Are You Open for Business During Pandemic? Selling Anything?

Is it true that you can still conduct sales during a worldwide pandemic? And be successful? With all the uncertainty infecting our brains, it’s hard to tell if ‘success’ is even the right phrase we should be using. Even though we have to re-scale our definition of ‘success’ during a pandemic, salespeople are natural fighters and still strive for that. If you are currently still in operation or plan on being open when this is over, you need to be doing sales…..TODAY!

So, why is it important to continue doing sales at a time like this?

Simple. There are sales to be done. It may not be that huge account you would typically aim for. You may find it difficult to retain the clients you currently have. And you may need to dig a little harder to find prospects willing to talk to you. But if there is money coming in the door and there are profits to be had, you should take it. The sales approach will be different and it’s crucial to pivot from your original sales strategy, but it is still worth it.

If you can’t get the BIG deal now, then what are some smaller wins?

The first step is to change what we are doing in the short-term. Perhaps you usually conduct business in-person or scheduled meetings, but now you must shift to alternative methods such as phone, e-mail, virtual (Zoom conferences). Securing a Zoom call with a prospect is, in fact, a small win. Adding 10 new LinkedIn contacts a week is a small win. And you must celebrate that given the current circumstances. Because our goal is to continue doing business long-term. You must have it clear in your mind that you do want to still be standing and have a viable business once this eventually passes. Just having the mindset that you WILL BE IN BUSINESS once this over will help you meet those goals.

What can salespeople do to survive this disruption?

According to an article in Forbes, there are several ways for sales professionals to survive during this pandemic. The first being making everything virtual. People are supposedly more willing to communicate since everyone is at home. The second is critical listening. Converse with your customers and listen to what they need. And lastly, taking advantage of new platform skills. (Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/randyillig/2020/03/17/put-your-thinking-caps-on-how-to-sell-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/#29c467f950ac)

Make the decision to stay OPEN.

If you are ping-ponging between staying open or closing down, make the decision to stay open. Celebrate those small wins. Have compassion for yourself and your prospects who may be struggling, too. But you must take ACTION to make that happen. It will definitely be worth it in the end.

The secret to SALES success right now? ………….KEEP GOING!