Your number one job right now is to:
Remind your prospects and clients that you are still in business.
Because your competition is.
You know that they are talking to your prospects and clients.
However, if you are not to be pulled by your nose. And are looking for a way to leverage this shutdown into your favor. Read on…..
And looks like Google is helping small businesses. And you should see if they are helping you by looking in your Ad account and you might have a credit.
So I have been holed up in the Spider Cave, AKA Coaches Office, AKA War Room since day one, almost 16 hours daily.
Producing my normal duties but also investigating opportunities and business
multipliers that I can pass onto you.
Luckily I have virtual access to some of the best marketers in the world. And my clients are pretty impressive also.
So I am going to share with you what you should probably be doing right now.
Brainstorm your pivot.
What was working a month ago most likely no longer works today.
Look who most likely found an item on Alibaba and made it into a “thing” for the age.
Pivot or die!
So there is a strip club in Oregon.
The shutdown came and the owner got creative. He had a restaurant attached to his club that actually had a loyal following.
So he converted the club to home delivery by scantily clad es-stripper delivery girls. They still have a job because of creative owners.
More Pivots
How To Discover Your Pivot
Freely brainstorm without critique your list on how you can add value to the marketplace. Many often get stuck here.
Do not judge your ideas.
Then go back and see what your tribe would like.
One way to do this is to assess your value stack.
What do you offer?
Break it down. All of the mundane to the extravagant.
Now go into your past and list your favorite passions.
How do you spend your time either in your spare time over the years.
I got this idea from Scott Adams in his book.
He was trained in hypnosis, economics, he was an executive for a bank, and a cartoonist, author and keynote speaker. And most recently a blog and vlogger with hundreds of thousands of fans.
You can see how I have tapped my stack by often tapping into my coaching for examples. Even calling myself Coach Tim interchangeably.
If I was to consider my own mother. She colunteered and put together wildly successful fund raisers for the church, was President of the womens club there, and then spent the last 20 years of her life
helping to lead, create and
But you will see value bombs given out by business people that have little to do with their business directly.
Years ago when Facebook was just getting their Advertising up and running. I recall reading a piece by Ad guru Perry Marshall.
He is a libertarian type at heart. He discovered that many who are fans of him. Also are fans of the rock band Rush. The common thread. A common libertarian
mindset. Even though neither the band or Perry spoke much about that.
But Perry knew if he mentioned Rush related tidbits. Like his favorite song being Tom Sawyer or 2120 That he could align with or mirror his audiences values.
Much of what attracts your tribe to you, is not your service or your products. It is you.
You leave behind a trail of attributes that is attractive to an audience that cares or values those attributes.
So why hide them?
Contact Your Tribe and Lead
So I have spent lots of time identifying what the world is doing to keep business flowing. In fact I will be releasing soon a study I did on my local area businesses. And
honestly. It is depressing.
I talked to a long time pal the other day.
He owns car washes.
He told me that they tried to open with just exterior washes and it didn’t really pick up. So last I heard and saw as I drove by it is closed.
No banners, just closed.
Well. Maybe because nobody knows he opened. Unless they drive by the location.
I found the same thing driving through a part of town today. Lots of low volume marketing if any.
This shutdown has installed confusion into your markets.
Your job is to ease the confusion into clarity that you are still relevant in their day to day life.
Who is open? who is essential? So not only are you confused if you can open. But your clients and customers are.
And why you need to let them know.
And if this is not a giant reminder:
You need an email list and regular communications
You need a social media presence
You need to start capturing text opt-installed
You need to snail mail
You need to blog
In times of crisis like today we need to do it all.
Get on the phone. Text your tribe individually.
I have reached out to my clients and close friends through text, phone, and social, and email.
To let them know I am doing this daily. And that we all need to
have courage, and for them to pass that onto their tribe.
A text message to my friends car washing community would had got more visitors than their A+ location.
Since that location is no longer a reminder to wash their car, since few are on the streets.
Delete your assumptions.
The Corona Pattern Interupt
Businesses depend on habits
The dermatologist or aestecian depends on the bi yearly addiction.
The habit.
Get your 6 month dental cleaning.
Habits.
Dry Cleaning on Monday.
Car Wash Saturday.
Pest Guy Tuesday.
Lawncare Thursday.
We all have our clients who depend on those physical reminders that you and I are extremely relevant in our markets.
then an invisible bug and fear come along and your relevancy may not be such a big deal.
For example, Why wash the car if I am not in it that much anymore?
Why a text message offer of a discount or added perceived value would be in order. (I typically do not suggest discounting and instead to add bonus value).
Your mission is to make your business a habit again. The source for market information.
That might be an issue when they cannot visit your place of business.
And understand that I am not saying that you can neccesarily still operate your business. As an example, Realtors in most places cannot show houses.
So when I use the word pivot I mean it!
So I recall during the 2008 crisis that a long time Realtor friend told me that she pivoted from real estate office to Broker Price Opinion office. Many banks were short selling houses or foreclosing and
needed a cheaper appraisal which arguably is a better gauge of value anyway.
She told me that she had to keep her people busy and they were doing $20,000 a month. This was about a year before almost all agents were forced into doing it.
I am pretty sure she did not have a dream of being a pseudo appraisar for her business. But she did it for awhile until maybe she did a series of pivots until
thins settled back to normal.
I was reading one of James Altucher’s books. He has many so I cannot tell you what one.
He is really good at getting the reader to get out of linear thinking. Take off all your walls and confines.
And consider anything is possible right now.
