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Are You Prepared for “Back to Normal” or a “New Tomorrow”?
Gary Seibert • Apr 13, 2020
What's Normal?
I think, that before I start to talk about whether or not you are prepared for, “back to normal”, we need to first take a look at the word “normal”. Why? Because what was normal 60 days ago, and how business was conducted, may not be exactly the same 60 days from now. This Coronavirus crisis is not going to stop one day and the next day everyone is going right back to their jobs, schools, sporting events, vacations, favorite restaurants, conventions and the list goes on. This Country has never been in a shut down like we are experiencing now. Millions of people have lost their jobs or have been laid off and are now living off unemployment and or their savings. Many will not have the ability to resume life as they did before the crisis.
Schools are closed in most states until fall of 2020. Families may have additional expenses for child care or one of the parents may have to stay home from work to care for the children. Many businesses will be forced to tighten their budgets, for who knows how long, in order to survive the financial loss they have incurred. In other words, plans they had for new purchases, training, marketing, improvements and staff development may, most likely, have to be put on hold. It will take a while for consumer spending to reach pre Covid-19 times because many people will just not have the extra cash to spend and they will be cautious about accruing additional credit card debt. The Dow Jones dropped slightly over 10,000 points crushing personal investments and retirement programs. All this, and much more tells me that the if we expect the old normal to return real soon, as we once new it, we are going to be gravely disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way an alarmist, I am truly an optimist, but we have to deal with reality first and not let what we want, interfere with what we really have to deal with. The truth of the matter is that the old normal may be modified and molded into a “new normal” and I’m not sure anyone has a handle on what that will look like yet.
So, lets look at a few things you can do right now to help you prepare for when we start to come out of this crisis and start building a “New Tomorrow”. We will let “normal” evolve on its own.
A New Tomorrow
START PLANNING NOW
—You probably have a little extra time available so why not use it to plan your strategy. How are you going to let your clients know you are back in business? Is there low hanging fruit you should pick, in other words, key clients you should contact first? What are you going to say to them? Are you personally prepared to deliver 100%? If you have staff, are they still on your team and are they prepared to start when you need them? Do you have all the products and supplies you will need? Are you going to provide any incentives to drive clients back to you? Are you prepared financially if business takes off better than thought it would? People are still going to be concerned about the virus, what are you doing to give them a feeling of safety dealing with you and your business? STAY IN TOUCH
—This is so important, in-fact, I might suggest it is the most important part of your recovery strategy. If you are not connecting with your customers, I can promise you, your competitors are. Let them know that you value their loyalty and you will be there to service them as soon as the crisis allows. Give them a reason to connect with you as soon as you re-open, a special price, product or service as a thank you for returning. Stay in touch weekly with your employees to make sure they are safe and healthy. Read my blog, Don’t Forget Your Most Important and Valued “Asset”. Let them know how much you appreciate them and look forward to getting back to work. If your business depends on vendors and suppliers, do not forget to let them know you when you plan to re-open. They need your business just as bad as you need them. Check to see if they have any special programs to help their valued customers during this difficult time. You may be surprised by the different ways they can help you. Last but not least, stay in touch with your banker/lender, accountant, attorney and your business coach or consultant. They are there to help you in the good times as well as bad. In all cases, be a good listener. Gather advice and allow that advice help you in your planning process. As you stay-in-touch you are building relationships and relationships build trust and respect. Remember, people like to do business with people they like. Be real and be like-able.
CHECK OUT YOUR COMPETITION
—Remember, even though you may not be doing business as normal, you are not on vacation, NOR are your Competitors. You can be sure they are doing everything possible to connect with their clients and yours. They are being creative and looking for unique and different ways to sell their products and services. Follow them on social media, check their websites often to see what they are doing, see if they are advertising on radio, billboards, print or direct mail. Know your competition as well as you know yourself. Don’t try to beat them on price but instead focus on customer care, integrity, relationships and being the authority in what you do.
DEVELOP A SALES PLAN
—How many of you really have a thought out, written down, realistic and targeted sales plan? Without these four, you will still get sales but far less than with a plan. How many of you believe in the “build and they will come” sales strategy? Great in the movies or if you have Kevin Costner signing autographs but in real life, it just doesn’t work, you need a plan. If you have never had sales training, I suggest now is the time to get it. You can even go online and get a remote training. Please understand that as soon as the crisis is lifted it will be like a tsunami of businesses all flooding the market trying to get people back doing business with them. The best trained swimmers and those trained to deal with big waves will survive. I suggest you learn some new sales methods such as remote selling as this has become very popular over the past 5 weeks. If you are a B2B company, LinkedIn might serve you well. If you are a B2C company Facebook might be your best choice. Again, if you are not trained in the use of these methods, I suggest you use your down time and get trained as soon as possible. This may be part of “The New Tomorrow”.
New Normal by being ready for Tomorrow
We live in the greatest Nation in the world and I am confident that we have a bright and prosperous future to look forward to. We will come out of this crisis a better and stronger America and those that Plan, Stay in Touch, Know their Competition and Use the correct Sales Techniques will be in a much better situation than those that don’t. The SBRA is Blessed with members that have expertise in all these areas. Check our new website, sbrassociation.com
and go to the members section to find someone to help you be ready for the New Tomorrow. Be Safe, Be Healthy and May God Bless America
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