Business Development Archives | Page 4 of 217

As things return to normal

April 2, 2020 by Jim Connolly

A few months from now, we will all know a lot more about our business, our marketplace and the people we rely on.

That’s because when times are tough, we learn what people really think. We learn what standards they have and what their priorities are.

We’re learning how strong our relationships are, personally and professionally.
We’re learning who we can trust in the future.
We’re learning how honest our service providers are.
We’re learning who we can recommend.
We’re learning who the real leaders are.
We’re learning how people, systems and businesses perform under stress.
We’re learning who really does go he extra mile.

And our clients, customers and marketplace are learning this too.

Warren Buffett famously said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently”.

As you have almost certainly seen by now, a lot of business owners are not taking his advice. They’re thinking very short-term and creating a far bigger problem for their business, than the coronavirus.

In a few months

Long before the pandemic ceases to be the main news story, business restrictions will start to ease. People will be able to move around more freely. Things will start to feel closer to ‘normal’ than they do right now.

As this happens, the marketplace will start regaining confidence. Spending will increase. Cash flow will improve and increase.

It’s at this point that many business owners will pay the price for short-sighted decisions.

We have to be smarter than that.

We need to be very aware that every decision we make has consequences. The marketplace is watching us. And it will remember. As Buffett said, one short-sighted move and a 20-year reputation can be destroyed in minutes.

The only way forward is to think ahead, because things will improve commercially, and a lot sooner than many business owners seem to imagine. Only then can you plan effectively and make decisions that are best for the medium and long-term.

Grab your cape it’s time to lead

March 31, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Anyone with even a tiny interest in history knows exactly what happens in times of crisis. The vast majority of people wait and hope… hope that someone will come forward and lead.

For the marketplace you serve, that someone is you.

They need you to help them remain solution focused.
They need you to motivate them. Especially those who are most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
They need your fact-based optimism.
They need you to connect them with useful resources.
They need your outreach. Most providers are failing to remain in regular contact with their clients and marketplace. That’s a terrible strategy at the best of times. It’s massively damaging right now.
They need you to demonstrate calm thinking.
They need your ideas.
They need to know you’re there for them.
Plus all the areas of leadership, which are specific to your industry.

Leading in a time of crisis isn’t easy. Which is why your leadership is in such massive demand.

However, it becomes a lot easier when you accept that leaders, and those who choose not to lead, both feel the fear. It’s how they choose to respond to their fear that determines whether they step up and lead or step back and wait for someone else.

So grab your cape, my friend. Because your clients and your marketplace needs you right now. Maybe more than ever before.

Don’t underestimate the power of being first

March 30, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

It’s 2020, yet we still remember Sir Roger Bannister as the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes.

Apple became the world’s most valuable company, largely because of profits from the iPhone; the world’s first smart phone.

There are 2 useful lessons here:

When you are the first to do something, it’s remembered for a very long time. We remember Bannister, even though Australia’s John Landy broke Bannister’s record just 6 weeks later. Landy was faster, yet remained relatively unknown because he wasn’t the first person to go sub 4 minutes.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. The first iPhone was really buggy. It even lacked a basic copy and paste facility for over a year! However, it was extremely useful.

This begs the question

What useful adaptation to your service, could you be the first in your industry to create for your marketplace, in response to the current crisis?

We live in very uncertain times right now. Lots of business owners have almost mothballed their business. Whilst others are innovating and inspiring their marketplace, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Fortunately, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. For example, an idea that’s common in another industry may be unheard of in yours. It just needs to be new to your industry, profession or marketplace.

And it absolutely doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be useful, based on the new requirements of the market you serve.

Your 2020 marketing plan is now toast

March 27, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

The marketing plan you developed in January is now toast. That’s because your marketplace is thinking differently today, than it did just a few weeks ago.

Very, very differently. And this will continue, until the pandemic has passed and the economy eventually returns to normal.

From a marketing perspective, this means the way you have traditionally sold your services or products needs to change. It needs to change, because the way your marketplace makes purchasing decisions has radically changed. Here is just one example, which is already having a massive impact on almost every industry.

In a typical economy, people don’t have to think too hard about making a purchase. As such, even poorly marketed businesses are able to generate a level of sales; just by ‘being there’ or contacting prospects at the right time.
When economies are plunged into crisis, people think far harder before they buy anything. Your prospective clients are anxious. They’re making fear-based decisions. As such, pre pandemic marketing and ‘being there’ just won’t cut it. Literally every marketing or business development decision you make, needs to take this into account.

Adjust and get the wind in your sails

The way we set our sail, determines whether we get the wind behind us and excel or end up on the rocks. We set our sail commercially, with the decisions we take (and the decisions we avoid).

A few areas to consider.

