The impact of the “Credit Crunch” started with the giant insurance firms suspended access to dealers which didn’t carry the right balances. Some started to call these cancelled renewals “cancellations” instead of the wiser term, “loyalty”. Not knowing what was behind these changes, dealers started to actively make changes in their approach to sales. This attitude followed all the more readily with the Reduce/Reduce (R&R) process that has been used by dealers for a long time.
The main benefit of the “Credit Crunch” for the sales force is the rush to position themselves for the clarity that the economy offers. The safer, newer and smaller the clients, the harder the battle will be to win a client. It’s like making money in business by working harder.
So the issue is two-fold. True, the savvy dealers are born again and all too eager to find and close those “new customers that lie outside” of their comfort zone. However, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because they “work harder” and find fewer people ready to be the happy recipients of their products and services. The sad news for the dealers and the companies they work for is that some reluctant clients never shop again.
From now on it’s going to be all about “clicking” with their clients and prospects over the Marketing Communications Channel. The need to do so to combat the “Credit Crunch” will be the most important challenge of 2009. To grow sales in this ever-changing market segments, some have identified the following three key aspects to thrive and differentiate in the months ahead:
1)Be relevant.
Today’s clients and prospects have alternatives. We’ve all heard people regularly tell us “I don’t have time.” As a ringside consultative sales consultant, I believe the key challenge for all is to stop “blaming the economy” for slow business, and we had better turn off the radio fast and switch stations.
Honestly, I truly think that while the national media may be allover this all thing (it’s disappointing really), the answer lies more in the difficulty of one’s own personal schedule. I say this because. I get it. getting up in the mornings and the difficulty of opening a door and not having someone “fight for your attention” is real.
Here are some simple techniques that can help us to open doors.
There are any numbers of activities that can help us to remain relevant and one thing is this. If we can relate this to the new reality in relation to the ” Credit Crunch” and do it with our clients, we have a much better chance to win them over.
Don’t wait until you’re on the line to begin connecting to the market. Start right now with new ideas that resonate with prospects. That way we all can position ourselves so that we will be front of mind when the “Credit Crunch” finally ends.
2)Be more fun!
I cannot really summarize this. As stated above the markets have stiffed the market’s demand and in order to survive, dealers have to do the renegotiation. Acustomised approach to the R&R channel, can be a game-changer for a dealer.
Clients more and more either expect more fun and humour from their dealings, or they have no time to do any. Just by doing your best to enrich the customer experience can create a winning situation for you. At the end of the day we all need to try to be more fun. Be more interesting, be more entertaining, be more accomplished and be more successful.
3)Have a clear picture of the opportunity.
Most dealers spend too much time “thinking outside the box” when it comes to trying to navigate the new doom-and-gloom blues. During the last weeks here on the SalesHome magazine cafe, was no less than one half of us talking fear, resistance, and accompanying despair, and looking back on what they felt they “had lost”. Having a clear picture of where you are going, who is with you and how you fit into the big picture is a key component of getting there.
These three concepts are just the beginning. But if you keep them near and dear to you, you will be well on your way to being a well oiled and well oiled sales professional on 2009’s wild ride!
