There was an article this week in the Globe and Mail about sales during a recession. The main point of the article was that you should focus on existing customers and reduce efforts on finding new clients. I agree that you want to grow available revenue and insure that your existing customers don’t leave, but I think that tough economic times can mean opportunity with new accounts.
The importance of finding solutions for these three things is especially important when the economy is in a recession. One of the first things an organization looks at when faced with difficulties is reducing costs and head count. I find that clients are willing to test current contracts and relationships in the market to find these savings. This could be an opportunity to be fairly evaluated by a prospect instead of just renewing with their current providers. Solutions that would be well suited may have the following attributes;
- Reduces cost or expense, the solution should have a significant quantifiable benefit
- Increases revenue, there should be a good return on investment
- Improves the productivity of employees, and allows them to do the same or more with less
- A SaaS model, leasing option, or low initial cost would make it more appealing as companies will typically not have access funds to spend on new projects
Lock up your current clients, but don’t be hesitant to find new customers.
To learn more about selling in tough economic times, see how to sell in a recession.
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