The economy is the pits, and things are looking to get worse. I can’t get up on my pedestal and convince everyone why, but I can say that when every investment bank on the street falls on its face, we have a problem. And these aren’t small players, by the way. These are institutions.
We can’t play dumb, we have to be proactive. What’s incredible is the forthcoming list is not much different than my previous posts. They’re just more vital, and if you haven’t considered these already, get with the program now.
The Funnelholic list:
- Retarget: I am already hearing around The Valley that companies are making big changes in “who” they are trying to sell to. Companies whose revenues were tied to selling things to Wall Street and financial powerhouses have new targets in their sights. Evaluate your market, because things are about to change.
- Remessage from “nice to have” to “have to have”: In an earlier post, I commented on the difference between selling steroids (the nice-to-haves) vs. pain-killers (the have-to-haves). During the recession, you have to solve problems. Forget about trotting out exciting new technologies. The term “ROI” is losing its allure as a selling point. You have to dig deeper. Figure out what the real pain points are and be the pain killer.
- Redefine: The qualified-lead definition will have to change. I remember in ’01, the sales guys were still saying: “I only want budgeted projects with decision makers,” yet there were no budgets and decision makers were all getting fired. Recessions mean it’s time to evangelize and SELL. The first reaction from buyers is to tighten those purse strings. You need the magic touch to open them. Selling becomes harder. One of our clients who sells to SMBs is telling me what used to take 1 guy and 3 phone calls to make a deal, is now taking 3 guys and 10 to 15 phone calls to sell. Open up the lead definition to let more people in.
I only have one thing to say: “It’s on.” Your life is about to become exponentially harder. Retrench so you’re ready for the Brave New World.
Written by Craig Rosenberg - The FunnelholicSign up to receive emails when new articles are posted
Want to connect directly? Email me at craig AT funnelholic.com<
The Funnelholic
1 Get tactical - No-one objects to spending on Marketing when it can be seen to passing qualified leads into the hands of the sales team.
2 Reduce costs - Go on line, move from expensive trade shows, conferences and physical meetings to virtual ones.
3 Accelerate the pipeline – wherever you can automate a process do so.
4 Measure everything – Marketing have to be able to prove the leads the sales team are closing came from the marketing effort and budget. This can be done once you automate the end to end process.
Background to this and more information is available on http://www.prosultative.blogspot.com