How to Get Uncomfortable, Get Creative, and Get New Business

When the economy slows, so does the inbound.
When budgets tighten, so does buyer confidence.
And when pipelines dry up… well, panic starts to set in.

For many businesses, recessions feel like headwinds you can’t control. But for elite sales professionals and leaders, they represent something else entirely:

An opportunity to reimagine, retool, and reignite your approach to growth.

Because let’s face it—comfort is a dangerous place. Growth never comes from “more of the same.” It comes from trying something new, pushing boundaries, and going where others are too afraid to go.

So if you're wondering “How am I going to make my number this year?” or “Where are my next customers coming from?”—you’re asking the right questions.

Here’s how to answer them.

Step 1: Break the Pattern – Identify What’s Not Working (Anymore)

Start by examining your current sales motion with ruthless honesty:

• Are you overly reliant on inbound?
• Are your SDRs calling the same tired lead lists?
• Is your ICP overly narrow or outdated?
• Have you talked to customers lately—or just about them?

Experiencing a slowdown is the perfect excuse to audit your sales funnel. Pinpoint the weak spots. Revisit assumptions. Cut the fluff. Anything that’s coasting needs to be shaken up.

Step 2: Expand Your ICP Without Losing Focus

Sometimes the biggest breakthrough is realizing you’ve been selling too narrowly.

How to do it:

• Revisit old closed-lost opportunities—many may be ready now
• Look for “cousin” verticals—industries with similar workflows, pain points, or compliance needs
• Experiment with company sizes or geographies you’ve previously ignored

Example: If you’ve been selling HR software to 500+ employee companies, try pitching niche features to fast-growing startups with 100–300 employees that now face similar issues at scale.

Step 3: Reignite Dead Leads (They're Warmer Than You Think)

We all have that bucket of leads who ghosted us, chose a competitor, or just went cold.

Now is the time to revive them—with context and relevance.

Creative approach:

• Record a 45-second personalized Loom or BombBomb video explaining how your product has changed since last contact. Communicating with your audience in new ways can potentially create signal in an otherwise crowded and noisy marketplace
• Reference a market shift (e.g., new regulation, pricing pressure) that reopens the conversation
• Send a valuable asset (e.g., benchmarking report, whitepaper, or customer case study) and ask for their updated perspective

Sometimes, the easiest path to new business is a second shot at old business.

Step 4: Find the Buying Committees—Not Just the "Decision Maker"

In downturns, group buying increases. CFOs, COOs, and legal teams now get a say in nearly every purchasing decision.

So stop selling to one contact. Start selling to the whole committee.

What to do:

• Map the stakeholder landscape and multi-thread early
• Customize messaging for each persona: financial justification for CFOs, operational efficiency for COOs, risk reduction for Legal
• Arm your internal champion with everything they need to sell internally

When multiple champions are aligned, deals move—even when budgets are tight.

Step 5: Build Strategic Referral Engines

Referral selling is still the most trusted and highest-converting source of new business. In a recession, people want safe bets. A warm intro beats a cold pitch every time.

Build your referral machine:

• Reach out to happy clients and ask: “Who in your network is facing the same problem we helped you solve?”
• Offer referral incentives, but make them feel like a “thank you,” not a bribe
• Create a partner program with adjacent vendors who share your audience (e.g., a CRM provider and a sales training consultancy)

Referrals thrive in recessions because trust becomes the currency.

Step 6: Become a Publisher—Not Just a Pitcher

In tight markets, authority sells. Thought leadership isn’t fluff—it’s pipeline fuel.

You want to be the person buyers think of before they realize they have a need.

Try:

• Creating a “state of the industry” trend report and sending it to 50 prospects
• Hosting a niche webinar or roundtable with industry experts
• Publishing a weekly email sharing curated news, insights, and commentary with your network

You’re not selling to strangers—you’re educating a future customer base.

Step 7: Collaborate with Marketing (No, Really)

Sales and marketing alignment isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a survival tactic in a down market.

Sync up on:

• Account-based campaigns (ABM) for high-potential logos
• Recycled marketing leads that might respond to a rep instead of a drip
• Repackaging assets into 1:1 prospecting tools (turn that case study into a “why you, why now” email)

Recessions demand creativity, not silos.

Step 8: Go Local, Go Micro, Go Personal

Broad-based outreach falls flat in uncertain times. People want to be seen, understood, and helped.

Personalization tactics that cut through noise:

• Reference a recent press release, funding round, or strategic hire
• Mention mutual connections or shared networks
• Create micro-segments (e.g., “VC-backed SaaS companies under 100 employees in Chicago”) and speak directly to that audience

When everyone else goes mass-blast, you go one-to-one.

Step 9: Commit to Long-Term Partnerships

With high churn rates in sales (35%+ annually), many buyers are skeptical of salespeople who seem like they’re just passing through.

So make it clear: you’re not just closing deals—you’re here to help over the long haul.

How:

• Say it explicitly: “I’m looking to partner with a company I can support for years, not months.”
• Use long-term thinking in your discovery and proposals
• Celebrate existing client longevity in your pitch (e.g., “Our average client stays 4+ years”)

In uncertain times, buyers crave stability. Be the safe bet.

Final Word: Discomfort Is Where the Growth Is

You can’t white-knuckle your way through a slowdown with the same playbook. You need bold thinking, uncomfortable outreach, and creative hustle.

Get out of the comfort zone. Break your patterns. Try weird stuff. Fail fast. Adapt faster.

And when your competitors are frozen in fear, you’ll be the one planting seeds that grow into next year’s record-breaking harvest.

Because selling in a recession isn’t about surviving—it’s about rebuilding better.