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3 Business Lessons We Must Take From the Coronavirus Crisis

SalesSales & Marketing

It’s not too early to start thinking about lessons that can be learned from the coronavirus pandemic nightmare. This pandemic, while being a once-in-a-lifetime experience (or at least let’s hope it is!), has highlighted a few business mistakes you won’t want to repeat after the quarantine is over and a new normal begins.

Here are three of the most important of these lessons:

Lesson 1: A more diversified business is less vulnerable to unforeseen threats

One of my customers has three parts to his business: a fleet operation, a convenience store/fuel business, and a truck stop. His fleet operation hauls much of his own products and can haul for others. His convenience store sells to consumers while his truck stop caters to truckers. My customer says that when one or two parts of the business are down, one part is up. It’s very rare to have all three parts of the business down.

Even in this pandemic, his observation holds true. His convenience store/fuel business is down because people aren’t traveling. But store sales are steady as consumers are shopping for groceries. His fleet operation is down slightly, but it is now hauling for different customers. Truck stop sales are down but not out since truckers are still coming through.

What about your business? Do you rely on one type of customer or industry? You might be since it's been easier to sell to that customer. However, you are vulnerable if that type of customer experiences a setback or the industry faces a downturn.

Think now about diversifying your business so the next challenge is one you can face successfully. It’s often too late to formulate an effective survival plan when a crisis hits. While it may be too late for this crisis, it’s not too late for the next one.

Less 2: Cash is king

You know if you read The Wall Street Journal or follow the stock market that the companies doing the best during the COVID-19 shutdown are the businesses with cash. Why are they doing better? Because when business came to a screeching halt, as it did with coronavirus, companies that so far have been able to ride it out have the strongest stock performance.

Cash has allowed them to survive. Cash has given them more options than simply closing their doors. They have been able to at least keep their employees on the payroll. Companies without funds have been forced to lay people off or close.

Yes, your business should have a cushion of cash. This rule about having cash is more for how you manage your personal budget. People who make the mistake of overspending are making their lives more stressful. Stress is an emotional component that is especially bad for salespeople. Your job is to convey confidence during your sales calls. How can you confidently make buying recommendations when you are desperate to make a sale? You can’t.

Now is the time to examine your spending habits. You may have even seen that your expenses have gone down now that you’re not driving or commuting or eating out. Make a plan to live within your means, and, even more important, learn to save. Having money in the bank is a huge stress reliever, and less stress makes for a more confident salesperson.

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Lesson 3: Customers do not like dealing with unknowns

You may have watched a few business news programs interspersed with your TV watching. Have you noticed there are many companies that cannot predict their third or fourth quarter performance? They can’t because there are so many unknowns as to how the economy will come out of this pandemic.

Will there be a resurgence of the virus? Can small businesses bounce back? Will states unlock their quarantines? Their lack of knowledge of the unknowns makes them unable to formulate a plan to deal with any possible challenges.

Just as businesses can’t forecast when there are unknowns, unknowns weaken customer relationships and either slow or stop sales. Your job in sales is to provide as much relevant information as you can to customers so they don’t have to think of unknowns that can hurt their business.

How do you keep your customers informed? Knowledge gives them peace of mind. Now would be a good time to talk with your customers about how you serve them. What do they need or want to know about their business with you? You’ve got the time to ask. Learn what you can be doing better when business gets back to the new normal.

I do predict that we will learn from the pandemic that we are all facing. Learn valuable lessons now so you will be ready when our economy starts moving again.

RELATED: Marketing Your Business in a Coronavirus-Affected World

Profile: Maura Schreier-Fleming

Maura Schreier-Fleming is president of Best@Selling, a sales training and sales consulting company. She works with business and sales professionals to increase sales and earn larger profits. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results and Monday Morning Sales Tips. Maura focuses on sales strategies and tactics that lead to better sales results. Maura is a sales expert for WomenSalesPros. She is part of their group of top sales experts who inspire, educate, and develop salespeople and sales teams.She speaks internationally on influence, selling skills, and strategic selling at trade association and sales meetings, demonstrating how her principles can be applied to get results. She successfully worked for over 20 years in the male-dominated oil industry with two major corporations, beginning at Mobil Oil and ending at Chevron Corp. She was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. and was one of Chevron’s top five salespeople in the U.S. having sold over $9 million annually. Maura writes several columns to share her sales philosophies. She's been quoted in the New York Times, Selling Power, and Entrepreneur.