Episode C.015 The New You

Author's Notes
We are introducing a new format to our Show Notes and Broadcasts. We received feedback our podcasts are too long (average 26 minutes). The shows have been restructured into 13 minute segments - each with a specific objective. Segment 1: What the show will cover and why it is important. Segment 2: What do you need to know to take action. Segment 3: How do you apply it and the tools available, and Segment 4: Tips and Insights from our experience. Thanx for the Feedback and keep it coming.

​What are Today's Topics & Why is it Important?​
Objectives

1. The Current Situation
2. Turning Covid into an Opportunity
3. What the New Marketing & Sales will Become

The Current Situation
Customers
There are some people who feel social distancing is fine. The introverts like solitude, in doses and already use online to make a majority of their purchases. Extroverts are going crazy because purchasing was a social activity and were the major supporters of malls and big box stores.

Here are few critical relevant questions you must address before reopening:

• what happens if over half of your customers buy remotely?
• what is the impact on discretionary spending - the non-essentials?
• what are you doing to make alternatives more attractive and easier to purchase - quick response;
• how are you going to entice them back to your storefront?
• if you haven't reached out, it might be too late - do it anyway, do it now, and do it big & consistently;
• how do you make your offer to help consumers with their financial and psychological challenges;
• invest whatever you can in virtual presence and selling - the new normal will not be the old normal
• how much of the entire buying chain can you assume and automate - partnerships work - uber eats.

Employees
The present news environment is toxic. During normal times the using MAD (Mayhem, Anarchy, Destruction) or “if it bleeds, it leads” mindset is how news organizations decide what and how to cover events. Add to this the current political environment (orangeman bad) and the media is fully invested into creating as fear as possible. If you have been looking at the statistics, you know that what is being reported is not fact based. You will get no help from the media in your attempts to keep you or your people sane. 

Try this as a way of inoculating employees from the drumbeat of over the top news:

• even if they are receiving unemployment, sponsor once a week meetings (zoom) to discuss how they are doing, how the business is doing, and what your back to work plan is progressing;
• focus on their physical and mental health first, the business second; even your best people are under pressure and distracted - time to step in with your support - you need this core group to rebuild the business;
• provide them with work, even if on unemployment, to do for the company - you must change their thinking and that cannot be attacked directly - at first;
• help employees with their work to schedule times convenient to them;
• ask them what type of fun stuff we could do online and schedule an event they can take part in like TGIF or TGIWednesday;
• what actions can you take now to anticipate a second wave of covid at the end of the year;
• provide your own covid updates - eliminate the media generated fear with facts;
• rewrite or create a new psychological contract when restarts;
• emphasize we are in this together, business success = their success.

Turning Covid into an Opportunity
We are entrepreneurs and have been successful at turning adversity into opportunity. Since none of us created the current business environment, stop complaining and get to work. Time to make some killer lemonade from the situation by revisiting every aspect of the business. Since this is a sales show I will stay focused on the marketing and sales aspects with a light tough on employee issues.

What You Need to Do
​What the New Marketing & Sales will Become
​Here are a few things we are doing to anticipate the New Normal. Marketing and selling will revert to the pre-covid environment with significant changes. Your customers have been forced to research and buy online so you have the advantage of not taking the risk of convincing them - use it and increase your reach while reducing costs.
Here are some suggestions we are applying to our business:

1. Start with deemphasizing your top lines and focus on the basic and basic plus levels. Even though customers might have received a Covid check, that is only $1,200 which doesn’t replace even one month of salary. They might be receiving unemployment checks, but that doesn’t mask the fact that people lack the discretionary money to spend on large ticket items. This is both a current reality and a future concern. How soon will they replace the lost income?
2. Don't expect to bring people to an in-house event - they will not show up in large numbers right now. You must create online events that will attract old customers and reduce the fears of new customers. You are in competition on the following offer - “which business understands customer fears and can make it safe for them to engage”. Remember your competitive advantage is based on 2 factors - what you sell and how you sell it.
3. Completely overhaul your marketing and sales processes by making it more virtual. You can increase your reach, create a new (and expected) selling experience while reducing time and costs.
4. Create a YouTube channel for your products/services to show its use You need a video camera (smartphone will work) and process it using YouTube studio. It is simple and good enough if you can't afford anything else - the big investment is your time. Make it both informative and entertaining. Nothing is better than you, the owner, providing the message. We created a broadcast studio (microphone, mixing board, lighting, and webcam for $350) that will bring enough quality to serve the purpose.
5. Make the tough and necessary employee changes. Your good people have stuck with you while the rest have allowed government checks to delay their return. You need the right people to build a successful business around and should have an accurate picture of whom to keep. If you change the marketing and sales process to include the virtual element, that will lead to a reduced number of people required to sell and service customers. You will need fewer people, and those individuals should be obvious by now.

Next Show: Specials for Special Relationships