decision making Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Salient Sales & Training

How to overcome Brexit Blues and how the Salient ‘Plan B’ showed the way forward.

It has to be said, I am sorry, but it does have to be said.

Brexit has made a difference and will make further differences to business.

Things are changing and there are more changes to come.

But, I am not one of the doom-mongers as I believe it offers us interesting and useful opportunities. I say ‘offers’ as it is up to us whether we take those opportunities or sit back and just hope.

Whatever happens there will be change, and we need to be prepared as best we can. But prepared for what? I believe there are four indisputable facts:

Brexit will happen!
Markets will change
There will be greater focus on domestic markets
We will find ourselves competing with more UK companies as larger providers seek to replace off-shore business.

This is what happened to Salient in the last 18 months:

Five larger prospects, (£1M turnover+), were reasonably secure in my sales pipeline.
As the Brexit vote loomed, happened, and shocked the markets, these five companies retreated, not wishing to ‘spend money when the market was so unpredictable.’
My cash-flow forecast dropped considerably!
I initiated my contingency, my Plan B, and targeted the smaller businesses that tend to ‘get on with it’ no matter what the market is doing.
I had to replace one large opportunity with ten smaller ones.
It was successful, and I have now progressed to Plan C where I develop the new smaller company market, while attracting new larger opportunities.

But what of the larger companies? What will they do in this Brexit uncertainty?

I believe they will do very much as I did and look to smaller domestic markets to fill the gap in their turnover.

In other words, those who rely on domestic markets for the majority of their turnover will start to find more competition from larger suppliers.

There is another side to this. Those seeking your products or services are less likely to look off-shore for suppliers as these are likely to become more costly. Therefore, they will actively seek domestic suppliers. It could be you, if you are ready! Another point is that if they previously sourced from larger companies, they are likely to spend more than your present customers.

To summarise, this could mean for your business:

New domestic markets are likely to open up
Competition will increase for home-grown opportunities.
The new opportunities have different expectations and spending levels

Are you ready?

Is your sales team and/or your sales process the best it can be?

Your sales effort needs to be at its best; sharp; focussed; forward-thinking.

Don’t miss the boat.

If you fail to address this, others will get there first and will win the lion’s share of the new opportunities.

If you are successful in this, your business growth could be double what you would anticipate for 2018.

If you would like to discuss your experiences of this, please be in touch; call or email Andy

WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

‘It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities’, Dumbledore to Harry; J.K. Rowling

I talk to many companies and entrepreneurs about their business development. Their needs and aspirations are quite varied, but common themes do become apparent.

Most common is the need for more business; to find more customers and win more sales. This is useful as these two aspects happen to be my areas of expertise! However, a common confession from business owners and managers is the difficulty they have in making decisions. Some of these decisions are for strategic issues, such as matching products to markets, or where to obtain funding. Some decisions are less critical, but still important, such as in selecting a supplier, prioritising daily activities or when to follow-up contacts or proposals.

Demands for decisions can be both internal and external. All sorts of issues come into play, from time management, influencing skills, decision momentum and balance, to deciding priorities, urgencies and consequences. No wonder we cannot make up our minds!

“Alice came to a fork in the road. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked.
‘Where do you want to go?’ responded the Cheshire Cat.
‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered.
‘Then,’ said the Cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.” Lewis Carroll

There are some simple techniques and processes that can be applied to every decision, that should make them easier to make, quicker to resolve and ultimately much less stressful.

These can include:

Knowing yours and your businesses’ true priorities and being true to these
Establishing the difference between ‘urgent’ and ‘important’
Considering different processes and techniques; choosing the best way forward
Developing a personal decision making process that is straightforward and comfortable
Establishing background; involving stakeholders and influencers; managing expectations
The ‘laser approach’, versus ‘sheepdog focus’, or even ‘option adoption’ techniques
Applying time management skills to ensure indecision does not prevent progress
Striking the right balance between the ‘head’ and the ‘heart’ approach
Considering Transactional Analysis as a possible option for achieving the best personal outcome
Being prepared to decide not to decide, but fixing and keeping to a new decision deadline
When logic does not suit; using the ‘approach attributed to Einstein’

Some say that there are no such things as ‘wrong decisions’. They argue that whichever route we choose is the correct one, based on what we know and how we feel at the time. This approach has merit as much time, energy and stress is wasted in regretting past decisions. This forward looking approach can make a big difference to your confidence when you are challenged with more decisions to be made.

Decision making is a fascinating art (and science). Being comfortable with the process is important in order to maintain the quality of, and satisfaction in the result.

If you want to consider this further for you and your business, Salient is holding a workshop in February called ‘Decision Making – made easier’. For more details and to book, go to the events page here.

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