Each day I talk to people who are small business owners, independent contractors and sales reps from a variety of industries. Nearly every single one of them has told me that the Coronavirus has impacted their enterprise to some degree, some worse than others.
Inevitably one of these people will say something like, "I don't know how much longer we can hang in there." They struggle hard to keep the proverbial doors open, regardless if they own a restaurant or if they are realtors. None has shut down yet, but it may be coming soon for some of them.
I try not to be the person to tell others what to do when it comes to how they make a living. In the past I've been asked to do some informal business consulting and have made a suggestion here or there, usually as part of an insurance deal. With the pandemic in our midst for the last few months, the threat of business closures is ramping up. Open Table, an online restaurant reservation service, estimates that as many as one in four restaurants could ultimately shut down due to Covid-19.
Not trying to sound like a cheerleader, my advice to all of these people is this: Do your best to not give up. For those of us in sales, no matter the industry, we need to understand that our efforts can keep the doors open.
I managed to study for and pass my securities exams just in time to get pummeled in the 2008 great recession. It was strange time with people calling me who were upset at their market losses, but the weird part was that they weren't my clients. "Who is your advisor and why aren't you calling them?" I'd ask. Because they were small fish in those advisors' eyes, they didn't get serviced properly. I managed to steal those clients away, and worked them as free leads.
It was a long process but I managed to use these "accidental clients" to keep my pipeline full with cases while my colleagues were floundering around, mostly complaining. One guy had made a living selling variable annuities, but his sales had dried up. "I don't know anything about other products," he lamented.
We hear that chaos creates opportunity, and it can be true, but one needs to make some adjustments. My friend didn't want to make adjustments and he suffered. He could have easily contacted his current clients and made the case for life insurance, but he didn't.
Tweaking your strategy in times of crisis is one of the best ways to create opportunity. Just as restaurateurs are changing seating arrangements and pivoting to more delivery and take out, you can make some alterations to your business plan. These aren't major changes, but are keeping them afloat.
Are you making the changes you need to survive? Talk to others in your industry to see what changes they making, and keep an eye on what works and what doesn't. In the meantime, stay well and don't give up.
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states
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