Episode #304: Preparing For Selling During A Recession

“Out of the frying pan into the fire”, seems to be an appropriate descriptor for where we are now. We have been battered by Covid, or at least many of us have had that unpleasant experience, but now everyone, even those who sailed through Covid, are about to get swept up in to the next recession. Inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain turmoil, energy supplies being weaponised, the list is long and depressing. Japan relies on foreign markets and if the USA has a sniffle, Japan catches a cold is another old idea. So what happens in sales if we find ourselves getting daily cases of covid deaths and infections under control through vaccinations and herd immunity and yet are now in a global recession?

Here are some things to think about.

Covid may have wiped out some of your rivals. I couldn’t believe that the Heichinrou Chinese restaurant in Yokohama closed down in May. It has been serving customers since 1884 and now is gone. For the other Chinese restaurants who are still in operation in China Town they have seen a major competitor vanquished. The other businesses are still operating and so they have buying needs. In fact, they may have an uptake in customers who cannot go to Heichinrou anymore and so their sales may pick up. It is a sad day when legendary business names fall, particularly in Japan where corporate longevity is treasured, but that is the capitalist system. Maybe your rivals are not extinguished entirely but they may be wounded. They may have fired staff to reduce costs and so their scope of capacity has diminished. They cannot see as many potential clients as before, but maybe you can see them, because you toughed it out and kept your crew together.

Recessions are uneven phenomenon. Some industries are hit harder than others. Covid hit tourism, training and hospitality particularly hard, but other industries sailed through the pandemic with barely a flesh wound. The recession will impact certain industries more than others and so it is useful to identify which of those industries will still have the capability to buy. Unlike a global pandemic, most of us have seen recessions before, so we will have some idea which businesses we should concentrate on and which we should avoid worrying about. We will also have probably experienced inflation before too and the ramifications that has on your industry. Look back at what happened in the past for useful lessons on what to expect this time around.

In our sales training, we use a matrix which aligns your existing buyers with your products and services. It is always shocking to realise you are only supplying some clients with a very narrow band of offerings. It reminds you that they have multiple needs but you are not servicing them. Maybe you were unable to gain entry before, because the incumbent was so strongly positioned, however Covid may have changed that power balance and now is the time to suggest other solutions from your line-up. Existing clients know you well, they trust you, they will take your call, so you don’t have to navigate your way through the serried ferocious gatekeepers to get to the buyer.

Existing clients can become past clients quite easily. In our case, the HR Director changes and next thing you know, you are out on the street and they have replaced you with their favoured suppliers. During Covid perhaps some of the line managers have left the company or moved to other sections and maybe there is some nice new buyer who comes to the conversation with an open mind and no baggage. Perhaps the gate keeper is still being a barrier, but at least if you have dealt with that company before, they may be willing to take a message from you, even if they won’t transfer your call. You could try and bypass them altogether by sending some mail to the new person or at least to the position most relevant to your business. The beauty of this is that the same gatekeeper who won’t transfer the call, will diligently walk over to the manager’s desk and drop your parcel on their table. They will open it up at some point and they may decide that you have what they need and be open to talking about reactivating business with you.

It works in your favour sometimes too. That nice buyer you have built a strong relationship with, is now in a similar role in another company and they realise you have the solution they need. If you haven’t found where they went, now might be a good time to do so. LinkedIn only has about two million followers in Japan, so the chances you can track them on LinkedIn if they are working for a Japanese very domestic company are slim. Often if you call and ask for them, the person taking the call will tell you they have left. If you are lucky, they may be able to tell you where there have gone.

The Game of Thrones character Petyr Baelish noted that “chaos is a ladder” and pandemics and recessions are chaotic. It is usually more like snakes and ladders though and sometimes you are lifted up and at other times you are pushed down. Research past recessions and look for which ladders are likely to be pointing up. Get closer to existing clients and see if there are additional services or goods you can supply. For those in the “until recently existing clients” category see if you can rekindle some flame from the ashes of the fire.