In this blog, I am going to cover everything you need to know about how to make money and stay in business during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
I must forewarn you that you may or may not agree with everything in this blog.
However, everything I am going to be covering does not only have a proven success record with my clients but its what the big businesses do on a regular basis that gives them the upper hand.
Before we get into how you can make money we have to break down and digest why people will buy from you and what they are experiencing right now during this whole thing.
Uncertainty is ruling people's minds and if that’s the case you need to understand if you're not selling something that will immediately put their mind at ease, they have no reason to speak to you.
When people are uncertain they don’t know if they should buy, how to buy and if they do buy are they going to have buyer's remorse?
Anyone in business will tell you that in a failing economy there's always going to be companies that fall and companies that rise.
But how do you and your company become the latter of the two?
When people know what’s going to happen they conserve their spending. Why? Once again uncertainty is ruling their mind.
They don’t know what to do or if’s this crisis is over. Anyone in marketing, news or politics will tell you, don’t waste a crisis.
I know it sounds brutal but unfortunately, it’s the truth.
People don’t want to spend money because they don’t know when anything will be resolved.
For companies going through the COVID-19 crisis right now, there is not only uncertainty but you can feel it in the air.
There is a sense of panic and tension. Remember, this isn’t the first time this has happened in our history and I would bet everything I own it's not going to be the last.
First, you have to implant in your mind this is temporary. This virus and crisis won't last forever so the first and simplest thing to do is not to panic.
Yes, the money will be tight but know that it's going to be temporary.
People far too often get worried about the economy and think doomsday is coming. I hope companies have been proactive at filling their pipelines or building up enough revenue to last 2-3 months. If that’s the case then chances are you're going to be just fine.
If work is slow now its a great time to encourage employees to take their vacations/work from home or give them the freedom to enjoy their time while they can.
If you don’t have the ability to allow employees to take a vacation or let them work remotely during this time and work is slowing down then I have a great alternative.
What is busy work?
The work that doesn’t make the company money directly but can have impacts over the long term.
Let me give you an example. Here at my company, I have a long list of busywork such as cleaning up my emails, my CRM and building marketing emails for the future.
Now today those tasks won't generate money but they will put you on track for generating money.
Another busy task I love is creating content.
I preach it all the time but since most if not all my meetings are canceled it’s a great time to start building a ton of content.
For example, since my meetings are cancelled I decided to write this blog.
Why?
It's highly searchable, it's relevant, it provides great value and above all else, it's going to potentially make me money down the road.
Remember it's about making it through the next two months, not the next two years. This will help make money in the long term.
It can also help make money in the short term as well while people are prepping for the bounce back and reading my content.
Companies have a great ability to spend money on things they don’t need. A great way to make money is to stop spending on things that don’t matter.
If you're going to spend money on a company lunch great! Support a local small business and ditch the major chains.
This is something that will help fuel the economy during this time. Along with that, building a company policy to have expenses go into three categories.
Critical needs can wait but will help and wants. If your expenses fall in critical needs you should be buying.
If its something that can wait hold off till this is over, put it in a folder until the company is generating positive revenue again.
This should help drastically cut spending in areas that don’t matter for the company to get through the next couple of months.
Cutting excess spending is a great way to increase profits and recuse the downside while this is all happening. Once the business is back to the way it should be, feel free to spend how you want back and do as you please.
But I want your company to succeed just as badly as you.
Now that we have covered how to increase profits without necessarily making more money lets get into how to actually make more money.
Once someone buys from you the likelihood of someone buying from you again is drastically higher. With that being said now is a great time to figure out a new product to sell or something you can upsell them.
Remember, it has to bring value if it doesn’t it’s a waste. Make sure whatever you plan on upselling is in line with what a customer needs.
Customers who buy from you once are significantly more likely to buy from you again and again. Because of this, now is the time to leverage and try new things to get past customers to buy again.
There are plenty of things that you can upsell if you are a retail company or a service industry.
Now is the time to roll out and experiment with new products.
I know it sounds crazy or you might be thinking Harrison there is no way possible I can create another product or service to sell.
Trust me you may be thinking too hard.
If you're curious to know ask your customers in a survey what they would like to buy or if there is something you can offer them that would help them out.
This is tremendously effective and if you don’t believe me keep an eye on your email after you get off the phone with Verizon or get an email from best buy.
They are always putting out surveys trying to get information from their customers.
Study after study proves email marketing is extremely effective.
Even with lower open rates sending out emails in a slow economy can help boost sales just high enough to last the drought.
Remember this blog isn’t about creating a thriving business in sales, it's about getting through the tough times till the drought is over so you can flourish when the economy bounces back.
Email blasts are powerful and if you can offer a discount or insight that would make someone want to buy today it may be the bump you need to get past the tough times.
If your company isn’t B2B social media can be your best friend. For example, right now mortgage rates are the lowest they have ever been.
Because of this creating quick 1-2 minute videos on social media might get you the business you need to last through this time.
I know not everyone is going to want to get on social media but it’s the most important time. If meetings are canceled start creating and spreading the word.
This is especially important if you're in sales. There is no reason not to be on social media if you're not in sales.
Take your phone out and start pumping out a video or two a day for various social media platforms.
I know it sounds crazy but it's important to start before your competition.
No one likes selling discounted products, I get it but what I do know is some sales are better than no sales.
Creating a sale with an immediate call to action is a great way to get huge discounts on anything you want.
People want to make money and offering a discount to land new contracts/sales is a great way to stimulate your business for the short term.
Be warned: don’t get too crazy with sales.
Make them first come first serve and if people miss the deadline don’t honor it unless you need the revenue.
The point of the sale is to give you a pop in revenue to weather the storm. This is the farthest thing from a long term strategy but if you need to get through the next couple of months it may be what you need to get through.
For all of you who don’t know what a lead magnet is its something like this CLICK HERE.
It’s something where you can give something away for free in return for someone’s contact information.
This is a great way to collect contact info of people who will buy in the future or even now. Its providing huge value for something you created in a couple of hours.
Now you may be curious to know how it all works together. I am going to show you.
Here is an easy example of how this can all work. I am going to sketch out exactly what I am going to do so you can replicate it. I am going to offer you my free LinkedIn 5 minute training here.
From there I am providing crazy value in exchange for your contact information.
At the end of that 5-minute training, I am going to make a crazy offer that I normally wouldn’t offer anyone. Inside of that offer, there will be an upsell to a better offer.
This is a one time deal so if they don’t take it I will never offer this offer again.
This will entice people to get ahold of my products and now if they choose not to buy I sill have their contact information to allow me to email them at a later date.
This covers all bases because if they don’t want to buy today that’s fine hopefully they will either buy tomorrow or subscribe to my social media at a later date.
Either way, both parties win. I provide huge value in exchange for an email or social media subscriber.
People will only buy if they want my services and if they don’t that’s fine too. My services aren’t for everyone.
That important to understand.
I encourage you to think of a way to take my example and build it for your company.
This could be huge for helping build sales and keeping your company growing in a time where money and business can be tight.
I hope this blog helps you and your company succeed. Feel free to leave comments and questions, I am always happy to answer!