What's Your Inverted Yield Curve Canary In The Mine

This week I learned of the dreaded inverted yield curve.

Bluntly, its occurrence means a recession is likely coming soonish.

Apparently this is a historical precursor to a significant downturn.

It’s when long-term interest rates get lower than short-term ones. Especially in those murky bond markets.

Frighteningly, we seem to have hit that point right now. Or have we?

In any case, there’s a pair of selling parallels worth considering here.

The first comes to my mind after the brutal credit crunch decimated selling ambitions a decade back.

One of the several posts I blogged at the time included a recommendation from a banking sage (I know) who claimed to have run the numbers. To prevail through a recession, your forecast ought be 113% of your usual winning pipeline.

Is this an icy blast of reality when you check how your funnel currently stacks up on this measure?

Second is more general point about alarms. What sirens blare for you when a deal is not going to end up your way?

I’ve always lent towards the qualify-out school. Even from early days, as a shortlisted choice of usually two or three, the speed, depth and proactivity of prospect contact would be pored over in fine detail.

Anything that didn’t feel like we were their priority call sent us into frenzied huddles.

There are classic buying signals that, when absent, ring loud bells.

Not asking technical details, not calling reference testimonials, not letting you choose the big final pitch slot time.

Beyond these, I’m thinking more about something unique to your process. Actions/reactions that when occur, place you in exulted confidence.

What are these? And what is their nemesis? Their polar opposite. Their shade to your hoped for light?

Know these, and you’ll have your own reliable inverted canary.