7 TOP TIPS TO STAY VIABLE IN LOCKDOWN

Just as you thought life was “normalising” in 2020, here we are again in lockdown (UK), though much of the world is already here too.

Lockdown is going to be inconvenient for many of us but it doesn’t have to be disastrous, so here are a few quick tips to allow you to keep your business viable during lockdown2.

Keep existing customers happy. They are gold dust to you right now. Communicate with them and let them know you’re still trading and how to best stay in touch with each other. If it’s a big customer, give them a phone call, reassure them that everything’s fine and what changes you’ve had to make (if any) – don’t make them guess!

New enquiries – respond quickly to new, incoming enquiries. Even if you can’t give the prospect a price or solve their problem right there on the phone, take their details and tell them you’ll call them back – and agree a time to call them back. That way they can be sure they’re being dealt with professionally, not left in the lurch or wondering if you’re interested in their business or not.

Ask people how they are! It sounds so simple yet so few people actually do it. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It’s old, a little cliched perhaps but it also happens to be true – especially in times like these.

Protect Existing Contracted Revenue – if you have ongoing revenue streams from services you provide, make sure you keep those customers delighted so they roll over their service contracts with you. Revenue predictability is vital at this time. Also, check to see if that revenue could be “at-risk” from that client getting into their own difficulty during lockdown too – communication is the key.

Changes to Products – what products can you continue to sell as they are and what products can you not now sell? Can you make changes to those products to make them saleable? If you have to stop selling anything, what impact does that have on your sales pipeline and therefore to your future cash flow?

Pivoting (again) – if you didn’t get your business fully online last time, don’t miss out this time. Lockdown – or some of form of it – will likely be with us for some time to come and pivoting to an online delivery model is vital if your business is going to survive.

Above all, Act Reasonably – If you have clients in difficulty, be reasonable when it comes down to deferred or holiday type payment requests. People will remember how you treated them during their time of need!

I hope this helps and that your business continues to run smoothly. Why not message me keith@salesmarvel.co.uk