Financial crisis: The Perfect Storm or The Great Opportunities?
The perfect storm
In sales during this perfect storm you will have:
- The usual suspects looking into other solutions than before.
- The ever since customers investigate and change their habits of buying from you
- The leads asking questions they never have asked before.
- The customers imposing new requirements
- The evolutionary solutions generating interest
Decision influencers and makers will decide under the pressure of:
- The required decrease of operating costs
- The value for money
- The minimum required services
This is a whole new set of constraints and selection parameters that gets into their buying decision process thus changing your sales process.
You will even encounter customers that just run out of money or cannot afford your services any longer. Or people you know since long as a customer and asking you politely for a job.
These new constraints can lead to:
- Pricing and bidding wars
- New questions and requirements in RFI (Request For Information)
- RFP (Request For Pricing) with different set of competitors.
- Fast reworks or additional development of the solution
- Adopting new technologies or platforms never considered before
- Repackaging by marketing of the same solution
- Repositioning by marketing of the same solution
The great opportunities
Due to this financial crisis people will investigate in alternative solutions that are cheaper, bring value for money, bring the minimum service, or use a different new technology or approach as a solution to solve the same problem.
Thus for a number of vendors new opportunities will arise that have been developed based upon new or alternative technologies bringing substantial advantages or benefits for the customer.
Change will happen: new leaders
During every economic downturn leading businesses lose their top position and newcomers replace them at the top, due to the new set of constraints or requirements the buyers are using.
Thus change will happen. Only it is hard to predict who will become the new leaders and who will start lagging behind as the new set of requirements still needs to be defined.
The perfect opportunity
Where will you be in this?
Working and selling for a current leader that will step down?
Working and developing business for a challenger that might become one of the new leaders?
Will you have the “The perfect opportunity” knocking on your door, instead of encountering “The perfect storm”?
In any case it won’t be an opportunity storm, as times will be tough and customers will be holding on to their money.
So whatever lies ahead of you, make the best of your opportunities and get rewarded for your efforts.
At the time of financial crises we need to come together united and try to solve the problems which are responsible for such a hazard. We need to overcome it. It is meant to bring calm to the population and markets and display government strength and stability.
Great site…keep up the good work.
I fully enjoyed reading your post. I have bookmarked your blog so I can read future posts. Outstanding, ~ L