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1. Selling in Tough Times
Have you heard the anachronym VUCA?
It is one that I have not heard for some time, yet suddenly I have heard it several times in the
last couple of months. VUCA has its origins in USA military training, it is used to describe a
situation that is:
 Volatile
 Uncertain
 Complex
 Ambiguous
Well, there is one thing for certain, VUCA is a term that applies to the markets many of us are
currently operating in right now. The reality is we are operating in a VUCA and faced
with ‘Selling in Tough Times’.
So how do we deal with the ‘economic rebalancing’, ‘slow down’, or ‘adjustment’.
The natural reaction is to work harder and that certainly helps. However, the solution is not just
working harder it is about working differently!
So, think about what you could do differently to close more sales opportunities in four areas:
1. Sales Approach
2. Managing Sales Opportunities
3. Closing and Commitment
4. Negotiation
Let’s take a look!
Sales Approach
In the downturn that followed the 2008 crash, two types of sales people emerged:

2. 1. Professionals
Individuals who were planned, organised and structured. Sales people who realised that one of
the key issues in tough times for customers and prospects alike is ‘confidence’.
Decision makers have to be certain that they are making the right decision when placing
business. Potential loss or damage to the business and personal reputation becomes a key
buying motive in hard times.
“Our current supplier is good, what if these new people let us down?”
Sales people who work as a ‘business partner’ to establish needs and provide compelling
solutions, build the confidence and trust of decision makers.
One of the common behaviours of the ‘professionals’ is that they regularly take the time to
complete a needs analysis with high value or high potential customers, as part of managing the
account, not just when there is a sales opportunity.
It demonstrates commitment and provides the opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the
reality the customer is working with. Most importantly it is a meeting that generates new
opportunities.
2. Enthusiasts
The second group, hard working, chasing everything and selling on price. Success was limited,
because this group made price the focus of everything and lost sight of customer needs.
This approach did not build confidence or motivate decision makers to place business or switch
to new suppliers.
So, build confidence and makes sure you:
 Plan professionally for every sales meeting.
 Have the skills to complete a needs analysis that generates new opportunities
 Managing sales opportunities using a clear structure that builds customer confidence
You may be saying ‘I do that’ or ‘We do that’.
That’s great but ask yourself ‘Could I do it better?’
Sales Leaders: think about these two questions:
1. Have you equipped your sales team with a ‘needs analysis’ aid that helps your sales
people manage a needs analysis professionally.

3. 2. Has each sales person an up to date needs analysis completed for their top 10 accounts.
If they don’t, the competition might have.
Managing Sales Opportunities
Pre-Covid 19 we had a relatively buoyant economy, low interest rates and inflation under
control. An economy in which many sales people enjoyed a flow of incoming enquiries from
both new and existing customers. Enquiries that generate opportunity and start the sales cycle.
This economy brings a dramatic change, as a sales person you now have to pro-actively
generate sales opportunities!
The danger here is you becomes a headless chicken, chasing any opportunity, working crazy
hours and worst of all selling on price, usually at unprofitable prices.
The first priority is to retain business. Your challenge is to become more efficient and effective
to ensure existing customers are retained. Three things to focus on are:
 Customer Contact: review your coverage plans. Make sure that you are in regular
contact with all of your customers utilising a combination of meetings, telephone
contact, social media and e-mail broadcast. Produce articles and suggest ideas that will
help your existing customers, attract prospects, generate new thinking and most
importantly create a sense that you are working with customers and prospects alike.
From personal experience, I can recall more than one customer in the last downturn saying to
me
‘You were the only provider who stayed in contact on a regular basis’.
Guess who they did business with as things got better.
 Structured Weeks: to make sure your contact plans work you must manage time
efficiently. Do you need to bring a disciplined structure to your week that facilitates time
for customer meetings, telephone contact, administration and planning? Time is so
valuable, make sure you use it wisely.
 Sales Skills: take a look in the mirror and review your skill sets.
The two skills that ensure each sales opportunity is maximised is your ability to complete a
needs analysis and ask questions. Downturn or not, you should complete a needs analysis on
the basis of a business review with each customer at least once a year. Today it is essential,
have you got plans in place to do this and are your skills sharp?
Sales Leaders

4. in your next team meeting why not run a coaching session on completing a needs analysis and
questioning techniques to identify and agree customer needs.
The needs analysis should cover the business, the individuals, the market, the customers, the
competition and the future.
You cannot close sales cycles unless you can start them!
Closing and Commitment
In tough times it is inevitable that customers take more time over decision-making. Two things
happen:
 People are cautious, they don’t want to make a bad decision
 More people become involved in the decision-making process.
The result is that sales people are faced with the statement “I’m waiting for sign off”.
Deal with this through the application of good stakeholder management techniques. Your
challenge is to identify at all levels the ‘Economic’, ‘User’ and ‘Adviser’ stakeholders in each
sales opportunity and then:
 Use discussion documents as a catalyst to go and meet them
 Identify the ‘Decision Factors’ and ‘Buying Motives’ of each stakeholder. Then provide a
business solution that meets them
 Understand each stakeholder views your business. If they are:
 Supporters use them as a source of advice
 Blockers establish why. If someone is not on your side you must deal with any
misconceptions. If you cannot change their views demonstrate that you are willing to
listen and try to accommodate their views
 Ensure stakeholders understand that you are working with them to provide solutions
and not just making a sale. In small accounts this may involve just one or two people; in
a large customer it may involve a network of many people.
Sales Leaders
Review your pipeline, especially high-value deals, and establish what is being done and what
needs to be done to move the sales cycle forwards. Remember if you are
‘Waiting for sign off’
and the competition is having a discussion at the board or C-Level, there is only one winner!

5. Negotiation
In tough times you have to do more to close sales, so negotiation skills become critical.
In a B2B environment your aim is to negotiate without giving profit away. Key to this is making
sure that issues around Feasibility and Value are dealt with, before there is any negotiation of
terms and conditions:
 Feasibility: ensuring the customer is confident, believes what you have said and is
confident your solution will meet their needs
 Value: the value your solution will deliver.
Then, and only then, should terms and conditions be discussed. What is the point of negotiating
on a solution, a customer is not convinced they want to buy?
Some areas to work on:
 Confidence: practice delivering your price with confidence. If you don’t believe your
proposition is worth your price, your customer won’t!
 Be a Rhino: remember a rhinoceros is thick-skinned and charges a lot! When you
negotiate expect a reaction from the customer and stand by your proposition.
 Small Steps: negotiate in small steps and communicate to the customer that there is not
huge room for movement.
 Negotiate Everything: don’t give anything away. Something may have little value to you,
but it may mean a lot to the customer.
 Walk Away: if the customer will only deal at a price where you do not make money,
then walk away. There is no point doing business if you are going to lose money. The
consequence is weak business relationships, lack of commitment and of course
disastrous financial consequences.
So, four things to think about, ‘Sales Approach’, ‘Managing Sales Opportunities’, ‘Closing and
Commitment’ and ‘Negotiation’. See if you can get more out o the opportunities you have.
Please visit: https://tlsasalestraining.co.uk/leaders-digest/selling-in-tough-times/