Second Sales Tip for Virus-Induced Times

Good morning!

This is the second in my series of sales tips that speak to the gift of time we’ve been given by this crippling Coronavirus. To summarize:

• You’re going to take a major sales hit;
• It’s finite. This too shall pass;
• Once you have beaten back the fear, see the opportunity;
• Start by contacting your top customers to find out how the virus will affect their business and see if there isn’t an opportunity for you to help.

Here is this week’s tip on how best to use your sudden influx of free time:

Stephen Covey calls it "sharpening the saw". One of the best uses of your time is to improve your selling skills. When this crisis passes, wouldn’t it be great to be better at sales? Imagine being able to gain great appointments with top decision-makers. Think about being a top negotiator because you’ve improved your abilities to close without giving in on price reduction requests. And what would it mean for you to better read people in general? This is all possible if you spend some time each day or each week studying your craft.

There are no shortage of books you should read:

• "Never Split the Difference"
• "The Four Agreements"
• "The Five Love Languages"
• "Essentialism"
• "The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever"
• "Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing… And How?"

And what about online content? SGIA, PIA, and NAPCO Media LLC have all put out some outstanding webinar material. It’s recorded and waiting for you on their website. You never had time to watch it and you missed the original but what about now?

Archived columns can be found on Printing Impressions.

There are my own sales tips and blogs and monthly columns all available here.

You can find white papers on a variety of subjects, such as selling inkjet printing.

This is a unique opportunity. Yes, it’s a tremendous inconvenience. However your choices are to either lay down and we will cover you with dirt or take full advantage of these additional hours in your day and become a sales superstar.

Next week, another idea on what to do with this time.

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“Bill Farquharson’s coaching has paid for itself many times over” said a weekly coaching client. Go to BillFarquharson.com and click on the “Training” link in the header for more information or to contact me and discuss your sales challenges.