Cambridge Business Association
Selling in a Crisis
Book

Selling in a Crisis

55 Ways to Stay Motivated and Increase Sales in Volatile Times (Jeb Blount)

Jeb Blount
Wiley, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Nothing about selling during times of crisis is easy. Even routine selling becomes challenging. Few people know this better than Jeb Blount. The renowned sales guru had his back to the wall five different times during various economic downturns, but his sales business emerged stronger each time. How did Blount survive and thrive when so many other companies flat-lined? His advice in an economic crisis is to stick to sales fundamentals, learn from adversity, become a better prospector, talk only to decision-makers, stay positive and never complain. It doesn’t take an economic crisis for any salesperson in a challenging market to find Blount’s counsel helpful. 

Summary

Salespeople must keep selling, even in a crisis. 

Local, state and national economies go up and down, through good times and bad times, stability and crisis, and abundance and scarcity as cycles wax and wane.

Smart salespeople don’t hide out during hard times. That’s when true pros summon their courage, resolve and talent, and keep plugging away. Tough-minded salespeople never quit. They continue to pitch prospects and do their best to close sales, no matter how many setbacks they experience. They know the relationships they cultivate will matter when good times return. 

Weak and incompetent salespeople get cast aside during downtimes. And they aren’t the only ones who go down in a storm. If a company has a feckless CEO or poor managers or incompetent salespeople, times of scarcity can be a virtual death sentence. But dedicated, competent salespeople hang on and find success even in slow markets.

Salespeople who persevere may eventually benefit from economic dips because such challenges eliminate weak competitors. As bad performers...

About the Author

Jeb Blount is also the author of Sales EQ: How Ultra High Performers Leverage Sales-Specific Emotional Intelligence to Close the Complex Deal; ​​Fanatical Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, Email, Text, and Cold Calling; People Buy You: The Real Secret to What Matters Most in Business, and many more. 

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