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Question: When will things get back to normal?
Answer: When there is a safe and effective vaccine.
Questions: When will that be?
Answer: 12 – 18 months, hopefully.
Whether you want to hear it or not, you could be working from home for the next 18 months. Oh, I know, businesses are opening, your own company has a “re-open” date for…oops, it’s been pushed back now till May 15th, um, end of May…
Whatever, whenever, it’s best to have a good plan in place to make working from home as efficient as possible—regardless of how long you have to do it.
Here are 5, long term strategies for doing that:
1. Make your home office, or corner, more comfortable and conducive for business. Invest in that ergonomic chair, buy that Plantronics headset, get that laptop you’ve been drooling over.
Establish a more personal—and permanent—space to do business. It will help you now, and in the future in case you ever need it again. Or, if you find that working from home works for you—you might want to go into the office less—say Mondays through Wednesdays, and work from home Thursdays and Fridays.
How’s that for a good thing to come from this pandemic!
2. Become an expert at Zoom. Working through the Zoom platform can be an excellent way to conduct your demos & follow up calls from this point forward—whether you’re working from home or back in the office.
As such, why not study, learn, and become a Zoom Expert! Download customized backgrounds; study proper presentation techniques; practice with friends—record yourself and study your performance and improve.
Plus, watch YouTube videos on this, study the Zoom site, and more. Become the best at selling using Zoom. One day, you can do it from Hawaii! (Or wherever your special island is.)
3. If you’re in outside sales and now have to do sales from inside, then you’d better learn how to prospect and close sales by phone. I can help: I just released a 7-Session Core Inside Sales Training program, On Demand. See it here.
And for all you inside sales reps, guess what? Time to upskill! That’s right, selling right now is challenging and competitive. If you aren’t getting better, then your competition is. Learn proven skills that will help you close more business with more confidence. Invest in yourself and your sales team today.
4. Develop other ways of reaching prospects and clients. Cold calling and emails may not be getting you through to contacts right now, so why not reach them the old fashion way? Through mail!
A Send Out Cards campaign is a great way to stay in touch with existing clients. You can send them a card and a 3-pack of brownies to cheer their day. Believe me, they’ll remember you. And they’ll choose you over their competition. Try the service I use here.
This card and gift service is not only great for business, but it’s also a great way to keep in touch with family members you can’t visit right now. Moms, sisters, grandkids, etc. Send a card and a yummy gift and let someone you love and miss know that you’re thinking about them!
5. Feed your subconscious using positive affirmation recordings. If you need some help staying positive, or going to sleep at night, or just staying sane amid all the doom and gloom, then you need to take charge of what you’re mentally feeding yourself.
These kinds of recordings are absolutely essential to keeping my mindset positive. There are recordings on exercise, cold calling, fear of telephone talking, speed reading, calm and focused, insomnia, and hundreds of others. And they work. I’ve been using them for years.
So why sit around being negative or scared, when you can put one of these on and train yourself subconsciously to think and feel better--automatically?
All the strategies will not only bring you more business, but they’ll make you feel better, too. You will benefit while you’re working from home, and when things get back to normal—whatever that means…
Related: 5 Quick Tips to Use Zoom Effectively