How To Sell When Nobody's Buying

Not Selling? Better Change Your Approach

An economic cycle has four phases: “expansion, prosperity, contraction” and “recession.” Selling during growth and boom phases is easy. Everyone jumps aboard the sales train and enjoys the party. But selling during contractions and recessions can be a struggle. Conventional sales techniques that worked well during the good times will not succeed in a recession. Thus, many salespeople who continue to use their tried-and-tested sales methods may believe that “nobody’s buying” and decide to quit the field. However, economic downturns offer “entrepreneurial salespeople” a golden opportunity. Industrious sellers can fill the sales vacuum other vendors leave behind. These survivors must ask themselves simply, “What else is there that we could be doing that everyone else is not doing?” Perform some “high-value, high-impact actions” to jump-start your sales. Follow this five-day plan to gain momentum:

• Day one – Contact 25 inactive clients. Get them to work with you again. If they have grievances with your firm, assign someone to resolve them. Phone 10 active clients. Offer to sell them a product or service upgrade. Contact...