I once landed in Las Vegas and asked my airport taxi driver a very dumb question. I asked, “Where is the best place to gamble”. His reply was very wise. He said, “The last place you won”. Our experiences can transform us into creatures of habit. Why change what’s working? However, what do you do when everything changes around us, as is the case with this recession? This is a key question for salespeople that want to sell more in a recession.
Experienced sales reps sell in a way that always worked for them. They know what works and it’s part of their DNA. They use the same sales process they’ve always used because it always worked well for them. Unfortunately, in this recession the traditional approach to “selling” no longer produces the desired results. The economy has changed and our approach to selling must also change.
We all know we should be selling benefits and not the product. The prospect wants a clean floor, not a mop. So, we focus on the clean floor instead of the mop. The mop is only a tool that delivers a benefit. The benefit, a clean floor, is what the prospect wants and that’s what we sell them. This is a solid sales technique but if you want to know how to sell in a recession, you must expand on the concept of selling benefits. I’m not saying you need to abandon the concept of selling benefits. I am saying you need to expand upon it.
Traditional sales practices focus on the positive aspects of benefits. Benefits are something the prospect gains by deciding to purchase a product. Gaining something of desire is a very powerful motivator. However, this motivator looses some of its luster during a recession. Allow me to explain why this happens.
The two most prominent benefits in B2B sales are increase productivity and reduced costs. When the economy is strong, growth is in the air and increased productivity is the mission of the day. “Get it while the getting is good” becomes the industrial war cry. All this changes when selling in a recession. In a recession, selling an increase in productivity will not close more sales with prospects looking to reduce productivity due to poor demand.
People and companies are always looking to reduce costs. Reducing cost is important in good times and especially important in a recession. In good times, reducing costs is the fuel for expansion. In a recession, reducing costs is the key to survival. So, salespeople develop elaborate cost justification Return On Investment (ROI) models to convince prospects to buy their products. Even in a recession, this needs to continue. However, in a recession, the way this information is presented must be revised and updated.
Just how do we revise our sales presentations in a recession so that we can close more sales? The key is in the understanding of purchasing motivating factors. We know that benefits motivate purchasing decisions but there are two sides to this coin. One side is what the prospect gains. The other side is what the prospect looses.
Traditionally, a sales rep’s focus has always been on the positive side of the benefits gained. While this may work well in a strong economy, it must be expanded to include the “loss factor” when selling in a recession. In order to close more sales in a recession, you must exploit the “loss factor”.
During a recession, the fear of loss is a much stronger motivator than the desire for gain. Our first instinct in a recession is to preserve what we already possess. While I may be entertained in a ten percent gain in my stock portfolio, I’m much more interested in stopping my losses. In a recession, people get defensive and understanding this point is the start of selling more in a recession. Mastering the execution of this concept could make you wealthy.
Now is the time to master the execution of selling the “loss factor”. If you know my works, you know that I’m against tricks and manipulation as they pertain to professional selling. Selling involves a communications process between the buyer and the seller. Leave the tricks to the armatures. That said, we still need to include the “loss factor” in our communications process with qualified buyers if we are to sell more in a recession.
In a recession, we must expand the positive side of gaining benefits to include the negative side of not having those benefits. We must appeal to the fear of loss as a motivating factor in the buying criteria. This expansion on the presentation of benefits is both subtle and critical for those that want to close more sales in a recession.
It is one thing to tell someone that you can save them money as a benefit gained by doing business with you. In a recession, it’s much more powerful to tell someone that they can stop loosing money. “Stop loosing money” appeals to the fear of loss and in a recession, that must be incorporated in the sales message.
Likewise, increasing productivity is a substantial benefit. However, “stop wasting productivity” is a much more powerful proposition when appealing to fear of loss in a recession.
As previously stated, the fear of loss is a key ingredient in any sales message designed to sell more in a recession. I hope you remember and use this concept on your next sales appointment.
| Nick Moreno - |
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Nick Moreno, founder of The National Sales Center, is a well- established sales training consultant with more than 30 years of experience providing excitement, empowerment and benefit to those he trains. Offering a competitive sales training advantage through education and cutting edge programs, his system, The Progressive Sales Process, is known for generating "Sales Superstars" who consistently reach much higher sales commissions.
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