When things go sideways in a market, the sellers who win are the ones who show up differently. They do not hide. They do not go quiet. They step forward and become the hero their customers actually need. I recorded a Master Sales Series episode on this called Be the Hero, and the lesson has only gotten more relevant since.
The Farm Rallies That Shaped Me
To understand why I feel so strongly about this, I have to take you back to Saskatchewan in the 1980s. I was working at a local radio station during a rough run in agriculture. Commodity prices crashed. Drought and grasshoppers wiped out crops. The farming community was in crisis, and business in every town depending on that economy was hurting right along with them.
The general manager sent me out to cover the farm rallies. At one of them I watched the premier of the province stand in front of three thousand farmers asking the government for help. That was the moment the severity of it all hit me. It was also the moment I started paying attention to who was stepping up during the hard times and who was going dark.
The lesson has stayed with me through every downturn since. There are always two kinds of businesses in a crisis. The ones that retreat, and the ones that become the hero.
What Heroes Actually Do
Being the hero is not a slogan. It is a set of behaviors. Here is what I saw then, and what I have seen work every cycle since:
- They communicate more often, not less
- They teach instead of pitch
- They publish content that actually helps
- They pick up the phone when competitors hide behind email
- They treat the crisis as a chance to deepen relationships
Your Customers Have Time on Their Hands
One of the things I kept coming back to on the episode is that customer behavior changes in a crisis. In a normal market, your customers are running around putting out fires. In a downturn, many of them suddenly have more time than they have had in years.
Here is what I told listeners:
“Your customer base has more time on their bloody hands now than they have ever had. They are not in the store dusting off their things with the Swiffer. They do not have to manage their staff. Why don’t we turn it into a positive and do some learning and figure this out together?”
That is the hero play. Deliver content. Teach. Nurture. Not “buy my stuff” content, but “here is what I am learning and how it might help you” content.
Protect Local
The core purpose of the Conquer Local community has always been to drive local economies by giving listeners knowledge they can use. When the world gets hard, that mission matters more, not less. Local businesses are dealing with staff shortages, remote work, and shifting customer habits all at once. They need allies, not vendors.
If you sell to local businesses, your job is to protect local. That looks like:
- Free training sessions on the tools they are now forced to use
- Case studies showing how other local operators are adapting
- Honest conversations about what is working and what is not
- Making introductions between clients who can help each other
For more on how I think about this kind of seller behavior, take a look at my post on Jason Marc Campbell on selling with love.
Where Will You Be After the Bounce?
Every market bounces eventually. The question is not whether. The question is who your customers will remember when it does. The sellers who showed up and helped during the hard part are the ones who get the call when the phones start ringing again.
If you are reading this during a tough market, take this as your reminder. Do not go quiet. Do not cut content. Do not pull back from your community. Step forward. Teach. Help. Be the hero you wanted to have when you were on the other side of the desk. I have written more on this mindset in my piece on emotional intelligence in sales and life.
Who is one customer you can help this week with no agenda? Start there.