How to survive your sales in bad economy Condition

While business cycles are certainly very real, and will impact your business, the hype and perception doesn't often measure up to the reality. The media has a job to do selling newspapers and attracting eyeballs. It's in their best interests to create a stir. But that doesn't mean that we have to panic every time they say the sky is falling. Besides, the 'economy' isn't some huge behemoth made up of pork bellies and percentages - it's a way of thinking about the millions of small buyers and sellers that make the world go.

Understanding it in this way is the key to keeping a good perspective, not to mention a healthy one. When one market or industry is up, another is down and vice versa. The important thing to recognize is that there is always buying and selling going on, always someone who is doing well and someone who isn't. Even the biggest booms have their unfortunates; companies can go out of business when the economy is "hot."

At the same time, there are always big sales being made, even in the frostiest economic times. In fact, for all the press devoted to forecasting recessions and slowdowns, I actually think that the good times are the most dangerous for salespeople. When things are slow, it's easy to maintain your focus. Salespeople know they're going to have to fight for their money, and so they take up prospecting, learning about their products, and following up with existing customers - all the things they need in order to be successful in any environment. But what happens when there's lots of money and business flying around, when buyers seem to be everywhere? Human nature kicks in. They take their foot off the accelerator a bit and coast. Bad habits set in, along with a false sense of security.

Instead of hunting for new business, they become order takers. This might not be such a problem in the short-term, where there's enough business to mask the trouble. But sooner or later things start to go south. And when they do, it's the salesperson that has been working smart all along that's in a position to keep hitting the numbers and enjoying the bonuses. In this way, getting away from your sales fundamentals is a bit like being out of shape. When you're in the habit of going to the gym, it's easy to keep going.

Each weight lifted, each mile run, makes you feel stronger and more relaxed. But what happens when things get too good? There's the temptation to let up a bit. That one day on the couch, that extra burger - what kind of damage could they possibly do? After all, you're in great shape. And it's true; that lazy weekend, the extra slice of extra cheese, won't do any harm. But one turns into two, which turns into four or more. A day off from the gym turns into a week, and then a month. One dinner out turns into a steady diet of fast food, and sooner or later you can barely walk to the scale, much less run a few miles. That's not to say you shouldn't be happy when it's good. Just don't be so happy that you take your eyes off the road.

IQR provides lead generation services to clients in the UK & US. We have highly trained sales teams which cover the partial to complete sales cycle for multiple products. We lay great emphasis on ongoing training, conversion & quality of the projects. We pride ourselves on our flexibility and commitment to meeting our clients' needs. We make it our priority to get you results, and offer a 'payment by results' cost structure to ensure your complete satisfaction with our services.