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Selling in downturn

Carpedia Consulting
Carpedia Consulting

Most companies entering a period of slow growth or recession run for cover. In other words, they make sure that they batten down the hatches and restrict cost intensive activities as far as possible. This also impacts how they run sales. Companies tend to downsize the sales force based on the argument that sales are bound to take a knock during the recession. All sounds good and logical. However, what if you were to take different approach? What if you were to decide that a recessionary period is in fact a good time to shift market share; a good time to expand contacts and a good time to redefine value in the face of what difficulties most companies will face in a downturn? Companies that make a firm decision to use the opportunity presented by the environment may want to follow a process to make sure that they can optimise what they do during the downturn, to capitalize on the opportunities that may still be out there.

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What if you Selling in a Downturn were to decide that a downturn in the economy Werner Hess is in fact a great opportunity to grow market share? Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Introduction Newcomers to the sales environment may perceive the sales Most companies entering a period of slow growth or recession run for cover. In other words, they make sure that they batten down the hatches and restrict cost intensive activities as far as possible. This also impacts how they run sales. Companies tend to downsize the sales force based on the argument that sales are bound to take a knock during the recession. All sounds good and logical. However, what if you were to take different approach? What if you were to decide that a recessionary period is in fact a good time to shift market share; a good time to expand contacts and a good time to redefine value in the face of what difficulties most companies will face in a downturn? Companies that make a firm decision to use the opportunity presented by the environment may want to follow a process to make sure that they can optimise what they do during the downturn, to capitalize on the opportunities that may still be out there. Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Review current revenue streams Do a thorough analysis of the past periods revenue stream composition in terms of; 1. New business (Acquisition) 2. Cross Selling ( Penetration) 3. Keeping existing revenue streams flowing ( Retention) 4. New product introductions (NPI) An analysis may reveal shifts in your revenue generation patterns that may just expose opportunities you werent expecting to be there. The opportunities defined as acquisition, may present itself when competitors are struggling to stay afloat in the current market. A quick A Revenue analysis of competitors and their relative positions in the market may Stream throw out some opportunities that you may want to target in the event of a competitor cutting service levels or going out of business. analysis may Cross selling always presents opportunities. With the sales team lead to some perhaps now entering a phase of relatively low activity levels, the opportunities for cross selling and selling more product to existing unexpected customers may deliver better results than when the sales funnels are in opportunities full swing and all the focus is on new business. It may also be the right time to revisit the new product introduction pipeline to evaluate whether there are opportunities to introduce more productive products and solutions (less input for more output) to the market. The market may show its readiness for your specific productivity focused solutions, in a market where cost and performance are paramount. Finally, you need to build walls around your current customer base, to make sure that someone else hasnt read this article and goes on the prowl for new business within your customer base. Customer retention is paramount in a downturn. Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Refocus on segmentation It a good idea to sit down with your sales teams and analyse the current market segments that you are operating in and whether there are market segments that could be attractive to you in a downturn scenario. Think of those segments that were out of reach because of brand and image preferences, where now in a tight economy, companies may be looking for better value. Many segments may be downsizing and this presents opportunities for differentiated products. Re-visit your market segments served and identify segments that may now be more attractive to you, given the economic climate. Review segmentation in line with the current economy Refocus on and re-evaluate needs segments As a result of the downturn, your existing segments may also provide new opportunities for a different approach and tailored offerings. Make sure that when you redefine needs in particular segments that you re-think the entire segment. What will companies in specific segments be doing differently in a down turn? What new needs sets may arise as a result of the poor economy? How could we define the needs and tailor offerings that are aligned with the newly discovered needs sets? Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Re-Define Targets based on newly defined needs When you have been able to isolate sets of newly defined needs, how will your market targeting change? Will there be additional companies that you should be talking to in regard to newly defined needs? You need to re-define your target market (target customers) and go out into the market to validate the possible new needs structures emerging. New companies that you will be You may talking to automatically become new prospects. New prospects will open new opportunities. surprise yourself Having defined new targets based on newly defined needs sets, you may revise targets Re-focus your value propositions UPWARDS! Value in a growing economy is defined differently to when times are tough. People are looking for different, higher value, higher productivity solutions that will help them survive the slowdown. Once you have defined new offerings, make sure that your value propositions are re-aligned and that they address the issues of the day. This may even apply to existing business, where you want to be seen as being responsive to customer needs. Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Re-activate Opportunities While sifting through the data base of potentially new opportunities, make sure that you also identify past Its a great time opportunities and past contacts that never materialised in any business and revisit the reasons to re-visit some for loosing those deals. The lost opportunities (if you maintained the contact) are still open doors and of your old you may want to make use of the opportunity of paying those contacts a visit to re-evaluate connections opportunities within that base. Entry should be easy, as you already have the contacts. Trawl your data base for some new opportunities within older contacts Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Re-define value In good times, companies strive to do business within a certain value range. Many companies would place a deal-size qualifier in place to qualify potential new deals, in order to maximize sales in a buoyant market. In a down economy, you may want to revisit all the limits that you have set-up from a value point of view and enable your sales people to go after more, perhaps smaller deals, to keep the deal flow positive. Re-think your sales strategy Most companies in the current down-economy will be re-jigging their sales force deployment numbers and re-evaluate marginal territories. While this is something that you need to do as well, you may also want to consider beefing up your sales force and enter opportunities that were unattractive in the past. Re-thinking your go to market model, your competitive landscape and your competitive position may open up doors that were shut in the past. Re-energise your sales force Sales people very quickly fall into the economic downturn trap and they start believing that sales will suffer. They can talk themselves into a downward spiral. Truth is sales people who are out there taking more of the less that is available in the market place really succeeded against all odds. Your sales team should be in predatory mode, looking for and chasing down new opportunities, while your competitors waste their time lamenting the negative state of affairs Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Re-cover lost ground Part of your evaluation should be to look out for areas where you have lost ground to competitors in the past. This often happens when companies are successful and they dont really notice that that are losing ground in specific geographic areas or within certain product categories or with specific customers. What you need to be doing is to brain storm lost ground with your sales teams and decide whether you need to up your activities in areas where you have lost out to competitors. Re-engineer your sales process With a recession at hand, buying patterns and buying behaviours would change to suit the mood of the economy. Make sure that your sales process mirrors the reality and seeks out opportunities in new and innovative ways. You may have to adjust the amount of empathy you use to find common ground or you may need to be much more consultative in terms of understanding needs, opportunities and value perceptions. Also make sure that you use Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
plenty of early warning systems (cancellation red flags opportunity spotting reduction requests etc) so that you can react and renegotiate, rather than loose the business. Finally. A downturn in economic activity should bring out the best in your sales teams. Sales people are at the ready to try new ideas and approaches and companies should turn adversity into opportunity! Its a winning strategy in a down economy! Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
About Carpedia Consulting Carpedia Consulting is an internationally relevant management consultancy firm, dedicated to assisting clients to improve sales and profits through the implementation of improvement programs. Our approach is what makes us unique. The way we design, develop and execute our programs is hands-on, solutions-based and excellence driven. Our programs are customized to the needs of your organisation and are designed to ensure significant and sustainable improvements are made both internally and externally by the sales team, for the customer. www.carpedia.co.za About Werner Hess Werner Hess has spent 20 years of his career in various sales, marketing and leadership positions with Bayer, Triad Electronics, GE and GE Plastics before serving as managing director of GE Plastics and Polymerland. Werners first experience in the world of consulting came about when he joined Proudfoot Consulting as Director of Business Development, which included several international assignments in Europe and the USA, leading sales effectiveness projects for global clients. Werners current company, Carpedia Consulting is a specialist niche consultancy focused on sales and profit improvement. Werners latest book, The Science of Selling has just been published and reveals approaches, systems and processes that can be implemented to create a successful sales platform. Werner can be reached on: whess@carpedia.co.za Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd PO Box 1701 GALLO Manor 2052 Building 2 Country Club Estates Woodlands Drive Woodmead Sandton South Africa Tel: 27-11 258-8813 Fax: 27-11- 258-8511 Mob: 27-82-888-0228 Email: info@carpedia.co.za www.carpedia.co.za Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn

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Selling in downturn

  • 1. What if you Selling in a Downturn were to decide that a downturn in the economy Werner Hess is in fact a great opportunity to grow market share? Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 2. Introduction Newcomers to the sales environment may perceive the sales Most companies entering a period of slow growth or recession run for cover. In other words, they make sure that they batten down the hatches and restrict cost intensive activities as far as possible. This also impacts how they run sales. Companies tend to downsize the sales force based on the argument that sales are bound to take a knock during the recession. All sounds good and logical. However, what if you were to take different approach? What if you were to decide that a recessionary period is in fact a good time to shift market share; a good time to expand contacts and a good time to redefine value in the face of what difficulties most companies will face in a downturn? Companies that make a firm decision to use the opportunity presented by the environment may want to follow a process to make sure that they can optimise what they do during the downturn, to capitalize on the opportunities that may still be out there. Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 3. Review current revenue streams Do a thorough analysis of the past periods revenue stream composition in terms of; 1. New business (Acquisition) 2. Cross Selling ( Penetration) 3. Keeping existing revenue streams flowing ( Retention) 4. New product introductions (NPI) An analysis may reveal shifts in your revenue generation patterns that may just expose opportunities you werent expecting to be there. The opportunities defined as acquisition, may present itself when competitors are struggling to stay afloat in the current market. A quick A Revenue analysis of competitors and their relative positions in the market may Stream throw out some opportunities that you may want to target in the event of a competitor cutting service levels or going out of business. analysis may Cross selling always presents opportunities. With the sales team lead to some perhaps now entering a phase of relatively low activity levels, the opportunities for cross selling and selling more product to existing unexpected customers may deliver better results than when the sales funnels are in opportunities full swing and all the focus is on new business. It may also be the right time to revisit the new product introduction pipeline to evaluate whether there are opportunities to introduce more productive products and solutions (less input for more output) to the market. The market may show its readiness for your specific productivity focused solutions, in a market where cost and performance are paramount. Finally, you need to build walls around your current customer base, to make sure that someone else hasnt read this article and goes on the prowl for new business within your customer base. Customer retention is paramount in a downturn. Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 4. Refocus on segmentation It a good idea to sit down with your sales teams and analyse the current market segments that you are operating in and whether there are market segments that could be attractive to you in a downturn scenario. Think of those segments that were out of reach because of brand and image preferences, where now in a tight economy, companies may be looking for better value. Many segments may be downsizing and this presents opportunities for differentiated products. Re-visit your market segments served and identify segments that may now be more attractive to you, given the economic climate. Review segmentation in line with the current economy Refocus on and re-evaluate needs segments As a result of the downturn, your existing segments may also provide new opportunities for a different approach and tailored offerings. Make sure that when you redefine needs in particular segments that you re-think the entire segment. What will companies in specific segments be doing differently in a down turn? What new needs sets may arise as a result of the poor economy? How could we define the needs and tailor offerings that are aligned with the newly discovered needs sets? Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 5. Re-Define Targets based on newly defined needs When you have been able to isolate sets of newly defined needs, how will your market targeting change? Will there be additional companies that you should be talking to in regard to newly defined needs? You need to re-define your target market (target customers) and go out into the market to validate the possible new needs structures emerging. New companies that you will be You may talking to automatically become new prospects. New prospects will open new opportunities. surprise yourself Having defined new targets based on newly defined needs sets, you may revise targets Re-focus your value propositions UPWARDS! Value in a growing economy is defined differently to when times are tough. People are looking for different, higher value, higher productivity solutions that will help them survive the slowdown. Once you have defined new offerings, make sure that your value propositions are re-aligned and that they address the issues of the day. This may even apply to existing business, where you want to be seen as being responsive to customer needs. Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 6. Re-activate Opportunities While sifting through the data base of potentially new opportunities, make sure that you also identify past Its a great time opportunities and past contacts that never materialised in any business and revisit the reasons to re-visit some for loosing those deals. The lost opportunities (if you maintained the contact) are still open doors and of your old you may want to make use of the opportunity of paying those contacts a visit to re-evaluate connections opportunities within that base. Entry should be easy, as you already have the contacts. Trawl your data base for some new opportunities within older contacts Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 7. Re-define value In good times, companies strive to do business within a certain value range. Many companies would place a deal-size qualifier in place to qualify potential new deals, in order to maximize sales in a buoyant market. In a down economy, you may want to revisit all the limits that you have set-up from a value point of view and enable your sales people to go after more, perhaps smaller deals, to keep the deal flow positive. Re-think your sales strategy Most companies in the current down-economy will be re-jigging their sales force deployment numbers and re-evaluate marginal territories. While this is something that you need to do as well, you may also want to consider beefing up your sales force and enter opportunities that were unattractive in the past. Re-thinking your go to market model, your competitive landscape and your competitive position may open up doors that were shut in the past. Re-energise your sales force Sales people very quickly fall into the economic downturn trap and they start believing that sales will suffer. They can talk themselves into a downward spiral. Truth is sales people who are out there taking more of the less that is available in the market place really succeeded against all odds. Your sales team should be in predatory mode, looking for and chasing down new opportunities, while your competitors waste their time lamenting the negative state of affairs Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 8. Re-cover lost ground Part of your evaluation should be to look out for areas where you have lost ground to competitors in the past. This often happens when companies are successful and they dont really notice that that are losing ground in specific geographic areas or within certain product categories or with specific customers. What you need to be doing is to brain storm lost ground with your sales teams and decide whether you need to up your activities in areas where you have lost out to competitors. Re-engineer your sales process With a recession at hand, buying patterns and buying behaviours would change to suit the mood of the economy. Make sure that your sales process mirrors the reality and seeks out opportunities in new and innovative ways. You may have to adjust the amount of empathy you use to find common ground or you may need to be much more consultative in terms of understanding needs, opportunities and value perceptions. Also make sure that you use Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 9. plenty of early warning systems (cancellation red flags opportunity spotting reduction requests etc) so that you can react and renegotiate, rather than loose the business. Finally. A downturn in economic activity should bring out the best in your sales teams. Sales people are at the ready to try new ideas and approaches and companies should turn adversity into opportunity! Its a winning strategy in a down economy! Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 10. About Carpedia Consulting Carpedia Consulting is an internationally relevant management consultancy firm, dedicated to assisting clients to improve sales and profits through the implementation of improvement programs. Our approach is what makes us unique. The way we design, develop and execute our programs is hands-on, solutions-based and excellence driven. Our programs are customized to the needs of your organisation and are designed to ensure significant and sustainable improvements are made both internally and externally by the sales team, for the customer. www.carpedia.co.za About Werner Hess Werner Hess has spent 20 years of his career in various sales, marketing and leadership positions with Bayer, Triad Electronics, GE and GE Plastics before serving as managing director of GE Plastics and Polymerland. Werners first experience in the world of consulting came about when he joined Proudfoot Consulting as Director of Business Development, which included several international assignments in Europe and the USA, leading sales effectiveness projects for global clients. Werners current company, Carpedia Consulting is a specialist niche consultancy focused on sales and profit improvement. Werners latest book, The Science of Selling has just been published and reveals approaches, systems and processes that can be implemented to create a successful sales platform. Werner can be reached on: whess@carpedia.co.za Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn
  • 11. Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd PO Box 1701 GALLO Manor 2052 Building 2 Country Club Estates Woodlands Drive Woodmead Sandton South Africa Tel: 27-11 258-8813 Fax: 27-11- 258-8511 Mob: 27-82-888-0228 Email: info@carpedia.co.za www.carpedia.co.za Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd www.carpedia.co.za Selling in Downturn