Sales Expert Shares Key Advice for the Times

With the holidays quickly approaching, sales professionals find themselves in more of a vice than usual. In addition to the usual added spending associated with gift giving and other holiday related expenses, many sales sheets (and resulting income) are lower than ever with the current recession.

Rick Davis, president of Building Leaders Inc., a sales and sales management education specialist based in Chicago, Ill., recently answered a series of questions from sales professionals who are feeling strained by the holidays and spiraling economic conditions:

Question: Every year it seems like I slide into a melancholy slump at this time of year because of the seasonal slowdown in business-to-business activity. What advice can you offer to keep me motivated on top of my selling game?

Answer: There are two ways for a salesperson to look at any slow time in business. You can either view this as a time when people are not busy and therefore not thinking about new products, or a time when you can capture the ear of people that also have time on their hands. I recommend the latter, and given the current economic climate, share your optimism for the future and offer ideas that will help your clients cope with the melancholy they may be facing. Your empathy will get them to lend an empathetic ear and open up to your sales advances.

Question: I want to re-energize myself and my sales approach. What should I be doing?

Answer: I have recently been perusing dozens of resumes for a client that is hiring a salesperson. The consistent trait I see for nearly every salesperson is a lack of personal investment in his or her career. There is an old saying between two campers in the woods, "You don't have to worry about being faster than the bear if you can be faster than the other camper." Given the lack of initiative of salespeople to regularly read and listen to educational materials, I suggest you invest in your career and regularly read business books and journals. While you're at it, invest in some good audio programs that can provide ongoing career training.

Question: Motivate me. What are the top three pieces of advice you can give a salesperson on how to close sales during a down economy?

Answer: My three pieces of advice? 1. Timing; 2. Timing; and 3. Timing. We live in a world of clutter and noise. People have grown weary of overly aggressive salespeople that try to manipulate their clients. Differentiate yourself by always striving to foster solid business relationships in which your clients value you as a trusted advisor. Thus, when the timing is right for them to choose a new supplier of goods and services, you will be the first one they turn to.