4 Things Revenue and Sales Leaders can Do to Prepare for Recession

Based on the International Monetary Fund, the global economy is expected to contract by more than 3 percent in the coming year, from 6.1 to 3.2 then decrease by 2023. Inflation rates are predicted to continue to be high.

There are a variety of ways you can prepare your go-to-market teams for changes in your prospects as well as customers' purchasing behaviors and priorities.

I spoke with 's former Director for Revenue Operations about this, and you can view our entire conversation at end of this article. I've also expanded on some of the strategies that we have discussed.

1. Consider rethinking segmentation in order to find new Opportunities for Growth

You're likely already looking at other data sources to see whether your total addressable market (TAM) is declining. In the case of your particular market, there may be open reports, market surveys or public announcements on expected changes in budgets and tech spend, etc.

In volatile markets they could be outdated as soon as they are released.

Another place to get more current information is to read industry thought-leader interviews as well as blogs. What are CEOs of industry and advisors saying on LinkedIn regarding their market?

As for internal data On a broad scale, you must be consistently monitoring the rate of retention you have on your net as well as bookings and deal size. But where many companies go wrong is if they stay at too the top of their game when looking at their market.

There aren't all areas of your TAM will be impacted by external forces in the same way. We know for instance that certain industries are more resistant to recessions than other ones. If you've not yet found these areas within your ICP, that's a good place to start.

Additionally, there may be certain countries or regions that are where you operate which are not as affected by economic slowdown.

Companies that sell through accounts are used to having sales regions defined. If you're a location-independent company, you likely invest less time and energy in the marketing and sales processes based on where your customers or customers are coming from. But in a tighter market the ability to identify healthy areas can be a huge benefit.

Naturally, in highly turbulent markets, the state of certain industries or regions can change rapidly. This is why it's vital to test the ROI of every investment you make as quickly as possible.

2. Accelerate Your ROI Measurements

You don't always have time to adjust for unexpected developments that occur in your marketplace, but the most important thing is speeding up how quickly you can evaluate the effect of your investments today.

• If you're used to measuring the ROI of new product investments after six months, switch that by six weeks. What leading indicators can you use to measure more quickly?
• If you beta test the new product for six months prior to releasing them to your entire client base, check what you can do to bring an MVP to production in just three.

Consider how you can test any time or financial purchase you're planning to make to ensure that you make mistakes or be successful more quickly and adjust as necessary in a faster manner.

The second benefit is getting new value for your clients as quickly as possible. If your customers are tightening their spending, you need to prove that you will keep adding value to them.

3. Train Your Sales Team to manage new Prospect Priorities

The value propositions that work really well in growth periods might not work as well when there is slow or even no growth. Are your sales team members aware of the best way to change their strategies?

In this case, customers that have traditionally been the most focused about the way a product helped increase revenue for the business could now be more focused on the ways it can help reduce employees' time as well as other resource.

As a whole, we'll be seeing more and more conversations centered about cost and the amount companies will shell out when they choose one solution over another. They might be looking for an ROI that is quantifiable instead of potential development potential.

What we are notencouraging the company to lower the price of your product, which causes your clients to become accustomed to losing value for your product.

In addition, sales must be more precise than ever in their ROI calculations, educating buyers about how they can justify the price of your product as well as realistic, proven ways that they will profit from it.

4. Create new methods to increase or Promote Value

Inflation rates are surging around all over the world with no sign of slowing down. With a decrease in growth trajectories, you're likely to be facing rising costs within your organization.

There is a chance that you are facing a situation where you're required to increase the cost of goods or services or come up with methods to generate more the amount of money you earn from existing customers.

Whichever strategy you're using The key point is to connect it to the value.

Give more information about the Value you've brought to the Product

If you decide to raise prices, make sure to tie the numbers back to how far your product has come.

• When possible, customize the added value messages for certain users.
• Develop content about platform updates and new features. that users might have missed.

Provide Training and Case Studies Around Unused Features or Add-Ons

If increasing prices aren't an ideal option, then look at other options to boost the revenue of your current clients.

Based on internal data Based on our data, upsells, or add-ons, usually represent between 30% and half of customers' business. These are avenues where you'll be able to justify your pricing and keep the typical size of deal you're trying to capture while notraising your prices overall.

• Are you able to identify customers that might profit from the next plan or a different plan?
• If you're in the process of preparing for an renewal meeting How do you present them armed with proof that they aren't making the most of the services offered by your business?

Bottom Line: Focus on value and be prepared to Be Flexible

There is a bright side: periods of steady growth are often followed by recessions. All you have to do is be ready for them.

The firms that are most well-prepared for market fluctuations have the highest position in value. They've put money into their products as well as in the relationships with their customers. They're also able to demonstrate the value.