Selling Into Uncertainty

If you had to sum up the mood of business today in one word, what would you say?

Fearful?

Anxious?

Mine would be this: Uncertain.

As things get going again, what’s going to happen next is anyone’s guess. Pick a topic. No one knows anything about anything. You have about as much chance of predicting the future as your drunk uncle. As such, business is unusually hesitant to engage any plans they may have for growth. That means they will wait longer than usual before pulling the trigger on order.

That’s fine, right? I mean, why should you care?

Do you remember when turnaround times were measured in weeks, not days? Along came digital printing and everything changed. It used to be that when you asked the customer when they needed the job they looked for a calendar. Now, they roll their wrist and check the time.

It’s about to get even worse.

Because of this uncertainty, customers are likely to give you even less warning before they need the job delivered. They are allowed to take their time. You are not.

If you are built for speed, get the word out now. Tell people it’s okay to wait until the last minute. Let them know it’s perfectly acceptable to second guess themselves. At the same time, broadcast the message, we can meet your crazy delivery needs.

Whether or not you charge for this rush service is up to you. Personally, I would think long and hard since this is a good opportunity to win customers on the basis of service. But every situation is different.

After all is said and done, your equipment is beige and uses electricity. That should not be your differentiator. Turn up the volume on your speedy capabilities get the message out. It’s the message people need to hear these days!

Need help rebooting your sales? I coach sales reps weekly on how to grow their sales. 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.