More than a third of companies that are bouncing back from the recession quicker than others are doing so by tying incentives to the company’s immediate objectives, according to a recent CSO Insights study.

In other words, they reward salespeople based on which products and services provide the most substantial or immediate return.

Three proven compensation models that can help other organizations achieve the same results:

1. Commissions based on net profit, as opposed to gross volume. This not only makes salespeople think twice before granting concessions, it also ensures they’ll push the products (and ancillary services) that provide the biggest return.
2. Staggered commissions based on product/service. This is the best way to ensure salespeople are always promoting the right products, as well as those with the highest profit margins.
3. Kick-off events that coincide with new product launches. Companies are using sales kick-off events to create buzz, while energizing both salespeople and customers about upcoming launches.  In a lot of cases, managers are also tying short, two-week contests to provide a quick burst of adrenaline right out of the gate.

These come from John Graham, who has 35 years’ experience in sales consulting during good times and bad:

1. Count more on your reputation and less on your relationships. Today’s faithful customer may be somewhere else tomorrow, retired or may no longer be in a position to help. You may find yourself dealing with new managers, gatekeepers or voice mail. Many companies now use a group process in their purchasing decisions. Having a great relationship with one of the team members may not be enough. That’s when your reputation will support your sales proposal.
2. Share all you know. One of the best ways to differentiate yourself from the competition is to be free with your expertise. Unless the prospect can understand and appreciate your expertise, choosing a vendor becomes a matter of price. The goal is to have the prospect come to recognize and value your role as an expert. It can only occur if you openly share your knowledge.
3. Pay special attention to new accounts. When you first win an account, there’s usually consensus on what needs to be done and how to do it. That may result in some quick, early wins. The customer is pleased at the rapid progress. Expectations and enthusiasm run high. That’s the most dangerous time in a new account relationship. Studies show that customers expect bumps in the road at the beginning of a relationship, followed by steady improvement. But progress may slow after a fast start, usually because you and your customer tackle tougher issues. You may have to retool your solutions. 

             John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm founded in 1976.  Mr. Graham can be contacted at 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA 02170 (617/328-0069).

1. Cohesion. When times are tough, salespeople want to feel like they have the support of a cohesive unit. That’s why it’s important to create a team approach where salespeople share feedback about the biggest obstacles they’re facing and what strategies they’re using to overcome those obstacles. Have the team agree on realistic benchmarks they can achieve together. More importantly, have them vote on rewards that’ll motivate them to go above and beyond in order to achieve those goals.
2. Centralization. Perform an audit of all the sales your company has closed over the past six months. What types of companies are buying? What types of execs? Push those leads to the front of your pipeline to give salespeople the best chance to close more deals, despite tougher conditions.
3. Commitment. Once everyone has a common goal to shoot for, make the office reflect that with leaderboards, daily updates and motivational messages that reinforce your shared commitment to success.

Source: “The 3 C’s for Leading in Tough Times,” by C.C. Holland, CBS MoneyWatch.

Here’s a list of top concerns that will help your salespeople get a better understanding of what customers and prospects are looking for today:

1. Value. Clearly, value is on the upswing, which helps explain why customer loyalty isn’t what it once was. “Customers for life” don’t exist anymore. Customers move to where they find the best value. Concentrate on what you can give customers. The most important gifts may be your knowledge and expertise. What information do you have that can be a benefit to your customers and prospects?
2. Vision. The measure of your expertise is not how much you know but how much you know that’s beneficial to your customers. Staying on the forward curve is what it takes today. Make a personal commitment. Today’s customers are looking for relationships. With downsized staffs, they count on the added expertise of their salespeople.
3. Timeliness. Nothing lasts for many reasons, including technological change and new breakthroughs. Economic cycles are shorter, tastes change, and so do products and services. Anyone who wants to win these customers must be willing to change and keep up with customer thinking.
4. Ideas. Give customers ideas on how to improve their business operations. Some salespeople pick up ideas and techniques that can be helpful to other customers. We’re not talking about disclosing trade secrets or proprietary information. But it’s a good idea to pass along helpful, time-saving suggestions.
5. Appreciation. It’s important to say “thank you” regularly to customers. A call after a sale just to express your appreciation shows that you care about building a relationship. A simple note commenting on a sale takes only a few minutes to write, but the customer’s reaction may be impressive.
6. Interest. Show a continuing interest in your customers. Constant communication indicates that you care about those who have chosen to do business with you. Mail copies of articles you think may be of interest to a customer. Then, when the time comes to make a sale, you have a reservoir of goodwill to draw upon.
7. Trust. Trust is an extremely rare commodity, built up slowing and painstakingly. It’s fragile, capable of being shaken or even destroyed by a single mistake. Building and maintaining trust are the essential preconditions for continuing or establishing a relationship of any kind.
8. Importance. Every customer counts. Just as there’s a limited supply of natural resources, there’s a limited number of customers. Get all the information you can on prospects. Keep moving closer to them over time and try to pull them into your orbit. All markets are fair game for the marketing prowess of competitors. Salespeople with the commitment of doing a better job are the ones who have the best opportunity to meet customer needs in this tight and competitive economy.

