So we now know what the UK Governments five tests are before they unlock lockdown and thankfully it feels like we are edging closer with non-essential retail stores being given the green light from mid-June.
My question to you today is this: “What are your 5 tests before you bring your sales force back?” if indeed you have had to furlough them at all.
It certainly feels that sales and marketing took a very big hit from day one as companies either didn’t feel comfortable to be seen selling during this time of crisis or maybe just couldn’t make contact with their potential audiences as many sectors went into a complete tailspin. What are the triggers and what needs to happen (or you to be convinced of) to bring them back to get your business moving forward again? Are there any temperature checks that you have designed before you release this expensive resource?? To be honest I’m having the same conversations with my team.
To be completely candid we have clients ‘on pause’ and they have all confirmed they are returning but cannot confirm exactly when because there are still too many unknowns. They don’t want to come back and regret it, being too soon and have the awkward conversation with us to stop again. Conversely they don’t want to be last out of the blocks either…. this got us thinking about how we could solve this problem and have come up with the following solution:
From the 15th of June we are offering our existing clients and prospects the opportunity to ‘dip their toe’ with a trial, to understand if we can answer any of their unknowns, the questions could be as simple as:
- Are my prospects back to work yet, and will they take a call?
- What is happening within my target market Now? What’s Next for them? and When do they expect some kind of Normality to return?? (NOW, NEXT & NORMAL are great questions to be asking customers and prospects right now)
- Are my competitors already out in front of my clients and prospects?
- Does my target Decision Maker’s job title still exist, if not who has taken over?
- Do they have any idea of what their future demand might be?
In summary, what is it going to confidently take to bring your expensive teams back?
If you wanted to join our test, please feel to message us via this link to discuss: Contact Us
Many thanks for reading, stay safe and keep positive
Andrew
