What I Learned About How to Successfully Sell During Times of Uncertainty

It’s hard to know what to say right now amidst the COVID-19 chaos: Are you ok? Are we ok? Is anyone ok? Having been a quota carrying rep during other major times of crisis and economic downturns, I know the pain of having to find a way to sell during very difficult times and I have so much empathy for the sales leaders, AEs and SDR/BDRs doing it right now. I keep asking myself, “How can I help support my community and offer a bit of humanity through this crisis?” I would like to share some of what I learned while successfully selling during  difficult times. My hope is to add value and support your team by sharing this.

To provide some context, I was in an entry level sales role in NY when the 9/11 terror attacks happened. Our country was in shock, the economy was tanking as a result of the attack, and trying to sell my solution seemed of little importance in comparison. I was in a sales & marketing leadership role in 2008 when the global recession hit and experienced the significant economic downturn for several years. When I reflect on those uncertain and trying times as a quota carrying rep and then as a sales leader, a few points stand out to me as critical to my success. 

Here is what I learned about how to successfully sell during times of uncertainty: 

• You must clearly identify how your solution will enable your customers to navigate the difficult times and what you can do for them right now! The value you are selling must be tied to their priorities that they need to execute on to keep their business afloat.

• Make sure each sales person truly believes they can help and can confidently articulate how the solution is essential to their customers in difficult times. This confidence must be backed by passion and authenticity when they speak with prospects about how essential it will be for them. 

• Make the connections for the buyer. They are overwhelmed and under tremendous pressure, and likely can't see the forest through the trees. A sales person that can help them understand how they can solve their challenges will be seen as a strategic partner.

• Be their strategic partner by helping them answer:

  • How can I move things around in the business to justify the purchase?

  • How can I bring along other stakeholders to see how this investment will put into place critical solutions to support the business through difficult times? 

  • What is the immediate and longer term outcome that this investment will produce? 

• Don’t bullshit them! If your solution is not going to help them now, don’t harass them. They don’t need a desperate salesperson as one of their 99 problems. Treating them with respect now will pay off when things do improve, they will remember your professionalism and come back to you. 

While the current crisis is unprecedented and we are in uncharted territory, we have some advantages today that I didn’t have back then. Technology has evolved to provide tools to coach and develop real time conversations -- even for a remote workforce. This is critical for managers and reps alike when every conversation and customer engagement has to be a home run. That said, many front line managers are grappling with the new realities of managing a work from home team that has many competing priorities and distractions. At best, they are stressed, stretched, and fatigued as they settle in for what is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.   

Level213 has been partnering with sales leaders and individual reps to coach and uplevel their skills, ensuring that they can adopt the best practices for selling during the current global crisis. We find that email and call audits with debriefs are a good starting place to provide immediate and actionable coaching. This adds a lot of value by supporting sales leaders as they adjust to an ever changing “new normal” and work with their sales teams to have the most impactful conversations and customer engagements possible. 

We invite you to contact us for advice on how to effectively use sales coaching at the moment. Alternatively, if you have other enablement challenges that you’d like to discuss, we are always here to support our community. The best way to get in touch is through our website.

Take good care and stay safe out there!