Ammo.net, a firearms/ammunition retailer, declared Obama the “Greatest Gun Salesman in America” on its website recently, as a result of skyrocketing sales since the president’s inauguration in 2008.

The online retailer credits Obama for keeping sales high despite a down economy, as gun lovers rush to stockpile arms for fear that Obama will propose stricter laws for gun ownership.

“President Obama’s perceived hostility towards gun owners has been one of the key factors behind the multi-year financial boom the firearms industry continues to enjoy,” a viral statement on the company’s website read.

The statement also includes a visual chart, which breaks down the hundreds of millions of dollars in increased sales arms dealers in this country have enjoyed as a result of Obama’s anti-gun stance.

The question now becomes, “If there’s been no major shift in the president’s first four years in terms of gun legislation, is the fear real, or is it just a really handy marketing tool the arms industry has used to its advantage?”

Source: “The Greatest Gun Salesman In America: President Barack Obama,” Ammo.net.

1. Get more from existing buyers. When it’s difficult to grow your business horizontally, look vertically. How can you increase your average volume per sale? What products and services can you cross-sell or up-sell to existing buyers? Can you offer package deals, volume discounts or upgrades that’ll provide an automatic boost?
2. Alleviate buyers’ fears. During a recession one of the biggest obstacles is overcoming buyers’ fear of making a poor buying decision. Uncovering what motivates that fear (e.g., leaving an incumbent supplier, repercussions from upper management, etc.) puts salespeople in a much better position to win the buyer’s business.
3. Qualify, qualify, qualify. When times are tough, managers need to provide reps with the best leads possible. That means identifying which prospects (i.e., SIC, title, region, etc.) are most likely to buy and moving them to the front of your lead pipeline. But it also means having a system in place to ensure salespeople are qualifying prospects early and often. If your average sales cycle has become longer, it’s a sure sign salespeople are wasting time with prospects who are either stalling or have no intention (or power) to buy.

1. Show Empathy. Prospects rely on emotion above all else when it comes to making a buying decision. With that in mind, the two areas where salespeople can have the most impact are: a) empathizing with the mounting pressure prospects are under and b) focusing on problems that cause them the most pain (e.g., increased costs, decreased revenue, doing more with less, etc.).
2. Gain one commitment at a time. Break the closing process down into smaller steps to relieve buyers’ fear of commitment and keep the sale moving forward.  It also allows buyers to dip their toes in slowly, rather than diving in head-first. With each small step forward, buyers become more invested in the process. Eventually, the only decision left is whether to sign on the dotted line. Here are some common examples of small steps you can use to help move the sale along: a) Invite prospects to visit your corporate headquarters, so they can get a feel for your company’s size, scope, reputation and values, b) offer a no-risk trial of your products or services, c) volunteer to draw up preliminary paperwork, so prospects can see the terms of the agreement in writing, or 4) offer a short-term contract to make prospects feel less boxed in to something they can’t get out of.
3. Establish clear consequences. A lot of buyer resistance boils down to a lack of urgency to buy now. The longer prospects can keep salespeople at bay, the more they can leverage the offer as a means of getting a better deal from their current supplier or convincing the salesperson to make more concessions. The best defense against that is to break down how much prospects are losing in costs and labor on a regular basis by staying with their current suppliers.
4. Create a firm deadline. If it becomes clear prospects are stalling, call their bluff by making your best offer and telling them it comes off the table within a specified period of time. Once prospects know the clock is ticking, salespeople can get a much better sense of how serious they are about making a buying decision. At this point, you’ve exhausted every other possibility, so there’s really nothing left to lose. If prospects are interested, they’ll either accept or tell you what needs to change before they’ll agree to a sale. If they’re not interested, it lets salespeople off the hook, rather than continuing to go back and forth for months on end.