Reduce the risk attached to hiring you or buying from you.
Adapt your business, so that it’s more relevant to the current needs of your marketplace.
Increase the value of your services or products.
Introduce flexible payment options.
Grow bigger ears. (This one is really important).

Faced with what now seems to be a long-term challenge, it’s essential to adapt as early as possible. It’s what your agile competitors are already doing. And it’s what your marketplace demands.

Radical value: What it is and why you need it

March 24, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Are you tired of attracting too many price-sensitive enquiries? If so, you’re not alone. This easy to fix issue is one of the most common in marketing.

Easy to fix?

Yes. We know exactly why it happens and how to fix it.

Here’s what you need to know, along with 10 examples to get you started.

Here’s why it happens

When competing products or services seem similar, price becomes the obvious way to determine value. As such, there’s little, if any, motivation for someone to pay more. In this common scenario, the lowest price looks like the best deal.

Sure, they “may” go for the 2nd or 3rd lowest price, hoping to insulate themselves from scammers or super-low quality goods or services. The key thing is that at this point, they’re price shopping. And you’re now competing on price.

Here’s how to fix it

A proven way to totally overcome this problem, is through something I call radical value.

Radical value is when you take what the marketplace expects from someone in your industry, and then radically improve upon it.

By default, anything with radical value has to be radically different. This places you in a unique position. A position, where you’re no longer competing on price, because your offering has no comparative competition!

What might this look like?

A business owner using the radical value approach may offer their marketplace:

A service that comes with a 125% money-back guarantee.
A product that’s provably safer than anything in its category.
A product that’s 50% lighter than the industry leader.
A service that’s designed from the ground up, around the unique needs of each client.
A product that’s the only one in its class, to be made from 100% renewable sources.
A product that’s part of a numbered, limited edition.
A service that’s 3 times faster than the industry leader.
A product that’s far longer lasting than anything in its niche.
A service that’s massively more extensive than anything else available to your marketplace.
A product that’s clearly the most energy efficient in its class.

Those ideas are just food for thought. They’re simply examples, to demonstrate the kind of meaningful difference that represents radical value.

Important

Be sure to invest the time and effort required, to create something that’s truly radical and truly valuable. Marginal improvements have marginal impact. They won’t elevate your offering to the point where you have no comparative competition.

So let your creativity run wild. And aim for maximum impact.

You responded: Boosting cash flow during coronavirus restrictions

March 22, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Just 5 days ago, I shared some ideas about how to boost your cash flow during the coronavirus restrictions.

Here’s some of the feedback you gave me, on how you’re tackling the impact of the virus. I also share a very important observation for business to business service providers.

Anita runs a vegetarian restaurant. “We were basically waiting for the order to close and figuring out how to survive with no money coming into the business”. […] “After your email I started thinking on things we could do and nothing came to me. I asked Joe my partner and he said why not provide a takeout service so we asked around our friends on Facebook to see if anyone was up for it. They were and we started 2 days later and today we’re getting some thermal bags for home delivery starting next week”.

Grant is a financial advisor. In his email he explained that he had built his reputation around a very personal level of service. “The thought of working remotely with clients left me cold plus I hate cameras”. […] I read your blog and decided to call around some clients to check if they’d like next weeks meetings via video and only one client said no. That’s because he didn’t have video set up on his home computer yet. I’ll call everyone next week and am hopeful about the future for the first time in a month.”

Alan runs a hair studio and liked the idea of offering vouchers, which can be bought today, to secure your place in the queue, when the coronavirus restrictions are lifted. He explained that a lot of his clients were due an appointment, so he emailed them. “Around 35% snapped the vouchers up and I think more people will buy them over coming weeks as hair gets longer and greyer”.

I was also contacted by a piano teacher, a fitness instructor and several business advisers who have offered their first video sessions, or plan to, next week.

Okay. I’m going to pivot slightly and focus on a specific section of readers.

Your marketplace needs you more than ever before

There’s something huge that I’ve noticed increasingly over the past few weeks. And it’s echoed powerfully in many of your emails.

Those who provide B2B (business to business) advice of any kind, are finding they are more needed by their clients now, than ever before. Their clients are worried, uncertain, in real need of answers and support.

However…

This surge in need is being totally missed, by providers who are scaling their services back, rather than ramping their services up.

I can’t help but think that many providers in; marketing, HR, recruitment, finance, training, PR, coaching etc., are missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve their marketplace, by refusing to adapt to the new needs of the market they serve.

If you’re one of these B2B providers, your marketplace needs you. And it needs you like never before. This is not the time to step back. It’s the time to step forward and adapt to the new landscape. Because your expertise has never been more needed. And in helping your clients and wider marketplace, you’re going to help your own business.

Just don’t expect to be able to carry on with a business as usual approach. If your marketplace doesn’t know you have the answers, support and ideas they need for this crisis, they’re not going to ask you for help.

Stay safe and remember, we’re all in this together, my friend.