Today lets talk about a few things that can be business killers for all of us.
In these crazy times we have seen so much change with how we work as work from home, by zoom, by phone call and by email has taken over from door knocking, handshakes, being in the office and face to face meetings. Some of us have adapted well but others have struggled... leading to a whole new list of things that are hurting our business.. for example...
- Distractions from kids, pets, tv, politics etc. It is hard to work when the kids want your attention or the dog wants to play. It is easy to get tied up doing something around the house or turning on the tv.
- Struggling with new technology. Zoom meetings (and the like) are not second nature for most of us. Lots of new tech has emerged during COVID and social media has become more important... but if you have not taken the time to learn it and embraced it then it will hurt your business.
- Lack of accountability. It is easy to goof off or focus on the wrong things when you are working from home with no supervision or peer pressure around you.
- Stress. We all have felt the pressure of COVID, the political arguments, worries about friends and family and worries about the economy.
Now we have a lot of us back in the office and working face to face again. Which creates a new list of issues...
- Struggling to deal with clients and co-workers who are not comfortable with face to face meetings, or are far less cautious then we are. Not everyone is in the same place about the current state of COVID and it can be difficult to make clients comfortable.
- Changes in buyers mindset. A lot of buyers have moved further to online shopping and online competitors have gained market share. Are car dealers seeing less foot traffic on the lot do to online companies and their own online sales team? Are mortgage people seeing more prospects using online lenders? Are more people buying insurance without ever meeting an agent? Of course they are.
- Are hybrid work models (some from home and some from the office) impacting you. Are you dealing with support staff that is working remotely?
- Your competitors have changed to adapt to the current world around us.. have you?
So how do we combat these and other issues?
- Be adaptable. Be flexible. Be able to accommodate a wide range of clients and client desires.
- Dedicated work space is a key item if you are working from home. A private office where we can close the door and block out distractions is the best thing we can do to help us focus.
- Hire a coach or partner with a peer to hold each other accountable.
- Learn the tech... or hire it out to someone who knows it. But refusing to accept tech or just ignoring it will not work.
- Take time for yourself... take a walk, read a book, spend time with a loved one, listen to your favorite music, reward yourself with something you have wanted... you need to reduce your stress and focus on your mental health.
If anyone ever needs a friendly chat call me. We are all in this crazy time together but how we handle it is up to us. You control what you do and how you react... so take control and keep pushing through.