—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”.