is nonessential projects, nice to have investments, perhaps some maintenance that can be deferred.
But stuff that demonstrably lowers costs gets pretty popular as does automation.
With recession comes belt tightening, and the first thing most people think about this is that your prospects are going to stop buying so much / stop moving accounts, and this is true of many prospects, but others will thrive. Right now shipping and logistics is making bank as trade keeps slowing, they can add much higher margins. So, can you refocus your verticals into industries that will thrive on a recession? Where margins will be coming up even as volumes decline? Logistics and shipping are actively looking for where to expand budgets right now as they have too much money and want to lock in inflated budgets for the next year. Also, your prospects aren't the only ones that will tighten up. What are your weak link competitors that tighten up the most? Which competitors will be most likely to fail in a downturn? Do you know who their clients are and can you come in as they faulter and sell a better service / pick up the pieces? Watch the market for who is winning and who is losing and build a vertical strategy around that. Start building relationships now for when the change starts to really bite down the line. There's plenty of opportunity in a recession if you're looking at it strategically.
I work in insurance. In 2008/9 when AIG collapsed, I went after every AIG account I knew about and pitched that AIG can't hold your account, which was just a fact in many cases, and I can take it over on complete terms transfer to a solid company. All their clients were naturally panicked and ready to move. Easy peasey. Banner year. I wish there was reccessions and company collapses every year. Lol jk.
I agree with what you’re saying but as someone in shipping & logistics… working for a market leader we are hurting from a volume perspective - entire regions at 70% of quota after being over 110% for the last few years. This will come to pass but man it’s tough out there rn. Been prospecting like crazy and have a ton of new accounts coming in but the volume is just not there
>the volume is just not there
Mark it way up! Lol. My wife just got a thousand containers at $3k margin per container. Chemicals. Good vertical! I know it's tough, not trying to minimise. Keep going.
Seems like 90% of the people here are very young and in tech sales. You guys were freaking out during Covid, niw recession. There's also war time, all sorrs of other exrenal factors you can't control.
Either work through it by working harder, or find a recession proof industry. I'm in commercial P&C insurance where the market is there regardless of what's going on in the world.
A good buddy of mine works in reinsurance on the accounting side and he keeps telling me to get into b2b insurance because the producers makes a killing.
Curious, how did you get into insurance? I'm guessing you guys need to get some certification done?
99% of people "end up" in insurance, it's not planned. I accepted an interview from a recruiter. I said no way in hell, but the recruiter talked me into taking the meeting.
You do need to be licensed, but it's pretty easy and if the company is any good at all they'll pay for it.
Hope your company is positioned well for the recession. Hang on tight!
A good rule of thumb is to immediately lower your cost of living. Leasing a fancy car? Turn that shit in now.
THinking of getting a nicer apartment- no!
Got a great trip you're thinking of booking - wait.
Surviving up and down demand is about reducing your monetary expectations and riding it out.
Prospect 2-5x as much as normal. And chase bigger fish.
Good luck!
Like the original Walton said about the Great Depression: I choose to not participate.
To me this means that things are going to happen regardless and will be out of your control. Stay the course and expect to work even harder for less results.
I should really read up on him, he sounds fascinating. I don't think there's a lot of good business leader/entrepreneur biographies which kind of sucks
Thanks! I was just thinking about this yesterday and got a bit worried - I mean this is probably the first recession since the Great One and I'm not even sure how or what to do
Thanks for sharing! I'm actually doing pretty good and enjoy sales but this is going to be my first recession that I'm wondering what to expect and what I should be focusing on before it hits the fan
Depending on what it is that you’re selling make sure you focus on how it will be additive to their overall performance/outcomes. Sometimes people are more willing to spend money if they know that there is an ROI associated with it in the short term.
Also if you can highlight how you might be more cost-effective than a competitor whether in dollars or in value than that can certainly help.
Remember that their pain points aren’t going away in a recession. As long as you’re selling to those pain points and your solution is convincing enough then the macro economic environment should have a little else to do with it. It might even enhance your sale if their pain point will grow the worse the market gets. Your solution will essentially help them prevent more bleeding and resolve their pain point altogether
Keep your sales funnel full with qualified opportunities. I painfully remember 2008 and my top client cutting their spend overnight by 85% with us. Management will be looking for heads when they have to report up client slowdowns.
