How To Get Out Of A Sales Slump.

Author: Ryan Tuckwood

A common question we get asked is, “What’s your best advice on how to get out of a sales slump when your numbers take a hit or a dip?” It’s inevitable in any sales-based industry that you’re going to experience a bit of a slump, so knowing how to get out of one is key to success.

Our answer is often the same every single time – which is to go back to basics.

This advice is not just for how to get out of a sales slump, but how to get out of any slump. We generally offer this quote by Muhammad Ali: “A champion is not judged on how hard he falls. A champion is judged by how quickly he can get back up.”

So how do I go ‘back to basics’?

One thing that we know about sales is there’s a point in the first three to four weeks where people start to make high volumes of sales because all they know is the fundamental basics of what their product or service offers.

Possibly the most important thing to keep in mind is that people buy from people before they ever buy a product. Take for instance if you’re selling superannuation rollovers. People don’t buy superannuation rollovers, what people buy is the lifestyle that that superannuation is going to create for them.

So stop selling the what, start selling the why. Stop selling the product, start selling yourself. Don’t overcomplicate it. Get back to basics. Start compounding value thereafter. 

For example, back when I was working in a sales team, I went about six weeks without getting a deal at one stage and it does make you question everything. I was rewriting my script every single day. What I realized was that even though I was really good at the back end of the script, at booking the appointment or closing the sale, I was always forgetting the fundamentals of opening a call. That meant my first 1.48 seconds face-to-face, or 4.5 seconds over the phone was all over the place. I wasn’t sharp, I wasn’t enthusiastic, I wasn’t professional. My tone was everywhere. 

Recognise that 90% of your ability to inspire or influence a customer over the telephone is the tone of your voice, so don’t stress too much about what you’re saying but rather how you’re saying it. Go back to the script, utilise the words but focus more on how it is being delivered.

Have a fantastic ‘curiosity’ tone when you question, have a fantastic ‘I care’ tone when focusing on a pain or a problem, but make sure we have that mirrored enthusiasm at the front door also. Remember the strategy of ‘pace, pace, lead tone – that is, come in with 10% more enthusiasm than the customer.

Try using closed questions and offering affirmations to those closed questions to ‘steal’ or gain enthusiasm. But most importantly, when you reach the buying line, slow it down and minimise the words. Less is more so just calmly, collectedly ask the customer for their business. And then if you have to, start your rejection handling processes from there.

Thinking about it that way, back to basics literally means go all the way back to your opening line. Not just your script or sales presentation but the way you begin any sort of negotiation situation.

The skills that we talk about in the online sales training that we provide isn’t just about selling a product over the phone or selling face-to-face. Whether you’re going to buy a house one day or sell a house, buy a car, sell a car, you’re negotiating in some way, shape or form and our training will help you in a range of situations.

Hopefully, these skills that we’re talking about and these tools will resonate with everybody whether you’re in sales or not.

Using the strategies in this article you should be able to get out of any sales slump that you might find yourself in. To learn more about how we can assist you with your sales techniques so that you can get back to basics and take your efforts to the next level, read about our proven sales training, sales coaching, and sales courses.  No matter if you are located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast or anywhere in the world, we provide innovative and ethical sales training through our online courses or virtual training.