For sales and business development people tasked with the success and growth of their organisation, maintaining a positive mindset is essential, irrespective of adverse headlines for trade and industry.
Those who tune into world events over their morning coffee will find their days commenced with words and images of turbulent times and tomorrow’s scary prophecies. Others, who actively avoid the daily news cycle, with its steady drumbeat of belt-tightening budgets and global recession, will still find the harsher headlines almost impossible to completely swerve. People like to talk about this stuff; like water, bad tidings have a habit of seeping through to the consciousness.
Not to trivialise the seriousness of world events; keeping abreast of the news is critical for those in the business community who tune in for clarity on economic trends so they might efficiently strategize for their organisation. It is all too easy though to switch on for the finance and come away with the gloom. Too heavy a focus on external adversities can unquestionably gnaw at our ability as salespeople to stay positive.
At a time where it will be critical for commercial professionals to remain resilient, let us delve into five principles for remaining agile and positive in the current operating environment.
Take it slow
As salespeople, we will take a huge order, with minimal effort, any day of the week. Life, though, is rarely that simple.
It can help to think about our commercial relationships like a slowly developing photo negative, with the picture gradually becoming clearer through an alchemical process of trust, value, and friendly, non-assumptive interactions.
It is understandable that we feel under pressure – the demands of the sales pipeline are as inevitable as the waves that wash on shore. The problem is, a rush to do business can lead to a conveyor belt mindset of phone calls without clear intent, followed by meetings thin on context and rapport, half-baked proposals, a series of frustrated follow-ups, and inevitable radio silence. This is an all-too-common pathway to failure.
Fact: At Dale Carnegie, many of our strongest and most enduring business relationships have been years in the making. In committing to the longer term, salespeople can shift away from one-dimensional, transactional exchanges, to a friendlier emotional connection which builds trust across the relationship lifecycle.
By chipping away gradually, and adding value, be that through articles, resources, invitations to events, or introductions to others in your network, it is possible to prise the door open gently and gradually, so when the time is right, we just need to walk through it.
It is true that not everyone we invest time in will become a client. However, if we think of the worst-case scenario of our time invested having provided value, wisdom, and connection for people in our network, while building a little brand equity in the process, then our efforts are rarely in vain.
Tip – when it comes to finding the sweet spot for how often to stay connected, trust your gut. If it feels like you are trying a little too hard or reconnecting too soon – you highly likely are. Try to vary your reasons for getting in touch. Asking for meetings every couple of months is likely to be boring and bothersome. Instead, sprinkle in a free resource, an event invitation, or ask your contact to join you for an informal lunch at a quality hotel or nice restaurant. This will help you stand out from the crowd.
Resources – download our short, free eBook Closing the Sale by Building Customer Relationships.
Valuable and focused content
Our contacts form an overall impression of our business in a variety of ways. One of them is through LinkedIn. In part, LinkedIn has become a more informal place, opening the floodgates for all manner of content. Amidst the humble brags, virtue signals, peacocking, dog walks, and bike ride selfies, there is a real opportunity for commercial professionals to stand out.
There is a place for the lighter stuff and showing a little personality. If though, we are genuinely interested in creating a meaningful personal brand, we should think of the authentic prospects in our network (i.e. those who sign contracts) as serious business people. Our content should unquestionably reflect this. This means providing pertinent and well-timed ideas, methods and answers to the real-world challenges impacting upon their business. If your post also points at a specific solution in which you can help them solve that problem, then more power to you.
A useful formula before publishing anything is to ask ‘why am I posting this?’ If you cannot find a clear answer (outside of a vague sense of duty to push out content or gain a dopamine fix of Likes) then best to press pause until you have a clear intention for posting. As Simon Sinek argues ‘Start With Why’.
Tip – if you are telling a story to bring your core message to life, try making use of the following formula in your blog or video:
- An opening that impacts the audience
- An incident: Evidence of a need for change
- A clear action: Example of change
- A sound benefit: Solutions.
Download The Art of Story Telling from our resource library for a deeper dive.
Try going deep, not wide
It can be all too easy to think of our territory in terms of a data mine that we can chase after with high volume phone calls or ‘spray and pray’ email approaches. There are merits to reaching your market efficiently though. If we think back to the importance of building meaningful relationships, making a strong first impression is much more important than simply looking for people to A) say yes, B) say no, C) ignore us all together.
One way to create focus in approach is to break our territories down into sectors. Pick one at a time, then seek to understand the major organisations and key players in that segment. Learn where they gather (think conferences / associations / networks / meetups). We can then move to add value and build relationships with appropriate context and messaging. This may come in the form of free events, talks, complimentary consultations, or sharing of resources that help with their specific challenges. Or simply be a regular face at their gatherings. These types of activity help to build momentum, brand equity, and credibility, and can be incredibly useful ways of greasing the wheel for outreach activities.
Avoid unconscious pressure in your communications
When inviting people to connect or meet – be sure not to sound too pushy. This can be as straightforward as a sentence like:
no pressure with this suggestion, we are absolutely on your timescales”.
Nobody likes to feel pushed, or for that matter, even nudged. In his interview with consultingsuccess.com, sales growth advisor Ari Galper suggests we think about the language we employ at key stages of the sales process, replacing ‘follow-up’ with ‘feedback’ and avoiding terms like ‘check-in’ as they too closely relate to sales stereotypes. See or listen to Ari’s interview here.
In his podcast, Author, Speaker, and Advisor to CEOs, Darren Hardy, hammers home the need for an optimistic, focused, determined mindset, irrespective of the commercial backdrop.
Darren preaches consistency and momentum in whatever you do for a living. In his book, The Compound Effect, one of his quotes reads like a rallying cry for sales resilience. “We can all make powerful choices. We can all take back control by not blaming chance, fate, or anyone else for our outcomes. It is within our ability to cause everything to change. Rather than letting past hurtful experiences sap our energy and sabotage our success, we can use them to fuel positive, constructive change.”
Go to the DarrenDaily On-Demand podcast for a daily dose of inspiration.
In Summary
We may be unable to affect or out-run the global future forecast, however, in our own workplaces and in our own mindsets we can develop positive strategies and habits that enable us to endure challenging times, and that provide value to our clients even when there is no immediate or obvious financial benefit; confident that when they are ready to purchase or have a sales conversation we will be front of mind as a trusted advisor.
In the words of one of Dale Carnegie’s most famous alumni,
