4 Tips Revenue and Sales leaders can do to prepare for a Recession

As per the International Monetary Fund, the global economy is forecast to contract by more than 3 percentage points this year , from 6.1 to 3.2 The economy is expected to slow again in 2023. Inflation rates are expected to continue to be high.

There are many things you can do to ensure that your team is prepared for changes in your prospects and your customers' buying behaviors and priorities.

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

1. Review Segmentation and Find New Growth Opportunities

You're likely already looking at the data from outside to determine whether your total addressable markets (TAM) is shrinking. Based on the market you're in you may see public reports or market surveys on expected changes in budgets and tech spend, etc.

But in volatile markets they could be out of date in the moment they are made public.

Another way to find newer perspectives is through industry thought leader interviews and blogs. What are CEOs of industry and advisors posting on LinkedIn about their businesses?

As for internal data, on a high scale, you must be consistently monitoring your retention rates, bookings, and average deal size. The thing that many businesses do wrong is staying at too an elevated level when looking at their markets.

The different segments in your TAM are going to be affected by external forces exactly the same way. In particular, we've learned that some industries are more recession-proof than others. If you've not yet discovered these sectors within your ICP then that's an excellent first step.

It is also possible to identify specific locations or nations that which you conduct business which are not as affected by inflationary pressures or an economic slowdown.

Account-based sales firms are used to delineating sales regions. If you're a location-independent firm, it's likely that you invest less time and energy in the marketing and sales processes depending on where your clients or customers are coming from. In a market that is more constrained the ability to identify healthy areas is a major benefit.

In particular unstable markets, the condition of specific regions or industries may change dramatically. This is why it's vital assess the potential return on the investment you're considering in the quickest time possible.

2. Accelerate Your ROI Measurements

There's no way to prepare for sudden events in your market, but it's important to speed the speed at which you are able to assess the effects of your investments today.

• If you're used to calculating the return on investment of a new product purchase after 6 months, change that by six weeks. What indicators do you have to employ to assess quicker?
• If you beta test the new product for six months prior to making them available to your full customers, consider whether you can get an MVP ready for production within 3.

Consider how you can test every financial or time decision you're considering to ensure that you make mistakes or be successful more quickly and pivot as needed with a speed that is much quicker.

The other benefit of this is that you can provide value to your customers in the shortest time possible. If you're seeing your clients tighten their spending, you need to show that you are able to remain a valuable source of value to them.

3. Training Your Sales Team to handle the new Prospect Priorities

The value propositions that are successful really well in growth periods may not be as effective when there is slow or no growth. Do your sales teams know the best way to change their strategies?

In this case, customers who historically have cared most about how a product helps increase revenue for the business could now be more focused on the ways it can help reduce employees' time as well as other resources.

In general, we'll see more and more conversations centered on cost, and what a company will spend if they go with one option over the other. They might be looking for measurable ROI in comparison to expansion possibilities.

What we are notencouraging you to do is lower the price of your product, which causes your customers to get used to the idea of devaluing your products.

In addition, sales must be more precise than ever before in their ROI calculation, and educate customers on the best ways to justify the price of your product, and on practical, tested ways in which can benefit the company.

4. Create new methods to increase or increase value

Inflation rates are soaring around the globe with no signs of slowing. Along with slower growth trajectories, you're likely to be facing rising costs within your organization.

You might be in a position that you need to raise your prices or find methods to generate more profits from customers you already have.

No matter what approach you're employing, the key is linking it back to value.

Give more information about the Value You've Added to the Product

If you decide to raise prices, connect those figures to the extent to which the product you offer has progressed.

• Whenever possible, personalize messages with added value for particular individuals.
• Develop content about platform updates, new features, etc. which customers may have missed.

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

If increasing prices aren't the ideal strategy, look at other options to boost revenue from your existing clients.

Based on internal data according to our internal data, offer upsells and add-ons typically represent 30% to 50% of our customers' company. This is an avenue where you can really justify your prices and maintain the size of deals that you're trying to get but withoutraising the overall cost of your products.

• Do you know of customers who would be benefited from upgrading to the next level or a different plan?
• If you're in the process of preparing for an appointment to renew How do you present them armed with proof that they don't fully benefit from the offerings of your company?

The bottom line: Concentrate on Value and Prepare for the possibility of being flexible

It's a good thing that the periods of sustained growth are often followed by recessions. The only thing you need to prepare yourself for them.

The firms that are most ready for market shifts have the most value positioning. They've made investments in their product and in the relationships with their customers. And they're able to prove that value.