Businesses have endured months of frustration due to the ongoing pandemic.
Some business owners and leaders, however, have demonstrated resiliency in the face of so much uncertainty. They allow themselves to feel the frustration for some time, but then ask themselves:
"What can I learn from this? What is the next step that I can be working on?"
In other words, they get resilient at handling the frustration that comes with uncertainty.
Statflo's Chief Revenue Officer, Scott McArthur, recently sat down with President of Pono Learning, David Snyder, to discuss how business leaders can develop a roadmap to innovation, renewal, and recovery.
David has been through his fair share of uncertainty. The framework for decision making that he shares in this webinar is anchored in 40+ years of crises and periods of successful renewal.
There are effectively three paths you can take when in uncharted territory:
You need to discern between two buckets of change: 1) temporary change and 2) permanent change.
For example, as a retailer, a one-to-one, employee-customer ratio in a store is likely a temporary change until a vaccine is available or until positive cases come to a screeching halt.
On the other hand, stocking up on hand sanitizer and making it readily available for customers and employees alike is probably a permanent change.
Because this situation evolves so rapidly, you will have to revisit this exercise on a regular basis. What once was thought to be temporary could very quickly become permanent change, and vice versa.
As a leader, you should know that the right balance of people, process, and systems drives action. People perform tasks using processes and systems to achieve certain objectives.
The human factor encompasses three elements: 1) yourself 2) your team and 3) your customers.
When it comes to you, you need to ask yourself "what do I miss doing?". Equally important, you need to ask yourself "what do I not miss doing?". Take inventory of the things you don't miss and drop them forever or delegate them to your team. Conversely, double down on those things that you do miss and that are a great use of your time.
With regards to your team, ask yourself "does my team have the right attitude?". Like you, some of your employees have demonstrated resilience and creativity beyond expectation. Reward them for their effort and coach others to the same behavior.
Similarly, you should ask yourself "is my team playing in the right position?". Phil Jackson led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships because he knew exactly how to turn player vulnerabilities into strengths. Know where your team should play; someone with a nurturing personality may be best suited for a customer support role rather than a sales role.
"If you always do what you did at the beginning of a relationship, there will never be an end."
Lastly, you need to make sure you haven't fallen off the "mind-map" of your customers. For better or for worse, you may not have engaged with your customers for weeks or even months now. It's time you get back on their radar and nurture them just like you did when you first won their business.
Audit all your products and services and judge your offering objectively. Ask your team to do the same to avoid bias. Rank your offering using the following framework:
Connection increases trust, trust increases relationships, and relationships increase sales. You need to reconnect with your customers with 1) a clear call-to-action that isn't tone deaf to the current situation 2) community involvement and 3) customer outreach.
David realizes your situation is unique, so he's offering a free, one-hour consultation to talk through your challenges. Book your free consultation today.
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