Tough Economic Times Can Often Be The Best Times For Great Companies!
Simon Bowen
Codifying Your Unique Genius Into Powerful Visual Models | Founder of The Models Method | Speaker, Advisor & Author | Host of "The Wisdom Of..." Podcast
Tough Economic Times Can Often Be The Best Times For Great Companies!
There’s a lot of commentary going on right now about where things are headed.? Inflation, rising interest rates, political and social unrest and more.? Against that backdrop, we’re now seeing all the predictions coming out about global recessions and collapsing asset values.
Is it all doom and gloom and what should you do?
The Boom And Bust Cycle
We all live in a cycle that moves back and forth between boom and bust.? At any point in time, we are somewhere along that continuum.? To be successful in business, you have to be able to sell successfully in any economic condition.? So, let’s examine something interesting across the boom and bust conditions.
Company Growth In A Boom Market
Let’s imagine your total buying market as a simple circle.
Everyone who could possibly buy what you do is in that circle somewhere.
You enter the market and you work to try and take a share of that market.
The customers you win were not sitting in a vacuum waiting for you.? They were buying from someone else and you won them away from that company.? Well done!
As any market rises towards boom conditions, all participants enjoy increased success.? On top of that, a lot of new entrants come into the market.? In these boom times, we commonly hear companies talk about how much growth they’ve had, the success they’ve created and what they plan to do going into the future.
The problem is that there is often more hubris in this thinking than there should be.? It’s also true that some of the entrants in the market don’t really deserve to be there, but there was so much business around, they were able to make it work.
If we look at the boom model it looks something like this.
The market grows naturally and, along with it, each company experiences growth.? Did they create this, or was it just a natural by-product of market growth?
The only true company growth in any market is when that growth is disproportionate to natural market growth, or the growth rate of the competitors in the market.
Company growth in a boom market can be misleading and can create a false comfort zone.
Company Growth In A Bust Market
When markets contract we get to see who the best players in the market really are.? The companies that lack resilience and authentic transformational value fall away.? There is a clearing out and the best companies have an opportunity to take true market share.
True growth occurs when you take an additional slice of the pie, without the pie getting any bigger.
领英推荐
The ability to both capitalise on a boom market AND take additional share in a bust market, is what makes any business economically robust.? In sales, you MUST be able to do both … without just dropping your price to do so.
What is The Key To Economically Robust Sales?
The secret to sales in either a boom or bust market, can often come down to a single, significant idea - Conceptual Superiority!
What does that mean?
People want three, main things:
Now, whilst no one really wants to admit it, most people want to win.? They want something others don’t have; they want a bigger, better, brighter solution; they want to be able to talk about how clever they were to buy your solution …?
No one wants to buy your ego, but they certainly want to serve their own ego!
They want to know that the product or service you offer is conceptually superior to any other alternative available to them.?
In a bust market, those companies who do not demonstrate conceptual superiority in their solution will fall away, leaving more opportunity for those who do demonstrate conceptual superiority.
So, something to keep in mind? … if you are extraordinary at what you do, difficult economic times can often be a wonderful period of opportunity.
*******************
Thanks for reading.??
Every month we present a 20-Minute Teaching on a specific, relevant topic.
In this month’s 20-Minute Teaching coming up next week, we’ll explore this whole idea of Conceptual Superiority and how to position your value as conceptually superior.
Like all our 20-Minute Teachings, the clock will be running and we guarantee to be in and out of the topic in 20 minutes.
There is no registration required.? We run this in our team Zoom Room so it is a first-in basis.? When we hit the limit on the number of people in the room, no one else will be able to enter.??
Just go to the diary link below and you’ll be able to drop the time into your diary.? Please note … we’re not going to send you a whole bunch of reminder emails, however you will receive a one-hour reminder in your diary.? So, make sure it’s in your diary correctly!
Cathy Smith Coaching helps coaches turn passion into a thriving business. Invisible to Irresistible. The Coaches Coach ?? Coaches Marketing Roadmap ?? Business Coach ?? Build a thriving coaching practice without burnout
2 年You're right Simon. "To be successful in business, you have to be able to sell successfully in any economic condition." I completely agree. You need to be prepared for any changes and move forward with them, otherwise you may be left behind. Great share.
?? Visual Storyteller - Investor Pitch Decks - Sales Presentations - One Pagers - High-Stakes Presentations - Videos
2 年I agree with you Simon. Covid was a great test for this.
Being in business does not need to be so hard and you deserve to live an enjoyable life. A business that runs profitably without you |Strategy Implementation Specialist |Business Advisor & Mentor|
2 年Change is the only constant Simon. Businesses need to be adaptable and understand how to survive and even thrive in the downturns. Very insightful read!
Co-Founder @ Network for Good - Property Events | GM @IDS Security - Helping you Protect your People, Property & Profits | Proud to be an Ambassador @Free to Shine - who help keep children safe from sex trafficking
2 年I agree hard economic times can lead to great opportunities! Once we get through the current recession we should be looking at great opportunities.
AI and Automation Consulting and Implementation ??Technology and Cybersecurity partner ??Increase your profits by optimising and securing your Time, Team and Technology by leveraging AI and Automation
2 年We will always have challenges in business. The problems don't go away, they just get bigger! It's easy to get caught up in the story when things are tough. A simple reframe can make all the difference. There is so much opportunity in the current climate!