Selling in a Recession!

By GERARD ASSEY

All over the world there could be full of negative statistics, warnings, and dire economic projections, with a lot of uncertainty; and the cause of economic slowdown could be very different to anything we've probably seen in the past. The overriding motivator will be fear, not confidence. The basic behavior pattern will be Contraction, rather than Expansion! So the question to ask is: Do you see the recession as a sales problem or a great business opportunity? Sadly, many see it is as a problem, thus missing fabulous opportunities to grow their businesses. An economic slowdown can be a problem for businesses, or, it can be a great opportunity to gain new clients and boost sales-if one can only master the sales methods that work best in such recessionary times.

It's important to note that during recessions, even with all the talk going on, people still spend money. Deals are still closed; many businesses thrive, regardless of what's happening on the daily news- banks still process literally millions of money every day. What changes is what people spend their money on, how quickly they make buying decisions, & why they spend that money. The key is to look for opportunities in the new setting, not waste time sulking wishing things would go back to the way they were. Things never go back to the way they were. People still have needs you can fill. They still will spend money. They just want to be more sure about who they give it to. So this can be a great time to hone the team's skills and with the right strategies, and making adjustments, organizations can maintain or even increase business during a recession and, even when it is over, emerge bigger, with more growth potential, much loyal customers, larger earnings, and an organization that is solid, having now a track record to substantiate of having gone through the worst times- and emerging most successfully!

The KEY Fact: There will be winners and there will be losers. Where are you going to be? Decide today that this era will be your best season ever… And this book 'SELLING IN A RECESSION' will help you through these challenges that come with selling in a slow or down economy- the biggest mistakes to avoid, and the best practices-step by step, using the unique 7 Step P.R.O.M.I.S.E Methodology to help you survive and thrive into the future by enabling your business successfully navigate the uncertainty and outperform the competition- emerging profitable and victorious!

• Language: English
• Publisher: GERARD ASSEY
• Release date: Jan 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215309728

Book preview

Gerard Assey

Selling in a Recession!

By

Gerard Assey

© Copyright 2023 by Author

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Published by:

Gerard Assey

19/18, Palli Arasan Street

Anna Nagar East

Chennai - 600 102

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means- electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author.

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(Image courtesy by: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. Thank You)

Table of Contents

✓  Introduction

✓  What is a Recession?

✓  Key Signs of a Recession

✓  The Effects, Common Reactions, Fears, and What Not to Do in a Recession!

✓  Why the Right Attitude and Mindset is Most Important!

✓  The Unique 7 Step P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Methodology will see You as a Winner!

✓  P-Prepare more than ever- It’s the Key!

✓  R-Revealing Questions to Ask Your Customers (Uncovering the Needs & Pains of the Customer)

✓  O-Optimize on the Value you Offer and Differentiators

✓  M-Maximize on your Collections

✓  I-Ignore NOT any Objection or Concern: Handle each of them

✓  S-Service Exemplary: Powerful Customer Service Strategies to Retain Customers for Life

✓  E-Engage continuously with your Team & Customers- It’s a lifeline during times of crisis

✓  Handling Turn-downs/ Rejections and Keeping Yourself Motivated!

✓  Taking this Forward!

✓  About the Author

Introduction

You could have probably laid your hands on this book at a time when all over the world is full of negative statistics, warnings, and dire economic projections. Whether your country is going through one now, or you know of one coming up soon, or you just simply want to learn the strategies that can otherwise help you weather through any storm or tough time...then this is the right book for you!

There could be a lot of uncertainty and the cause of economic slowdown could be very different to anything we’ve probably seen in the past.  Everyone wonders: How long will this recession last? How much will it affect me? How severe will it be? How cautious should we be? The overriding motivator will be fear, not confidence. The basic behavior pattern will be Contraction, rather than Expansion!

The question to ask is: Do businesses see the recession as a sales problem or a strategic business opportunity? Most organizations see it is as the former, missing significant opportunity to grow their businesses.  Many business people fear a recession, reasoning that if the economy is poor, customers will cut back on projects, stop spending, and worse, sacrifice quality and buy only from low-priced vendors. All of this may be true-but only to a degree. An economic slowdown can be a problem for your business. Or, it can be a great Opportunity to gain new clients and boost sales-if one can only master the sales methods that work best in such recessionary times.

It's important to note that during recessions, even with all the talk going on, people still spend money. Remember that deals are still closed in a recession, and many businesses (and sales teams) thrive, regardless of what’s happening on the daily news. The banks still process literally millions of money every day. What changes is what people spend their money on, how quickly they make buying decisions, and why they spend that money. The key is to look for opportunities in the new setting, and not waste time sulking in a mental hole of denial, or waste time wishing things would go back to the way they were. Things never go back to the way they were. People still have needs you can fill. They still will spend money. They just want to be more sure about who they give it to. Inside of companies, they want to make sure no one can fault them for spending money unnecessarily or unwisely.

