Not Working:

Trade Shows

        Door Knocking – Walk ins

Emails expressing our companies concern for your health & safety …etc etc

So what is working….?

Well I jumped into to a Sandler Sales Training Presidents Club meeting to find out. A group of diverse Sales Professionals selling everything from Real Estate, Big Plates of Steel, to courses on how to trade Stocks.  Some folks are brand new to sales others are seasoned professionals seeking to up their game.  We met online this month to learn and share our experiences.

The first thing we are all dealing with is our own reluctance to get started selling. No doubt these are unusual times.   Our Coach said true and you get a few minutes to complain about is then move on. Do not become a Deer in the headlights, the road to success is littered with flat Squirrels that did not get moving. Focus on the things we can control Now & get moving! Business is still being transacted. All crisis are temporary, we need to do the work now that will prepare us for when things return to normal.  The first thing that needs to start working is us…!

The Phone…!

What is working is calling on the phone. Yup plain old cold calling. The Pros in our group were finding that customers and prospects are picking up and returning calls.!  Start by using your CRM to make a list of existing customers then a second list of leads. Our approach needs to be different that typical cold calls pushing our product.  To loosely quote Coach Chris Jennings “Sales is helping people to solve problems that they could not solve without our help.” We need to acknowledge the reality of the situation, by asking our current customers and prospects how are they adapting to the current situation.  Our dialog with them needs to recognize the reality of the current situation, from their point of view. Listen to what they are dealing with, be a sympathetic ear.  Approach them with the attitude of how can we contribute to your success during this crisis?

Think more broadly, many folks are feeling isolated. We can be creative with our support and approach. Online meetings can give us all a sense of normalcy. We can do one on ones on the fly or get everyone in a virtual room. We all have time now to look at an act on things that we “Didn’t have time for” in the recent past. Is there Online live training we can do? New CRM Software installation is often predicated on having down time during an extended holiday, or inventory of stock – ware house, maintenance etc. Our Imagination is our limit. We have a golden opportunity to “Catch Up” on things that are often blocked by the ongoing flow of business. Our customers & prospects are feeling stressed and need our expertise.

I don’t suppose anyone is interested in continuing this conversation? If you are you may want to go to http://www.lrn2sell.com to learn more about Sandler Sales here in Orange County, CA.

On the off chance you are interested in a CRM  I can be contacted at Phil@salesforcemaven.com