Fifty-two percent of sales managers expect to come up short in terms of the annual goals they set at the beginning of 2011, according to a recent Sales Benchmark Index poll. This may be due to the optimism at the beginning of the year of most financial analysts who assumed the economy would rebound at some point this year, and it may be due to C-level execs who pressured managers to simply “find a way” to get sales back on track.

The bottom line is 2011 is not turning out to be the year most managers might have hoped for.

So the question becomes: How do you correct that mistake in 2012 and develop lofty, yet achievable forecasts?

A couple of key strategies:

1. Exploit your niche. Rather than diversifying into countless markets that may or may not yield positive results, base your approach on three different types of specialization:

• Industry expertise. The more specific an industry or market, the more prospects will insist on doing business with qualified experts.
• Funneling leads by niche (not region). Recalibrate your sales model so reps are matched with the products and services they sell best.
• Developing sales teams based on product lines. These sales teams should work together, share research info, refer prospects and create their own group goals. This way, reps are competing and learning on a level playing field, which should up the ante.

2. Allocate resources based on return. Make sure your budget, bonuses and comp are all set up to finance and reward the campaigns and salespeople that generate the most revenue. Far too often departments spend a tremendous amount of time and resources pursuing initiatives that provide little return for the company.

Source: “Two Impactful Secrets for Success in 2o12,” Sales Benchmark Index.

Yes, buyers are jumping ship in record numbers.

But they’re only doing so because fierce competitors are swooping in and proving they can offer buyers more bang for their buck.

Here are four ways the best in the biz capitalize on the opportunities other salespeople leave behind:

1. Zero in on the buyer’s pain. Nearly 60% of buyers who change suppliers these days do so because they received poor service after the sale. Tight competition has afforded buyers the right to be picky, and statistics prove today’s prospects won’t hesitate to switch to a supplier who offers something better. Value-added salespeople make the most of this by asking prospects where the current supplier’s coming up short and offering solutions that address those problems. It’s a direct approach that speaks to prospects’ pain, while allowing them to tell salespeople exactly how to win their business.
2. Show the money. The biggest concern for any prospect (especially in a sluggish economy) is having some assurance that they’re making a safe investment for their company. Top salespeople respond to that by breaking down in dollars and cents how much the prospect stands to lose by staying with the current supplier and demonstrating all the areas where they can help prospects save on costs or generate more revenue. It may also be helpful to ask where prospects are looking to grow in the coming months, and use that as an effective tie-in for your value proposition.
3. Show proof. According to sales expert Tom Reilly, there are three reasons why buyers hold off on making buying decisions during a tight economy: (1) a heightened need to justify the necessity of every purchase, (2) layoffs and low morale shifting the focus from seeking new opportunities to reducing turnover, and (3) fear that any change might have a negative impact and cause others in the organization to question their judgment. The key in times like these is to provide buyers with a sense of security that they’re making a safe (and smart) decision by doing business with you.
4. Show where to go from here. Finally, buyers want salespeople to make the buying decision as simple as possible. Top salespeople keep contracts on hand at all times, so buyers can sign on the spot once a deal is struck. Some salespeople even file the forms online so they can access and print them at a moment’s notice from any given location. Making deals as quick and painless as possible is a great way to earn a prospect’s trust, and it could lead to even more business down the road.

The USPS is in the hole to the tune of $5.5 billion, and unless Congress can step in and right the ship, we could very well go weeks without our daily mail this winter.

The agency’s escalating debt was recently appraised at nearly $10 billion, at which point U.S. Postmaster Patrick Donahoe saw no choice but to propose some drastic measures in order to cut that figure in half.

