During times of adversity or crisis, it's easy to get discouraged and stop prospecting. As I write this, we're currently in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. As you might imagine, it has had a huge impact on the business world!
This crisis has caused a lot of head trash for a lot of people! Maybe you've said one of the following things:
- People aren't buying right now
- People don't want to hear from a salesperson right now
- It's too hard to get past the gatekeeper currently
- Nobody is answering their phone
- Nobody is working
If those sound familiar, you're not alone. Or maybe you've been called on recently by a salesperson who did a horrible job, and now you're worried you'll sound like them if you start prospecting.
Believe it or not, you should still be prospecting. People are still buying! Yes, you will need to make adjustments, but people still need your help.
So what changes should you make to your prospecting during this crisis? Are you going to be proactive? Or are you going to be a victim?
Think, act, and interact
Clients primarily enter into engagements with us because they want to change their interactions. They want different interactions with clients, prospects, employees, and even potential employees.
In order to have different interactions, you have to change your actions. In general, if your actions are exactly the same as they've always been, then your interactions won't change.
And in order to change your actions, you have to change your thoughts. If you don't change what's in your mind, how you think about things, and start clearing out your head trash, growth will not happen.
So why is this important now? Interactions are changing whether you like it or not.
You may be in a role where your interactions used to be driving around town and calling on people. You can't do that right now! Maybe people used to come to you to have conversations. That has all changed!
So how do you change your actions to adjust to these new interactions? You have to change your thoughts.
One big part of that is staying calm. If you're in leadership, management, or sales, people are relying on you to be calm.
How do you think it will affect your team if you're not calm? Can you be an effective leader while panicking?
What about your prospects? If you're not calm, are they more or less likely to buy? Are they more or less likely to cancel a purchase?
If you're not calm, people around you will not be calm. Calm is contagious. Calm thoughts will lead to calm actions which will lead to calm interactions.
Make tiny changes
Once concept we talk about a lot in Sandler is tiny changes. In the business world, you don't usually win or lose by gargantuan differences. You win or lose by tiny differences. And you may not even recognize what those differences are!
Maybe you heard your parents say this when you were growing up: "It's not what you said, it's how you said it."
Sound familiar?
Not surprisingly, that's also true in the business world. Specifically, it's true in sales. And it's especially true during a crisis!
People are still buying, even during a crisis. But how you say and how you act makes a world of difference. The "how" may or may not affect if they buy, but it will definitely affect who they buy from.
Business will still happen, is still happening, just differently. Concentrate on making tiny changes. Start by being aware of how you are communicating with your prospects and your team.
Helping, not selling
Next, focus on helping, not selling. People hate to be sold, now more than ever! But so many are in need of help right now.
One of the best activities you can do right now is check-in calls. Simply reach out to your current clients, customers, and prospects, and ask how they're doing.
Here are three great questions to ask:
- How are you and your family doing during this crisis?
- How is the crisis affecting your business?
- What can I do to help your business?
I like to add the following to number three:
"Before you answer, some people are having us do additional work that's already covered in their investment with us. Others are making additional investments in having us do additional work. And some people are having to cut back on what we're doing for them. Which of those three should we talk about?"
Of course, you'll need to adjust that to fit your world.
Remember, nobody likes to be sold. Focus on helping, not selling.
Prospecting activities
If the bulk of your prospecting activities usually consists of in-person conversations, you may be struggling right now. Here are some other prospecting activities to consider, many of which will also work after the crisis has passed.
- Check-in calls
- Email clients and prospects
- Text clients and prospects
- Work on your LinkedIn profile
- Connect with others on LinkedIn
- Message people on LinkedIn
- Mail books
- Send thank you cards and hand-written notes
- Share "We're open, working virtually" messages
- Share business updates
- Share helpful content
- Make introductions via email
- Ask for introductions
- Connect people with helpful resources
- Put on a helpful, free webinar
Remember, business is still happening. Prospecting is more important than ever. But you have to change your approach if you want to survive. And many organizations will actually thrive!
If you want to come out of this situation better than you went into it, you can. But it's up to you.
How to Prospect During a Crisis Webinar Recording
In this webinar recording, learn how to proactively prospect, even during a crisis. Watch to find out how to add value, be proactive, activities you should focus on, things you should avoid doing, and how to have a mindset for success.