You hear it everywhere: “Sales are down because of the economy. My customers simply aren’t buying as much.” While that’s true for many businesses, some salespeople who have the right mindset are taking advantage of their competitors’ struggles. John Chapin, co-founder of Complete Selling Incorporated, offers these lead-generation ideas to put you in a positive frame of mind and land more sales:

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• Don’t let the economy be your excuse. After a tough day or some difficult sales calls, it’s easy to use the economy as an excuse. If you do, people will hear it in your voice and you’ll sell less. Use the down economy as motivation to work harder and smarter at generating leads. If you back off, business will suffer.
• Get better at selling. When there are fewer sales opportunities and prospects, continued learning is the best way to grow your sales. Read books, listen to CDs and podcasts, watch DVDs — absorb everything you can get your hands on. This strategy has helped many salespeople improve their numbers even in a weakened economy.
• Keep a good attitude. Your attitude is the most important sales lead generation tool in your arsenal; keep it sharp. Pick up on anything that is inspirational, motivational, and upbeat. Moreover, be positive and persistent, and stay clear of negative people.
• Prepare for price objection, and build value. Prospects and customers will do everything they can to commoditize vendors and go with the lowest price. As a result, you need to build value for your business. What are your primary benefits? How are you, your company, and your product better than the competition’s? Can you respond to service calls faster? Accentuate your primary benefits, make them as powerful as possible, and provide proof through testimonials.
• Build relationships. The relationship with the salesperson is the No. 1 reason people give for doing business with a particular company. It’s important to focus not only on staying in touch with customers and prospects, but on taking whatever steps are necessary to grow those relationships.
• Go back to the basics. Now is the time to increase the personal touch. Make more face-to-face visits to customers, send handwritten notes, stop by occasionally simply to say hello, and drop off any proposals in person instead of mailing or emailing them.
• Take responsibility. Success is up to you. You own it and control it. Provided you have solid goals and an action plan for reaching them, you will control your own destiny, regardless of the economy or anything else for that matter. Ultimately, you will see an improvement in business, perhaps a significant one.

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