As a business executive, you well know that there are many ups and downs you encounter in any business cycle.
You know that good times don’t last forever, and neither do bad times.
I’m also sure you know that the past ten years have been one of the longest growth periods in recorded time.
And I hope that these years have brought you great success.
However, as we all know, what goes up has to come down. Gravity eventually takes over.
Because of that, many economic and financial experts are predicting a recession in the next six to 18 months. At the very least, all are predicting some kind of economic slowdown.
Is your company ready?
Our CEO, Jay Plesner, has lived through many recessions, including the one in the early 1980’s, the 1989 collapse, Y2K and its effects on businesses, and of course the great recession of 2008.
He remembers well the devastation these recessions racked up on so many businesses.
So, how can you make your company recession proof?
Actually, it’s probably impossible to make your company completely recession proof, but let’s explore five ways you can at least prepare for a recession before it hits.
1. Reactivate dormant accounts. Contact a past client, one you are not actively working for now, and get them to do business with you again. Call them, say hello, and see what’s going on. Don’t make this call a hard sell. Let them know you’re interested in working with them, without putting the pressure on them to give you an order right then and there. And keep following up. If you don’t have the time, let us help you try and reactivate some of your dormant accounts.
2. Reactivate old leads. All studies show that most salespeople, regardless of the industry, give up too early; 80 percent of sales to businesses are made on the fifth sales call or later, but only 10 percent of salespeople call beyond three times! We’ve had great success at helping our clients reactivate old clients. Again, we can help you try to reactivate some of your old leads.
3. Help existing clients create new business for you. I’m sure most of your clients come to you with different requests for new business. But what if they don’t, and you want to generate additional revenue, which you will especially need in a recession? Call them and suggest an idea or two they can use. These ideas may be obvious to you, but not to your clients. Maybe they don’t know all you can do for them, or they are not familiar with your entire product line.
4. Go after smaller accounts. You have guidelines to determine which clients are desirable and which are not. During a downturn, you may want to be more flexible in this area. For instance, if you normally do business with large companies only, you might consider taking on assignments from smaller firms. This doesn’t mean you abandon your standards and work for anyone who calls you. Far from it. Simply readjust your acceptable criteria during this lull to accommodate a wider range of prospects and projects.
5. Plan an aggressive new business marketing campaign. When things are slow, increase the percentage of your time spent on marketing and prospecting for new business. For instance, if you usually devote 10 percent of your time and energy to marketing and sales when things are fairly busy, perhaps you could double that time, when business slows down. During a lull, make an extra effort to attract clients, follow up on leads, and close sales. In fact, to reduce the impact of a lull in business, planning an ongoing marketing campaign can ensure a steady stream of leads. Marketing done today begins a selling cycle that can result in new business, when you need it six months from now.
This is what we do best, helping our clients go after new accounts.
By starting these activities now, you will be well ahead of your competitors if and when a recession hits. And because you have started building these relationships, these people will remember you first.
As I’m sure you can see, these ideas are things you should be constantly doing throughout the year. But you may not have the time, the people, the skill sets or resources to carry them out.
That’s where we can help you!
We have helped our clients in all five of the situations described above.
Let us help you prepare for a recession, before it hits your company.
Give us a call, or send us an email, and we will get back to you ASAP, to discuss your needs, and how we might help you.
There is no charge for this, and most companies learn a lot, just by talking to us.
Thanks. We look forward to serving you.
Our contact information is;
Email: inquiry@yorkc.com
Phone: 416-410-2222
