More Thoughts on Change and Selling

In my last post I wrote about the fact that the world is constantly changing and therefore, we need to be constantly changing as well. Over the weekend I’ve continued to muse on the subject of change. It’s a topic we don’t think enough about.

Change scares us because we fear the unknown. Many, if not most of us, harbor unconscious beliefs that unknown quantities are inherently worse than known quantities. At the very least, we figure that anything new or different has the potential to be worse than what we’re used to, and that alone is enough to scare us off.

It’s the reason we order the same thing over and over at restaurants. It’s why companies stick with a vendor even when a competitor offers better pricing, quality or service. It’s how we fall into routines and habits we’re not even aware of.

The bottom line is we (consciously or unconsciously) fear change, so we try to avoid it. Failing that, we try to manage it, hoping we can at least control it, to give us a sense of power over it. That’s why “change management” is such a popular term in boardrooms and search engines.

But change can’t be “managed.” Change happens, and typically what changes is beyond our control. What you can control is your attitude about change and your response to change. (Ironically, adopting that mindset requires change.)

The people and the organizations that best survive change are the ones who adapt to it, embrace it, even create it themselves. And in periods of violent economic upheaval (like now), the difference between those who respond to change intelligently and those who don’t becomes even more pronounced.

So whether you’re a small business owner, a salesperson, a sales manager, a CEO or an association executive, here are some additional changes you can institute to increase your sales now:
• Launch a PR campaign.
• Join a Chamber of Commerce.
• Train your customer service team.
• Embrace social media web sites.
• Offer a special deal for your best customers.
• Devise new payment plans.
• Get a mentor.
• Hire a coach.
• Subscribe to a business magazine.
• Focus on a niche.
• Initiate a new sales contest.
• Go to more (or different) networking events.
• Have a brainstorming session.
• Figure out a new use for your product or service.
• Develop a premium version or a budget version.

Do something. Do lots of things. Some may not work. So be it. The most successful people and organizations are constantly experimenting to find what works. And that constant experimentation is vital, because as I pointed out last time, what worked yesterday may not work today. And what works today may not work tomorrow.

As the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once noted, “There is nothing permanent except change.”