How To Build Pipeline In Tough Times...

The world is going through some tough times and the impact on businesses, and sales teams, is being felt. Even with all of this going on, salespeople are STILL prospecting hard and building pipeline.

They're building opportunities for people ready to buy now and people who will be ready to buy in the near future.

Today we're going to share our biggest tips to help YOU and your sales teams build pipeline during tough times so you can be as successful as possible.

Let's dig in...

1) Understand your prospects CURRENT pain points

Right now your prospects will have different problems to solve compared to normal, so don't try and use your old tactics. Talk to them, listen to them, find out what their business is doing right now and what their new priorities are. You can then use this information to other prospects, helping them see what other companies are doing.

2) Be more CREATIVE with your prospecting methods

Ok so maybe carrier pigeons won't work, but look into more creative ways to prospect. For example a delivery company used to send a single egg to prospects packed and delivered to show how well they handle fragile items. Sending a brochure with a tea bag or Starbucks voucher so they can enjoy it while they read it. Think outside of the box and find interesting and exciting ways to engage your prospects.

3) Go heavy on REFERRALS for big wins

Not only are referrals often a lot more likely to convert, but they're a much warmer place to prospect. A lot of salespeople will have lots of existing and past customers they can go back through, and if you haven't done this yet it's one of the best places to prospect and build pipeline. Especially during tough times when businesses are going to be A LOT more careful on how (and where) they spend their money, warn introductions and referrals are very powerful.

4) Use TECHNOLOGY to sell as efficiently as possible

Through tough times it's important to streamline as much as you can and make every minute count to be as efficient. Now is the time to look for free trials, discounts, and platforms that are built to help you and your sales team sell better and smarter.

One platform that we recommend is Pipedrive, the CRM built by salespeople for salespeople, used by over 100,000 companies and voted the easiest to use CRM (and cost-effective). You can try it completely free for a whole 30-days and if you like it, you'll also get 20% discount on your whole first year -?Find out more here

5) Become a master of EMPATHY (& sales)

Now is the time to show your prospects that you care, that you understand what they're going through and that you're there for them. It's important to listen to them, but to also help them see (if it's true) that perhaps buying now will actually help them in the long run. It's about bringing empathy and sales together, listen to them and show understanding, but also let them see that you want to help them as well.

6) Try contacting prospects OUTSIDE of working hours

Decision makers are often their busiest during traditional working hours, so why not try prospecting outside of them. It's a good way to not only increase answer and response rates, but to also stand out from all the other salespeople trying to reach them during the day. Weekends can also be an effective time to email and send LinkedIn messages to prospects.

7) Try HARDER than ever before

When times are tough it's time to start making extra calls, sending extra emails, doing more social selling, doing as much as you can to help as many people as you can with your product. Not only will it help you get through the storm, but it will help you come out the other side stronger and with a bigger pipeline to hit the ground running.

We know it's tough right now

We know it's challenging

But we're salespeople and we know how to work hard!

We hope you enjoy this article, please do click?LIKE?if you did and?SHARE?it with your network. If you have a tip to help salespeople during tough times pop it into the?COMMENTS?as well!

This article is supported by?Pipedrive, one of the world's best CRM's that's built to help salespeople sell more. It's used by over 100,000 companies in 179 countries.?You can try it for free for 30-days right here.

They normally offer 14-day free trial but if you follow one of our links in this newsletter you'll be able to get an extended 30-day free trial and as a bonus, if you choose to use?Pipedrive?after your trial, you'll get?20% discount?on your first year.

If you're potentially interested in trying?Pipedrive ?out, we have a few extra resources that might help:

VIDEO -?The 5 best features of Pipedrive CRM

ATICLE -?10 reasons salespeople LOVE Pipedrive CRM

VIDEO -?Import prospect details instantly from LinkedIn using Pipedrive

ARTICLE -?Why salespeople are switching from their current CRM to Pipedrive CRM