COVID-19 has affected a plethora of businesses across many industries around the globe. In particular, small businesses have recently been experiencing shifts in their organizations and business models. Maintaining customer relationships and attempting to sustain steady streams of revenue has been difficult for many business owners during this time. On the other hand, there are several companies whose sales have increased.
In order to survive, there will be some sacrifices and decisions to be made. This may result in reducing your allocated budget for both sales and marketing. Despite what’s occurring during this time, it is important to continue to focus on product sales and use this time as an opportunity to connect with existing and potential clients. Although they may not be in the best financial position to buy now, empathizing with your customers will build a stronger, more genuine relationship, and you will have a pipeline full of opportunities to capitalize on.
Here are a few reasons why you should NOT slow down sales:
- Sales directly drives revenue, therefore; focusing on sales will continue to drive revenue for your company to ensure you survive.
- Reducing your sales disrupts the sales cycle and current prospects begin to lose familiarity with your product and business.
- Companies are evaluating their business models to cut costs and increase efficiencies. If your product is helping them do that then this is a great time to connect.
How to keep your sales pipeline strong:
1. Communicate any changes
- This includes reaching out to your current clients, empathizing with them and learning how the crisis is affecting their business.
- This helps maintain your customer relationships and builds trust with current and potential customers through proactive communication.
2. Adjust your current strategy
- An example may be to offer a free trial for your product so they can benefit when times are tough and turn into paying customers when things get better.
3. Review your channel partners and target market
- Reach out to companies within your industry to learn about each other’s services and see how you could be of benefit to one other. Currently it is a great time to reach out and engage with others as remote working has allowed people more time to go through their LinkedIn and reply to email messages.
- Look at other industries in your target market that are doing well right now and see if your product can help them.
Don’t let a crisis kill your business. Take advantage of this opportunity to understand your customers better and build relationships that will last.