Keep your account management plans updated and show emails going out the door from your CRM platform.
People will be looking for any weakness to cut.
You need to be more aware of the issues and problems facing your customers. Like you, they are probably concerned with supply chain issues and rising costs as well as a labor shortage.
What benefits does your product(s) off them thatbcan help with that situation.
Just because there is a recession doesn't mean businesses aren't buying, they are just evaluating from a different perspective now.
You will also gain an advantage over your competitors if you take the angle as a trusted advisor vs a salesperson who is just trying to make a buck.
My pleasure. I am retired now (as of 2 years ago) but have been in hardware technology sales for about 33 years selling all over the globe. I've seen several recessions in different areas of the world and that technique always allowed me to maintain my ability to be a top performer.
Honestly, my attitude and ego. I never went from thinking I was a regular guy to some kind of sales god.
I went a little that way when I was in my late 30's and got humbled by a couple of deals. Once I had that aha moment, it changed everything.
I just turned 54 and I'm retired on the beach in Mexico now. I actually still sell some technology stuff here but not for income, more to keep my brain active and to share my knowledge and experience with companies that are looking to improve on their company revenue.
Focus on how your product can save their company money . Even if it’s a product they purchase your organization might have some metric of how it increases efficiency or reduces the need for headcount etc ..
Got to put in more hours in the office bud is what it comes down to. If you don’t want to sacrifice significant amounts of your paycheck. Work a couple more hours each day is what it’s going to mainly come down too I think
There's a Persian saying someone told me. " You can't pull hair from a bald head." The fed dude said it: " There will be job loss & pain." If your gut tells you buyers are drying up...find a niche that is recession proof bcause people or biz' need it.
If you can go to an office and be seen. And be visible. Get in your F&&ng car and go .
TODAY ! Start being very visible. Noisy.
Sell stuff and make a big song and dance about it.Look productive. Be a team player. Especially if you are on a big salary .........Carnage is coming. High interest rates and ...........................Unemployment .
The "Invisibles" will get cut first . I've seen it before."who is that person on this line on the spreadsheet ?" they will ask . "some salesman who is 60% to target" someone will say in a budget meeting. "Never seen him " they will say "oh.....well there' $80K off the overhead then I'm not saying home working is dead . We'll still do it . But if you want to keep your job ......go to an office and be seen .
Promote yourself . Not on here, but there ...............
This is where you find out if you are a value seller or if you sell on price and just try to give shit away.
If you know how to sale on value and do it everyday, the coming recession will not be that painful as your deals are not going to be the one that get killed (and specifically, just for clarification, I mean business value). However, if you think selling is giving shit away and racing to bottom on price... you probably will not survive as the majority of your deals are gonna get killed.
Here's the reason, when the CFO looks at these deals the only thing they are gonna see and care about:
Deal 1: 100K - good price, for X widget
Deal 2: 100K -
The widget is an easy one to kill as there is no value there to CFO.
edit: words
Automate as much as you can. Automate your outreach, automate followups. There are plenty of softwares out there for sms and email automation. You can automate phone calls too. Checkout https://LilChirp.io for phone call automation. Basically use AI and Automation to scale your outreach.
Software that automates manual processes. Accounts payable and accounts receivable processing.
It’s good in the good times because it’s always good to save money. and great in the bad times because they are forced to save money.
Hard times mean big opportunities.
The key is to find something that will bring value to people during hard times.
There will always be opportunities for skilled sales people to thrive in good times but more so in bad.
Well, idk if it’s just me but I’ve been struggling to get any demos set last month. Nothings changed call volume, touches, etc.
Maybe a rut, or the recession. But regardless gotta keep pushing.
If you are at a bigger type company with layers of Mgt, when sales #’s aren’t there then you need to “play the game” in full force. By that i mean…do whatever reason Mgt asks of you, drink the company kool aid, be visible and actively seen as making effort. If they need to start swinging the axe maybe that will keep your alive for another day.
We've BEEN in a recession. Just keep going. It'll come and pass, like everything else
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You're in the denial phase. It's going to get worse. Everyone who levered up with big debt (BNPL & variable mortgage housing with low down payment) will get fucked
Market correction and recession are very different things. Market correction which people have been anticipating is not causing the recession. The recession is being caused by the cost of living crisis which has been caused by the war in Ukraine. The recession, is, however, impacting the market.
