Leadership in a crisis
How to ensure your workforce feel safe and motivated even in uncertain times. You need to really connect with your team on an emotional level. You need to lead the way in adapting the business to meet both customer and staff expectations, helping to minimise their anxiety, maintain and even improve morale. This is also a key time for planning and making sure everyone understands their role and the value they bring to the organisation.
Cash is king
It’s really important to know how secure your cash flow is, know how fast the cash from your customers is coming in and, just as important, what is going out. It is a great time to agree payment terms and even negotiate new terms, that means you will always have cash in the bank. There are many ways you can get a cash injection for your business. Look what Government grants are available and the new schemes for furloughed employees and the bonuses for bringing them back. With all this, you can now create one of the most important documents for your business, the cash flow forecast; a 12-week rolling forecast which will help you easily see and appreciate, that cash is king!
Communication (internal and external)
This is all about creating and delivering the right message to your team and your customers. Understandably, there is still some fear as well as frustration, so we need to show that we care and understand. You need to set the guidelines for your company; it’s no different to how you would refer to an installation drawing or set of plans, in order to provide an estimate or quote. Here you need to have your plans to show how you want the team to do the work. Tell them the standard you expect and an attitude of ‘right first time’ so the profit from the job isn’t lost in returning to make up for shoddy work. This is your blueprint for success. Your business is a direct reflection of you, and we are all about making the best version of you. This is how one electrical contractor client benefited directly: “I closed a deal this afternoon with our third new customer this year. The value of this order was £250k. That now totals half a million in orders from new customers this year, with a lifetime value of these customers running into tens of millions. This has blown my mind, as over the last five years we have averaged a new customer every two years and now we have secured three in six months. Thanks for all your help opening my eyes to the importance of developing our brand and culture. That are what I attribute gaining these customers to. Keep up the good work!” Paul Gadney, MD, R J Wilson.
For more information on how you can advance and grow your business with Bright Business Advice, call 01933 697667, visit the website www.brightbusinessmasterclass.com or email support@brightbusinessadvice.com
