Selling and Doing Business during Covid-19
Covid-19 sparked a global crisis and rolled out a buffet of uncertainties that continued to unfold. Organisations were forced to shift and adapt to a rapidly changing playing field.
Despite the uncertainties around us, one thing is certain for sales professionals: continue selling, continue getting results!
How can sales professionals do that amidst travel restrictions, changes in customer priorities, shifts in market demand, minimal to zero face-to-face meetings like before? These create new challenges and make it harder to sell.
There is an old saying: Necessity is the mother of invention. This is the time to try out new things, and to do things differently.
Communicate with customers virtually
Let customers know you are still available to serve them, and you are working on ways to keep things running. Write customers an email. Give them a call. Send an IM. Show how they can still buy from you and how you are still relevant to them during these chaotic times. Proactively share what is possible and what’s not. Help your customers know what’s realistic. This is the new normal and customers are learning what it is. Build trust by being transparent – customers know there are changes that resulted from the situation and they want to know what the changes are. In other words, communicate, communicate, communicate! This is not new, but it’s never too late to re-visit this simple item.
Meet / sell remotely
Previously when sales professionals met face-to-face with customers, they spent time, fuel expenses, and effort to make it to meetings. Now you can do business with less time, hassle, expenses. Use Zoom, Skype or Teams to meet customers in the comfort of your home. Whilst sales professionals are learning and adapting to use technology to meet and sell, customers are also learning to use technology to meet and buy! So, get onto it. This is the time to leverage on technology! Your customers and you are learning the new process and growing together!
Host a Webinar
Since customers are unable to travel for a conference, or meet face-to-face, host a webinar to share knowledge and ideas. Many topics are relevant: adoption of cloud, velocity of digital transformation, disruptions to supply chain, or simply virtual engagement during Covid-19. Use visuals, statistics, live videos, polls, and other interactive options to engage your audience. As a presenter of the webinar, you can be passionate, entertaining, and engaging than you usually are. Let your customers know you are hosting a webinar. Ask them if they have any concerns to address on the topic or have questions they want answered. The webinar is a great way to engage your customers before, during, and even after the webinar.
Adapt to the new normal, see opportunities
In 2002, during SARS, I started a consulting company helping customers diversify their operational risk by establishing business units in new locations. Whilst many see the Covid-19 situation as a crisis, I encourage all to see it as an opportunity! Customers have new needs to fill, new challenges to overcome, new pain points to solve. Be aware of your customer’s evolving challenges and issues, so that you can demonstrate your value by aligning your solutions to solve your customer’s challenges and issues. Customers want to work with partners whom they can trust and rely on to help achieve their goals during such critical times.
New needs, new collaboration, new methods
As customer’s needs continue to evolve, we need to re-engage the customer to understand their evolving needs. Work internally to better understand the new world your customers are operating in. There might be possibilities of new collaboration with customers, or new collaborations across internal teams. Be patient and listen actively when customers speak. Be curious. Ask questions and listen to understand. When a customer is willing to share their pain points with you, it means they trust you, and it gives you an edge over your competition. Internally, be flexible to collaborate, and be willing to try out new processes and new methodologies. New collaborations can ignite new solutions that can solve your customer’s new problems.
As the old saying goes: Necessity is the mother of invention. Covid-19 sparked a global crisis, forcing organisations to shift and adapt faster than ever. For sales professionals to continue selling and get results, it requires openness to new ideas, new ways of collaboration and engagement, to a refreshed view of opportunities. This is the time to try out new things, and to do things differently.
