The question isn’t, “will there be another decline?” The question is, “what are you doing to strengthen your business ahead of the decline that is coming?”
Mark my words. We are not out of the woods. Economists are worried that the economy’s second-quarter high could turn into a third-quarter and fourth-quarter hangover.
While the economy re-opening provides economic relief to many industries, the pause in re-openings in response to the rise in coronavirus cases has made people fearful.
In analyzing how people are spending, Ted Rossman, an industry analyst at creditcards.com, noted in an article in U.S. News & World Report last month that “the pandemic has created economic winners and losers” with certain sectors booming and other sectors very depressed.
You cannot afford to keep operating as if everything is normal. Here are seven ways to protect yourself, preserve, and even grow your business.
- Don’t be a complacent victim. Do not sit idly by, waiting, and hoping things return to normal. Do not let fear paralyze you. Take the stance that “doing nothing” is NOT an option. Actively find new ways to generate sales and replace lost clients by learning what is working for other IT businesses and then implementing those same strategies in your own business.
- Plug the holes in your money bucket. “With the plague in full force and money tight, you cannot afford to have holes in your ‘money bucket,’” Robin Robins, Founder of Technology Marketing Toolkit said. You must check to make sure inbound leads are being captured and properly handled. You must be fanatical about calling and following up on EVERY lead, referral and other opportunities. When you find a hole, whether it’s a broken link, leads being funneled improperly or follow-up not handled correctly, you must swiftly and aggressively plug it.
- Stop thinking and behaving small. Most IT services businesses behave small, only going after small wins and one path for clients coming to them. With fewer opportunities, you must be strategic and intentional in your approach so you can generate 5X, 10X, even 20X multiple from every client, campaign, investment, and employee.
- Take advantage of the temporarily reduced digital advertising costs. One of the good things that has come from this plague is that digital advertising costs have gone down. It’s incredibly cheap to generate qualified leads fast right now. (Get instructions on how to use these strategies here)
- Offer cybersecurity and compliance packages. Two areas that are hot and booming with opportunity are cybersecurity and compliance. Between the rise of cybercrime and the ever-increasing legislation regarding compliance and data security, MSPs must take a more sophisticated and complete approach to protecting their clients. If you aren’t getting ahead of this NOW, you’ll be scrambling to catch up or be replaced by an MSP who took the initiative to get ahead.
- Automate manual processes. Are you still using manual or inefficient processes to manage your sales and lead generation processes? It’s time to improve your efficiency to increase your profits. Put the right tools in place now to do effective marketing and sales funnel management so you stop missing opportunities, dropping balls, and making more work for yourself than is necessary.
- Surround yourself with IT Professionals who view this economy as an opportunity. Get around peers in the marketplace that are actively pursuing the opportunities available today. Doing so will inspire you and give you hope because you’ll see it is possible to thrive in this economy. It will motivate you during tough times and on the difficult days. And you’ll have the right community to reach out to when you need encouragement, an answer to your questions, or clarity about what to do.
Don’t let the fear and uncertainty of what’s happening in the economy destroy the business you’ve worked so hard to build. Take steps now to preserve and protect your business NOW. When you do, you’ll not only avoid having your business and income dwindle, you’ll be able to get ahead and position yourself for explosive growth when the economy returns.
Get ahold of the Blueprint For How To Strengthen Your MSP, VAR or IT Services Business And Secure A Profitable 15% To 20% Growth This Year Despite The Growing Economic Crisis, by visiting https://www.recessionproofyouritbusiness.com/
