I have a hypothesis: I believe most business leaders feel the same today as they did when the pandemic started.
The pandemic was a macro event that touched all aspects of business and life. Since then, more macro events have popped up, almost like an unwinnable game of Whack-a-Mole!
We’re currently facing concerns about inflation, rising global tensions, tariffs and changing trade policies, and the potential for slower growth—all while uncertainty around a possible recession lingers in the background.
Any one of these events would be difficult to manage on its own. But since they’re all happening simultaneously, sales leaders feel like they did five years ago: isolated and unsure of what to do and how to direct their teams.
Those emotions usually usher in a sense of helplessness or anger, which is followed by tremendous fatigue.
I know this all sounds bleak, but bear with me—there is hope.
Strategic Planning for Uncertain Times
What if we can take all these negative macro events and somehow turn them into positives? What if sales professionals who want to hide from having to deliver bad news know how to uncover the opportunities before them instead?
It’s not unrealistic. It’s something I believe any business can do. The best part is you already know how to do it. Just return to your 2020 playbook.
Like many businesses, The Brooks Group had a serious problem when the lockdowns began. 98% of our revenue came from live, in-person sales training. That dried up almost overnight. We had to reevaluate how we could be of service to our customers, whether we could charge for it or not.
You might be facing a similar scenario. In the manufacturing and construction industries, on-again, off-again tariffs have put plans on hold and caused customers to be conservative with their spending. Changing conditions make it hard to take the next step. I’ll share how The Brooks Group pivoted and will also share some ideas for sales leaders.
Building Resilience and Agility
Back in 2020, our VP of Sales Performance Research, Michelle Richardson, created a weekly “sentiment survey” of sales leaders. We discovered that people were feeling the loneliness of the lockdowns and generally just didn’t know what to do.
We took inventory of our resources. We have a lot of incredibly smart people on our team, some of whom are exceptional at analyzing data, spotting trends, and developing training material to fill needs.
We also have world-class sales training facilitators, whose in-person programs had all been canceled. So we decided to put them to work leading forums.
We discovered sales professionals at the time didn’t know how to use digital tools effectively. We produced a series of two-minute videos on how to set up your background for a professional Zoom call, lighting tips for virtual meetings, and best practices for conducting virtual sales presentations.
Everything was incredibly relevant because all our topic ideas were sparked by direct audience feedback from our sentiment survey. We created content and shared ideas that people wanted to hear.
People started asking for a deeper dive on certain topics, so we put together longer presentations to meet that need. We analyzed how people were interacting with our new content and developed entirely new paid workshops that excited customers.
We put this advice together in a book called Agile & Resilient: Sales Leadership for the New Normal that explains how sales leaders can help discouraged teams overcome and thrive in any business environment.
Sales Principles for Selling in Uncertain Times
The lessons we learned during the pandemic are relevant for any business today. I’ve been asked, “What if companies don’t have a research-and-development team or facilitators who can put together new products? What should they do?”
My answer is, “Think like a start-up and do what you did when your company was founded.” Back then, someone at your company had a vision. They asked questions, talked to prospects, gathered and analyzed feedback, and put something out in the marketplace to solve problems being experienced by their customers.
All companies have resources that can help them solve today’s new problems. Figuring it out might not be easy, but it is possible.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What’s happening in your customer’s world right now?
- How are these macro events impacting their daily operations and bottom line?
- Why and where are they stuck?
- What resources do you have that can help?
- How can you use those resources to benefit your customers?
- Why will your customers listen to you?
The answers to these questions will help you develop a strategy for success in uncertain times.
Handling Difficult Customer Conversations
Sales training can help sellers become trusted advisors and tackle difficult conversations with confidence. Here’s one recent example from The Brooks Group.
Due to supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, the demand for infrastructure had risen higher than the capacity to build equipment. Hitachi Energy’s sales team faced difficult conversations with clients due to longer lead times, bottlenecks, and rising prices for materials and manufacturing.
This meant Hitachi sales professionals had to deliver unwelcome news: ship dates that had been promised would not be met and prices had risen since the order had been placed. Hitachi knew it was putting their sales professionals in an uncomfortable position every single day.
Hitachi engaged The Brooks Group Sales Consulting Services for a solution. Using a customized, consultative process, The Brooks Group developed a comprehensive program of content, messaging, training, roleplaying, and coaching to help sales professionals and clients become partners (rather than opponents) in a difficult situation.
>> See how The Brooks Group equipped Hitachi Energy to handle difficult customer conversations: Hitachi Energy Success Story.
Solving Customer Problems as Trusted Advisors
Sellers today need to use every chance to be present with prospects, build value around their offerings, and stay top of mind to become their trusted advisor.
If your company successfully sold anything, that means someone at one point figured out how to create a valuable offering. You still have that infrastructure. Use it to solve the new problem and become the trusted advisor your customers desperately need you to be.
Learn a proven system to maintain and protect profitable customer relationships to drive long-term success with Strategic Account Management training.
