In the midst of an economic disaster for a lot of businesses, industry and people, revenue is in the forefront of everyone’s minds. Even with stimulus packages, furlough schemes and grants there is rarely enough to keep every business afloat. So many are struggling to make sales to just survive. It’s easy to fall into the mindset that you just need to get through the next few months, but in reality it’s going to be a longer struggle.
Going In and Coming Out
During the early stages of the pandemic, there were rumours floating around about lockdowns and restrictions. Looking at Italy turning to a national lockdown it was seemingly inevitable the world would be facing restrictions of its own in some way shape or form. So, going into the national lockdown many UK businesses were already making their own plans. These plans could range from anything, from remote home workers to reimagining the whole business. Going into it, there was a selection of businesses looking to wait out any restrictions for a month or two before reappearing once it had all blown over. Unfortunately, the pandemic groundhog was scared by its shadow and we all are still facing months of lockdown, restrictions and three phrase slogans from the government.
Now let’s look at coming out of the pandemic, as there is a sunrise to this pandemic. With vaccines being rolled out at a quickening pace we may see the return to a form of “old normal” before the end of 2021. But, what will the business landscape look like for businesses that are coming back to the fold? The furlough and loan schemes are set to finish at the end of April, but was the support enough to get those businesses back to their best?
Competitive Market
As soon as these businesses open their doors there is going to be a huge push for sales and marketing. Albeit marketing campaigns should never really end, I’d chance that a lot of departments will be scrambling to get their message out there to as many people as possible. “We are back in business”. The main goal for these returning businesses who fully shut down during this period would be to cover the costs of the recent months. Even with the grants, there are still a lot of costs which aren’t subsidised. So, many will be making sales just to survive. Which is where things will start to get messy.
Making Sales
There is nothing worse than a desperate salesperson. If fear and dread are surrounding the nature of the business every action will be shadowed by doubt. So there is a mental challenge coming out of lockdown to ramp things back up. It’s easy to say you’re fired up and ready to go, but being weeks or even months out of practice can take its toll.
You shouldn’t be looking to just make enough sales to survive the coming months. You need enough sales and revenue to create a recurring revenue stream that outlasts even the worst-case scenario. This is going to be tough with many businesses looking to save money wherever possible.
Surviving
If you’re thriving you’re doing more than just surviving, so why not look to expand your sales rather than just create enough to get by? Create more revenue streams and offer more to your existing clients. Generate more leads for your business through social selling strategies. Upskill your sales team and review their progress, giving them the support they need to grow and thrive. Understandably no industry is the same, so others will be facing a steeper hill to climb, but in sales, the practice remains the same. Create leads, develop a relationship, fix the problem and move forwards.
