Diversity: The Antidote to Adversity | Sales Strategies

There was an expression that I heard years ago from Alan Weiss, where he said, “Generalize and thrive.”

The reason I bring this up is because many of my clients are in the industrial supply business and many of them are in oil and gas heavy markets like Texas and Alberta. So when the oil market crashed a few years ago, many of those clients were decimated and all but one struggled with cash flow in order to stay alive. The reason that single company was able to grow faster was because they were diversified. They didn’t only serve the oil and gas market, but they also served all the other businesses around them that supported the oil and gas market. They also looked at other markets in the local area and served them.

While this business may have seen their sales drop, their net sales weren’t down as much as everyone else’s because they have some diversification. What it also meant was that when the oil business picked up again, they were really fast to recover. They didn’t have to lay off as many people as the other companies or cut back on investments, which helped them bounce back more quickly.

So, how does this relate to your business? Let’s say you work in the landscape market. Maybe you can sell to pest management companies, the consumer landscaping markets, and the business landscaping market.

[bctt tweet=”The more you can diversify your solutions, the less susceptible you are for a downturn in a single market.” username=”EngageColleen”]

Remember, one is the most dangerous number in sales. If you really want to create a nonstop sales boom, you have got to diversify away from one market.