I did a Zoom talk last week with the great commercial finance team at DLL. First of all, a un forte abbraccio per tutti loro! (A big hug for all of them) They always make me feel so welcome.

I was overplaying myself as depressed, trying to be funny, to make a point. I told them I was watching myself go through the five stages of grief.

1. Denial 

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Acceptance

I was saying it, tongue in cheek, but then as I got to thinking about it, it does apply to us all during this pandemic, and for those of us in business development I have some words of advice: 

We are in unusual times, and unusual times need to be met with extraordinary actions.

If business development used to be a short par 3 for you, it's now a long 6. You've got to hit harder, hit longer, and hit more times to get to the green.

What I have found during tough times in the past is that this is the only formula that works. In 2008 when business was scarce, it wasn't that it was non-existent; but it was limited. We had to double down on the usual effort to get closer to the desired result. We took massive action. The short-term result was that we survived the recession. The long-term effect was that the massive action resulted in better habits and put us in a stronger position than our competitors.

Down economies are like strong winds blowing through our orchard. Every branch gets rattled and shaken, but when it's over, the strong fruit remains to nourish and ripen among less competition.

Own Your Sales Gene…