| Home | Articles | Newsletter | Services | Contact | Links |
| Build | Promote | Profit | Planning | Getting Started |
Managing to Achieve More in Times of Less
Peter Murphy
Do you remember your first recession? I do! I was managing
a small electrical store in an unemployment black spot. At
the time a lot of people were worried about the future
because on the TV and in the newspapers the news was
generally bad news: "The economy is slowing, the outlook
is grim, and the sky is falling."
I didn't realize that things were as bad as they were made out
to be. In fact I thought business conditions were normal,
I was fresh out of college with big plans for a bright future.
I was also too busy learning how to manage staff, order
stock and keep the customers happy to have any time left
for following the news. I was lucky.
Instead I was reading business books in my free time and
expecting the store to do better each month and each year.
And somehow we seemed to do better despite the economic
environment. Looking back now, I can understand how we
did it.
We focused consistently on improving all the time,
merchandising, customer care and sales skills all received a
lot of attention. And when customers were few and far
between, whoever did walk into our store got the best
service in town. We were naive in one sense and that meant
that we expected people to buy from us not the competition.
Consequently we all had a very positive attitude, we never
talked about business being slow instead we talked about
ways to improve.
Economic slowdowns are a time of great opportunity for
anyone who can stay focused on building their business.
The competition is just as scared as you are and they are
just as concerned as you are when quarterly sales are down
year on year. The good news is that all this fear and worry
about the future can mean that your competitors may let
their standards slip.
It is human nature to retreat in times of contraction and it is
obviously intelligent to trim overheads when business slows
however problems begin when you start trying less because
times are slow. It soon becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy -
less commitment, leads to less business. "I was right, times
are slow!"
When I managed the store, we had merchandising strategies,
regular promotions and special offers just like our
competitors did. The only difference was that we went for it
100%. If I visited my competitors' stores, I could quickly see
that I really had no competition. A promotion might be
running but the staff was taking it easy because they knew
that business was slow. They were no longer giving 100%
day in and day out, standards were falling just ever so
slightly but enough to be noticeable.
If your competitors are having a time out until the economy
picks up then be grateful for the opportunities they are
handing you. Meanwhile make sure you and your staff are
still giving your best and maintaining high standards. Do
this by ensuring that everyone knows exactly what is
expected of him or her, make it measurable or it won't get
done. Expect a lot and you are more likely to get it!
Peter Murphy is a freelance business writer. He publishes a
free weekly ezine full of practical tips for communicating at
your best under pressure. All new subscribers receive a free
e-book with powerful strategies for being at your best.
To subscribe send a blank email to:
AbolishShynessToday-subscribe@topica.com
Grab your FREE Home Based Business
Fill out the form below and you will receive.......
Resource Kit from JDA Publishing.
