During these unprecedented times, are you sitting around watching reruns of your favorite shows from the ‘70s, or binge-watching the latest series on Netflix? Or perhaps you’re watching the continuous news coverage of the pandemic, getting depressed and feeling sorry for yourself?
It is certainly important to spend quality time with your family while at home. Especially if your sales job is very demanding and typically doesn’t afford you the time you would like to spend with your spouse and kids. However, there still should be a fair amount of time that you can dedicate to preparing yourself to hit the road running when the economy opens up.
Depending on where you are in your sales career, you may benefit from honing your sales skills. Or perhaps it might make sense to research and study up on your competition? Maybe you need to learn more about certain products you represent that you haven’t taken the necessary time to bone up on in the past? Improving your knowledge in these areas will certainly help you close more business when things get back to “normal.”
However, it is my opinion that you should be spending a lot of your spare time determining what the new “normal” will look like once the economy opens up. What I mean is that the new “normal” may change the value that your product or service offers your customers and prospects. Perhaps an account that would have never been a good prospect before this pandemic would now be a solid opportunity for you. And vice versa, perhaps a solid prospect in February should be taken off your forecast this quarter. Only you can make this determination in light of the way prospects in your territory will value your product post-COVID-19.
The only way to determine this is to take the necessary time to evaluate your entire sales territory and make the adjustments regarding where you will focus your energy when we restart. In addition, this would be an excellent time to reevaluate your 2020 business plan and make the necessary adjustments. Look at each account that you forecasted revenue for and adjust accordingly. Then add new prospects that might align better with your value proposition in light of our new “normal.” Typically, a solid business plan should be adjusted during the year anyway. However, this year is unprecedented for obvious reasons, and your plan will most likely require major modifications to keep it as realistic and accurate as possible. Determining which accounts you should target and then focusing your energy on them will, in my opinion, be the most important ingredient in our new “normal.”
So, take the time to prepare yourself for the restart of the economy, taking into consideration our new “normal.” The third and fourth quarters should provide excellent opportunities for solid, profitable business. Let’s all hope and pray that is the case!
UNIVERSAL SALES TRUTHS # 4
work your land.
Proverbs 20:4
A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring
has nothing to harvest in the fall