The One Right Thing To Do To Lift Your Sales Right Now Is...

This article is for Business Leaders, Sales Leaders and Marketing Leaders in B2B sales organizations who want to grow their sales revenue even in uncertain times.

Sometimes it feels like you just can't catch a break.

For the last couple of years, the pandemic has caused business uncertainty and a global economic downturn for all kinds of businesses.

Just when you thought you were readying your business for the recovery in the post-pandemic environment, there is now new talk of inflation, of recession and of layoffs.

Yes, we live in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous).

So, What Should Businesses Do Right Now?

Should you be cutting costs now?

In my personal opinion, I think that cost cutting is absolutely appropriate at a time when top line revenue is shrinking and organizations have to tap into their financial reserves to keep the business going.

Usually, marketing and lead gen are among the first candidates for the chopping block.

But is that the right strategy? Or is it just a knee-jerk reaction??

See my LinkedIn article on the alternatives to cost cutting.

After all, we saw knee jerk reactions into cost-cutting during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), when marketing and advertising budgets were slashed just at the time when sales were slowing and more leads were needed.

It still seems like an instinctive, rather than a rational, reaction to me. I mean, wouldn't you want your sales revenue to continue to come in and also build a sales pipeline in preparation for a post-crisis scenario?

I am pointing out to my clients that:

The fundamentals of selling still apply.

That means you don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Nor do you hibernate. Rather, you need to be flexible, nimble, and accepting of change. So, do not box yourself in by losing your best people and by cutting down on capabilities that you may need again down the track.

Be prudent in your actions and your decisions:

Have a plan.

Work on building good rapport with your customers and your ideal prospects, keep them loyal. Grow a sales pipeline for now, and one that you can lean on when the market opens up again.

Do not batten down the hatches and "wait it out".

Remember: You still have choices. The fundamentals of selling still apply.

So, what should you do to generate sales?

When the selling environment changes around you, you can no longer keep doing the same thing, and expect the same result as before (my apologies to Albert Einstein for slightly bruising his famous saying).

My advice is NOT to focus on what you're selling and on how you want to sell it. My advice is to focus on your prospects and on your customers.

The most critical fundamental in times of uncertainty is... customer-focus.

Not product-focus.

This sounds simple, but is surprisingly challenging to put into action, as old habits die hard.

This is also where I make a distinction between traditional sales lead generation and what I call "Sophisticated Prospect Engagement". There is a big difference that is really noticeable to your buyers.

Prospect Engagement is superior to the numbers game of mass email blasts, outbound cold calla and automated social media outreaches.

Regardless of which platform or medium you use to engage your prospects, one thing remains a constant in uncertain times:

Your Sales Process needs to be focused on your Buyers and on how they want to buy from you.

Not on what you're selling, or on how you want to sell it.

So, now the question becomes this: "How buyer-focused is your sales process right now?"

Are you curious to see how your sales process stacks up against best practice in the current selling environment?

Then take a look at this free online test:

Do the test first. I'll then invite you to talk to me about your results and what you can do about them in a free call afterwards.

Can't do better than that.

To your selling success,

Peter Strohkorb

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About Peter Strohkorb

Peter Strohkorb?is the Founder of Peter Strohkorb Sales Advisory, Sales Process Design & Implementatin Specialists in the B2B Technology and Services sector in USA, ANZ and UK.

Peter is also an acclaimed Amazon book author, blogger, thought leader and board director.

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