Selling in a crisis: How to succeed in uncertain times

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is more adaptable to change – Charles Darwin 

Suddenly everything changed; death rate surged, sales plummet, and the global economy plunged into severe contraction. 

The 2020 crisis decimated businesses globally. Demand and supply, trade, and finance have been severely disrupted due to the Coronavirus outbreak. 

Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered fear and uncertainties. But is it the end of everything?

The business world has experienced various crises in the past, with different impacts ranging from low, medium, to high.

However, many businesses survived by combating a myriad of challenges without giving up. 

If looked through an optimistic lens, even sales professionals can find opportunities during the crisis and contribute to the business revenue. 

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievements. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. – Helen Keller 

Tips for selling successfully during a crisis 

Look at the brighter side. Crisis calls for a mindset shift. It is a learning opportunity, provided one is willing to put in efforts and move forward with unwavering determination. 

It is possible to emerge stronger from the crisis; just a change of mindset and approach is required. 

Here are a few tips for selling successfully in times of crisis:

1. Acknowledge the crisis 

Acceptance of reality is a must. The more you ignore it, the more you might suffer. It is important to respond to a crisis rather than reacting to it negatively. Do not freeze or panic.

• Be alert to make real-time decisions.
• Know the level of crisis intensity you are dealing with.
• Communicate with your seniors, stakeholder, and customers. 

2. Tweak your strategies and create a new action plan 

It is time to level up your sales game. The current situation requires new sales strategies and action plans. Use new technologies to improve efficiency and increase productivity.

For instance, using a smart queue in a CRM, you can embrace task automation and add more time in your day for creating new sales strategies. 

Give up the obsolete selling ways and take a different pathway to nurture and convert prospects during the crisis successfully. 

• Optimize your sales process and set new objectives. 
• Think about different ways to approach your potential buyers. 
• Take a closer look at your sales pipeline and prioritize deals. 
• Based on daily sales data, assess the prospect’s behavior and risks.

3. Understand what’s going on with the prospects

Your potential buyers are also facing a tough time due to the ongoing crisis. Showing empathy during a crisis towards your potential buyers is simply the right thing to maintain a healthy relationship with them. 

• Do not emphasize on your discount and offers; shift your focus towards the prospects. 
• Find out how your prospects are coping with the current crisis.
• Understand how their business is impacted and what problems are the prospects facing.
• Guide them on what they can do to address the problems and how your solution can help. 

4. Keep an eye on the competitors 

Never lose sight of what your competitors are up to. Yes, the sales pressure is even higher during a crisis. However, you need to stay aware of everything that your business competitors are doing to attract prospects during the crisis. 

• Follow your competitors on social media sites and keep track of their activities. 
• Find the gap between you and your competitors. 
• Read their PR & articles and go through their websites to check if they’ve added new features or services.

5. Don’t be discouraged 

Sales has always been a challenging field. The difficulty level without a doubt increases during a crisis. 

However, it helps you to become better as you try new ways to move a deal forward in the sales pipeline. 

So, do not get disappointed if you receive negative responses from your prospects. There are even chances that your prospects might not reply at all. However, do not give up.

• Keep sending follow-up emails. 
• Try to connect with your prospect at different hours of the day. 
• Use different channels to connect with your prospects like text messages or social media sites. 

6. Learn from your mistakes 

Some things might work; some strategies won’t. However, you shouldn’t stop trying. Explore more strategies and continue trying different things. It is important to learn from your mistakes. 

• Make sure you analyze your performance.
• Create sales reports to spot risks and opportunities in real-time.
• Find out improvement areas and work on them. 

7.   Don’t make rash decisions 

Yes, selling in crisis is surely a challenging task. However, making a rash decision just to sell a product can lead to serious repercussions later. So take each step carefully. Avoid giving discounts or making promises you cannot keep just to sell the product. 

• Focus on the value of your product.
• Be explicit about how the product will help the prospect in such a crisis. 
• Highlight the benefits the prospect is missing out on without the solution.         

8. Embrace advanced technology 

Modern technology can be your savior in times of crisis. So, use it smartly. Technology can help you save time and sell effectively during a crisis.  All you need to do is analyze your needs and choose the right technology. 

• With CRM software, you can streamline your sales process and manage your deals from anywhere. 
• Using a time management tool, you can increase your productive hours.
• With an automation tool, you can put most of your time-consuming tasks on auto-pilot.

Conclusion  

It is important to be calm for selling in a crisis. Think and take every step carefully during a crisis. Support your prospects; be empathetic towards them. Help them address the current situation. It is the right time to earn their trust and confidence. 

You might face rejection during this time. However, do not give up. Experiment and try different approaches. Use various sales tools that can help you in saving your precious time for important sales tasks. 

An advanced tool like Salesmate CRM can be your helping hand in times of crisis. With this useful sales CRM, you can keep track of your opportunities. It provides a clear pipeline view of all your deals, so you’ll know where you need to put in more effort.

Through its insightful reports, you can know what’s working and where you need to walk the extra mile. By creating sequences of email and text in this high-end CRM, you can follow-up in real-time. With its shared-inbox, you can collaborate with your team members. 

Besides, you can even buy a number of your preferred country with local area code and start making calls from within the CRM. You can set workflows and automate most of the time-consuming tasks. This cutting-edge technology allows you to do these and many other things to win more deals even during a crisis.