You may be wondering if now is the time to stop selling and put your business on pause. It’s not. We have no idea how long this pandemic and global uncertainty will last or how society will change after this. But this is not the time to sit on the sidelines. This is the time to take action – action that many of your competitors may not take at all, leaving a wide open gap for you to fill. The best course is the course forward.
Use this time as an opportunity to learn, grow, and show up.
Yes, I said it. An opportunity. Not only will you come out of this more resilient (my word of the year), but you may make more profits now than you ever thought possible by bringing your business online. Of course, this is a difficult time globally so do not misunderstand me. But it’s important to look for the silver lining – the ray of sunlight peeping from beyond the dark cloud.
Think about how technology can now make your offer and messaging more appealing or help you pivot to serve your clients with their current unique needs. How can you show up for them now during a time like this? What do they need more of right now? Do not go dark on social media and fail to address the situation.
You are a leader and your audience is expecting to hear from you so you can lead them to success, just like always. Content consumption is already soaring because we all clearly have more time on our hands. I’ve noticed this on my own social media channels. So you have the ability to get in front of an even larger and more captive audience now.
Keep selling and launching.
Many entrepreneurs are scared to continue selling. You should sell right now if people need what you have and if it will help them more than ever. But you should sell without aggression or pushiness, as you always. Instead, you should sell with compassion and integrity by showing empathy, tweaking your messaging if necessary, and touching on the current state of affairs in your copy to be relevant to what is now happening. By continuing to sell, you are contributing to helping our economy by in turn, spending and infusing money back into it.
If you’re concerned about people being upset that you’re still selling, a reminder for them is that you still have bills to pay (and possibly employees) and you have free resources they can still access. But now as ever, do not let what someone else thinks dictate the course of your business. This time is far too pivotal. Remember there are many people out there who are fortunate enough to still be able to afford your product too. So do not give your services for free unless it’s for a very short period. Consider a discount but do not feel obligated to give one. This is the time though more than ever that if you have a premium product, you offer a payment plan.
Pivot so that what you’re selling is relevant to people’s current needs.
If you think what you’re selling is not what people need right now, why not come up with a twist that makes it relevant to today? For instance, if you’re a Pilates instructor and you can no longer teach in a studio because of quarantines, can you do virtual Pilates sessions instead?
No matter what you do, there is almost certainly a way to give it a virtual spin. If for some reason, there is absolutely no way to pivot, you can still ask your customer base for support. For instance, a Pilates studio can email their clientele saying they must close for safety but ask for their client’s support when they re-open or sell discounted gift cards for future services (a discount as a thank you for supporting them through a difficult time).
Plan your strategy for the next 6-12 months.
This is your time to be as productive as possible and lay the foundation for how you want your business to come out of this period so it’s important to know where you’re headed. Take time to think about how you want to really serve your audience right now. Ensure that what you have planned will speak to their needs today.