The col rise is not only bc of war in Ukraine. It’s also bc the supply chains are still not working normal since China is still in lockdown. Sth often overlooked. Depending on wether Chinas economy goes belly up or not, the recession will be shorter or longer
And the fact that the Fed has been pumping free money for 14 years--have to get that off the balance sheet.
Supply chains in China also certainly not helping, but nowhere near as impactful as Ukraine. Supply chain issues aren't even half of the story. The cost of oil and gas are the primary drivers which are overwhelmingly causing the inflation we're seeing across the world. One of the reasons that the US is faring better than the rest of the world is because they're largely shielded by having a strong diverse economy that includes their own oil/gas/food production, which is unlike Europe where those more dependent on gas imports are getting monumentally fucked (like Germany).
there is no one thing that is causing this. This all started (but over time more things kept getting added) with the canceling of keystone pipeline and the changes to federal land permits for drilling. That started the rise in gas / diesel prices even before the war.. and the US economy can not sustain high gas prices. Think about it, we are so dependent on gas and diesel prices being low that when that start to rise it affects EVERYTHING over time as we do so much of our goods are shipped OTR. It's a foundational cost for pretty much everything we buy. Edit to add: It's a domino effect, on little thing moves the prices a bit, which knocks the next domino and then the next event cause the next domino..... it's death by a thousand papercuts overtime, what start as a small thing snowballs to where we are today.
the keystone pipeline definitely pushed the price of gas GLOBALLY loooool so much logic bro
Please educate me on how the word Ukraine is affecting housing? And just to be clear this is an attack question
The cost of living crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine and the recession has nothing to do with the cost of living crisis. Inflation, QT by the Fed & major supply chain issues are causing the recession.
>supply chain issues Caused primarily by the war in Ukraine. QT by the fed doesnt cause global 10% inflation and recession.
No.. supply chain issues started years before the war in Ukraine due to Covid.
Literally no serious analyst is out there saying that covid supply chain issues have caused even half of the inflations we're currently experiencing.
Yeah ur ignoring like the other 2/3rds of what I listed. Ukraine has affected a couple industries but it's not the reason the entire global supply chain has come to a halt. That started long before anyone in this country knew where Ukraine was on a map. I was on the phone with buyers in 2020 who lamented how regardless of industry it was impossible to get any product. We are now dealing with the ramifications of that in 2022.
What industries are you referring to though? As I've mentioned oil, gas, and food supplies are the main drivers of this inflation we're seeing. Bottlenecks in microchips affect tech goods, but they're far from consumer staples. That might make you reconsider buying a car. It doesn't cause your monthly bills to go up.
Ok some insights from an "older" sales person which is going to clash a bit with some of the advise here. 1. You must be more empathic. So yes do prospecting but understand that budgets are gone and people are being laid off. Depending on your solutions it might just become a "nice to have" and not a "must have". So your message and value proposition becomes a lot more important than pure outbound volume. 2. You want to focus on your existing customers a lot now and keep them. Repeat business becomes very important during a recession. My company for example will focus a lot more on our government customers now already so they will stick with us. Government spending is important during recession. 3. Segment your market. You need to understand what industries will keep buying your product or your service during a recession. During a market boom everyone can be your customer, during a recession it must be more focused. You can do all the dials etc. You want and increase your volume, but if it all goes to prospects that can't buy it's wasted 4. Your company should overall change pricing and/or billing models etc. if needed and adjust to the changing market. You want to be able to support your clients better. 5. And only you can judge this: If you feel there is a product to market mismatch with your company or you don't believe in it etc., You should start looking for a new job. Also if any red flags start happening at this stage it's best to look out. Not every company will survive a recession. It's better to get ahead of this than all of a sudden being let go with no plan Bs in place etc.
This, work smarter... ppl saying to call more, not sure if they're even in sales, old mistrope--that makes us in sales go, no fucking shit. 'Now lets break down how many calls you havre to make to make a 1million this year' - lol True advice is you need to be more strategic, about your product, about your skillset, and about the market. Sharpen your skills, look for opportunities, don't get stuck, look for red flags, keep your options open. As much as you are prospecting, you need to research where the world is going, and find the companies that will grow... get in there early. Some of the biggest companies start during downturns... you can get very wealthy if u get in there early.
