Navigating Sales Challenges in a Time of Economic Turmoil

We are coming off of a week that can only be described as a stock market bloodbath—amping up uncertainty and making selling even harder.  As the new tariffs imposed by the US government were announced, kicking off what is expected to devolve into a global trade war, the Dow Jones plunged by over 2,200 points, the S&P 500 lost more than 10%, the Nasdaq entered into a bear market and more than $6.6 trillion dollars were wiped from the US stock market in two days. These losses compounded in markets all across the globe. If you were brave enough to take a peek at your 401k, I have no doubt that you felt this pain and at least a twinge of the fear that raced through business communities across the globe.  Uncertainty and a Stream of Bad News In an instant, everything changed. Starting today, selling just got even harder. Your buyers are facing uncertainty and a relentless stream of bad news; and where there is uncertainty, your prospects and customers will put off making decisions and doing anything that they perceive as risky.   The penalties for making mistakes can be severe. Mistakes can put their business, company, career, finances, or family at risk. This is why, for buyers, doing nothing–making no decision–is often the emotionally safe choice, even when staying put is illogical. In Uncertainty Buyers Start Scrutinizing Your Sales Behaviors In an environment of uncertainty, when buyers feel even the tiniest bit of unease about you, they will not buy from you.  This is the human negativity bias: Negative perceptions have a greater impact than positive perceptions when it comes to decision making.  Buyers will be scrutinizing your every behavior, word, and action. They will not be looking for what you are doing right, they will only see what you do wrong. Anything negative will stick out like a sore thumb.  Their negative perceptions about you cause distrust. Your good intentions don’t matter because buyers are judging you based on their intentions, not yours. If they don’t trust you, they will not buy from you.  You Must Sell Better During Times of Uncertainty To win consistently, during times of uncertainty you must sell better. You need to bring your A-Game into every sales conversation.  You must commit to executing the sales process as perfectly and faithfully as humanly possible. No mistakes. No shortcuts. No mediocrity.  You must sell as if there is no margin for error. When the stakes were lower, buyers may have given you the benefit of the doubt and agreed to move forward even when they are still unsure. But not now. To close the sale, you must be perfect.  There is No Sales Easy Button Of course, with the suddenness of this massive economic disruption it is human nature to seek out Jedi mind tricks to make things easier. I’ve got some harsh news for you. There isn’t anything easy about selling in a crisis of uncertainty. Nor are there mystical Jedi mind tricks that will help you set appointments on prospecting calls, handle objections, or close the deal in this environment.  If that’s not what you wanted to hear, I’m sorry. Money Monday is a no-pander zone. Here you’ll only hear the brutal truth.  And the truth is that no technique, no move, no play, no gambit will save you from failure should you get lax with the basics and fundamentals of selling.  When you show up and throw up, rush headlong into sales calls without planning, pitch rather than discover, challenge before understanding, fail to build emotional connections with stakeholders, and ask for the sale without earning the right, you'll hit the brick wall of objections at maximum force–and people will not buy from you.  If you take shortcuts in the sales process, you will experience stalled deals, prospects will ghost you, and competitors will eat your lunch. Your income will drop along with your reputation which can put your career at risk when the stakes for failing are highest.