eBusiness Weekly
Arthur Marara
Part II
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”. This statement was uttered by John F Kennedy at the height of the Cold War when he was challenging the American nation to support the space race. The statement emphasises something key, that the things that will bring about the change that you want to see in life are not easy, they are hard. It’s not easy being in business, it’s hard.
This is also a time for true business leaders to stand out and to be counted. Doing business in Zimbabwe has not been easy, and this started long before even Covid-19 came into existence. This article is a continuation from my article last week, where I started the conversation on how to survive in business during tough times.
#5 Tighten your relationship with your existing customers
The last thing that you want during this period is to lose customers. There is a general tendency by some business to stop servicing their existing and loyal customer during tough times.
The general gloomy atmosphere in your business ends up catching on the clients as they are the recipients of shoddy services or products. This is the reason why as a business leader, you need to take care of your employees. Your employees are the face of your business. More than ever before this is the time to reach out even more to your clients, and to strengthen your relationship with customers. Communicate with your customers, engage them, find out what is going on in their world and most importantly of all, gain clarity into the customer’s needs. Commercial enterprise is not about sellers, it’s about buyers (customers). Your team needs to be alive to this fact, and never to take casually any customers that the business has. The focus should be to match the wants and needs of customers with the interests and passion of the business.
#6 Don’t wait for business, chase business.
This is really the right time to go out and chase after the business. Do not just wait for business to come, go out and chase after business. Be proactive. Business development can also grind to a halt during this time if inadequate measures are put in place to cultivate this side of business. This will literally mean doom for the business. Heighten up your business development and push through the hard times. Getting new projects, or some new clients may just change the trajectory of your business during these tough times.
#7 Choose your associations well
You need to be careful whom you spend your time with during this time. Though there is social distancing and other measures during this time, there are still people who travel to spend time with their colleagues. My advice is, be selective when it comes to people who take your time. Choose people who bring healthy and better conversations. Avoid people who carry doom news all the time. There are people who are consistently negative. They only ever focus on what they do not have as opposed to what they have. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the negativity. Find the positive, proactive and energetic business owners who are passionate about transforming their life.
#8 Try something different
Tough times also show you what works and what does not work. The tragedy is when you hold on and even work hard on what does not work. Do not be afraid of change or trying something new. Try ideas outside of your comfort zone and look to others for advice. There is a great resistance for change in many business, especially changing what made sense to them for several years. People resist being changed by change. As a result, most people would rather be ruined than changed.
It is Machiavelli who once said that, “Whoever desires constant success must constantly adjust to the changes in the environment.” The truth about life and business is you have to change with the change or you will die. My advice to you is Change to Change, Change with Change and Change for Change. When changes takes place you have to change as well. “One key to successful leadership is continuous personal change. Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment.” (Robert Quinn). I want to close this week’s article with a quote on change: “Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may have to gain by giving that up.” —James Belasco and Ralph Stayer
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Arthur Marara is a corporate law attorney, keynote and peak performance speaker, business strategy facilitator commanding the stage with his delightful humour, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. He is a financial wellness expert and is passionate about addressing the issues of wellness, sales, business leadership and strategy. Arthur is the author of the “Personal Development Toolkit”, “Keys to Effective Time Management” among other inspirational books. Follow him on social media, or WhatsApp him on +263718867255 or email [email protected]
