How to Sell Against the Odds

Right now, it’s tough out there. Rising interest rates. Budget cuts. Downscaling. Global wars. Energy crises. The headwind is strong.

How do you sell in this climate?

I co-founded a digital research agency in the middle of an economic recession. Being young and naive helped; I was convinced we’d just get a bank loan for our tiny start-up. Every bank ad promised they backed entrepreneurs. Turned out it didn’t work that way.

Luckily, my wise co-founder offered a simple solution: sell. We consciously decided not to focus on cutting costs but to focus all our efforts on getting clients.

We launched a press release titled “Doing Research in a Recession,” we punted more value, better pricing and faster delivery. All things we could deliver on. It remains our best-performing article, and it was an effective lead magnet.

In an economic downturn, aggressively focusing on selling is better than cutting costs and doing nothing about your outbound sales efforts.

But you can’t just continue doing the same thing. You need to adapt.

So here are 5 strategies to help you sell when the winds of the economy are against you:

1. Stop. Collaborate and Listen: No, not just a catchy tune but a great piece of advice. Take time to listen to your clients and their challenges. Is it all costs? Are fewer people doing more work? Do they need efficiency? Do they need a faster impact? Use these insights to craft your approach and empathize with them when discussing your service. Then:
2. Tier your offer: Do not devalue your product and don’t just slash your price; it will be hard to correct later on. Instead, create different tiered value propositions. This way, clients can spend less but still see value that can entice them to upgrade. Then:
3. Ramp it up: Sales must become an obsession. Stay focused; keep your eye on the prize. It will be more challenging than before, but you need to keep knocking now more than ever. But:
4. Prepare for a longer sales cycle: The win isn’t going to come from the initial contact, it never does - but from even more continuous follow-up. More stakeholders will be involved in signing off, and it will drag things out. So remove as much red tape as possible to make contracting with you smooth and easy. And finally:
5. Don’t panic: Your clients must feel safe and secure (they also worry about job security). If you come across as trying to sell too hard or desperately, you risk putting them off. Cool, calm & collected will do the thing.

What else would you add to this list? I value feedback and engagement, so please reply with your thoughts.

Yours in selling against the odds,

Elna

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