Is your team trying to sell in a market that is under extreme pressure? Whether it's an ongoing pandemic, political insecurity, or extreme weather - you, as a sales person, need to step up and sharpen your objection handling.
Here are some of our best tips to help you get through these tough times:
1. Help the customer think long-term
When we, as humans, are “in the storm” we tend to react with our natural instinct to either run away or be passive. Help expand your customers' perspective to lift their vision by asking them if they remember what happened after the last crisis. Most likely, they will remember that after a few weeks or months, everything was back to normal.
2. Remember the initial pain or problem
If you are in midway through or towards the end of the sale, remind your prospects of their initial pain and reason for starting this dialogue. What problems were we trying to solve for you? Have these problems gone away during the crisis or have they perhaps become even more relevant?
3. Be flexible
In a crisis, people and companies alike try to avoid risk. Think of your offering, your company's vision, and KPIs. Try and come up with a couple of tactical offers that can help your client avoid risk, while still keeping positive margins on the sale. Perhaps lengthening payment terms or lowering the contract length? Figure it out with your team and get it out to prospects that are at risk.
4. Move quick rather than perfect
When there is a critical situation, it will come fast and there simply won’t be time to make a perfect plan. Instead, make sure you act fast and adapt to new realities when they are discovered. Things can change over night!
5. Use customer stories
In a crisis situation, there is no better way to help the customer feel secure about their decision than telling a story about a third party. Make sure success stories are accessible across the organization and are used in sales dialogues. Pitching with real stories is your most powerful weapon during tough market conditions.
BONUS: Set next steps
So, perhaps you tried all of the above but the customer still wants to postpone your ongoing dialogue? Make sure to get a next step booked in the calendar. Trust me - it's going to save you much time and effort in a few months when you pick the deal back up. If you don’t… Stay active - Stay positive!
More tips and tricks?
Download infographic here!
Also read: Build for the future - Speed up instead of slowing down!
Anders Holmberg | CSO at GetAccept.
Anders is a Sales, tech and SaaS junkie with a passion for growing teams.
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GetAccept change and simplifies a seller's processes and allows the digital signing of the agreement to take place on the customer's terms with the seller's control. Read more about our product and how you can streamline your sales processes with sales enablement!
