Selling in Troubled Times
Introduction
I’ve dated this thought leadership piece, because in these particularly troubled times, the landscape in which we are all working keeps changing. Often it is difficult to determine the underlying logic or reason for the change, so anticipation is difficult.
What is my purpose as a leader?
Leadership in your own organisation is even more critical now more than in usual times and particularly when you are not sure where you are leading people to. People look up to you,
Leadership is easy when you have one course of action, even if that course is not a very good one. It's when the road ahead is foggy, it is difficult. It’s also where you have many choices, good or bad, that leadership is more difficult.
Leading my team
Whether your team is a department, or the whole organisation, the need for you to lead is the same. If you are leading a department within an organisation, it's your responsibility to interpret the overall direction to determine what you and your team needs to do. It is likely in the current circumstances, that the whole organisation’s leadership is stunned. However, that does not let you off the hook. You know what the mission and vision of your organisation is, and the goals for this year. If you are a genuine leader, you can reinterpret that in the light of what you know now, and what you suspect. Waiting for direction does not absolve you from doing something now.
When I could not figure out the internal culture of one of the global brand companies that I worked for (name withheld) it was pointed out that it was ‘Don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness’. Once I understood that, I just sailed through and ignored a few restrictions that did not make sense. What I did not do was put the company at risk at any time. And I blew through my 2-year target in 18 months.
Selling in a market that is not buying anything
Don’t take it personally, the wallet is closed with most customers until they understand their potential revenue stream. The current tariff war could go on for months. China and the US have been having a tariff war since the last President Trump administration and President Biden did little to lift the tariffs. The difference now is that the war is global – at least, at the moment.
Take some time to build or enhance the relationship you have with your customers. They are also hurting. Even if there is nothing either of you can do financially, building that human relationship will bode well for the future for both you and your customers.
Review your prospective customer list, see who is less likely to be affected by the tariffs, and see if there is anything that your company can do to lessen the pain on both parties. Remember 80% of something is often better than 100% of nothing. What can you add free of charge that is of benefit to the customer and least cost to yourselves?
Get your team into a series of workshops to do some scenario planning. Apart from coming up with good ideas, at least you and your team will ‘feel’ as you are doing something and less like a victim. Preparing for this properly with good data upon which to make decisions, also gives everyone a purpose. Suggestion:
Best case scenario is that the tariffs come off completely, then the consideration is about whether we can trust that this will happen again with the US. What should the team do?
Mid case – such as most of the big tariffs come off but they are still between 10 and 25%. What will that do to the US economy? What do you think it will do to your sales in the US?
Worst case – the war escalates, and the tariffs stay to the levels that wounds both the US and China economies either completely or in major areas. Recession in the US and potentially across the world. How can we present our products and services in this kind of scenario? What problem are we solving for our customers that they will buy from us? Where are our customers? Where are our competitors?
Using an external facilitator like us, ensures that we can move past ‘group think’ to come up with novel solutions, and define the very important ‘signals’ that help you decide on your path well in advance of your competitors.
The Next Steps
In the past, in my selling career, I have sold more in difficult times because we focused on the customers, their needs, the messages and the delivery.
As a leader in sales, it is very important that you exude ‘realistic’ confidence and guidance. Our lizard brain is saying ‘am I safe?’, ‘am I important?’ and ‘do I belong?’. You too need to throw back your shoulders, put on the ‘high viz jacket’, and lead your team or your company through this experience. It won’t be easy, but you personally will learn so much from the experience that you will use as your career goes forward.
As an organisation, we also work with executives in a confidential coaching environment which helps in times like these.