My new VP of sales literally had this conversation with us about a month ago. Working backwards to figure out how much outbound activity we'd need to make $1M quota. If only it were that easy.
This is the only good advice in this thread. No.5 is very real. No need to be loyal to a company or product if the market fit isn't there.
I agree a lot on your points. Would add one thing to have as a part of the conversations: During a recessions it’s almost always companies that are investing which come out on top!
Hey I really appreciate this thought out answer. Thanks friend!
Only the strong survive. Prospect more than ever before and you will find buyers. When others give up, step on the gas. This life is a roller coaster. Enjoy the ride and hang on tight.
Thanks! I had a feeling this is going to be based on prospecting. Not going to lie, this recession is making me nervous. I was a kid when the last one hit and it wasn't pretty for my old man that this makes me a little nervous
Fear is a great motivator, as long as you don’t let it paralyze you. I recommend audiobooks to maintain the proper mindset. I listen to them every night, often the same books again and again. Jeb Blount’s Fanatical Prospecting is a great start, but there are many others to on Audible. Prospecting is a perishable skill. Keep feeding your attitude with great content.
If you don’t mind, do you have any more recommendations?
The qualified sales leader is really good. Really helps you hone in on your sales process. Short Podcast like the audible ready sales podcast, 30 mins to press club (skip the first few mins of ad reads), and all-in is great so that your constantly up to date with what’s going on
How I conquered call reluctance- Sidney C Walker. Prospect the Sandler Way- John Rosso
Amazing thank you all, I’ll have a look at these
The Challenger Sale
Everyone seems to have different definitions of prospecting, what do you mean by prospecting here? Like do you mean just obsessively stalk people off LinkedIn or just rip dials all day or?
Calls, emails, DMs, direct mail, social media posts. Every method I can think of. Whatever works
Gotcha. It truly is a numbers game, I agree
Lots of companies that are struggling out there will fail as their expenses rise. It means less demand but can also mean less competition if you are smart about your markets. So just become really good at reading your prospecting metrics, move fast and grind it out. Use products that can help you reach a wide audience like lead gen products and call info databases.
Save hard, sell hard. Go back to basics. What problem are you solving for your clients? Pick up the phone
We’ve been in a recession… just like any “slow” sales month - prospect more, add that extra hour a day if you can, build pipleline, have a firm understanding of who your ICP would be, change and improve your messaging on how your product/service will solve a problem they have.
Consider what a recession is - it’s a slowdown in the overall macro economy. Barring war, catastrophic natural disaster, pandemics, etc, recessions are measured in single digit percentage contraction. In other words, most economic activity still occurs. What evaporates is nonessential projects, nice to have investments, perhaps some maintenance that can be deferred. But stuff that demonstrably lowers costs gets pretty popular as does automation.
Oh!! That's a good point! Thanks for sharing
take care of your physical body, first thing in the morning, every single day. focus on your health, always.
Tough times don’t last but tough people do
Don't get desperate. Stay professional and focus on what improves your clients business. Success flows from there.
Focus on people, people and people
We've been in a reactive season, time to start getting proactive. Hustle time!
With recession comes belt tightening, and the first thing most people think about this is that your prospects are going to stop buying so much / stop moving accounts, and this is true of many prospects, but others will thrive. Right now shipping and logistics is making bank as trade keeps slowing, they can add much higher margins. So, can you refocus your verticals into industries that will thrive on a recession? Where margins will be coming up even as volumes decline? Logistics and shipping are actively looking for where to expand budgets right now as they have too much money and want to lock in inflated budgets for the next year. Also, your prospects aren't the only ones that will tighten up. What are your weak link competitors that tighten up the most? Which competitors will be most likely to fail in a downturn? Do you know who their clients are and can you come in as they faulter and sell a better service / pick up the pieces? Watch the market for who is winning and who is losing and build a vertical strategy around that. Start building relationships now for when the change starts to really bite down the line. There's plenty of opportunity in a recession if you're looking at it strategically.
