No matter what industry you work in, the economy impacts your business. There is lots of talk of a pending recession, but how do you recession proof your company? Looking back to the recession that began in 2008, many were directly or indirectly touched by the banking and credit crisis. Everyone’s ability to plan for the future was uncertain. While the Congress took action to help Wall Street and Main Street, the reactions on your street were still most likely difficult.
Nobody wants a recession, but the signs seem to be clear that soon we will have some bumps in the road for most businesses. This leaves the smart entrepreneur looking for ways to best navigate the unpredictable economic climate and setting course to thrive in their industry.
Competition is tough for everyone. Even in the recent boom times, getting the attention of your clients and prospects is hard. But in good times or bad times there is always someone who beats the downward trends and ends up on the top. Everyone wants this winner to be their business, but not everyone knows the secrets to preparing their company to recession proof their future.
All opportunities come from people. No matter what you do for a living, it is people who make the buying decisions that add up to your bottom line. A doorknob has never been responsible for you winning a sale (unless you are in the doorknob business – and even then it is really people!). Therefore it is your relationships with those whom you do business that lead you to beating the competitor in all economic situations.
Most people instinctively believe that they are great with relationships. I have never met a company that did not claim their best resource was their people or that they did not have excellent customer service skills. But everyone makes these claims and we all know from our own experiences as consumers that companies often fall short of delivering to the customer – even when they claim they are superb in this area. Your company is no different than the thousands of others who claim successful consumer relationships. Unless you make it the number one priority every day, the reality is that you are possibly falling short of your goal to serve others.
Too often employees get busy doing their jobs and forget that every interaction, either in person or over the internet, is a chance to advance the personal relationship with customers, prospects, vendors or referral sources. Many who work outside of the sales department subscribe to the myth that their job is not about cultivating relationships, and they just do the minimum amount required to get by. They get away with this because they are neither encouraged nor rewarded by management to take an active role in promoting and protecting the image of the company.
Everyone at the company must feel they are instrumental in building relationships and they all must understand that everyone’s future paychecks are directly tied to the bond that they can each collectively forge with anyone and everyone they encounter.
Networking is a word that is misunderstood and undervalued by many businesses. The definition of the word does not mention attending Chamber of Commerce events and trading business cards. It is not about getting to play golf or drink free beer. Networking is “building a mutually beneficial and supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest”. This means that all employees are part of the company’s network and must understand the importance of the power of business relationships.
In a strong economy many people forget that it is people in your community and industry that can and will be making referrals to new clients. They can only give a certain number of choices to those in search of your product or services. If you are not making the short list of companies, then you will be going hungry during the downturn. To recession proof your company, you need to make people the priority (inside and outside of your company).
Educate your workforce that it is everybody’s job to be involved in growing the business. Each time they have the gift of connecting with anyone they might be able to promote the company. To leave this to chance is gambling with the future of all in the organization.
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My workshops on connecting and potential / performance can be combined to make a unique presentation for your industry association or company on how to recession proof your company (or recession proof your career). Nobody knows when the downturn will happen, but there is always recessions. If the next one hits close to home for you and your team, the sooner you have prepared, the better your results.
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Thom Singer is a motivational speaker and professional master of ceremonies / EmCee. He is knows as “The Conference Catalyst” and has a unique way of getting people engaged at business events. He is the host of two podcasts (including the popular entrepreneur podcast: “Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do” and the “Digital Enterprise Society” podcast. Thom is the author of 12 books, and a nice guy.