HTSS101 - How to look for the upside for the ultimate pivot and shift - Scott Sylvan Bell

 

How to look for the upside for the ultimate pivot and shift 

What is being shared may sound like the issues are being minimized. Make no mistake this is work and it not always easy. You have to get past what others are thinking and doing. You can get caught up in all of the negativity of events that have happened.  

Strategy vs tactics

Most people live off tactics and do not take enough action. You can make multiple moves and use a strategy. If there are issues you can look to make multiple moves that are well thought out. You will benefit greatly if others are sitting on the sidelines. This means everyone else is reacting and you can make significant moves through strategy.

Find the calm in the storm   

Find ways to calm down if there is panic. If you are stressed out or in panic mode you do not have all of your capabilities. You can turn to

• Prayer
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Therapy (most people are emotionally burned out under stress)
• Work out

Turn off the bad noise

When times are tough everyone is a naysayer. Find people that are not the negative Nellys. Turn off the bad television shows, get away from the news if you can. This doesn’t mean to not pay attention and see what is going in but negativity breeds more negativity.   

You have to do the right thing

If you want long term success it has to be about the connections you make. This means you make long term moves.  If you push too hard and you may have people that resent you for taking advantage of them. Take care of the people you work with and help out.  

Economic problems

You can make some serious moves in the downturns of economies. Most business owners will pull back and leave the market open.  Everything you want is on sale whether it is  

• Land
• Products
• Services

If you don’t have the capital you need like cash you can use trade or barter to get what you want.  Even if you don’t have cash you can trade for something someone needs – make have to go 2 or 3 levels deep. You will need to learn to be creative and check local laws.

Employee problems right now? You can find A players or hire and train people to be A players

Marketing goes on sale in a downturn. You will want to think through your promos. Everyone offers super discounts in trouble. People want stability and look to those who make good moves.  

 

Talk to your employees

If you do have people that work for you you will need to let them know what is going on. They are looking to you for leadership. They want to know where they stand and they may be panicked.

• Let them know what is going on
• Let them know they are important
• Get them to give you input of where problems are – they are front line
• Have a strategy session with the team… there is no idea is bad. Go for all of the ideas and narrow them down. You may even combine a few of the ideas. Reward ideas in whatever way you do that.
• Find ways to fix the issues. You will need to create plans, teams and deadlines with the concerns and issues you have

It could be a time to restructure

In times of struggle there is the ability to restructure your situation. You may be able to renegotiate bad deals or even go after something you wanted better. There is a downside of being too greedy and they may not be able to fulfill the needs.  

Remove bad situations if possible and see what can be done.  Push for creative ideas, think through offers and make them happen. You can create a network of people to work with to get better ideas and resources.  You can teach others to play the game and let them in on the secrets that you learn.  

 

For salespeople there is massive upside

When things go sideways for salespeople there are ways to make moves as well. It could be a company change, it could be moves towards a new position or company. What could be asked are all hypothetical questions you can base information off of. If there are problems in life you can ask yourself a few questions and use a journal:

• What is good about this situation?
• Where can you make the biggest moves?
• Who are your contacts I can relay on and build with?
• Who should you be contacting?
• Where could I be making big moves right now?

Tough times

Most salespeople are used to easy times they don’t have the skills to close deals. Their presentation skills are not up to par and are not good at all. Minimal role play at this point is a massive win for you. Even with learning small skills you will increase your closing rate.  

In good times your sales competition isn’t very good, in bad times they are even worse. You will find that in general salespeople slip when times are tough:

• Use discounts and price matching in excess
• They don’t follow up and if they do they are not good at it
• They do the bare minimum

How to find wealth in turbulent times

You need to look at your skills and ask where can you really improve. This may be a tough conversation to have and work on.

If you are in sales start with the discovery phase and look at what can be done.  Look for pain, problem or risk the buyer has when it comes to asking questions. Once you find the pain, problem or risk ask consequence questions:

• What happens when…
• If __________ happens then what?
• What is the next step after _________ (an action) ?

Buyers are always looking for confident salespeople to help guide them along their struggles. If you want to be able to live though any situation you may want to think about how you deal with adversity.

Scott Sylvan Bell

@Scottsbell

#sales #podcast #Howtosellshow #Sacramento

This episode was recorded in Sacramento California