Ok. Here’s the deal. If you are picking up the phone to make sales calls the exact same way you did two weeks ago, you are in an argument with reality. Stop it.
This morning, yes, on a Sunday, I got a message from a business owner friend of mine. She has been inundated with calls from lenders who want to give her access to quick cash at insane interest rates. She’s gotten LinkedIn messages from recruiters who want to help her staff up when she’s focused on keeping her current team busy.
I saw Facebook ads today for Copper Mountain Ski Resort… which is now closed for the next week and potentially longer. I’ve seen other posts from coaches who want to help speakers get on more stages… (for all those events that have been cancelled?!)
So, here’s the deal.
If you pick up the phone, post an ad or run a campaign right now that is all about you and your offer without any regard toward empathy for others, yours will be one of the businesses that doesn’t make it through this crazy pandemic. And, nobody will be sad about that in the least.
If you have an offer that people need more than ever right now, and you don’t offer it, you are also in danger of going out of business.
Here’s what people with an Open for Business mindset believe in to their core:
I am not doing anyone any favors by not letting people know how my offers can help right now.
If you sell a platform that companies can use for virtual meetings and you don’t tell people about it right now, because you don’t want to be seen as pushy, you are in an argument with reality. Let people know you are there.
If you are a plumber and there are more people at home, using facilities more often, with a lot more toilet paper through their pipes… and you don’t let people know you are Open for Business, you are missing on an opportunity. You have a valuable service people may need more than ever. Your technicians need the work. They want the work. Win-win.
So, my challenge to you is this…
- How can your offers help people and companies with the current scenario?
- How might you shift how you talk to people and present your offers?
- How can you tweak your message and demonstrate real empathy for others?
Here is some language to pick up the phone and call clients and prospects:
“Look I know it’s a crazy time and in some ways it almost feels awkward to have a good old fashion sales conversation but, if you’re open to it, can we just talk about your (fill in the blank business challenge) for a while and see if we can fix a problem that has a solution which is under our control?”
Back in the days of the recession, many of my colleagues offering sales training and coaching lost a lot of business. That blew my mind. Their business tanked not because they didn’t have good sales techniques or game plans, they lost business because of their Sales Mindset.
They were sabotaged by their own internal beliefs like, “when business is down, people cut back on sales training.”
My business, thankfully, grew. I was able to help my clients grow too because we focused on shifting our approach to something appropriate for the reality. We did the work to maintain a supportive Sales Mindset. Companies invested in their people. People who were too busy to step back and learn sales techniques now had the desire, drive, dedication, determination and time to really lean into to sharpening their sales saw.
I unapologetically made appropriate offers to prospects and clients during the recession. Some declined my offers, which is par for the course. Others accepted my offers and got value. Make appropriate offers. Now.
Check your Sales Mindset. Keep your head in the game. Everything you do flows from that.
Don’t miss the call this Wednesday, March 18th, 9am PT/10am MT/11am CT/12pm ET. Join a group of entrepreneurs, business leaders and sales professionals committed to Selling in Spite of COVID-19.
The call will be 58 minutes of pure content and, if you are open to it, a 2-minute appropriate offer deliberately designed to keep you in the right Sales Mindset.
No price gauging. Same offer you would have received two weeks ago, but the content is even more valuable today. Whether or not you take me up on my offer, listen for how to make an appropriate offer in the face of uncertainty.