ImagesMagUK_November_2020

www.images-magazine.com NOVEMBER 2020 images 35 KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Sales are down, but profit margins are up. This is mainly due to shops being forced to lean out the labour and do more with less. As we collectively stare down the rest of 2020, my wish for you is that your leadership brain is already thinking about next year. Strategy and planning need to happen now. So many things have changed. You are seeing that now. The 800lb gorilla in the room is the question: “What are you going to do about it?” High-impact actions now can have huge dividends in 2021. Actions to take ■ Automate Remove labour and streamline services or workflow your processes. ■ Digital investment Invest heavily in a webpage, online stores, or any digital communication method of working with customers. ■ Cross-train more staff Gone are the days where your crew only had one focus. You need help in other areas and to build your bench strength for key positions. ■ Rebuild for speed How can you do things faster, but with better quality? Simplify. ■ Hire right There are fantastic people out there that are jobless due to Covid. They may not be in your area. You can instantly add talent, skill, knowledge, and reputation to your company by bringing new staff on board. ■ Map technology changes – to customer needs. ■ Critical thinking Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” ■ Flex your marketing muscles As other companies are pulling Marshall Atkinson is a production and efficiency expert for the decorated apparel industry, and the owner of Atkinson Consulting and co-founder of Shirt Lab, a sales and marketing education company, with Tom Rauen. He focuses on operational efficiency, continuous improvement, workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation, management and sustainability. www.atkinsontshirt.com back, now is the time to get ahead. Remember, your marketing has to be about how you solve your customers’ problems and how you make them the hero. How are they going to feel after working with you? 2020 will go down forever as the year where the wheels completely blew off the bus. Let’s get past it. Start the process of rethinking your sales and marketing for next year. This needs to happen now. Get out in front of it. Talk to your customers, especially ones that ordered from you in the first quarter of previous years. Lead with empathy. Let’s tame the next normal.