How are You Changing Your Business for 2021?

Six months ago, many of us thought we would be out of business or out of a job by now. Happy to say, I’m still here and business is moving along quite nicely (knock on wood).

As the pandemic continues to make our personal and business lives uncertain, can we plan for the long term of our business? How is the business market changing and how can we change with it?

Make Sure you Are Tech Ready

Luckily, our business model supported remote employees long before the pandemic hit. If you are still on the fence, it is definitely past the time to get off. It is not that expensive to set up a VPN (virtual private network) for you and your team. Remote working will be here for the long haul. And I have to say, many of my team are more productive remotely, less distractions!

We also invested in a computer camera long ago. Again, time to invest in one if you haven’t. Having the technology you need makes a big difference.

Get Used to Zoom, It’s Here to Stay

The camera has come in most useful for the many presentations via zoom we conduct each week. For any business you can create a unique environment to showcase what you do best. We set up our trade show booth as our background for meetings. Then when we are meeting with a specific client or prospect we stage the items we want to show. Our largest presentation was to 75 people, a virtual trade show so to speak!

And yes, we’ve gotten business as a result. Obviously, smaller groups are better and provide you the opportunity to interact more. One thing in these meetings that we have found to be most effective is being a bit more casual and fun. We work hard not to be to dry and mechanical in any presentation but even more so on zoom.

Stage Your Background, Be Prepared

In these meetings you have a finite amount of time (although I have had some go for more than an hour and a half) and you want to be mindful that too much can be hard to absorb.

We typically review our client or prospects past programs and review what may work best for the future and then develop our presentation accordingly. As for the virtual trade show we had a power point presentation with the items presented that was sent as a follow up.

Another key area we have been increasing is our physical outreach to clients and prospects. We are sending more samples of interesting products, writing physical thank you notes for business and sending prospects intriguing direct mail pieces with samples. Again, we are in a sensory business so sending something they can touch and feel makes a difference.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Everyone has their own style. Make yours stand out, just like what we encourage our clients to do. Out of sight out of mind is a true adage. While we all think no one can forget us, they do. And a great way to remind them is to stay in front of them like you want them to do with their clients and prospects.

Email is a great way to reach out once in a while but don’t make it your only way. Pick up the phone and have a conversation. Make an appointment to talk to them via zoom about their 2021 plans. Explain that you have solutions for assisting them with their employee engagement and motivation, with making their virtual events more memorable and helping them stand out from their competition with their prospects.

Help Your Clients Succeed, And Will You Too

We can’t let the pandemic stop business. We need to help our clients succeed. Help them move outside of their comfort zone just like we have had to do. Work with them to develop their plans. Help them see the many alternatives available to them no matter their budget.

No matter your business model or the type of business you have you have a solution for your clients and prospects.

And be sure to there for them. I read a story recently about a young man that sold windows. He was new to the business but seemed to be a natural. His boss, sensing his ability sent him to meet with a wealthy family with a large home. He met with them and made the sale. Little did he know that 6 other more “seasoned” salespeople had been to see this family over the previous months. Why was he successful when the others had failed? He didn’t sell on price (he was actually higher than most of the other salespeople), he sold himself. They liked him and trusted him immediately.

He said he was going to be there to make sure the job was done right. And they signed on the dotted line.

Know and Trust is Key

In this day and age, we are getting back to many basics. And one of those is that people have always liked to do business with people they know and trust. Make sure you are building your reputation as someone that has the expertise they need and can trust.