ImagesMagUK_November_2020

34 images NOVEMBER 2020 www.images-magazine.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT you remember the ‘retail apocalypse’ that everyone has been talking about for the last few years? It’s here. Physical retail stores everywhere are closing. Most for good. ■ Online sales are insane, and only growing larger. ■ Digital communication is at an all-time high. How many Zoom calls are you in a week? ■ As companies lean down their staff, they are increasingly outsourcing the work to other companies. Is that you? ■ As workers have lost their jobs, people everywhere are trying to make ends meet with gig economy work. ■ To me, it seems that trust is at an all-time low. A lot of this has to do with either a lack of information or too much contradictory information. This means that for a lot of consumers, they are simply stuck with a ‘wait and see’ attitude. How are you building trust? Take control of 2021 This year is virtually over. I want to get to 2021 already. I can’t help but think the air in that year might even smell better. Yeah, I know. I’m too optimistic. Some food for thought Service industries are going to explode. Especially companies that deliver. People are getting used to having goods and services brought to them. Fact: I just had my gas grill propane tanks switched out and I didn’t have to go somewhere for the refill. Get your company set up to rank with voice search. Your webpage could be your most valuable sales asset. How’s yours? When was the last time you updated it? Do you like the location of your business? As more real estate properties emerge for sale or lease, you could upgrade your address to a better location. Be ready. Many companies are hurting for sales. Can you partner with a company to offer a new product or service? All problems in front of you can also be viewed as opportunities. Are you open to them? Nervous energy I’m talking to many business owners and everyone that I speak with seems more optimistic lately. There’s nervous energy. We all know the stink of 2020 is going to carry over. It’s not like New Year’s Eve 2020 is some sort of magical bubble wall. But the point of this article is that I am lobbying you to stop trying to get back what you’ve lost this year. The fact is that 2021 will be here before you know it and you need to be thinking about the first quarter of next year, right now. Why? Because your competition isn’t yet. Actually, I don’t think many business people are even thinking about January and beyond. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, holiday sales, fourth quarter results, and other big business landmark dates are eclipsing that thought. Think back to January of this year. How was that month for you? I know, it feels like five years ago. Jump into your system and run a report. Maybe pull up 2019 and 2018 too. Who ordered? Are those customers still around? If you think 2020 was awful, just wait until you stare at the beginning of 2021 and realise that it already looks really empty. Thanks a lot, Covid. You better stop protecting 2020 and start thinking about getting a jump on 2021.