Among his proposals:

• No Saturday mail delivery
• Closing 3,700+ postal locations nationwide, and
• Laying off 120,000+ employees — despite the fact that their union contracts strictly forbid layoffs.

It’s a catastrophe, to be sure. And with so much talk in Washington lately about the need for the Fed or other agencies to stop bailing others out, the question now arises: Will the government really allow the Postal Service to go into default?

Obviously, the meteoric rise of email — combined with other shipping outfits like FedEx and UPS — has sparked a rapid decline for the USPS over the past 10 years. And now — with the USPS labor budget accounting for 80% of its overall expenses — the postal service is running out of options.

There is only so much raising the price of stamps and/or other postage options will do in terms of offsetting the exorbitant losses. On top of which, because the USPS is a public agency, it cannot increase its rates at a pace that eclipses the national rate of inflation. This is particularly troubling, given the lagging economy.

And yet, union contracts that have been in place for decades are blocking the agency from considering pay cuts.

The final blow could be dealt as early as February of next year, as the inability of the post office to pay for fuel, vehicles and manpower may force a partial, or perhaps even full, shutdown until a more viable business model can be implemented.

Source: “Postal Service is Nearing Default as Losses Mount,” by Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, 9/4/11.

1. Work against a competitor with established ties to the prospect. Try to find out how long they’ve dealt with their present supplier and who they used before the switch. What made them change? Do some research. There may be new developments, products or services that your prospects aren’t aware of.
2. Win back lost accounts. Even the best salespeople lose an account now and then. They also know that if they approach their former customers properly, many will come back. They look for specific reasons why customers left. They check account records carefully to see if there were any problems with delivery or quality that went unanswered. They come up with plans to fix problems and share those plans with former customers.
3. Get off to an early start. Many decision makers get to the office early before strategic gatekeepers are in place. They might just pick up their phone or answer the door if a salesperson calls early. They also have more time to listen to a sales presentation before the constant interruptions that may occur later in the day.
4. Be a problem solver. Try to satisfy the customer instead of finding out whom or what caused the problem in the first place. Make sure you have all the information you need before you try to come up with a solution. Understand that how you respond to a problem makes you special in the eyes of the customer.
5. Hold yourself accountable. Salespeople who take responsibility for their actions usually have the best results in sales and customer service. When their new business is down, they look within themselves instead of blaming prospects or business conditions. Some salespeople try to place blame elsewhere when their prospecting efforts fail. Top salespeople set specific goals tied to a clear system for measuring performance and take immediate actions to support their goals.
6. Follow up consistently. The number one complaint customers have about salespeople is a lack of consistent follow-up after they have closed a sale. Follow-up is a great way to show customers they have made good decisions with their purchasing dollars.
7. Add value, not cost. Instead of focusing on price during a sales call, break down all the ways your products can help reduce costs or increase profits. If you provide evidence that your products provide greater ROI than your competitors, a small difference in price is rarely a factor.

Adapted from the book Selling When No One is Buying by Stephan Schiffman, an author and consultant, who has trained more than 500,000 salespeople at firms such as AT&T, Chemical Bank, Manufacturer’s Hanover Trust, Motorola and U.S. Health Care.

The study, conducted by Duke University, found CMOs across every industry plan to spend more of their marketing budget on social media (7% to 10%) over the next year.

In addition, many plan to allocate as much as 17% — on average — to social media five years from now.

What’s more telling is that B2C companies, which seem to have the greatest stake in reaching prospects via social media, plan to increase their social media spending by nearly 15% over the next five years. By then most marketers predict social media will account for nearly a quarter of their overall budget.

And yet, there still seems to be a lack of overall acceptance from the C-suite for social media resources that require additional spending.

In fact, 24% of marketers claim their social media strategy has no integration with the rest of the company whatsoever — an unfortunate statistic given so many studies have shown a there’s positive correlation between getting employees from every department in a company involved and the ROI social media marketing generates.

Source: “Marketers Plan to Increase Social Media Spend,” by Tanya Irwin, MarketingDaily, 9/6/11.

One of the keys to handling a price increase successfully is determining how and why each buyer uses your product or service.

