The Best Way To Jump Start Your Future Demand

1.     Feature Article

The Best Way To Jump Start Your Future Demand
By John DiJulius, Chief Revolution Officer

It is safe to say most businesses, affected by the current crisis, will have more demand in the second half of 2020 than they do right now. However, by letting this scenario play out, there are at least three problems. First, the current productivity of your business and employees is considerably low, forcing you to pay people to do very little right now or keep them laid off. Second, a sudden spike in demand all at once has its own set of challenges, i.e. your employees spread too thin. And finally, what too many companies do during recessionary times, to try to generate sales, is start discounting to jump start sales. This strategy always backfires, it becomes a race to the bottom, and conditions your customers to always negotiate, never wanting to pay regular price again.

Maybe you don’t have to wait it out or become the lowest bidder. There may be an opportunity to increase future 2020 revenues while spreading the demand out, so it all doesn’t hit at once. Maybe Wimpy, the character from Popeye, had the right idea, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today”.

Like you, most of your customers’ cashflow is down and they have more time on their hands, which is the ideal time for them to improve, pivot, and innovate their business. However, it is hard to reinvent their business model if they can’t spend any money today. This is where your organization can come to the rescue. What if you offered to help them now, provide the services now, and allow them to defer some or all of their payments for 30 to 120 days? If your business can afford to do this, think about the upside: you spread out the future demand to now, you keep your employees busy, you are able to take on more business later when it is more likely to come, you increase your 2020 overall revenues, and best of all, you didn’t discount.

On the flip side, this is also a good strategy to use with your vendors. For example, during these times, every business should be updating/improving their website, marketing materials, branding, etc. You may not have cashflow to spend right now, however, if you wait till you do, you probably will be too busy to give it the attention it deserves. Which is why it hasn’t gotten done in the past. So, make the same offer to your vendor partners. Let’s do the work now and give me more time than usual to pay. Everyone wins.

*Related – 6 Ways To Capitalize On Customer Loyalty

 2.     Article You Will Enjoy

Not all big corporations are greedy. By now you have seen the news about how some big businesses have been receiving the government money that was earmarked for the small businesses. Well, one large restaurant chain, Shake Shack, has decided to return a $10 million federal loan it got through the coronavirus Paycheck Protection Program that was meant to help small businesses.

 3.     Short Video I Want to Share

This is a great keynote worth watching by former FBI Hostage Negotiator Chris Voss turned speaker, author, and consultant. Here are just a few of the many takeaways Voss shares that apply to any business:

• Last impressions are the lasting impression.
• Get people to say, “that’s right” vs “yes, that’s right” (not you’re right) means they feel understood. A bond is created, because you have showed you understand their perspective.
• Predictability eases anxiety. Never leave your customer in the dark about what will be happening next and when they will be hearing from you.
• Share bad news first.
  *Related – What Comes First the Good News or the Bad News?

4.     Quote Of The Week

“When you are more interested in the customer than you are in the sale, you will sell more than anyone else.”

—Jack Daly

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