Kyle Hamer • May 8, 2020

Business has always been a rapidly-changing, high-paced, you-snooze-you-lose kind of animal. But not even the best-prepared companies were expecting the coronavirus outbreak.

Now, the changes in sales trends are happening more quickly and dramatically than ever before. In other words, if you want to make it in today’s market, you’ve no time to lose.

For that reason, we’ve consulted with sales and marketing expert Dan Tyre. Together, we evaluate just how to keep selling during this current business interruption that has ravaged many companies, big and small alike.

With the selling tips listed below, you don’t have to shut down your business and lose it all. You simply have to change with the times. Keep reading to find out how.

1. Help People

Helping people should come first and foremost, as has been the case in sales trends for a long time. Helping people is Dan’s mantra, and for good reason.

Think of it this way. Who would you rather give your money to, someone you don’t know or someone who has helped you in the past? Obviously, you’d give to the one who helped you.

Help is valuable. People enjoy helping companies that are generous and helpful to them.

If you want to turn a profit, stop focusing on profit. Focus instead on being as helpful as possible.

Give Free Answers

The most obvious example of this is providing relevant advice for free. Find out all the questions your customers have, then blog the answers on your website. Like the gift example above, your appreciative customers will then trust you to help them out.

2. Call People

People are stuck at home and extremely bored. When that phone rings, they’re going to answer.

It won’t matter if the number’s unknown. Your prospects are socially starved and will delight at the notion of someone, anyone, to talk to.

Ask how they’re doing and provide a listening ear. Then, tell them how you can help.

3. What’s in Your Way?

With so much bad going on right now, it’s easy to despair. But if you simplify your problems, they’re easy to solve.

Ask yourself, what are your three biggest inhibitors to growth? This gives you a simple, short, achievable list of the most urgent problems you need to focus on right now.

4. Focus on the At-Home Customer

Now, of course, you must figure out how you will help your customers. Whatever your business is, your customer base has changed.

If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, you no longer have the same amount of foot-traffic. You’ll have to focus on the stuck-at-home customer with your products, services, and sales tactics. For example, swap out what you spend on commuting to work for an affordable shipping service.

If you’re already an online business, you’re not off the hook, either. Your market (both customer base and competition) just got a whole lot bigger.

Adjust your pricing if necessary to compensate for a larger customer base and to stay ahead of the competition. This is also a good idea since so many are unemployed right now and, thus, low on funds. Also, consider adding remote workers and services to your business to reach more people.

Upgrades

One pricing plan that works great for all this is the upgrade model. Offer limited services for cheap. Then, make them wildly more convenient or otherwise superior for more money. This helps you test the market at a low cost and invest more where people actually want more.

Use These Creative Sales Tactics For Post-COVID-19 Sales Trends

Unanticipated challenges have always been a part of sales. The only difference with COVID-19 is that it’s more large-scale/universal than most. Regardless, use the tips above to survive today’s unusually challenging sales trends.

Now, check out our Complete COVID-19 Recovery Checklist for Businesses.