Transcend the Condition! Selling Well Despite the Economy

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Transcend the Condition! Selling Well Despite the Economy

Written by Carson V. Heady

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Adversity Gives You Strength: Productivity in a Sluggish Economy

Selling in these challenging times demands determination and personal fortitude. Having the will to persevere when times are tough is a characteristic commonly found among self-made millionaires. Are you a quitter? The last time you failed, did you stop trying because you failed or did you fail because you stopped trying?

How can you stay self-motivated and productive in the midst of turbulent times and a sluggish economy? How do you persevere as a salesperson when times are tough and customers seem to be holding on to every penny in fear of economic uncertainty?

Every challenge, setback and personal difficulty you encounter in life also brings with it the seed of equivalent or greater benefit! The key to overcoming adversity is to avoid the temptation of panic and instead, focus on finding the greater benefit. Adversity will never leave you where it found you; it will either strengthen your character or weaken your resolve.

During the early years of WW II, Nazi submarines, operating in wolf packs, roamed the frigid waters of the North Atlantic with impunity sinking an alarming number of British military and merchant ships. Hitler was confident that his U-boats could blockade England and eventually starve the British people into submission.

In the summer of 1940, while the Battle of Britain was being played out over London, the Germans unmercifully sank over 300 British military and merchant ships. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fearing the negative impact these devastating losses might have on the nation's morale, ordered the information withheld from the public. In an effort to reduce the appalling number of casualties lost at sea, Churchill instructed the British Royal Navy to begin a study to determine what, if anything, could be done to save more lives during sea rescue.

While interviewing the survivors an interesting discovery was made. To their complete astonishment, the researchers noted that the survival rate for the younger, presumably more physically fit sailors was remarkably lower when compared to their older shipmates. The study concluded that the older sailors had a significantly higher survival rate due to the fact that they had overcome more adversity and therefore, had developed greater confidence in being rescued than the younger, less experienced sailors.

The head of the research project, Kurt Hahn, was so moved by this discovery that he created the Outward Bound program. Hahn designed the Outward Bound program, utilizing a series of progressively rugged challenges, to mentally and physically prepare young British sailors to cope with the adversity of naval combat. Today, the Outward Bound program works with troubled youth to help them develop greater confidence and self-image.

I find it interesting that people faced with similar adversity often experience remarkably different outcomes. Some people become weakened, some become hardened and some become stronger. If you place a carrot, an egg and a coffee bean into a pot of boiling water, each reacts in a completely different manner to their conditions. The carrot goes into the boiling water firm and comes out soft; the egg goes in fragile and comes out hardened; while the coffee bean turns the hot water into coffee by releasing its flavor and aroma!

Thomas Edison documented 10,000 failed attempts to develop the electric light bulb. A reporter asked the great inventor how it felt to have failed 10,000 times trying to invent the light bulb. Edison responded, "Young man, I didn't fail 10,000 times trying to invent the light bulb, I simply documented 10,000 ways that it wouldn't work." Imagine how different our world would be today if Edison had been a quitter.

You must expect to encounter detours, roadblocks and potholes of adversity along the road of life. The next time you are faced with adversity, learn from it and know that you are becoming a much stronger person because of it!

I have never been an "excuses" kind of guy, nor have I accepted them in my several years of ultra-successful sales management.

Excuses are like objections; you must acknowledge them, respectfully analyze and put them in their place with reason and logic, and move forward in your agenda.

The economy takes a lot of flak these days for being the reason sales can be a difficult occupation. Difficult, maybe, but never impossible.

Transcend the Condition

The trick to selling in any condition (in this case, the economy) is first discerning how your product or service, tangible or intangible, transcends that condition. First, the condition will not last forever; nothing does. Whether the country is on the road to economic recovery or not (depending on what political pundits you are tuning into these days) your product, service or offering must have value that speaks to a potential buyer regardless of circumstance.

Case in point: people will always need vehicles, vacuum cleaners, advertising, utensils, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. "The economy has hit us hard" is simply another translation of "we can't afford it" when it comes to customer objections - be sure you are fluent in this language.

Selling Despite the Economy

Remember, it all comes down to LACK OF BELIEF. A potential customer will tell you the economy has hit them hard, times are tight and that their wallets are closed for bidders like you because of outside forces. However, if you convince them the potential benefits of your product or service outweigh the prospect of sitting idly by and hoping for a change without changing, you can still win despite the "tough economy."

Needs and weaknesses; these are what makes the sales world go 'round. People always need something and where there's a need, there's a way.

Focus on learning your customer's needs and weaknesses; because this is a lost art, many will succumb to "economical factors" as a reason they walked away from a potential sale with little pushback.

Find the ways that your bag of goodies is necessary despite whatever conditions you are selling against. And ALWAYS challenge the customer: "Mr./Mrs. Customer, I 100% understand that your gut reaction is to look at the tough economy we are facing. However, on the same token, sitting pat and not taking advantage of opportunities is not going to aid you in any way. You still have to be cutting edge. Your customers still look to you and you have to create need within them. Let's face it - if you believed this would work for you, money and economic issues notwithstanding, you'd jump at this chance. For what specific reason do you not believe this will work for you?"

Make it not about the economy, or any other factor they bring to the table. The economy is just another potential way the customer can shut down your pitch. Don't let them.

Sales is a service; the better of a job you do in learning what your customer's needs and weaknesses are and showing them that you've got the cure for what ails them, the better shot you have of taking care of THE CUSTOMER, YOUR COMPANY, AND YOU. And that, my friends, is the holy trinity of sales.

Carson V. Heady
		About the author:
		Carson V. Heady entered the sales arena at age 22 and has found success at every level, from top-flight sales representative to a division leader over 200+ people. Once Carson realized his great aptitude in the game of sales, he decided to write his first novel – “Birth of a Salesman” – which told the story of a young man who came into prominence in the sales arena and doubled as a self-help sales advice manual to guide others to the level of success he achieved. He is a profound public speaker, superior corporate leader and, in addition to having letters featured in prominent magazines and local newspapers, he wrote his own bi-weekly column for his department. .