--- title: "How to Handle a Downturn in Sales" type: "Article" date: "2020-05-04" updated: "2026-10-20" description: "There are still a lot of amazing people out there looking for work and if you are still holding off, I urge you to think twice and minimally start advertising to attract these great people. I was speaking with a business owner recently who was overwhelmed with the many hats he wears within the business, [...]" url: "https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn/how-to-handle-a-downturn-in-sales" canonical: "https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn/how-to-handle-a-downturn-in-sales" markdown_url: "https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn/how-to-handle-a-downturn-in-sales.md" site: "Performia" publisher: "Performia (Performia International AB)" contact: "info@performia.com.au" language: "en-AU" author: "Negar Riazati, CEO, Australia & China" reading_time_minutes: 3 --- # How to Handle a Downturn in Sales *Article · 4 May 2020 · 3 min read* > There are still a lot of amazing people out there looking for work and if you are still holding off, I urge you to think twice and minimally start advertising to attract these great people. I was speaking with a business owner recently who was overwhelmed with the many hats he wears within the business, [...] There are still a lot of amazing people out there looking for work and if you are still holding off, I urge you to think twice and minimally start advertising to attract these great people. I was speaking with a business owner recently who was overwhelmed with the many hats he wears within the business, and he is also hands on with the sales. His challenge right now is a slow down in sales, with some contract opportunities in his pipeline being pushed further. Because of this, he had decided to freeze all of his recruitment since he could not justify spending more on staffing costs. After some more analysis of his situation, it was obvious that there was a completely different issue at play and he needed to tackle a different strategy to combat his challenge. This is the recommendations we came up with: **#1 Get his sales process documented so that the steps are clear for how to generate leads, create opportunities, handle the sales and close.** **#2 Delegate non-sales related roles to other team members and have them become responsible for other hats he has been wearing far too long unnecessarily.** **#3 Focus more on the sales hats since this is his forte.** **#4 Increase his PRODUCTIVE HOURS by HIRING an appointment setter who’s goal will be to create opportun****ities.****And once you have a momentum, hire a Business Development Manager.** It is important to differentiate the type of sales role you are looking by looking at the Result, as there are various elements and functions in sales. From Lead Generation, to Account Management, to Appointment Setting, to Consulting, to Closing. **#5 BUILD and develop the sales pipeline. If opportunities get pushed down the line because of reasonable reasons, it is only a problem for the business if there is a lack of activity in building the sales pipeline.** Depending on sales cycles and products, contracts can take from a day to a year to sign off. Can you imagine the cost every day for delaying your sales activity? **#6 Look at your successful actions, strengthen them and multiply it by 5-10 times.** **#7 COMMUNICATE more than ever before. This includes to your team, your prospects, your clients.** The right people help us go many steps forward, and hiring should never be an expense. It is an investment towards the future. If it does become a straight expense then it means that the value that person was to create, was not accurately worked out or that person is not the right person for the role. ***Do you have a challenge in your business currently that you need help to troubleshoot?*** We are great at helping our clients brainstorm and get to the root of challenges, then helping them with a plan forward. Reply and let us know, and we will be happy to [schedule a free consultation](https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/start-your-performia-discovery). ## Hear what some of our clients say > “On a few occasions I hired without Performia’s help and it was disastrous, ended up costing me a lot of money. I highly recommend using their services before engaging a new staff member.”Lyn Smith, Co-Owner of Woodford Homes > Fantastic approach to recruitment. Had added a lot of formality the our strategy and have had great success with our recruits since we started using Performia! Nick Wigger, Back in Motion Como Physiotherapy ## Related articles - [Never make the wrong hiring decision again](https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn/the-productivity-curve.md) — Article, 2026-10-16 - [One heavy weight can hold your whole company down](https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn/helium-and-sand.md) — Article, 2026-10-15 ## How to cite Performia (Performia International AB). “How to Handle a Downturn in Sales”. Performia, 2020-05-04. https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn/how-to-handle-a-downturn-in-sales (accessed ). ## Company & contact - **Company:** Performia — legal entity Performia International AB - **Address:** 2/162 Albert Road, 3205 South Melbourne - **General enquiries:** [info@performia.com.au](mailto:info@performia.com.au) - **Phone:** 1800 603 023 - **About:** Makes you build and manage teams more successfully. --- [View on site](https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn/how-to-handle-a-downturn-in-sales) · [All Blog](https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/learn.md) · [Site index for agents (llms.txt)](https://one-international.performia.workers.dev/en-au/llms.txt)