Everyone would agree that times are tough and it would be difficult to find anyone unaffected by the economic downturn in one way or another. Budget cuts, staff reductions, furloughs, reduced benefits and other cost cutting measures seem to be common-place and their negative impact on morale, not to mention the pressure put on the sales and marketing process, can be significant. I thought I’d share an experience related to this that recently occurred at one of our offices.

The decision was tough, but a senior-level project manager was targeted to be let go from an office in the West. Not because of performance issues, simply due to limited work and the need for that particular branch to cut expenses. We’ll call her Stacey. On the day it happened she was disappointed but not surprised, took the news well and began packing up. As the time arrived for Stacey to make her round of good byes, she approached an area where I was standing with a few colleagues and said, "If sales and marketing were doing their job this wouldn’t be happening." Thick with silence, my workmates peered from the corner of their eyes anticipating my response. "You know what Stacey?" I said. "You are absolutely right." The silence continued, but turned from anticipation to confusion. I’m not sure what they were expecting, but my response surprised them.

Times like these can be difficult on a sales and marketing department. The slow down in business and the uncertainty about where the next contract is coming from point directly to the department whose primary function is to solve the problem. People can become critical of tactics, methods, strategy and the overall effectiveness of the effort. Can you blame them? The bottom line: If my sales and marketing department brought in more business, Stacey may not have lost her job. Those are facts. Is that cause for me to doubt our plan? Should I question our tactics? Should we completely overhaul our machine? No. Part of being a professional business developer means understanding what needs to be done, what tactics are realistic and how you fit into the marketplace to the degree that the confidence in your approach can not be shattered by the difficulties along the way. I have great empathy for Stacey, but we have to look inward with a critical eye at our methods and be able to say, without hesitation, "We’re doing the right things." Even if the results aren’t exactly what we would like. If we can’t, my reaction to Stacey’s comment may have been different.