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I know what you did last summer!

I know what you did last summer. In fact, I know what the majority of sales professionals have been doing every summer for the last five or six years. What am I talking about? The great corporate Ireland summer wind down. Quarter three is an odd time for doing business in Ireland. Unless you are in a seasonal business quarter three will be your worst performing sales period. Why is this? Traditionally, corporate Ireland goes into “Mediterranean mode” during the summer months. The kids are on their summer holidays, the BBQ set is wheeled out, and corporate Ireland heads off golfing in Spain or rubbing shoulders with the great and the good at the Galway races. When there are fewer customers around sales professionals don’t have as many sales meetings and this means they have significant amounts of free time on their hands. But how should the sales professional use this time?

The problem is that in 2008, the Irish economy was only starting to show visible signs of contracting, so last summer many sellers were able to get away with winding down their sales activities. This summer is different. We are in the middle of the worst recession in the history of the Irish State.

This summer its time for sales professionals to turn up the heat on themselves!

Here are some ideas to upping your game this summer:

Get closer to your existing customers. The recession means your customers are not as busy as they used to be. They now have time to talk to you. Start running account reviews with your customers. Get closer to them. Find out what your competition have been offering them. Protect your existing customer base. At some point they have to start buying again, unless they intend to close their operation down. They may buy different, they may buy less, but they still need to buy to do business.

Stop blaming the economy. Yes, there is a recession. Yes, it’s tougher to make sales. However, companies still have to buy goods and services no matter what the economy is doing. If you keep focusing on the negative aspects of the recession, you will convince yourself that no-one is buying, that no-one has the money to buy, and that there is no point trying to sell.

It’s time to start focusing on the key sales activities that will give you the best chance of salvaging something from the rest of 2009. If you can’t convince prospects that what you’re offering is a solid investment with meaningful return, then maybe the problem lies closer to home. Maybe you need to adjust your offering for what the market wants and will afford.

• Can you reinvent your offering
• Do you need to revisit your pricing points
• Can you offer any value add
• Consider re-qualifying every prospect and work on cleaning out your sales funnel.

Remember, the prophetic words of business author Tom Peters during the recession of the 1980s’ – “The one sure way of going out of business during a recession is to try nothing different”.

Increase your networking activities. If corporate Ireland slows down and becomes more sociable during the summer months, then its time to use this to your advantage and up your networking activities.

Trawl your address book of existing contacts and reconnect with them.
Ask your contacts for new introductions.
Find out the type of events your customers and sales targets attend during the summer and attend them.
Summer events can be great ways of meeting existing and potential customers in less pressurized scenarios.

Increase your profile as sales professional. Contact trade associations, sector publications and professional bodies that are relevant for your target sales market. Now is the time that autumn schedules are put together.

• Put yourself forward for making speeches in their autumn season.
• Why not write a relevant article for their publication.

Revamp your sales “pitch”. When business is slow, then it’s an opportunity to revamp, reengineer and change your sales pitch.

• Record some of your prospecting telephone calls and analyze them for effectiveness.
• Roles play sales meetings with your colleagues.
• Mysteries shop your competition.
• Consider adjusting your key sales benefits so as they are more relevant to the market in the recession of 2009.

Consider advertising. I know what you are thinking - this man is insane! We are facing into the toughest recession in seventy years, budgets are being cut, customers are more nervous than ever about making purchasing decisions and he is suggesting advertising.

I suggest advertising because the advertising and media industry is facing this recession as well. They are facing a scenario when their client budgets are being cut, where customers are more nervous about spending money and where advertising campaigns are being cut by clients. So ask yourself, might there be an advantage to advertising at present? Are there potential sales prospects out there considering leaving their current supplier? Could I take advantage of the lack of advertising in my sector? Could I strike a good deal with a publisher by putting a six month advertising package into a magazine at the moment?

Conclusion: In short, “I know what you did last summer” was a movie with a scary ending. The sequel you star in may depend on how you make the summer of 09’ work for you and your business.