For a very long-time, the structure of sales organizations has remained largely the same. The current wave of uncertainty has brought many businesses to a standstill with many of us plugging out of regular sales activity. Suddenly there is less prospecting and engagement with current clients. All small businesses should treat this period as maintain stage where a paticular practice of empathy is required with customers or clients on book. Once normalcy is regained, businesses should then look into some kind of widespread customer adoption plan as a way to revitalise a demoralized and marginalized sales force. Company’s should also not forget the possible role and disruption of technology on the sales cycle. The migration from field to inside sales.

Here are some helpful notes from the conversation between NSBC CEO, Mike Anderson and Mark Keating, CEO of SalesGuru.

• Sales are everything.
• Think carefully prior to retrenching sales staff.
• The only life-line to a business is its sales force.
• Explore lowering income base and heightening commission on sales.
• Try new things, adapt and find change.
• Avoid being negative in uncertain times.
• Utilise this time to the best of your ability. Organise your work days.
• The one thing you should have control over is your mental attitude during this difficult time.
• Over 90% of small business have fewer to no sales at this point in time with a reduction of 85% in cash-flows.
• The fundamentals of sales-success have not changed pre and post Covid-19.
• The foundation of business success is about developing your individual and business standards around (1) mindset, (2) plan and (3) activities (skills).
• Your strengths on each of the above will largely determine how much you grow and overcome tough times.
• Sales is income. If you do not get that right, then your business is irrelevant.
• Stay in control of your situation when faced with things you can or cannot change.
• Having a positive mindset doesn’t do anything but it does everything better than having a negative mindset.
• The sales role is to help people or business to be better off with what you provide.
• It is your duty as an entrepreneur to ensure that sales are at the forefront of business.
• Every business should be prospecting or selling right now regardless of project cancellations or post-ponements.
• Your pipeline is your lifeline. Do some prospecting to help you build a pipeline.
• Avoid prospecting with a hard sell or pushing for work that is non-critical.
• Interrogate your product offering and make it relevant to the current condition.
• Establish who has the ability to buy from you right now.
• Engage with your clients as much as possible and learn more about their needs. Be heard when everyone else is silent.
• Empathise with your clients over this period and draw them closer to your business potential.
• Re-evaluate your pipeline and how it looks like in the next 60 to 90 days. Ascertain which clients still have a need. Establish timelines.
• Understand what is your value to each client and whether that value is urgent. Do not make assumptions.
• Be conscious of each client’s decision-making process – price versus value – next steps they may want to draw out.
• Make sure you are dedicating enough time to making calls and arranging virtual meetings.
• Always make sales calls from a position of value.
• Do more than just the minimum in your business.
• Customer retention. Ensure continued engagements with existing clients.
• Spend time on increasing your prospecting database.
• www.matrixmarketing.co.za – to access database that could help increase your contacts.
• Treat each day in isolation as an office day.
• Dwell where your competitors dwell.
• Now is the moment to build trust with your clients.
• Selling is a conversation not a forced purchase/procurement.
• Telephone first. Email second ­­­­­­­­­– When selling.
• Learn to communicate more effectively in your sales calls.
• Protect your pipeline as best as possible.
• Keep your customers loyal.
• Keep your sales activity very high.
• Customer retention is based on satisfaction.
• Strategise around one key element of your business each week.
• Make two or more prospective calls per day as a Minimal acceptable standard.
• If you are going through hell – Keep going.
• Whatever you believe drives your actions and your actions drive your results.

The National Small Business Chamber (NSBC), established in 2007, is a non-profit membership organisation and the driving force fuelling small business growth throughout the African continent. The real purpose behind the organisation is fostering the sustainability and growth of the SME sector, driving job creation, alleviating unemployment and nurturing the country’s entrepreneurial spirit.