These are interesting times. With schools, public events and even businesses in a “holding pattern” the time to plan for the future is actually NOW. There are a lot of unknowns in the world. Will we ever go to a movie theater again? Will it be safe to travel on an airplane again? Will my favorite restaurant keep its doors open? There have been furloughs and lay-offs recently to save businesses money, but in turn that leaves the employed to now do the work of 2 or maybe even 3 people. Financial burdens have left a lot of companies wondering how long they can keep this up without having to shut down completely.
It’s a cliché but true: time is the most valuable resource. And we have been afforded that resource in this odd “downtime” of the economy. But are you spending it wisely? If you are constantly having marketing email brochures and sales reps update presentations daily, that’s time you could have spent on revenue-generating projects.
The need to plan and organize is NOW. I say this because there is never a better time than the present to prepare for when business increases again. And it WILL increase. It’s time to refocus your messaging, your outreach to existing customers and how your sales reps are presenting new opportunities. Along with all of this, by not taking the pre-emptive steps to be ready for the “new” normal you need to weigh the Cost of Doing Nothing (CODN). There are so many businesses right now that are simply being reactive and on to the next “emergency”. Many business leaders know there is an important decision that needs to be made, but the only decision that is being made is to do nothing. This has catastrophic consequences. Are your sales reps prepared to not be on the road? Do they know how to run a virtual meeting? It’s this type of preparedness that we all need to have the knowledge and tools to be successful.
Manufacturing is stopping for months at a time. What are you doing with these unused hours? I fully understand the need to be cautious, but it’s the need to be effective and strategic with this unexpected blessing of time. Don’t make the use of this time frozen with inaction because you want to make sure you make the right decision rather than a decision.
Take a look at recent decisions that might have been delayed and ask yourself this:
- For example, do you know your sales reps aren’t following up on quotes, but you aren’t putting simple procedures in place to make that happen?
- Are you spending a lot of time and money on print collateral and meeting prep that will never see the light of day?
- Do you know your marketing efforts and outreach need improvement, but that it’s easier to keep doing nothing?
What is the cost of doing nothing really costing YOU?
Companies are ready to see the economy booming again. A step in the right direction would be to get your sales and marketing teams the resources and technology now to be effective with remote selling and virtual meetings. In turn, the processes you put in now can easily be adapted for the “new” normal when we go back to face-to-face engagements. Remote selling was kind of taboo prior to this quarantine, but now, I guarantee at least 90% of your salesforce knows what Zoom and Microsoft Teams is. Sure it isn’t ideal, we’d all like to be out there shaking hands and talking in an office or in-the-field, but preparing your sales staff with the right tools to run those meetings and close deals has proven to be invaluable.
Innovation is the real power in today’s world, and speed is the new business currency. Bluecrest Inc. put it so eloquently, “Failing to re-invest back in the business – in people, technology and workflow processes – is a recipe for your position in the market to shrink and become less relevant.” With sales enablement and digital transformation, ROI cannot be the primary criteria for decision making. In the current business environment, the cost of doing nothing is unaffordable. Inaction today leads to an uncertain future. You will in turn see the ROI you expect with the productivity gained from your remote salesforce.
Make a decision. Make the decision to take a fraction of what would’ve been your print budget or trade show budget for next year and invest in sales tools that will help your company now and beyond. With a solution like Command.App, your sales reps are able to give high-impact presentations designed to close sales, remotely. They have a custom branded presentation solution that presents your entire company portfolio from an easy-to-use interface that allows the buyer to choose the path they’re interested in. This allows them to get to the right information at the right time, instantly. Amazingly, it’s more than just the presentation of company solutions. The ability to capture and share information with the drag & drop form builder, quote builders and competitive comparison calculators; sales reps can now go from presenting to closing a sale in one meeting. All of this is launched to your entire rep and distributor network on the phones and laptops they already use everyday, presenting a cohesive message that is streamlined to your company’s messaging.
And with compatibility of numerous virtual meeting software platforms on the market (including Cisco WebEx, Zoom, Microsoft Team, Skype and more), using the situational sales enablement design that Command.App has in the platform makes it easy to display your laptop screen or tablet effectively even when we can’t be face-to-face. Best of all, Marketing has the power to update the most relevant content and deploy it out to your salesforce with the click of a button. This ensures everyone has all of the necessary information to close sales quickly.
While most companies might choose to trim spending during a downturn, smart companies have determined which processes and technologies bring the highest return, and will continue investing in these. In fact, they may choose to increase such investments, taking advantage of their weaker “do nothing” competitors, who are likely to cut spending in most areas. The processes and technologies that have the highest return are the platforms that serve industries that are innovative, focused on mission-critical processes and continue to enhance their business performance.
Doing nothing is a choice, and an easy choice at that – just realize the competition may decide that inaction is simply too risky.
To learn more about how Command.App can enhance your sales processes and efficiencies for remote selling and sales enablement, schedule a demo today.