1.    Forget wait and see. Procrastination is the worst trait any salesperson can have in a recession. Salespeople who increase prospecting during hard times may take customers from those who decide to cut back until the economy improves.

2.    Control the sales process. Control is one of the key elements for success in slow times. Control is not manipulation but it’s acting in the best interests of prospects and customers. Discover what your customers want and need. Ask questions to try and find out where they “hurt.” Then plan to do everything you can to solve their problems.

3.    Identify products or services your customers could buy but don’t. Increasing sales to existing accounts may help you weather the storm. Try to make a customer’s life easier by looking behind the numbers to understand the customer’s business strategy and financial situation. What are the biggest profit makers and drains? How can you help the customer expand business?

4.    Keep adding value. The most important contribution you can give to prospects and customers is your knowledge and expertise. What information do you have that could benefit prospects or customers? Define value in their terms. The possibilities are limitless: faster service, better delivery, unique features, etc.

5.    Move beyond your circle of activity. Breakthroughs just might happen if you leave your comfort zone to go after new business. Create a top 10 list of prospects you’d like to close and go after them aggressively. As you close each account, try to replace it with another prospect.

6.    Have a high tolerance for pain. No matter what crosses your path, you must handle it. If you lose key customers, work harder to get them back. If you’re turned down for an appointment, learn more about the prospect and come back with a different approach. If prospects stall, it’s because you haven’t captured their interest. Go back to the beginning. Learn enough about them to be able to show how your product or service will help them during these tough economic times.

7.    Push the limits. Sales leaders are never completely satisfied with their performance. They push themselves on a daily basis to outperform the previous day. Motivation is what keeps them moving, regardless of the economy. They recognize that success now comes from sacrifice and maybe a little pain. They make more calls each week. They spend more time on customer follow-up to ensure results. They set their sights a little higher. Taking these steps propels them forward and provides the energy and enthusiasm to fuel each day, regardless of the economy.

Every year, enthusiastic and confident men and women start businesses with creative products and services that they sincerely believe address real industry needs.These entrepreneurs are absolutely certain that nothing will stop them from succeeding.  Unfortunately, 33% of businesses fail within 2 years; 56% fail within 4 years, and 97% fail by10 years.  These are devastating numbers, but you can avoid being a statistic if you choose to be a leader who delivers results.

What is your wait time strategy?  Many customers are worth waiting for.  Start with the externals.  What do they want you to see?  Membership in trade associations hung on the walls, back issues of trade magazines they read, company or product history pictures on the walls—whatever it is, take it all in.  Company newsletters are often left out for you to read or take a copy of.  Once you have given the place the once-over, don’t be shy about making a friend of whoever is in charge of the reception area.  They can often track down key people if they think you are worth the effort.

You can use wait time to do the details that must be done.  You can check phone messages, go over account records, make sure your appearance is at its best, and if you know you will be there for a while, you can get through a must-read file carried along for just this purpose.  Finally, you must decide on the potential return on investment on your waiting time. A morning wait time limit can be coupled with a leave-behind note saying you will return later in the day, which might get you in.

Leave-behind materials are seldom worth leaving behind.  Make a meeting your objective.  Minimize and maximize your waiting time.

“When they said that, I should have said this!” Not to worry. We all are better after the fact. What is really important is not what might have been, but what worked. When Ted Williams was in his prime, he was not as much a student of hitting as he was a student of pitching. Knowing what pitch he hit or failed to hit after each at-bat taught him how to hit it even better each time it came at him again. He was the ultimate student of success (and pitching).

We all take reverses to heart. We don’t spend enough time and effort thinking about what went right and why. It’s the little sound bites that work for us that make things happen for us. Our customers (most of them) react positively to what we say. What is it that we said that resulted in that reaction? Listening to ourselves is part of the listening course that is seldom taught. When you get a line or two that works, be sure to tell it to others; it will be yours forever.

One of my favorites: An old-time Kirby Vacuum salesman would say, as he wrote up his order, “And what is the name of your little girl ma’am? The vacuum has a lifetime guarantee and we will list her as the owner.”

A business owner was interested in changing his local zoning laws. When he met a member of his local legislature, they got on the elevator together to go up to the conference room. The legislator pushed the button for the 12th floor, and when the elevator door closed, he turned around and said “What do You want from me and what can you do for me? Tell me in 60 seconds or less.” Amazingly, this business owner was prepared. He had a well-defined answer, and by the time the elevator stopped on the 12th floor, the legislator was ready to help him, and also to get the benefit of having the business owner as a promoter for the upcoming reelection campaign. Can you tell people in 60 seconds or less why they should buy from you?

When someone slams the door. don’t put your foot in it. Stick your head in it so you can keep talking.