Four Things Sales and Revenue leaders can do to prepare for a Recession -

According to the International Monetary Fund, the world economy is predicted to slow by nearly 3 percentage points this year , from 6.1 to 3.2 then decrease by 2023. Inflation rates are expected to continue to be at a high level.

There are a variety of actions you can take to prepare your go-to-market teams for the changes that will affect your prospects and your customers' buying behavior and needs.

I had a conversation with the company's former VP of Revenue Operations about this, and you can watch our entire conversation at the bottom of this piece. I've also elaborated on certain strategies we discussed.

1. Review Segmentation and Find New Growth Opportunities

There's a good chance you're looking at external data for signs of whether your total addressable market (TAM) is decreasing. In the case of your particular market it is possible to find studies or reports that are public regarding expected budget changes as well as tech spending.

However, in markets that are volatile, these may be outdated in the moment they are released.

Another way to find fresher takes are interviews with thought leaders from the industry and posts. What are industry CEOs and advisors posting on LinkedIn about their markets?w

As for internal data On a broad scale, you must constantly monitor your retention rates or bookings as well as your average deal size. The thing that many businesses do wrong is not staying on a high a level when looking at their market.

Not all segments of your TAM will be affected by external pressures exactly the same way. For instance, we know that some industries are more resistant to recessions than others. In case you haven't discovered these sectors within your ICP it's a great first step.

Additionally, there may be certain countries or regions that which you conduct business that are less impacted by inflationary pressures or the economic slowdown.

Companies that sell through accounts are used to having sales regions defined. If you're a more location-agnostic firm, it's likely that you invest less time and energy in the marketing and sales processes depending on where your clients or potential customers are from. In a market that is more constrained, identifying healthy regions is a major benefit.

Of course, in particularly unstable markets, the condition of certain industries or regions may change dramatically. That's why it's vital to determine the return on every investment you make in the quickest time possible.

2. Accelerate Your ROI Measurements

It's not always possible to compensate for unexpected events that occur in your marketplace, but it's important to speed up how quickly you can measure the impact of your investments now.

• If you're accustomed to measuring the value of your new product's investments after six months, switch that to six weeks. What indicators do you have to use to measure quicker?
• If you test beta-testing new products for six months prior to releasing them to your full customer base, see what you can do to make an MVP into production within three.

Consider how you can test the financial and time-based purchase you're planning to make to ensure that you be successful or fail more rapidly and change direction as you need to with a speed that is much quicker.

The second benefit is that you can provide value to your customers as quickly as possible. If your customers are tightening their spending, you need to show that you are able to keep adding value to them.

3. Develop Your Sales Team's Skills to manage new Prospect Priorities

The value propositions that are successful very well during periods of growth are not as effective during periods of low or no growth. Do your sales teams know how to pivot?

For instance, buyers who have always been most concerned about how a product helps increase revenue for the business could now be more focused on how it will help save the time of employees and other resource.

In general, we'll see increasingly more discussions centered about cost and the amount an organization will pay if they go with one method over the next. The company might be seeking tangible ROI, as opposed to potential growth opportunities.

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.

Instead, sales needs to be more rigorous than ever before in their ROI calculations, educating buyers on the best ways to justify the price of your product as well as practical, tested ways in which can benefit the company.

4. Discover new ways to add or Promote Value

The rate of inflation is rising all over across the globe, with no indication of slowing. So along with decreased growth trajectories, you're likely experiencing an increase in internal expenses.

There is a chance that you are facing a situation where you're required to increase your prices or find innovative ways to increase profits from customers you already have.

Whatever method you choose to use The key point is to connect it to the value.

Provide More Education Around the Value You've Added to the Product

If you decide to raise your prices, be sure to tie those numbers into how far your product has come.

• Whenever possible, personalize added value messaging for specific individuals.
• Create content around platform upgrades, new features, etc. which customers may have missed.

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

If pricing increases aren't the best option, search at other options to boost the revenue of your current customers.

Based on the data we collect internally according to our internal data, offer upsells and add-ons usually represent between 30% and half of clients' sales. They are a way you'll be able to justify your pricing and keep the average deal size that you're hoping to achieve withoutraising the overall cost of your products.

• Have you identified customers who might profit from the next plan or another plan?
• If you're in the process of preparing for a renewal conversation What can you do to come prepared with the proof they aren't making the most of the offerings of your company?

The bottom line: Concentrate on value and be prepared to Be Flexible

There is a bright side: times of constant growth tend to follow recessions. The only thing you need to do is be ready to deal with them.

The businesses that are most prepared for market upswings are those with the best value positioning. They've put money into their products and in their customer relationships. And they're able to prove the value.