Some important questions for salespeople to consider:

• Does the buyer compensate for the price of your product or service by charging their customers more? If so, the major issue will be helping buyers justify an increase to their customers.
• Are all of your competitors raising their prices as well? If so, the increase could provide an opportunity. If you’re raising prices by a lower percentage than competitors, that could be a valuable selling point. You can even provide a chart that shows your percentage increase compared to top competitors, so buyers can see how much they’re saving long-term by staying with you.
• How much does the buyer rely on your product or service? If a buyer relies heavily on you, explain that the increase is necessary to maintain the top-notch quality they’ve come to expect.
• Why did the customer agree to do business with you in the first place? This is the key to most buyer relationships and it often holds the key to keeping them as customers. Determine why each buyer prefers you to the competition. Whatever the reason, use that as the focus when explaining why the hike is necessary.

Navigating a price increase has a lot to do with how salespeople manage buyer expectations in the time leading up to the change.

Here are some steps top managers insist salespeople follow when prepping for an increase:

• Give the buyer lead-in time. The more notice you give, the better. Proactive salespeople make it a point to personally discuss the price increase with buyers via phone or in person. That way salespeople are viewed as advocates, looking out for the buyer’s best interest. More importantly, it ensures buyers don’t find out about the increase via direct mail (or a bill) — circumstances which can really drive buyers away.
• Get Service up to speed early. Buyers contact Customer Service whenever they have a question about price. Avoid any snafus by informing Customer Service of the price increases ASAP. Provide specific instructions for handling any question buyers might have.
• Get salespeople on board. Price hikes are just as awkward for salespeople as they are for buyers. Top managers meet with salespeople in advance to explain why the increases are necessary, answer any questions salespeople have, and build belief in the fact that this is the best way for your company to continue offering the quality buyers have come to expect.
• Get senior execs involved. When prices go up, buyers often demand to speak to “someone in charge.” Appease them by having high-level execs agree to take some phone calls regarding the increase. It makes buyers feel like their business is important, and it also gives them a renewed sense of confidence about their relationship with your company.

While traditional sales organizations compete on issues of price, service and quality, “engagement” (i.e., the level of loyalty buyers have to a company or brand) is the real key to boosting business during an unsure economy.

Customers become “engaged” with businesses based on consistent, positive interactions over the course of time.

There are four specific motivators (or drivers) that lead to higher levels of engagement, according to a well-known Allegiance Marketing study:

1. Protection — How strongly do you guarantee each buyer’s investment? How do they know they’re safe doing business with you?
2. Confidence – Are buyers always kept in the loop about new products or changes to existing ones? How do you reinforce the notion they’re receiving the best value on the market?
3. Appreciation – How do buyers know you value their loyalty? Do you offer buyer rewards or preferred customer status based on loyalty and purchase levels?
4. Service – Do salespeople maintain consistent contact? Is there a system to ensure problems are resolved quickly and efficiently?

Because engagement is such a qualitative measure, it’s often difficult for organizations to measure the impact they’re having with buyers.

Here are some indications that buyer engagement initiatives are actually paying off:

• Increase in revenue – Higher levels of engagement lead customers to buy more (and more often).
• More referrals — Engaged buyers are motivated to send more business your way (top companies offer incentives to encourage referrals).
• Less customer turnover – Engaged buyers are loyal buyers.
• More feedback – Engaged customers feel more comfortable sharing feedback about what they like (and don’t like), mostly because they view their relationship with your company as more of a partnership.

Ritz-Carlton, Netflix and Google are always among the top 10 companies in the country when it comes to engaging buyers, according to PeopleMetrics Annual Customer Engagement Study.

While each of these companies serves a different niche, there are two things all three have in common:

1. Constant interaction with buyers. One in four customers never contact a company when they have a problem or concern. Top companies take proactive steps to avoid that and resolve issues ASAP (e.g., Netflix asks renters for email feedback on every DVD they view and encourages subscribers to contact them 24/7 if any issues arise).
2. Strong emphasis on employees. Best-in-class companies consider employees their most valuable resource. They provide frequent bonuses and incentives for dedication and first-class service. They also treat employees with tremendous respect to ensure high levels of commitment (e.g., Ritz-Carlton refers to all employees as “ladies” and “gentlemen”).

