Credit Crunch

Hi All,

In the UK they are going through a very nervous period and this obviously has a knock on effect throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

During these periods sales professionals need to shine through, so my question is how do we stand out from the rest?

Gerard -ged1mcguirk

Do you think sales people will need to stand out more than they already are or that of all times now is when you want to stand out as a sales professional? -Thomas

I have had to adapt to a situation that I saw coming a year ago and because of this am doing fine but many sales people in my business are suffering and going out of business.

This credit crunch is a massive problem with knock on affecting lots of big and small companies alike, which in turn hurts more and more people. I see myself and others who create business and opportunities, through sales people we create a need for products which somebody has to make, who buys supplies from other people and companies then can keep people employed.

So my question again is how do sales people stand out now, not throw in the towel, look for the half full glass, see opportunity, be optimistic and close sales?

Surely, this is what this site is about, when sales are easy everyone rocks, but when the times get tough, let's help one another to get things or keep things rolling. -ged1mcguirk

"So my question again is how do sales people stand out now, not throw in the towel, look for the half full glass, see opportunity, be optimistic and close sales?" - Gerard

Being optimistic has become a fixed attitude in my life. So that's a given - opportunity abounds in the worse of times. Then comes looking for the half full glass - good point!

My wife and I just returned from an eight day visit to Bermuda where the prices are high, the incomes are often low, and with all the taxes and packaging/shipping/fedex/fees added on two containers of our products that sell for $72 to 78 dollars retail USA (depending on the state and local taxes) sell for &98 in Bermuda. Big difference.

What we've found there as well as in the USA - we have some business in the UK also - is that people who want what we offer and have a value for it in their lives or want to know about it and see the value find a way to get what they want. Those who don't do not.

Some here call that simplistic but I call it the reality I've found and have lived by for twelve years with my company now, Gerard.

The way we stand out is by being being straight forward about what we have, what it features, not using tactics to close but rather finding out if people want it or want to know more about it, and in our sales calls letting people know up front that the decision is there's to make not us to sell them on.

The distinctions may not be obvious between what I've just posted and what we think of as sales - it may sound or look alike - I don't know. We make lots of calls and contacts asking people if they want what we offer looking for a commitment on their part up front. Sometimes the commitment is a genuine interest to know more first to find out if it matches what they believe they are looking for; again, we ask for a commitment.

We make hundreds of contacts to find those who want what we offer - sometimes the process involves a phone call or face-to-face encounter with another one or two phone calls or meetings.

Persistence is everything.

Tell me what you think of what I've posted and what you do/run into in the UK?

MitchM -MitchM

HI Mitch,

I work in real estate but not in the UK, I work in Portugal and sell property across the Algarve and over the border into Spain. 95% of our clients come from the UK and Ireland, the UK market last year began to show signs of weakening and the disappearance of Maddie, the little girl who was taken/murdered had a very negative effect.

The credit crunch especially in the UK has pretty much dried up the overseas property market for people buying holiday homes so we have now moved into Fractional Sales selling quarter and twelfth shares (www.iboughtportugal.com) this is a very new program here and is often mistaken as timeshare here.

However, it is a great product and for us is a way of still moving property while the market is slow.

Another way we have moved is looking at professional sports teams as we work in the luxury resort of Vale do Lobo and have moved our office now located in Barringtons Hotel Golf & Spa Resort.

So, we have recognized a situation a year ago, analyzed the potential problem and looked for a solution to back up with a new marketing program. -ged1mcguirk

You make an excellent point, McQuirk. What if the environment radically changes and business - an industry, a need, demand for something - suddenly goes poof? What then? You either find something new/different to sell that has a demand in a market or you creatively market what you sell to find/create a niche.

Your foresight in anticipating the changing environment made the difference - that's instrictive. I've been more of a responder-to-changes quickly than an adapter-ahead-of-time in trying to anticipate the future. You've got me thinking now.

Thanks.

MitchM -MitchM

It really is not a question of standing out ...

Sales success is based on activity. Prospecting, presenting and closing, if you do these things enough everyday you will be swamped with business. It is that simple.

Back in 82 when the credit crunch and super high interest rates were happening in Canada people were not buying, payments were too high. Many sales people just had an "oh well" attitude ... others stayed active and were amazed, saying "it's out there!"

The law of survival is odd ... if you put too many fish in a fish tank some die, no matter how much food is fed to them. The same is true in sales, in high times Estate Agents (real estate agents over here) numbers rise, many make at least some money and even though tones of "food" is there for the "feeding" some fail anyway and "die", which was a thing I could not understand when I was a young sales guy.

Of course, the flip side is: in tough times those hangers on disappear, the mediocre performers don't try as hard because they have this notion of negativity and the real producers are still screaming. To go back to the analogy, the fit eat just as much in lean times as in times when there is an over abundance of "food".

Forget about what others think - TOTALLY. When you hear an opinion that is negative think CANCEL ... do not, whatever you do, "buy into it", not even a slight bit, just change the subject or refuse to join into the negative talk ... this is imperative, do not get sucked in!

In ever industry the business is out there. Just go get it!


By the way .... the biggest demand in the world, what you want to look at selling now or in the future; TECHNOLOGY.
-Gold Calling