When business-as-usual takes a sharp veer for the unusual, tact and diplomacy become two of the most critical assets in a salesperson’s toolkit. Talking less and listening more, an approach espoused by sales consultants since the dawn of selling takes on greater significance in the COVID-19 era.
It goes well beyond hiding salesperson breath, as sales guru and ENX blogger Larry Levine has coined it. Just understanding that the circumstances for many customers and prospects have changed is not merely enough. It entails factoring in the fear, hesitance and uncertainty they are feeling. During a global pause, the fear of commitment is multiplied tenfold. Thus, explaining how you can make a challenging period navigable through your products and services is akin to walking a high wire. One wrong step and your Zoom/Teams screen can quickly go black—2020’s version of “you can show your way out.”
“With companies having to shuffle priorities, we knew we had to be careful with our communication tactics,” noted John Lowery, president of Applied Imaging. “We never want our customers to think we are using this as a sales engine; rather, just let them know that we are all in this together and we understand the need for your employees to stay connected. We are a company, too, with very real concerns about the economy and the state of the business. Our sales reps approached our customers and communicated the way they wanted to be communicated to – with sensitivity, compassion and sharing information.”
The first two weeks of the quarantine period was an “ambush” period to get home offices set up, notes Calvin Wanner, director of IT sales for Verticomm, the managed IT division of Denver-based All Copy Products. The ability to prospect became extremely difficult, as the company could only count on those customers with whom they had enjoyed a great relationship.
“Some businesses were reluctant to take delivery because they weren’t on-site, but essentially we were pushing a lot of remote products out to facilitate that growth and maintain a timeline on those plans,” Wanner said. “When you need to be able to work remotely to run your business, if you don’t have that ability, you kind of needed it yesterday…not in the future, anymore.”
Head Start
Advanced Imaging Solutions of Minnetonka, Minnesota, found its geography to be an advantage, as it witnessed the shelter-in-place orders being implemented on the coasts prior to reaching the nation’s heartland. That allowed the dealer to confer with manufacturers and other dealers regarding best practices.
Stephanie Keating Phillips, director of solutions, notes the company directed its sales reps to reach out to each client for a check-in, to let them know they’re available to be assisted as needed. Phoning about new opportunities proved to be as tough as anticipated, and in those instances when clients were reached often evolved into conversations about the unknown, layoffs and furloughs.
“It has also been interesting to find out that people who typically don’t answer their phone are now willing to share business conversation,” she noted. “Discussions about business processes and strategies regarding technology are being put in place for the future. Although it is not business as usual, we have gotten some great opportunities from the slower pace.”
Microsoft Teams and Zoom quickly found a role as a primary driver in fostering communications for Cincinnati-based Prosource. The dealer tightened its messaging and ensured it was appropriate and relevant, which also entailed modifying the approach and value proposition to address the current needs of clients, according to Brad Cates, CEO.
“For sales management, the question became, ‘How do you track progress and ensure execution in this new environment?’” Cates remarked. “Some of this is the same as it’s always been—the team has to put in the work and drive the sales process—but in a very different way. So we had to make adjustments there as well.”
Script Change
Jeff Loeb, senior vice president of technologies at Prosource, notes the technologies team called an audible and shifted its talk track for leads and prospects from managing their internal IT to security, cloud and hosted voice—all elements in support of remote work scenarios. As for incumbent clients, Prosource’s account managers suspended the quarterly business review (QBR) and replaced it with a COVID impact discussion.
“Instead of the normal QBR where we look at your technology roadmap, we spent time talking about the challenges you’ve experienced during COVID, what your return to work looks like, and how we can help you prepare for if or when this happens again,” Loeb added. “We also brought on several new clients, because as a result of COVID, they had to lay off all or a large percentage of their IT staff, so they brought us in to fill that gap. This situation accelerated some relationships and conversations and allowed us to talk to our customers in a new way about their needs.”
