Article for “Sales Guru” Magazine – During “Power Cuts” in South Africa
With the negative economic impact of the new credit act and higher interest rates, the unexpected costly disruptions and the justified anger and outrage due to Power Cuts, we as Professional Salespeople need to adopt the right approach.
The trick is not to get bogged down in the negatives. There is an opportunity here! You can “Be The Light” for your family, work associates, your friends, clients and prospects.
Try These:
- Find one piece of positive news every day and share it with everybody. Be the bearer of positive news.
- Explain some of the positives the Power Cuts have brought….for example, you and your spouse talk more because the T.V. is off. You are having more “candle lit dinners” than usual and getting out of bed earlier for appointments (Really to beat the Power Cuts to blow dry your hair). You are also getting more time to listen to motivational and business generating CD’s because of the extra time at “traffic lights that are not working”
- The Power Cuts also provide a conversation a salesperson can have with anybody, anywhere. It is something we all have in common.
- Be an excellent resource person to clients. Know all the alternative ways to combat the power cuts including UPS systems that can keep several small office computers going for 6 to 8 hours to large generators and solar power. Have the answers.
- Explain that the best time to buy anything is when the market is hurting. It is a great time to negotiate better prices.
- Let your clients know that the best time to gain market share is when competitors are pulling back and losing confidence. The Marketing and Advertising “noise level” is lower. It is easier to dominate a slightly smaller market with ease then fighting it out with all your competitors during a booming market.
- If the market is tougher:
- Work longer hours and increase your sales calls by 20% – 50% per week.
- Increase your frequency of contact with key clients.
- Read positive books and listen to Motivational CD’s.
- Surround yourself with positive, upbeat, stimulating successful people.
- Re-read all your past copies of Sales Guru.
In other words, take control of your own economy!
The ways you can “be the light” and “stay on top of your game” is endless…it is a matter of attitude and perspective. When people start talking to me about who is to blame for the Power Crisis, I tell them this story that Ryan Parker, an associate, told me. It is about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. It goes like this.
“There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done”
This usually shines a “light hearted light” on who is to blame and we then move on in our conversation.
Be bold and accountable and continually repeat…“If not me who?”, “If not now when?”, “If not this way, then what way?”
Take action and remember, “Be The Light” and your days will be “Bright”. See you next month…if there is light!