So this can be a great time to hone the team’s skills and become the leader- by viewing this as an opportunity, rather than a scenario that dampens all hopes and dreams. By preparing with the right strategies, and making adjustments, organizations can maintain or even increase business during a recession and, even when it is over, emerge bigger, with more growth potential, much loyal customers, larger earnings, and an organization that is solid, having now a track record to substantiate of having gone through the worst times- and emerging out most successfully!

The KEY Fact: There will be winners and there will be losers. Where are you going to be? Decide today that this era will be your best season ever. In a serious recession, learning how to keep on selling, managing and collecting your money on time will be vital. Now is not the time to be panicking. Now is the time to be checking your sales peoples’ activities, sharpening their skill-sets and applying solid sales and cash collection principles. It’s all about investing in the teams’ skills so they can effectively win regardless of the marketplace conditions.

And this book: ‘Selling in a Recession!’ will help you do just that...take you through the challenges that come with selling in a slow or down economy, the biggest mistakes to avoid, and the best practices-step by step, using the unique 7 Step P.R.O.M.I.S.E Methodology to help you survive and thrive into the future, by enabling your business successfully navigate the uncertainty and outperform the competition- emerging profitable and victorious!

What is a Recession?

Let’s first understand what is a Recession? 

A Recession usually refers to a period of economic downturn. Top Economists usually classify a recession as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP growth, and this does not take into consideration the changes in other important variables like unemployment rate, tight cash flow, energy prices zooming, industrial production, consumer confidence, and real income and so on, as sometimes a recession can be gauged even before the quarterly gross domestic product reports are out based on key economic indicators like manufacturing data, decline in incomes, employment levels etc.

Although an economy can show signs of weakening months before a recession begins, the process of determining whether a country is in a true recession (or not) often takes time. A recession is sometimes an unavoidable part of every economic cycle and fairly short, but its impact can be long-lasting.

It is a period when business activity and income fall across particular nations- companies are getting smaller, production reduced, workers are losing their jobs, families are tightening their budgets and belts, and everyone is stressing out.

During this time, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of goods and services being produced, drops. Companies churn out fewer products which obviously leads to fewer sales, and spending decreases overall. This lack of income can lead to companies having to slash costs, which often means cutting jobs or restructuring, leading to high rates of unemployment, which further contributes to the lack of spending required to stimulate the economy.

Banks and lenders on the other hand, may also reconsider and restructure their lending criteria, making it more difficult to borrow money. This can impact things like the housing market, or purchase of other assets and limit the borrowing power of the consumer. This vicious cycle now infuses a lack of consumer confidence that further impacts the stock market, leading to a drop in value of stocks and other investments, as cautious investors begin to fast sell or divest to protect their portfolio against losses.

After a period of economic downturn, there is usually a growth and expansion in business activities. A cycle of low business activities and high business activities over the years results in what is referred to as business cycle. A business cycle is not a regular, predictable or a repeating phenomenon. Its timing is irregular and unpredictable. However, there are specific phases to this business cycle and usually consist of four key phases that are identifiable as:      1. Contraction is a slowdown in the pace of economic activity, followed by the 2nd stage: Trough, which is the lower turning point of a business cycle where a contraction begins to turn into expansion. The 3rd phase is the Expansion phase which involves the speeding up in the pace of economic activity. This leads to the Peaking stage, which becomes the booming of a business.

The down parts are what we term as the recession, when everyone is stressing out, cautious and cutting back or lowering their activities. The up part of the business cycle sets up the conditions for the down part, and the down part sets up the conditions for the up part. It’s almost a natural law, like the swaying of a pendulum, and it’s been happening for generations.

The up parts are called growth or expansion. These are boom times when everyone seems to be getting jobs and raises and businesses expanding. People are growing their businesses, making money on the stock market, buying houses, cars, and making money and a time for creating Infrastructures which will augment the economic growth. .

So what’s the potential, size and impact of a recession?  Nobody knows.  And during these low or recession times, it’s all too easy for sales personnel to get led and sulk giving in to fear and making panicked knee-jerk reactions. Don’t let this be you.

But, remember, while this could be doom time for many, this period could be a real Boom time for the smart sales person.

And this book will hopefully aim to encourage businesses by drawing attention of how numerous top business giants, and business conglomerates actually doubled their sales during a recession instead of worrying about it, which should be standing examples for other businesses to overcome this crisis during this recession period. And it can be more so to the readers surprise that some of the businesses were even started or founded during the recession period. 

The goal here isn’t just to survive through the coming recession – it’s to thrive and see you coming out stronger than others- and that is what this book will hopefully help you achieve.

Key Signs of a Recession

Recessions don’t ring the doorbell and announce themselves. But there are key signs that may indicate that one is around the bend:

There are several factors