The three core sales skills that will deliver results in a post lockdown world
I’ve been thinking recently about sales skills, and which ones are the most useful in the context of what most publishing sales teams are experiencing right now. Most channels are locked down, even those channels that are open are subject to a new set of laws and rules that are markedly different to what they were before. My expectation is that having had a distinct period of firefighting, things will now slow down as people begin to accept the ‘new normal’, and sales teams will begin jockeying for position to get themselves in the best possible position for when customers come back on line. There’s a natural advantage here for bigger businesses; if you’re a big four publisher you will have been called upon by major retailers for support, and will have had an ongoing dialogue throughout this period, and subsequently be at the front of the queue. But if you’re not one of these hallowed few, how do you get the best result for your business in the coming months? Here are my first thoughts:
Begin by acknowledging consumer sentiment - not very salesy I know, to talk about sentiment and feelings, but this will have the single biggest bearing on what type of books people buy over the next year. In short how people feel emotionally, physically and financially will have a huge bearing on the charts going forward. We’ve already seen a huge rise in children’s educational books sales, showing the number one priority for most parents is their children’s education before their own reading needs. Colouring, pronounced as ‘dead’ by the trade, is revived as people look to mindful activities as priority for themselves. With Brexit to follow the pandemic, uncertainty will continue and mindfulness will in my view be here to stay. Last autumn’s breakout The Boy, The Mole The Fox and the Horse was the right book at the right time for an audience who had all but lost hope in the will we, won’t we Brexit world, and has remained a bestseller in these uncertain times. Beyond mental health, physical health in a lockdown is also an interesting space. How to exercise at home has been satisfied by Joe Wicks and others on YouTube, and there are more runners than ever in the streets, but where does this audience go next? Will there be a bounce back for ‘get outside and do it’ books like The Dangerous Book for Boys when we’re finally released into the wild again? Can you bring forward healthy titles from Jan 2021 to this summer and benefit? And the value here is very much not all about front list, the right backlist title that understands the needs of today’s audience, repositioned intelligently, will reap great rewards. Lastly, price needs to be front of mind in most conversations. Fewer jobs, less money, and a huge amount of free support for a myriad of products is going to create a certain expectation with consumers going forward. Books are well placed as excellent value for money in the main, but it’s still something that will be front of mind for most, especially in the mass market where discretional spend will be under pressure.
Self selection - for years retailers have been encouraging sales people to recognise who their unique consumer is and to tailor what they put in front of them with that in mind. I firmly believe you get better results by talking about fewer relevant titles, for longer, than trying to cram in as much as possible. In fact I don’t believe it, I know it gets better results. Post lockdown two things are for certain. Firstly, retailers will be mobbed by salespeople. Their time will be stretched, as if it wasn’t before, giving them less time to go around. Secondly, and most crucially, Q3 onwards will be hugely over published as publishers look to recoup revenues from Q2 creating a bottleneck of quality titles all competing with each other for space that is likely, to all intents and purposes, to remain the same. Understanding what to talk to retailers about, when, and for how long will be an invaluable skillset that will maximise results.
Forecasting and supply chain - its not sexy, but it is sales. Time-poor retailers will push responsibility for supply chain forecasting and delivery back to publishers, either pro-actively or reactively as they try to deal with the pent up workload on their return. My strong belief is that the job of getting the book in, previously seen as the sole purpose of a sales person, is not even half the battle in todays market is going to come to the fore. With more cautious ordering the name of the game in a pre-covid world, and more emphasis put upon a JIT (just in time) replenishment model - amplified by smaller buying budgets for most in the first instance - it all adds up to having a robust supply chain set up being of greater value than ever before.
So, in conclusion, my view is begin with looking at what’s going on around you, or even consider what you’re feeling yourself. How are you buying and what are you buying more generally? Have you cut your spending? Whats important to you and your family at this stage? It all feeds into buying sentiment, which impacts directly on your book sales. Ensure you’ve got a laser focus on the priorities for each retailer. You will have limited time to influence, use it wisely. And lastly, but certainly not least, ensure your supply chain is the best it can be because it will be leant on heavily in the weeks and months to come.
Andrew Sauerwine is the founder of The Commercial Publishing Consultancy which helps individuals, teams and businesses in the books industry to sell smarter and grow faster. If you’d like to get in contact direct to discuss how I can help your business please contact me on andrew@workwithcpc.co.uk.