Selling against the current

Selling Against The Current

Everyone is exhausted, and most are burnt out. Simple fatigue and anxiety are very 2021. That said, many leaders (including yours truly) find themselves in a fight or flight situation in their businesses. Sales itself is a cringy topic anytime. I mean, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t LOVE helping people or working with great companies who they are familiar with. I also do not know anyone who likes being rejected, talked down to, ghosted, or the myriad of other not-so-nice things that come with selling. Couple that with a serious lack of decorum people have picked up since Covid lockdowns and a very real recessionary cycle and you have almost the perfect storm to make most Founders and business leaders pack it up and go home.

Then there are those few that know they must carry on. They must find a way. Most of the time it’s not even for themselves they carry on for, it’s for their families, their teams, and the people who are counting on them.

So how can you sell and win when it feels like no one is buying?

I find myself asking that same question and here is what I am doing to solve it.

1) Double everything. I mean everything. Double your outbound, double your prices, double your goals, double everything. Aim for the star, land on the moon.

2) Partner with everyone. Everyone is going through the same thing. We are not alone. That said, the more resources (leads, deals, capital, etc) we can keep within a community the better everyone does. Try to partner with as many as you can.

3) Have uncomfortable conversations. Call the lead you don’t want to. Negotiate better terms. Our board in our office is split into 3 categories: Production, Offense, and Defense. Production is delivery and should always be looking for ways to expand or connect deals. The offense is working with partners and leads at the top of the funnel. Defense is looking at making sure all expenses are directly supporting the business.

Finally, one other thing you can do is help people without looking for anything in return. It sounds counterintuitive but it isn’t. Do that, and you and your business will likely turn ok. It may look different than what you imagined it would, but in my experience, real is better.