We can argue about what constitutes a bear market, a recession, and when the economy will hit bottom, but it seems clear that 2008 will be a tough year. Oil looks like it might top $100 a barrel, real estate will continue the downward spiral, and we have a lame duck President. It’s time to suck it up and sell harder—make that smarter.
In a down market, you have to protect your existing customer base. If there is ever a time to say thank you to your best customers, this it. I advocate protecting the travel and entertainment budgets to empower the sales staff to stay engaged with their customers. This may seem counter intuitive to the finance guys, but the sales team must be visible to the customers. This is a time for customer golf and dinners. There is no substitute for face to face contact.
Cultivate existing customer relationships by sending the senior management team into the field to listen and not to sell. Most senior managers cannot sell anyway, so make sure they understand the mission. This is the time to learn about what you can do to improve your offering. Possibly these customer meetings can lead to newer and better products down the road. The customers win because they get to build relationships for the future and they get to have their say now.
With advertising and promotion budgets slashed, new business development may have to take back burner. The new business wins are great, but this market will make it difficult. Adjust your new business expectations accordingly since this may be a long winter. Pay homage to the new business reps who can stomach this type of market, since it takes a very special breed of rep to keep on going with so many barriers before them. Celebrate the wins you do get.
Protect your sales force from layoffs. Sure, their productivity will be down and there may be fewer “high fives” in the sales office, but you need the sales team to stay whole. Their role is to protect market share today and to be ready for the rebound.
When the market recovers the readiness of your sales team will propel you to increased market share since your competitors will have listened to their finance guys and trimmed their sales force. Now it’s time for “high fives” again!
John Bradley Jackson
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