So he described an Uber driver that made a quarter milliong dollars a year.
How does an Uber driver do that much being a pseudo taxi driver?
$25k as an Uber driver, and $200k selling his jewelry for his store.
Think outside the false walls of your box.
The other issue that plagues you and I , unless you are superhuman. Is fear.
An invisible bug scares us all.
Understand that a big part of the population are permanently scared of the Koodies.
That opens up new demands like curbside service and delivery for many of our purchases.
Why go into a 7-11 when you can call, text or buy online and get it in the parkinglot. Or better yet. Have it delivered to your porch. And if 7-11 will not do it.
Another competitor will.
How does the smalltown Hardware store survive against the big box guys like Loes or Home Depot?
How about curbside or delivery?
This is no longer a choice.
We knew that most California restaraunts were headed for closure before this massive disruption.
Now according to the San Jose 30,000 restaraunts are predicted to close from this crisis. How does the already dead die?
But I digress.
But what about other businesses like Cosmetic Surgeons and Realtors.
How will you pivot? The future is somewhat predictable.
You know your restrictions.
May I offer some advice and that is getting positive responses.
Let your tribe know that not only are you still here to serve.
But that you are grateful for their business and hopeful for their safety and health and wealth.
Your Competition is Talking to Your Cleints and Prospects. What Are You Doing?
When this ends in a month or several. Will you be stuck in quick sand or will you come out sprinting.
Goldman Sachs predicts that this will be the fastest and biggest recovery in history.
Let’s make sure you get to partake in the good side of this story. And you can do that by delivering value to your marketplace now.
How
All of your communications must state two things:
1. That you are still in business
2. And how you are pivoting
Examples:
A cosmetic surgeon is communicating that their dental lab is claener than anywhere else and why.
Another medical pro told me he spends a small fortune on just on keeping the surroungins and linen clean. (this is his Artesian Water)
One client has a business that implies in office meeting consultations. Other than his persuasion advantages there really is no reason to meet when you can do it on the phone or Skype.
Others are providing consults in the same theme of what they usually provide anyway. One Doctor is pivoting by consulting over the phone on increasing your immunity during Covid!
All of these must be put prominently into every communication and platform that you use.
Socials
Google My Business
Yelp
Text
Chatbots
Email
etc.
Banners on front of building
Your past clients are your most important asset. Too many have impotent systems for communication. I just cajoled a client to put together his past client list.
Unfortunately it was not in a useable format and he had to get it scraped and we are uploading it to an email provider. He has over 5,000 names.
He agreed that there is definitely money in that list.
Other opportunities:
Network your tribe.
Additionally there are other social networks that hide gold. The obvious spots may show opportunity. Like niche specific groups in Facebook or LinkedIn.
However, there is money in sites like Alignable and NextDoor. It was just recently that I shot a referral over to a local realtor friend on a large investment deal which she closed.
https://www.godaddy.com/open-we-stand
https://www.uschamber.com/co/start/strategy/small-business-resources-for-surviving-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR2iEyFk5gcB8I5hmrfQ5XdfJT__V-2sLlJNTJ_rL-Z_ATSD2OOQUWT8E7M
https://www.chatmeter.com/blog/important-google-disabling-all-reviews-responses-until-further-notice/
https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/google-unveiled-a-massive-stimulus-program-of-its-own-including-340-million-for-small-businesses.html?fbclid=IwAR1ewg3DgSI7-TZI35z9jICCsw4foxHzXKRDtyPmJ7UNQsBZMD4avPUZpRk
Google My Business (GMB) are changing it seems on a daily basis.
Many businesses are not going into the GMB and changing their in business information.
I suggest under info that you state on the first line. That you are in business and operating by phone or take out or however.
Google gives you the option to state that you are temporarily closed.
Restaurants can add “delivery available” or “takeout available” to your business name.
Many GMBs are not acting as you might expect. Easy additions do not add. Posts might get rejected, SOme whom say that they are temporarily closed did not say that. No new reviews
Photos may not show. GMB is fluid by the day. So if something is not working or wrong. It may not be tommorrow and then will be the next day. Keep checking.
Job One is to tell your tribe that you are still in business.
In fact, it is your obligation.
Then update your assets or what an SEO expert knows as your entities. Socials, Yelps , GMBs, etc.
For Bonus make a statement how you are conducting business. I call it the Artesian Well Method. The story Pabst Beer used that framed them as diferent. (see article here near bottom
https://www.spiderjuicetechnologies.com/…/selling-the-invi…/
Header is Describe Your Process with a video below)
)
Use email, txt , phone with regularity. How about them chatbots? Do not lot let the circumstances get your tribe out of habit. Or to frame the situation.
Right now your tribe is creating bad habits that do not include your solutions. Consider some of your own consumer habits:
Friday is date night
Tuesday is house cleaning
Wed and Fri is clothes washing and dry cleaner pick up and drop
Th. is car wash day
Every 3 months I visit my dermatologist and or eastetician
I workout at the gym at 6am 5 days a week
Even compulsions like I need to buy a house by end of Spring.
these are getting obliterated right now.
I counseled a Realtor the other day that guys like me perceive real estate as a dead market. There is no market. I think of the Steven Crowder videos. Prove Me Wrong.
And please do not comment that you just closed a house the other day. That was Januaries fruits. IF you do not get busy now, your June is gonna suck.
Because know this. Your competition is doing the above right now with one of your prospects.
Its like keep your wife happy or someone else will.
Ready, set, go. #pivot`