You Have Plenty of Options to Grow!
May I make a suggestion? You have plenty of options to grow!
I recently heard someone say that "cutting costs" was the only thing companies can do to handle the changing market. When times get tough, and revenue falls, all you can do is cut, cut, cut - staffing, advertising, technology, office space and more.....
Well let me just say:
Don't YOU believe it!
There are LOTS of things you can do in a changing market. Cutting costs might be one - and an important one, to be sure - but nobody, ever, has "cut" their way back to growth. So if you want to turn things around, remember that cutting costs doesn't *add* sales.
Only adding sales creates growth!
So, here are TEN THINGS to remind you how to CREATE GROWTH, especially in turbulent times:
Focus on what actually drives sales. Is it meetings, calls, presentations, proposals? Then do those - lots of them - daily, weekly and monthly. Skip everything else until your pipeline is full.
Change up your product or service. If times are changing, maybe what you're offering should, too. Go larger (or smaller); go virtual, or reconvene. Do more, or fewer. People might just be waiting for your next version. Innovate! Redesign!
Overdeliver, then raise prices. Seems counterintuitive, but when times get tougher, people respect people who get things DONE WELL - so roll out the red carpet of experience, quality, performance and reliability. Then shift your pricing strategy to capture better revenue.
Team up. Look for colleagues to form a more efficient team. Talk to competitors about merging and maximizing synergies. Expansion begets expansion, even as it drives down costs.
Enter new markets. Ask, Who else could use what I'm already capable of delivering now? You could double or triple your customer base by adding "adjacent" products, services or geographies to your core client base.
Add fresh talent. When other companies cut great talent loose, scoop it up and shake up your existing team with fresh energy and ideas.
Flex tech. Chances are you have tons of tech that's sitting there "under-used" because you were "too busy" to fully exploit it when things were hot. Use downtime to double-down on tech.
Take out the piggy bank. Invest your savings from the good times, to capture marketing attention from competitors who cut advertising because they were living on revenues alone.
Team up with suppliers. Don't cut contracts; talk to suppliers about ways to barter for benefits that satisfy mutual needs.
Add something new. What can you learn, build, deploy or incorporate into your capabilities in the next 30 days? You don't have to go crazy; look at the market and add that one extra skill whose timing is right.
So, stop thinking about prohibitions and start focusing on the permissions that a changing market makes possible. The only way to GROW is to GO. And when the winds slow down, grab an oar - or ten - and start rowing!