Stock markets around the world plunged on Monday. The carnage began with an 8.5 percent drop in China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite index. Markets in Japan, South Korea, and Australia followed suit.
That sparked selloffs in European markets and then the United States and Canada. The Standard and Poor’s index of 500 large US stocks fell by nearly 4 percent on Monday, adding to losses last week.
That’s the headline from Tuesday’s news.
The world stock markets have crashed over the past week. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, or living on a deserted island, you already know this.
I hope you haven’t been burned too badly personally over these massive downturns.
But the real question is; “What Effect Will These Stock Market Crashes Have On Your B2B Business?”
Historically, when markets crash, a recession of some kind usually follows.
I live in Canada, and some statistics show Canada has had negative growth for the first two quarters of 2015. This usually signifies a recession.
Because Canada is thought of as a resource-based country, and commodities, especially oil, have plummeted, it certainly has hurt our GDP numbers.
But many economists do not think we have been in a recession, because our employment numbers, as well as other indicators, have risen.
So, are we all headed to a recession, or even another Great Recession that the world went through from 2008 to 2010? Or even worse?
And if so, what does that mean for your B2B company? And what effect will it have on your sales and revenue?
Historically, when companies enter a downturn in the economy, the first thing that gets cut are marketing and sales expenditures.
This has happened, especially cuts in marketing budgets, because most companies haven’t been able to show directly how marking is improving revenue growth.
Now, with all of the tools available for measuring B2B marketing, this should not be an excuse anymore.
But usually, an even bigger effect during an economic downturn, is the downturn that that hits most B2B companies’ revenues.
Why B2B Sales People & Marketers Fail
This happens because B2B sales people and marketers really don’t know how to sell and market.
The way we sell has changed dramatically over the past few years. Marketing plays a bigger role in B2B sales generation. At least it should be playing a bigger role. I hope it is in your company.
However, there is still a huge gap in how most B2B companies sell, and also manage their strategic accounts.
This has happened because most B2B companies have not adapted to the new way of selling, and most B2B sales people and marketers have not been trained in how to sell in these times.
Most B2Bsales people and marketers have not been trained and coached in how to sell.
Why Training & Coaching Are So Important
Here are two interesting graphics about training and coaching. Click on the graph to enlarge it.
As you can see from the first graphic, training gives a one-time boost in sales behaviour and results, but people quickly slip back into their old familiar behaviour without coaching reinforcement, and increases in sales are negligible.
However, with coaching after training, you can see that although there is a slight dip in both graphics right after training, the sales people who received coaching keep getting better and better results.
Through all of my coaching years, I have found that coaching costs very little compared to the increased results that have occurred. In many cases, coaching fees were less than 1% of the overall increase in revenues.
So, if you truly want to grow your business, you need to have your B2B sales people trained and coached by professionals. And in most cases, this means hiring outside professional B2B sales coaches. You will see a very worthwhile ROI.
Conclusion
Although these stock market crashes will probably affect most companies in the short term, as most businesses sit back and take stock of what is happening, don’t let them affect your company’s revenue in the medium and long term.
If you truly want to grow your business the right way, you need to have your sales people and marketers trained and coached by professionals.
And in most cases, this means hiring outside professional B2B sales coaches. You will see a very worthwhile ROI.
As the above graphs demonstrate, it becomes pretty obvious that training with coaching pays off.
Are your sales reps, marketers and executives getting the training and coaching they need to understand B2B sales and marketing better, and to able to reach quotas?
In these economic uncertain times, they need it to stay ahead of your competition.
In order to better understand why your company needs coaching for B2B sales people, marketers and executives, you can get a free copy of my new book to help your company grow, click this link – Why Can’t My Sales People Sell: 15 Ways To Grow Your B2B Business.