15 Apr Time to take stock and get ready for a strong return to business as usual

We’re in this together and most of us are now working from home and operating what can only be described as business unusual. This gives us the opportunity to make sure we’re as ready as we can be, to bounce back when things get back to normal. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

How do we do this?

In regular times, most of us spend all our time on our core activity. As long as we get close to meeting our targets, we can put off any review of our processes, because the figures are not bad enough to warrant the time out.

Covid-19 has forced us to stop. We’ve entered this strange phase, where we can’t do what we normally do. This presents us with an ideal opportunity, to analyse our critical functions and review what we do actually do. All those ‘we’ll do it tomorrow’ promises have landed. Today is the day and it must be today, because whenever tomorrow comes, we’ll need to do more than just meet our sales targets to recover, we’ll need to be super effective to bounce back and safeguard our annual results.

Most UK businesses don’t have documented processes, most new starters learn on the job. Some get lucky and crack the work code early, some don’t and fail to thrive in their new position.

Whatever your situation, whatever your industry, a review of your operating procedure is valuable and this enforced down time gives you the opportunity to do it. Ask yourself, do your staff know the answers to the following questions?

• What are the company’s objectives and how will they be achieved?
• What do you say when you’re are asked: What do you do? Would they all say the same thing?
• Do they have comprehensive knowledge of your products, services and pricing strategies?
• Do they know your value proposition and do they use it to win customers?
• Do they share their knowledge of how to handle common objections?
• Do they know how to target customers most likely to buy?
• Do they know what your sales process is?
• Do they know how to qualify leads so they don’t waste their time on ones who’ll never buy?
• Do they have access to case studies that demonstrate your best practice and how to win?
• Do they know their competitors and competitors’ product range and have strategies to beat them?

It’s worth remembering the psychological impact of isolation. Working from home is hard. We all do better and feel more focused when we have our colleagues around us and can speak to our customers face to face.  Most of us thrive on personal contact. It’s very hard to keep motivated and not let our skills get rusty as we sit out what might be a lengthy lockdown. Our entire working routine has been thrown out and as our structure has crumbled, weekdays have become indistinguishable from weekends.

We need to make sure we help each other to minimise our isolation and use this time to get ready for the great day when we can get back in the field.

Here are five things we all should do while working remotely:

• Update customer records (CRM) and tidy up all data and back office information. Remember those incomplete notes you didn’t have time to flesh out?  Now’s the time to revisit all those and make them really comprehensive
• Make an activity plan for getting back to business and resuming normal life. It’s important to have a clear strategy to pick up and win business again as soon as the doors are open
• If you’re lucky enough to have a sales playbook, now is the time to overhaul it and make sure its contents are in tiptop shape – if you don’t have a sales playbook, review any documented practices and consider how a sales playbook would be more effective and efficient
• Commit to a regime of self-improvement. An empty diary is depressing, increases anxiety and the feeling of isolation.  Whether it’s taking on some e-learning, brushing up your skills or learning about people management, diarise it, make it a regular appointment and stick to it
• Get together with colleagues online and have regular meetings to share knowledge, what you’re learning about working in isolation and practice customer scenarios

Human contact is critically important to us as social beings and isolation is robbing us of the opportunity to feel like a community.  We can all take action to combat this, by meeting online and making sure we’re ready to bounce back strongly when we get the all clear.

Remember, you’re not alone, we’re all in this together.

Thanks to our guest blogger Matt Garman from The SalesEnabla Team. SalesEnabla is the online Sales Playbook to get your sales people motivated and engaged. Smart selling is everyone knowing what, when, why and how and doing it every time.