The annual PeopleMetrics study reveals companies that achieve high levels of buyer engagement enjoy three benefits:

1. Fully engaged buyers recommend a brand or company to friends and business associates four times more often than ambivalent customers.
2. 13% of fully engaged buyers post to a blog, website or message board about their experience.
3. A fully engaged buyer visits the company’s website twice as often (and makes three times as many online purchases).

It could be that your best employee is leaving — and won’t be replaced. Or your budget has been cut — and you’ll have to decide who goes and who stays. Or your biggest customer just signed with your competitor.

There’s one more action it could foreshadow: The bad news is you, as in your job, as in you don’t have it anymore.

If you hear any of these five phrases, you know to brace yourself:

• “There’s no easy way to say this …” This can mean “there’s no easy way to take this,” from your perspective.
• “We have a crisis on our hands…” In this case, “we” means “you have a crisis on your hands” — and the bearer of bad news is passing you the buck.
• “Do you really think that meeting/presentation went well?” They wouldn’t be asking you if they believed it did. Get ready for the fallout.
• “Can I have a word with you in private?” Chances are, it’s not going to be about a promotion or a raise.
• “We need to see you at 4. In the HR office.” And it’s 10 a.m. Uh, start packing your desk now. They’re preparing your last check.

Adapted from “Top 10 Things You Never Want to Hear at Work,” by Steve Tobak, BNET, 8/10/11.

A report from BIGresearch and Shop.org notes that the online shoppers will spend more than brick-and-mortar customers.

At least one-third of shoppers said they’ll be doing “some” of their shopping online.

It quickly adds up:

Online shoppers are expected to open their wallets to the tune of $847 — 40% more than “old school” shoppers.

And despite the bumpy economy, parents aren’t planning on cutting back on school spending.

Of course, there is one drawback to shopping online for back-to-school stuff.

It’s awful difficult to see if those new shoes are going to fit your child’s feet before you make the purchase.

1. Compensate for sagging closing rates by winning more sales, faster. Three keys to accomplishing that:

1. Have reps schedule as many meetings as possible in a single region each day, to cut down on travel time.
2. Use email, mobile or digital resources to handle paperwork, so reps cut down the number of trips they need to make to close each sale.
3. Make sure salespeople have a set agenda going into every sales call, so they achieve what’s necessary and keep the process moving forward.

2. Get more from existing buyers. Right now, loyal buyers are one
of your company’s best assets. Leverage that by:

• Offering customers incentives in return for referring new prospects.
• Increasing the average volume per sale by identifying upsell and
  cross-selling opportunities.
• Increasing the frequency of purchase by having salespeople increase how often they follow up with buyers.
• Work with IT to send an automatic email reminder to buyers whenever it’s time for them to buy again or renew.

1. Narrow your sales funnel. A lot of managers assume casting a wider net is the way to win more buyers in a tight economy. But in reality, the more narrow and focused the lead pipeline is, the better the chance salespeople won’t waste their time with prospects who have no intention of buying. Look at the accounts you’ve closed during the past year. What do those buyers have in common (e.g., job title, SIC, location, industry, etc.)? These are the types of leads to target now. Move them to the front of the lead pipeline, so salespeople have an opportunity to cash in on some of the low hanging fruit.

2. Put buyers to work for you. Right now, loyal buyers are the best friends a business has. Capitalize on that by:

• promoting a referral program that rewards buyers for connecting
  you with high-probability prospects, and
• announcing a rewards program that entitles customers to preferred status (e.g., volume discounts, package deals, etc.) after hitting specific purchase levels and/or doing business with your company for an extended period of time.

Both strategies encourage buyers to bring your company more business, while also promoting loyalty and solidifying the relationship.

3. Widen your sphere of influence. The more points of contact salespeople have at each buyer’s company, the greater their influence (and the less chance buyers will leave to do business with a competitor).

