How can you gain the sales edge in the current "coronavirus" economic climate?
Is it appropriate to sell right now?
Should we waiver from our product offerings, or stay the course?
"I don't watch the news. I don't read the news. I don't want to know it because if it's bad enough, somebody will call me and tell me."
The economic impact of the coronavirus has many wondering if and how they can sell their products or services.
Freedom Media Network host Curt Mercadante discusses all this and more with sales trainer Joe Pici in a live interview.
"What keeps me centered is every day I stay in my process and in my skills," said Pici. "And whether there's a coronavirus or no virus, getting that competitive edge, it starts here (pointing to his head)."
Ranked by Global Guru’s as the Top Sales Guru for 2020, Pici is a strategist for top sales professionals and a coach specializing in results-driven sales training. He is COO and co-founder of Pici & Pici, Inc. and co-author of the book, "Sell Naked on the Phone."
Whether in times of crisis or not, Pici said he follows a process of daily lead generation and making 150 outbound calls every month.
"I don't watch the news. I don't read the news. I don't want to know it because if it's bad enough, somebody will call me and tell me," said Pici.
What advice does Pici have for someone who wonders if anyone is buying amidst the coronavirus chaos?
"Are we running around that the sky is falling. Are we running around saying, 'Nobody's going to answer my call, nobody's going to want to talk to me," he asked. "And I think it's just the opposite. I think people do want to talk to you because here's what we know: the third quarter will come. Okay? The second quarter is going to go like this, but the third quarter is going to come. And this is a Joe-ism, a Joe prediction. The third quarter is going to be an explosion. Okay, we're going to come through this."
Mercadante further discussed the importance of process with Pici.
"For people who don't know your background, you're a football coach, right? And I often think about two or three years ago, the Patriots versus the Falcons (in the Super Bowl)," said Mercadante. "What were the Patriots, down 28 to three going into halftime? I remember the amount of people who just shut off the TV. And what did the Patriots focus on? Whether you hate the Patriots or love the Patriots, they focused on process, the very next down."
Pici agreed that focusing on the very next "play" is vital.
"Yeah, my process is just so unemotional," he said. "I'm going to, no matter what the economy says, no matter what anybody says, I'm going to do every day. I'm going to generate leads. I'm going to pick up the phone and make the call. I've got scripts for everything, gatekeepers, everything. I'm going to execute that. When I get to the right person, I have a quality core story. And then from there, do they want to go to proposal?"
Pici continued, "Because here's the thing: at the end of the day, this is going to end. And did you lose your process? Right now, if you did nothing else but execute your process and skills and if you did not get a client, but you executed process and skills, eventually it's going to catch up."