Plan for the Recovery

by Kevin Ryan

You don't have a choice about participating in the recession, but you do have a choice about participating in the recovery!

Well, we've spent a year trying to avoid using the 'R' word and it got us anyway. I was one of those saying "I refuse to participate in a recession." It's a bit like a passenger on the Titanic saying "I refuse to participate". The reality, if you're in business, is participation in this global recession is not a choice. Accepting this reality means you can now move forward. 

Then there is another reality - a recession is always followed by a recovery. We don't know when, or even how it will occur, but we know it will. The question is "Where will you be when the recovery happens?"

You and your staff could be in one of two scenarios. 

Scenario one, has your staff fatigued, lacking confidence and energy. They have suffered through the whole time being under-resourced, untrained and feeling unsupported. They are exhausted. They have nothing left to give or they have already gone to a competitor.

Scenario two has your staff up-skilled, keen and able to maximise every opportunity in the recovery.

Where you are positioned at the recovery will be determined by the decisions you make during the recession.

There are two areas where your staff will need help.

Give them the skills to deal with the current situation. They may face losing customers. They will certainly have additional price pressure put on them as competitors struggle. How do they deal with these pressures? What will they do to replace those they do lose? 

Give them the skills to benefit from the recovery, to grab the new business as it appears and to build lasting relationships that cement customer loyalty.

And the good news is, they are largely the same skills.

One of these skills is the ability to create and quickly build trust with a client. Over recent times, consumers have had their trust in the corporate world severely challenged. CEO's being carted off to jail, 'blue chip' companies going belly-up, financial services providers destroying their client's savings - these events have created a climate where the primary driver for buying decisions is now trustworthiness. 

The one who can most rapidly foster trust with a prospect is most likely to get them as a client. The one who can maintain a trusting relationship with clients is most likely to keep them. 

Now, this is all about both being trustworthy and appearing trustworthy. It should not be necessary to make staff more trustworthy - if it is, you probably have the wrong staff. What is necessary is to make it quickly clear someone is trustworthy. Two techniques that work well for all levels of staff are 'The Compliment' and 'Common Ground' 

The Compliment

This technique is the starting point. It doesn't make them trust you - it just makes it easier for them to trust you. It is a brilliant rapport-builder - creating the conversations during which trust is built. Here's how it works.

Compliment anything - what they are wearing, the way they look, even the fact that they turned up! The only rule is that it must be sincere - don't say it if you don't mean it. Often accessories they're wearing provide the best opportunities. It has a doubl-positive effect. it strokes their ego and also it provides a common ground link. They think "if he or she has the same taste as me, then they must understand me better."

Ask what it means if you see a lapel pin. It will probably represent an association membership, or support of a cause, and they'll happily talk about something about which they care greatly. It might even be an award or honorary pin which is one the their proudest moments. 

Say why - this keeps you honest about the compliment. "I love that colour, it really suits you." "That's a nice necklace, I love the design." "It's great that you could make it. I understand how difficult it must be for you to get away from the office." This makes the compliment come across as much more sincere.

Common Ground

We are more likely to trust someone with whom we share common ground than not. A criminal just released from a prison is more likely to trust another ex-con from the same prison than an honest citizen.

The secret is to not keep secrets. You probably share lots of common ground with your existing clients that you don't realise. Find out about what they choose to do, not what they have to do. Don't ask them about their work. Ask about what they do on the weekend, what movies, style of music they like, etc. And there is a way of doing this without sounding like prying. Like the compliment technique, there are two simple steps.

Share something of yourself. "I had a fantastic weekend. We went bushwalking." Ask about them "What did you get up to?" Then share your experiences in their area of interest.

Here's a challenge. Make a point of identifying one additional area of common ground with all of your clients. It will add one more connection, one more level of understanding, one more factor that keeps them loyal to you in the face of enticement from the competition. 

To those of you out there now saying "Is that it? I've always done that." I'd say "Sure you do, and when was the last time you did it for one of your long term clients?" These are the ones likely to feel taken for granted when they see you offering all sorts of sweetheart deals to attract new clients.

Your ability to quickly create trust with new clients and build it with existing clients, is one of the key skills that will ensure the effects of the recession, impact less on you than your competitors, and that you will be best set up to benefit from the recovery 

Kevin Ryan

With 26 years experience as a corporate trainer and 16 years experience as a professional speaker, Kevin Ryan is a highly skilled facilitator, trainer and conference speaker who makes it ‘his business’ to know and understand the needs of his client’s business.