The R Word Discussion Points
Depending on which newspaper you read and who you talk to, the UK is either about to slide into a massive recession, or it's already in one. Some thoughts on the matter are that talk about a recession is as dangerous as a recession itself. So, how resilient is your business going forward?
Here are some ideas/discussion starters:
- How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? Have you looked at their offerings lately, what are they doing differently/similarly?
- Continue to set aside time for business development when business is slow - keep your pipeline going
- Keep advertising and marketing your business, making sure you are targeting your audience appropriately
- Make sure your Terms of Business are watertight and it is even more important to credit check new clients
- Pay your suppliers on time - we all have a business responsibility in tough times to ensure that cashflow problems are minimised across the board
- Do you really need to shed staff? Can your staff be redeployed in other ways: training and developing junior consultants; moved to the marketing department; transferred to field sales?
- Continue to build your network. Take calls from recruiters and direct applicants even if you aren't hiring. Maintaining business relationships and networks is even more important during a downturn
