It's over. The recession that is, it ended last Tuesday. No where to go but up! That's why on Wednesday I had three of my customers announce layoffs. How is it that with $1,000,000,000,000.00 in money now available to "stimulate" the economy that companies immediately took such a defensive stance? Are they crazy? Do they think the "stimulus" won't work? Think again........

It was only 6 or 7 years ago after the WTC bombings that the economy tanked. There were millions of people laid off and the outlook was grim. What really happened was that companies would lay off workers to boost their stock prices. What happened next was amazing. Many of those people who were laid off received severance packages. Sometimes 6 to 12 months of salary. Many of those same workers were then rehired as contractors which are not shown on the balance sheets as payroll. In most cases these people made more as contractors than as employees. This influx of cash went directly to the consumer from the private sector, not from government. The economy didn't take very long to rebound.

How are things different now? They are not! How will this affect your sales? If you are smart it will not hurt them a bit. One of the aforementioned customers who sent employees packing last week informed me that they now have a bigger budget and that making improvements was more important than ever. (I wonder why?)

This is the type of sales environment that separates the good sales people from the bad sales people. How committed are you? Your customers need to see you now more than ever. It is your confidence and professionalism that will set you apart from your competitors. I have already heard that some of my competitors have had to lay off sales and service people. (I heard it from customers!) Do not.....I repeat DO NOT fall into the trap of complaining to your customers. I tell mine that "I choose not to participate the recession. I choose to innovate and provide new solutions that will help my customers succeed." What do you say to your customers?

OPPORTUNITY IS JUST BEYOND THE CHALLENGE THAT LIES BEFORE YOU

Prospecting will be the biggest challenge for most salespeople in 2009. There will be fewer businesses to call on and fewer that are expanding or planning to carry out capital spending plans. Sales people will get more doors slammed in their face than ever before. It will take more work than most are used to just to maintain sales and it will be even more difficult to increase sales. That being said it's time to get to work. The competition will be fierce for fewer dollars. You must increase your prospecting efforts now. There are four important prospecting areas that work for most all industries. Think about how much time you spend in each area and develop a plan to work in each area of prospecting.

1. Cold Calling- One reason they call it this is because of the cold shoulder salespeople receive when they are out pounding the pavement. This activity puts you right on the battle field. You can see what kind of activity is happening with businesses. For instance you may stop into a facility that has many cars in the lot only to find that it is used as a parking lot for commuters. You may stop by another that looks old and run down only to find that they produce a key product for the health care industry. There is no substitute for cold calling. JUST DO IT!
2. Networking- Sitting at home or in your office watching your bank account dwindle on the internet is not going to keep your pipeline filled. Go to where your customers are. I don't mean for you to go hang out and drink the night away with your buddies at the local Chamber of Commerce event, I mean go to the event don't drink, work the room and find some people who need your products or services. Focus, focus, focus! Be aware of how many DIFFERENT people you talk to and make sure you have their contact information before moving to the next person. Get permission to follow up with them and ask them to think about people or businesses that need your help. Ask them how they prefer to receive referrals from you. (They will love that question.) Say "Thank You" and move on. This is business.
3. Strategic Referral Partners- One or two strong referral partners can generate more sales for you than any other form of marketing. Now for the shocking secret that most people don't know. Make your competition your referral partner. No I'm not crazy. We wish that we could help everyone but we can't and they can't either. There is usually plenty of business for everyone. Your competition can help you learn more about your market and they may need your help in the future. The best partners are usually in complimenting businesses such as the hammer salesperson works with the nail salesperson. Keep in touch as often as they will let you (weekly is best if they are amicable to contact that often). It is very important to refer business to these partners. Get two cards from prospects so you can pass one on to your strategic partners.
4. Customer Referrals- How is this prospecting? It is the most powerful tool that successful salespeople use for prospecting. You are asking the people that are most intimate with your products and services to direct you to additional sales. They can prequalify potential customers because of their experience with you. They can find others that "fit" your customer profile within their own network of people. Get on the phone or stop in to see them just to ask for referrals. You may find they need more of your product too.

That's it in a nutshell. If you spend 25% of your prospecting time in each of these areas you'll be ahead of the pack.

Tell me about your prospecting experience at jberg@spacelogic.net . I'll share them in future blogs.