The US Coast Guard takes care of the 5,000 buoys that protect shipping and military operations around the coastline of the US. It’s a tough and unending job.

When they routinely service these buoys, they position the buoy so that it is in the lee of the Coast Guard ship. Positioning the ship in this manner blocks the wind and waves, making it easier to service these huge buoys.

A Challenge
As you might guess, holding the ship’s position is difficult while repairing these buoys. The men and women of these substantial vessels must not allow the ship to move more than a few feet in any direction while working on these large buoys. The crews of these ships know how to maintain position against the wind and waves; they understand the seas they are fighting against. Keep in mind that Mother Nature is doing her best to make things difficult, often with unrelenting 15-foot waves and 40 mph winds.

An Even Bigger Challenge
To maintain the position of these large Coast Guard ships in virtually calm seas is actually more difficult than when the seas are agitated. A paradox. The crews no longer have an enemy that is constant and predictable. They have one that is subtle, continually changing and completely unpredictable. They have to maintain position with constant rudder corrections and frequent changes to the thrust from forward to reverse and vice versa. The wind blows one direction one second and another direction the next. The waves follow along in a constantly changing dance.

Selling In Tranquil Versus Convulsing Seas
Holding a ship in perfect position in calm seas is precisely like selling in a robust economy. There is no recession or other challenge to sharpen and focus our selling tactics and strategies when things are red hot. We typically make two major mistakes when the economy is booming, both of which hurt us when things slow down – and how well we know that economies do slow down.

1. We become transactional sales professionals. We are too busy taking orders to develop relationships. We are too busy processing orders to develop a customer’s potential.
2. We stop prospecting. We’re too busy with the business we have. Who has time to look for new customers?

The Price We Pay
I guess I don’t need to tell you that sales professionals who become order takers and stop prospecting in the good times pay a deep price in environments like were selling in now. Their customer base erodes along with important customer relationships. Customers and relationships are just what they’ll need when the economy eventually slows.

Sales Tips Rx
Right now, in a recession, we know exactly what we need to do to hold our position; it’s straightforward. We must fight for new business, leverage and develop our customer relationships, and work hard to sell additional products and services. We’re selling in a recession; we can easily understand the wind and waves. It’s anything but calm out there.

In the near future when the economy is booming again, don’t forget this lesson. Continue to prospect and build relationships for when the seas are silent again and we lose direction. The weather always changes.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Related posts:

1. Transactional Selling Versus Solution Selling
2. An Intriguing And Current Selling Paradox
3. Do You Pass The Recession Sales Test?

Tags: cross-selling, habits, performance, Prospecting, prospects, recession

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