I think we can agree that the economy is unstable. While some firms are flourishing, others are not.
Likewise some professionals are exceeding their targets and others, I would say up to maybe 50%, are moaning about their poor or static results and blaming the economy, covid, staffing issues etc
I see it every day, with professionals not achieving their revenue goals asking for advice on how to generate new work in a slow market. The first comment I make to all of them is this:
"If your market has slowed and you have slowed with it, you will soon be out of business. So tell me, what have you done to ramp up activity this last year?"
Usually that question is met with silence and then another excuse about how no one new has been/is buying. "No one?"
Of course some people are buying professional services, someone always is. So my question to you is this:
"If your market has slowed, or maybe only half of your market's buyers are buying, what are you doing to ramp up your activity, working both smarter and harder to raise your visibility and credibility, to capture a greater share of spend in your slowed market?"
Sadly, it's been my experience that many people give up when their markets slow down. They resign themselves to the fact that it's going to be a bad year and they don't even try to hit their targets.
Many professionals used Covid to down their Business Development tools for an extended period, not realising that many of the activities that work well, still did so even in a remote working environment.
Top performers refuse to wave the white flag. They want to earn their bonus. These professionals attack their markets with renewed effort.
They approach more clients, prospects and referrers with new and increased business development activities. These are the few people who, even in a slow market, are doing more.
So, before you complain about the economy and make excuses regarding Covid or global events hurting your revenues, I need to ask: Are you taking any of the following actions?
1. Reach out to your current client database at least once per month with a value-based, content-rich communication. Educate, don’t sell. Use different media to deliver your message.
2. Attend at least 1 networking event per week. On or offline. 2 would be even better.
3. Ask for a referral at least once per week.
4. Prospect every day to keep your funnel full.
5. Identify new target markets/clients to sell to.
6. Attend trade shows/exhibitions/conferences in your chosen sectors regularly and follow up with the leads within 24 hours.
7. Hold client review meetings and cross sell services.
8. Implement a reactivation campaign to win back lost clients.
9. Change your pitch/presentation to place the clients’ values first and your corporate marketing messages last.
10. Talk to your five best clients. Ask them to evaluate your situation and make suggestions for new markets/clients.
11. Take you Top 5 referrers to lunch. Good things happen when you talk to people.
12. Look at your digital footprint. Website, LinkedIn profile etc. Would you agree to a meeting with you? Do you give people a real genuine reason to give you their time? Do you offer a signature piece of content in exchange for an email address?
13. Start a content marketing campaign using blogs, webinars, seminars, podcasts, videos, social media etc
14. Stay away from the complainers. Don't make your situation worse by hanging around the motivation suckers and underachievers.
15. Get a coach or a mentor. Even Olympians have a coach. Invest in a training program. Stay away from negative people. Learn from the winners.
You can change your results in any economy. Once you accept the fact that you can change your results, you can begin to recover one step at a time.
Don't try all 15 ideas at once. Simply pick one or two new ideas per week. Implement them every day. Own them and make yourself accountable.
Continue to use them as you pick one or two more the following week. In two or three months time, you may find yourself in a much better place.
If you need help with any of this be sure to reach out.