What to Do When Business Slows Down
But, what happens when the work dries up and you hit a quiet period which may be explainable by seasonality or simply unexplainable? It can be an altogether different and less manageable kind of stress related to panic, helplessness, uncertainty, self doubt etc… So, what should you do in these periods? How can you deal with these difficult, quiet business periods? Well, below you will find 6 great things to do during a business quiet period.
1.More, Better Marketing
This is an obvious one. You’ll need to increase your marketing activity which means marketing through the channels which have proved most effective such as direct marketing, for which you may need to invest in new marketing collateral such as printed envelopes. You might also want to start to contact old clients or existing clients to try and up sell more services.
Also, you might want to review your marketing activities. Has your quiet period come off of the back of a very busy period, during which you neglected marketing in favour of getting your product out the door. Perhaps you need to develop a more a balanced marketing plan which is more evenly distributed across the year which could help to mitigate quiet periods.
2.Exercise (especially team sports)
Studies show that you you will be more productive and motivated on days that you have exercised, so if necessary, step up the gym visits to two or three times a week to boost that energy. Consider taking up a team sport like football, hockey, rugby, doubles tennis, handball etc… as you will be able to both exercise and do some soft networking in the process.
3. Chase money
Chasing payment and outstanding invoices is always good, but it can be an especially rewarding activity during quiet periods as it can help to plug potential cash flows gaps and it can give you a clear focus and objective.
4. Remember, that you are not alone
Remember you are not alone. All business go through quiet periods. Join a business support group or actually attend a meeting for moral support if necessary. Step up the networking and get out and engage with winners, that’s other business people who are succeeding. Their enthusiasm and positive energy will be infectious and don’t be afraid to be parasitic as you can return the favour when you business is booming again.
5. Accept it and plan for it
There may be unavoidable quiet periods such as the summer period when customers and clients go on holiday. Why not plan for this and encourage staff to vacation at these times, reduce staffing levels and perhaps focus on making efficiency improvements to the business.
6.Make Efficiency Improvements
This is a key area to focus on. See quiet periods as an opportunity to increase efficiency and earning potential so you can be a more profitable business. For example, review your marketing processes and find out which marketing channels are most and least effective. Perhaps you need to step up marketing in some areas at the expense of marketing in other less rewarding areas. Also, look at your processes, can you introduce new technologies or ways of working that will make your business more efficient, thereby increasing cost savings and profitability? Can you introduce new products and services or improve existing ones to increase revenue?
As you can see, there’s is no need to panic during a quiet period in your business, there plenty of actions you can take which will: improve your state of mental well being, increase the likelihood of new work, increase profitability or reduce the chance of this quiet period occurring again. See quiet periods as opportunities not problems.
