Maybe it’s been business as usual despite closed showrooms. Maybe sales have remained steady, or even picked up as storefronts are slowly opening again. There’s been a wave of pent-up demand and customers ready to spend money again. But this surge of business is deceptive. It’s imperative to be aware of the back side of COVID-19: unemployment, decrease in demand, and an economy that’s not bouncing back. It’s dangerous to continue with old work habits and marketing strategies when the world is changing so much, so fast.

It’s time to buckle down and prepare for, even anticipate tough economic times ahead. Business won’t come knocking at the door as often as it used to. If you want your company to survive, you have to work harder and smarter.

Where should you focus your efforts?

1. Reassess your sales team’s activities on a daily basis. What are they doing between sales? What are their goals? What do they do when business is slow? How many builders are assigned to their accounts? Have you ever made an assessment in regards to the amount of time it takes a sales person to offer a quote back to an active customer? The companies that take the time to think this through and strategize will survive. The companies that are living on dated sales styles will struggle because they can’t recognize the change in employee habits and tasks.
   
2. Build metrics around the quote process. Determine how quickly your sales team is responding to clients with quotes, as well as how many quotes they’re providing. What follow-up is occurring after a quote is given? These are key pieces of information that will make a huge difference.
   
3. Set individual sales goals and know where your business is coming from (retail sales, builder sales, designer leads). We think that a sales person will only be as busy as the number of people walking through the door – we need to get out of that mindset. Do your sales people have a good balance between B2B and B2C? What are the percentages? A good balance can set the tone for strong sales goals. Reassess and refocus if necessary.

When you begin to recognize that things are not as they once were, your priority is to pause, assess, and have a strategic mindset. Study and observe the industry in its current state, and do your best to make predictions about the future. Build a new strategy. If you need help seeing the bigger picture and staying ahead of the changes in your industry, we’d be glad to talk to you.