Consider these two solutions top sales organizations use to establish strong relationships with several contacts at each buyer’s company:

• Once a quarter, host a “Lunch & Learn” session during which top execs from some of the biggest companies you do business with have a chance to meet in a relaxed atmosphere. After lunch execs from each buyer’s company talk about what’s changing in the industry, how it’s affecting their business, and how they’re looking to expand in the months to come.
• Invite customers (and top prospects) to a charity event your company is sponsoring. Before the event, have salespeople give a quick presentation about the philanthropic work your company has done with the nonprofit.  Result: Prospects get to know your salespeople on a personal level, and they also learn about your company’s philanthropic interests.

4. Update your value proposition. Salespeople need to offer solutions that speak to what buyers are up against now, and how they can help buyers face new challenges head on. Buyers who’ve just started doing business with your company during the past year are a great asset in this regard, because they can provide testimonials that explain:

• Why they agreed to do business with you given the current economic climate, and
• How your products and services have helped them overcome new challenges they’ve faced.

• “Do prospects have the money to buy my products and services?”
• “How many of my customers will still be in business?”
• “Is what I’m selling seen as critical in a discretionary market?”

These questions position salespeople for success in a tough market.

Some salespeople don’t ask these questions because they make assumptions based on history or the perceived strength of existing customer relationships.

Here are five disastrous assumptions:

1. ‘I know how to sell. I’ve been a top-performing salesperson for many years.’

There’s a lot of truth old adage that successful times hide many flaws. And chances are the robust market we enjoyed leading up to this downturn hid some selling shortcomings.

Ask yourself, “How many of my deals did I really sell by uncovering needs, developing them and clearly aligning customer needs to product capabilities and outcomes?”

In a market where prospects are in denial of needs or have a “we’ll make do with what we have” attitude, how confident are you in your ability to do business with a budget-constrained buyer?

2. ‘I may not have had to prospect much in recent years, but I still know how to.’

Salespeople no longer have the luxury of waiting for business to come to them. The prospecting they used to do years ago may not work in the current business climate.

Prospecting in uncertain times isn’t just a matter of good research and good messaging. It’s a matter of great research and great messaging. You have to hit prospects between the eyes and make them wonder whether they’ll be left behind without your product or service.

3. ‘At least I can rely on my current customers’

Your existing customers may have been predictable in their buying patterns in the past, but that may no longer be true — and for a lot of reasons.

It’s a good idea to go through your customer list and question every aspect of it: Is the person still the ultimate decision maker? Are past drivers for purchasing your products/services still critical to the customer?

4. ‘I know my customers and prospects pretty well.’

That may have been true in the past, but the market landscape is moving at warp speed. You can’t be sure how good or up-to-date your information is, even with your best customers.

Prospects’ businesses may be downsizing or being bought out. There is no such thing as too much information in this environment.

Stay up to date with your customers and prospects so you’re aware of any possible changes and opportunities before the competition is.

5. ‘I have presentations that work.’

Have you simplified your presentations to make sure they’re tailored to prospects with exceptionally busy schedules and those who’re struggling with fewer resources?

Prospects need something tangible that will deliver fast returns and demonstrate why spending money with you is critical at a time when they’re trying to save money.

Source: John Golden, Vice President of Huthwaite, a sales performance improvement organization.

The Associated Press just completed its monthly analysis of states that are “stressed” and those that are on the rise.

The figures are compiled by tracking bankruptcies, foreclosures, unemployment and other economic indicators, and assigning a “stress” score. Any score above an 11 is considered stressed.

First, the bad news. The five states that came out the worst in the scoring were:

• Nevada, 21.41
• California, 16.72
• Florida, 16.36
• Arizona, 15.27
• Michigan, 14.86

The best states:

• North Dakota, 5.24
• Nebraska, 5.85
• South Dakota, 6.19
• Vermont, 6.87
• New Hampshire, 7.77

Most-recent month-to-month stress levels declined in 34 states and in more than two-thirds of the nation’s 3,141 counties. Year-to-year, unemployment was lower in nearly three-quarters of counties, and bankruptcies and foreclosures declined in nearly half of the counties. Places with lower stress levels in the past 12 months tend to have heavy concentrations of workers in manufacturing, technical, professional and retail jobs. Places with higher stress levels have many people employed in construction, utilities and real estate.

Go here to see the AP’s interactive county-by-county stress-score map.