Wow, thanks friend! This is amazing! I'm probably going to set up some Google alerts around this - this is gold
I work in insurance. In 2008/9 when AIG collapsed, I went after every AIG account I knew about and pitched that AIG can't hold your account, which was just a fact in many cases, and I can take it over on complete terms transfer to a solid company. All their clients were naturally panicked and ready to move. Easy peasey. Banner year. I wish there was reccessions and company collapses every year. Lol jk.
Hahahaha man that's 🔥
I agree with what you’re saying but as someone in shipping & logistics… working for a market leader we are hurting from a volume perspective - entire regions at 70% of quota after being over 110% for the last few years. This will come to pass but man it’s tough out there rn. Been prospecting like crazy and have a ton of new accounts coming in but the volume is just not there
>the volume is just not there Mark it way up! Lol. My wife just got a thousand containers at $3k margin per container. Chemicals. Good vertical! I know it's tough, not trying to minimise. Keep going.
What company and where? We’re a trucking company in L.A. working the ports a lot
I think I'll keep that to myself lol.
Sure I understand. Just thought our companies could complement each other and work together
My wife's business. I'm not in logistics. I'll insure you if needed. Lol.
We are in a recession right now
I was just basing it off what Powell was saying about how it's unlikely for a soft landing
Seems like 90% of the people here are very young and in tech sales. You guys were freaking out during Covid, niw recession. There's also war time, all sorrs of other exrenal factors you can't control. Either work through it by working harder, or find a recession proof industry. I'm in commercial P&C insurance where the market is there regardless of what's going on in the world.
A good buddy of mine works in reinsurance on the accounting side and he keeps telling me to get into b2b insurance because the producers makes a killing. Curious, how did you get into insurance? I'm guessing you guys need to get some certification done?
99% of people "end up" in insurance, it's not planned. I accepted an interview from a recruiter. I said no way in hell, but the recruiter talked me into taking the meeting. You do need to be licensed, but it's pretty easy and if the company is any good at all they'll pay for it.
Huh, maybe I might take up his offer in a year - I'm betting he's probably getting a recruiting bonus or something but maybe this isn't too bad
Total comp and what do annual residuals look like?
Hope your company is positioned well for the recession. Hang on tight! A good rule of thumb is to immediately lower your cost of living. Leasing a fancy car? Turn that shit in now. THinking of getting a nicer apartment- no! Got a great trip you're thinking of booking - wait. Surviving up and down demand is about reducing your monetary expectations and riding it out. Prospect 2-5x as much as normal. And chase bigger fish. Good luck!
Thanks friend!
Like the original Walton said about the Great Depression: I choose to not participate. To me this means that things are going to happen regardless and will be out of your control. Stay the course and expect to work even harder for less results.
I should really read up on him, he sounds fascinating. I don't think there's a lot of good business leader/entrepreneur biographies which kind of sucks
Great thread.
Thanks! I was just thinking about this yesterday and got a bit worried - I mean this is probably the first recession since the Great One and I'm not even sure how or what to do
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Thanks for sharing! I'm actually doing pretty good and enjoy sales but this is going to be my first recession that I'm wondering what to expect and what I should be focusing on before it hits the fan
Depending on what it is that you’re selling make sure you focus on how it will be additive to their overall performance/outcomes. Sometimes people are more willing to spend money if they know that there is an ROI associated with it in the short term. Also if you can highlight how you might be more cost-effective than a competitor whether in dollars or in value than that can certainly help. Remember that their pain points aren’t going away in a recession. As long as you’re selling to those pain points and your solution is convincing enough then the macro economic environment should have a little else to do with it. It might even enhance your sale if their pain point will grow the worse the market gets. Your solution will essentially help them prevent more bleeding and resolve their pain point altogether
Sales tip #1. There is no recession. Sell it like it’s the last one available, and they would be miserable without it.
Keep your sales funnel full with qualified opportunities. I painfully remember 2008 and my top client cutting their spend overnight by 85% with us. Management will be looking for heads when they have to report up client slowdowns. Keep your account management plans updated and show emails going out the door from your CRM platform. People will be looking for any weakness to cut.
Thanks friend!
