The key to riding out the recession is to create a plan to address it. Simply planning ahead is one of the best strategies companies can use when experts begin to whisper recession.

Recession-proofing your sales begins with you, and being proactive is one of the best ways to ride high when others are crashing.

Put these seven easy strategies to work for you and you’ll soon find that recession or not your sales are soaring!

1. Lock in client loyalty. Remember, you aren’t the only one facing a possible recession. What can you do to serve your best clients? Call and ask.

2. Dig out lost proposals. You never know if those lost proposals went to another company that may not have been the perfect fit.

3. Make time for Face Time. It’s easy to slip into the habit of staying in the office and doing business by phone and email. Drop by or schedule a time to meet with clients. Listen for opportunities where you can offer a solution for their problems.

4. See a Need and Fill It. In a possible recession, sometimes luxuries are the first to go. However, if there’s a need, there’s usually money to pay for a solution. Can you create products or add-on items that fill a need?

5. Create package options. In hearty economic times, there’s more to go around. When companies face a possible recession, slashing expenses is one of the first things companies do. To stand out from others, create package deals that offer lots of value-add for the buck. This way you will stand out as a good deal.

6. Do more for less. We aren’t talking about giving away the farm. We are talking about doing just slightly more for the same amount. If you would normally tack on fees for an item, throw it in for free. Gifting ignites the law of reciprocity and loyalty follows.

7. Put systems, marketing campaigns, and people in place sooner than later. Businesses that take a proactive approach will feel less blind-sided. Create your plan now and implement it. And whatever you do, don’t cut back on sales and marketing initiatives!

Recessions are part of the economic landscape. They won’t be going away anytime soon. The best thing you can do is plan now instead of later. Determine a plan of action and work that prior to and through the tougher times.

Debbie Mrazek is a successful networking, prospecting and relationship selling expert. What Sales Deb loves even more than sales is empowering people to sell and achieve more. Sign up to receive powerful sales tips in The Sales Blip ezine and receive the Free white paper, Hitting the Sales Sweet Spot at http://www.the-Sales-Company.com

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There is a specific sales technique your salespeople can apply to increase their chances of winning when pursuing large opportunities with brand new prospects. This technique is called “the monkey’s paw.” The concept behind the monkey’s paw sales technique actually comes from the shipping industry.

Here is a brief history

When large ships pull into a dock, they need to be tied to the dock. But, the ropes (and sometimes chains) that are used to tie large ships to docks are very large in diameter and very heavy. There is no way for the ship’s crew to easily transfer these ropes to people on the dock. So, a long time ago a clever solution was devised.

Members of the ship’s crew tie small, skinny ropes to the end of the large ropes (or chains). There is a special knot at the end of each small rope with a lead weight inside. This knot is called a “monkey’s paw” because it looks (at least to some people) like a monkey’s paw.

Members of the ship’s crew can easily toss monkey’s paws (and the attached skinny ropes) to people on the dock. The people on the dock can use the small ropes to pull in the big ropes (or chains) and tie up the ship.

So, how does this relate to selling?

Let’s assume one of your company’s salespeople is pursuing a very large opportunity with a brand new prospect. The prospect has not bought anything previously from your company. What are the chances the prospect will “take the plunge” and award a significant piece of business to a vendor with whom they have never previously done business?

Now, let’s change the scenario. When your salesperson initially contacted the prospect, they uncovered the large opportunity. However, they also identified several small, “quick-close-and-deliver” opportunities. They managed to close one or more of these small opportunities, and the products or services were delivered to the prospect (now your company’s customer) prior to the buying decision being made for the large opportunity. How will this impact your company’s chances of winning the large opportunity?

The answer is your company’s chances of winning the large opportunity have dramatically improved because your company is no longer an unknown entity! Instead it is a vendor that has already delivered valuable products and/or services to the customer. This dramatically reduces the customer’s perceived risk in awarding a large piece of business to your company!

Give some thought to your company’s product and service portfolio

Which products and services can be sold and delivered relatively quickly, providing your company with a chance to demonstrate value to new customers? If your company’s portfolio does not include any “quick-close-and-deliver” products or services, brainstorm how you can add some of these types of products and services to the portfolio.

The value of converting prospects into customers as quickly as possible cannot be overstated, particularly when your salespeople are trying to make relatively large sales to companies that have not previously done business with your company!

Copright 2008 - Alan Rigg

Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Team Performance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building and Managing Top-Performing Sales Teams, and the companion book, How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving Top Sales Performance. His company, 80/20 Sales Performance, helps business owners, executives, and managers end the frustration of 80/20 sales team performance, where 20% of salespeople produce 80% of sales. For more information and more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com.

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