When your marketing budget is slashed, selling with no budget becomes a necessity—but it can also become your greatest competitive advantage.
Businesses evolve.
Sometimes they go through a rough patch and the angry CEO blatantly exposes the thorns and not the roses. “The industry is going through a difficult time. And, as you can see, if this downward trend continues, we will be forced to make some hard decisions. Despite this we must sell and we must think different.”
He comes short of paraphrasing the then livid President Moi when he said of a teachers’ strike, “Hakuna pesa! Hakuna pesa! Hakuna pesa! (We are cash strapped)
Why a startup mindset matters when budgets are thin
When faced with thin margins, instead of looking for the exit window salespeople and marketers must adapt their approach to reaching customers. Insisting on, “Budgets have been slashed and with them our impetus to sell” is counter-productive. Defaulting into start-up mode of thinking is much more useful and sustainable.
Read: Overcome start-up limitations as objections. See how.
Tea at a funeral: Selling with no budget? Here’s how to thrive
A start-up advertises and prospects with little to no budgets.
Equally, hitherto gravy train-driven sales teams, can rediscover their business acumen by taking on the challenge of “no budgets” as a way to add a feather to their self-esteem and CV cap.
“Turned around fledging sales 15% quarter on quarter, with marginal to nil budgets”, screams at any headhunter in a way that a plain, “Turned around sales by 15% quarter on quarter” doesn’t.
Experiential marketing: a low-cost, high-impact tactic
One of the most effective tactics for this is experiential marketing—creating memorable, hands-on experiences that connect with customers on a personal level. Like a banks ‘tent’ at Marikiti, a shopping mall or Kenyatta National Hospital.
Say, I sell tea. And funerals and such other social events are show stoppers in my territory. Being present at most functions, with my branded vehicle conspicuously parked for maximum visibility and I, offering tea to the multitude present will cost “David shillings” but will have “Goliath” returns in brand awareness.
Far- fetched? No. Remember the MP from Western Kenya who offered a hearse for free to be donated at all funerals in his region? Or, the politician who gives away branded water tanks? Both sailed through their campaigns with greater and more sustainable impact than the fleeting and unsustainable dishing out money (which requires fat budgets) ever would.
Experiential selling
Another way is through experiential selling.
In a past article I wrote about the new frankfurter maker at the supermarket who doesn’t just give away grilled pieces for tasting, but had gone ahead to grill, make and sell hot dogs to the hundreds of shoppers.
Nowadays, supermarkets sell ready to eat food and some even have a “hang-out joint” to consume your ready made juice blended on site.
Some genius must have realized that shopping is therapeutic to some and a family outing to many, especially on holidays. Either way, with this trend, and faced with thinning budgets, would you rather give away pieces for tasting (incurring further costs) or outright sell to a market already tuned into buy (and snack) mode?
Think like a start-up business even in rosy times
Such start-up thinking should not be restricted only to trying financial times. No.
Even when things are rosy, a brand may still struggle for relevance. A salesman for a multinational fast-moving-consumer-goods firm struggled to get his superior tea to move despite the heavy marketing campaign. And then he had a Eureka! moment.
A significant portion of his target market were farmers and the next cattle dip session was that weekend. Early that chilly material morning, when the farmers arrived at the dip, they found him in a branded apron, ready to serve them boiling tea in branded cups from a sufuria perched on flaming firewood.
The farmers could not have asked for a better welcome. And for the salesman he couldn’t have asked for a better result. His sales sky rocketed.
How a startup mindset accelerates your career growth
Adopting a startup mindset means embracing creativity over cash. It’s about finding resourceful ways to reach customers, just as a new business would. This approach isn’t just about saving the company money. It’s a powerful driver for your own career growth, adding tangible achievements to your professional story.
The company benefiting is a consequence.
Your ability to adapt into start-up mode calls for getting your creative juices flowing. It grows you and your career in the way abandoning ship doesn’t— it also gives untold and deep meaning to what you do.
Check out our short courses. Alternatively, if you would like to have your sales team sell more, we can help. In order for us to do so we propose a free consultation meeting or a call. If in agreement please complete the form below and we will get in touch after receiving your details, none of which will be public. Thank you.