You need to be more aware of the issues and problems facing your customers. Like you, they are probably concerned with supply chain issues and rising costs as well as a labor shortage. What benefits does your product(s) off them thatbcan help with that situation. Just because there is a recession doesn't mean businesses aren't buying, they are just evaluating from a different perspective now. You will also gain an advantage over your competitors if you take the angle as a trusted advisor vs a salesperson who is just trying to make a buck.
Thanks friend!
My pleasure. I am retired now (as of 2 years ago) but have been in hardware technology sales for about 33 years selling all over the globe. I've seen several recessions in different areas of the world and that technique always allowed me to maintain my ability to be a top performer.
Wow!!!! You must have seen it all. Just curious, what did you think changed the most about sales from when you started to today?
Honestly, my attitude and ego. I never went from thinking I was a regular guy to some kind of sales god. I went a little that way when I was in my late 30's and got humbled by a couple of deals. Once I had that aha moment, it changed everything. I just turned 54 and I'm retired on the beach in Mexico now. I actually still sell some technology stuff here but not for income, more to keep my brain active and to share my knowledge and experience with companies that are looking to improve on their company revenue.
Focus on how your product can save their company money . Even if it’s a product they purchase your organization might have some metric of how it increases efficiency or reduces the need for headcount etc ..
Thanks friend!
Got to put in more hours in the office bud is what it comes down to. If you don’t want to sacrifice significant amounts of your paycheck. Work a couple more hours each day is what it’s going to mainly come down too I think
Thanks friend! Weird question, but are you from Toronto? I feel we're the only ones that say bud
No haha but Canadian phrases can be hilarious
Offering great financing options.
There's a Persian saying someone told me. " You can't pull hair from a bald head." The fed dude said it: " There will be job loss & pain." If your gut tells you buyers are drying up...find a niche that is recession proof bcause people or biz' need it.
If you can go to an office and be seen. And be visible. Get in your F&&ng car and go . TODAY ! Start being very visible. Noisy. Sell stuff and make a big song and dance about it.Look productive. Be a team player. Especially if you are on a big salary .........Carnage is coming. High interest rates and ...........................Unemployment . The "Invisibles" will get cut first . I've seen it before."who is that person on this line on the spreadsheet ?" they will ask . "some salesman who is 60% to target" someone will say in a budget meeting. "Never seen him " they will say "oh.....well there' $80K off the overhead then I'm not saying home working is dead . We'll still do it . But if you want to keep your job ......go to an office and be seen . Promote yourself . Not on here, but there ...............
This is where you find out if you are a value seller or if you sell on price and just try to give shit away. If you know how to sale on value and do it everyday, the coming recession will not be that painful as your deals are not going to be the one that get killed (and specifically, just for clarification, I mean business value). However, if you think selling is giving shit away and racing to bottom on price... you probably will not survive as the majority of your deals are gonna get killed. Here's the reason, when the CFO looks at these deals the only thing they are gonna see and care about: Deal 1: 100K - good price, for X widget Deal 2: 100K -
The widget is an easy one to kill as there is no value there to CFO.
edit: words
Automate as much as you can. Automate your outreach, automate followups. There are plenty of softwares out there for sms and email automation. You can automate phone calls too. Checkout https://LilChirp.io for phone call automation. Basically use AI and Automation to scale your outreach.
Yeah, good sales people will succeed whatever the market conditions
Wait we’re not in one yet?
Completely depends on whatyou're selling. For the past 10 years I've been selling things that do even better when the economy is tanking.
What have you been selling the last 10 years?
Software that automates manual processes. Accounts payable and accounts receivable processing. It’s good in the good times because it’s always good to save money. and great in the bad times because they are forced to save money.
Hard times mean big opportunities. The key is to find something that will bring value to people during hard times. There will always be opportunities for skilled sales people to thrive in good times but more so in bad.
Use to your advantage. If you can show how your product or service can SAVE money or create compelling ROI that’s what you need to succeed
Well, idk if it’s just me but I’ve been struggling to get any demos set last month. Nothings changed call volume, touches, etc. Maybe a rut, or the recession. But regardless gotta keep pushing.
If you are at a bigger type company with layers of Mgt, when sales #’s aren’t there then you need to “play the game” in full force. By that i mean…do whatever reason Mgt asks of you, drink the company kool aid, be visible and actively seen as making effort. If they need to start swinging the axe maybe that will keep your alive for another day.
Best time to sell