Selling to the Economy

Did you know that we are in the middle of a huge financial crisis?

OK, maybe that is the most obvious statement of the day. You can’t turn around without a co-worker, the President, or some media outlet telling you about how bad the economy is, or that it is getting worse. With unemployment up, housing in the tank, and a global economic recession, it is not an exaggeration to say that we are in a world of hurt.

So how do you sell in an economy like this?

At the risk of sounding like a Zig Ziglar knock-off, you have to motivate yourself to see the positives that surround you. Instead of focusing on the macro-economic environment, and worrying about how much your home value has lost, consider that the businesses and people around you will still purchase goods and services. They will still need to function, and those in your immediate area, your market, will need your products and services.

In addition to having a positive attitude, another key element to survival is adapting to the market forces quickly. Review what you have to offer customers, and then find a way to focus on those items that will help them to reduce costs. That does not mean that you cut prices, which is the worst thing to do. Instead, look at your product lines or ones that you don’t have, and then lead with the ones that will help customers to lower their operating expenses.

One example of this in the document output industry is service and supplies. Many customers are eager to cut costs on their print output. It is a bottom-line cost that can be cut 20-40% with the right strategy. However, the idea of buying new equipment in this economy is hard for people to accept, even if it makes better financial sense. So an alternative is to look at selling service and supplies at a more competitive price on their existing devices. You loose the initial big-hit sale, but your customer will appreciate help in reducing costs, and you will establish trust with them that will be well repaid when the good times come back.

Which leads to the last point, which is that to survive and sell to this economy, you must believe that the good times will come back. They will. Unemployment will go down, housing will go up, and the economy will not be on the front page of every website. The cycle is inevitable, and if you work through the difficult times now, you will be far better off in the future.

Image courtesy of jmsuarez

Jeff Pitney is a long time veteran of the document imaging industry and has worked in both sales and sales management capacities for manufacturers and independent dealers alike. Jeff also runs Pitney Application Design, building websites and custom integrations for web-based solutions.