Is a Recession Coming? Three Things Sales Teams Should Do Now.

If you read the headlines, there are signals that a recession may be on the horizon. Stories of layoffs and rescinded job offers are becoming common. Tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, and Google have announced that they are reducing their hiring plans.

Uh oh.

What does this mean? It means you may be selling into a headwind this year. Customers’ budgets may be cut and their purchases will be scrutinized at a higher level next year.

Recessions separate good salespeople from the great ones.

Many younger salespeople have never experienced a recession – the economy has been growing steadily for more than a decade. For others, we lived through the Great Recession of late 2007 to mid-2009. Economic downturns create more challenging sales environments, but with some planning you can still succeed.

The time to plan is NOW. Here are three things you should be doing to prepare in the event that spending declines next year:

1. Analyze your offerings and assess the potential of impact from reduced budgets. When purse strings are tightened, customers will separate the “must haves” from “nice to haves”. Spending on first group may not be impacted, but the latter may be pushed to a future date. Keep in mind that some solutions, especially ones that can create cost savings for a customer, could be in MORE demand during challenging financial times. Focus on those solutions that will make your customer’s life easier in an economic downturn.
2. Take the extra steps necessary to demonstrate the ROI from your offerings. CFO’s will take a more detailed look at purchases. Help your customers understand the financial benefits of your solutions and ensure they can convey those benefits to the CFO. Help them sell successfully to the C-suite on your behalf.
3. Have the conversation with your customers now. Don’t get surprised in January by bad news – ask your customers now if they are expecting budget impacts next year. Many will be heading into the budgeting cycle in the next couple of months and may already have insight into next year’s reductions. Knowing this information now will give you time to develop a plan for the year and start positioning your offerings vs. your competition early.

A recession does not guarantee a bad year. By addressing the challenge head on, you can succeed.