Last week’s post about Bapcor taking a massive profit hit as a result of a McKinsey project designed to do the exact opposite really struck a nerve.
I’ve had a ton of emails and phone calls from people who’ve either been close to the project or are seeing train wrecks like this in action as we speak. (ICYMI you can read about it in the links below.)
It got me thinking about where businesses are at right now and the big pitfalls we’re facing, which leads to this question:
Is your business missing out on major growth opportunities because you’re too busy cutting costs?
While I 100% understand the need to rein in and manage cost, I would much rather find ways of making money than being in a race to the bottom and having nowhere to go.
Cost cutting and growth planning can be done in parallel. Which means you’ll not only live to see another day, you’ll be primed to take advantage of emerging growth opportunities – before your competitors – and you’ll have people happy to make it happen.
Because I like to give practical (and, for some reason, free) advice, here’s how you can create demand and generate revenue for your business:
1. Look at your internal systems and see if there are any that would be suitable for your customers.
I’m talking digital services such as safety systems, business efficiencies for rostering, deliveries, KPI monitoring, waste management etc.
This is such a huge opportunity for so many businesses I could stop here, but I’ve got a few more ideas to share.
2. Can you ‘jeuje up’ an existing product, make it more relevant to the current market and pitch or launch it?
In consulting we do this all the time.
For example, I have a proven methodology and framework I’ve been using for about 15 years that I can repurpose to just about anything from large projects and product launches to training and coaching engagements. It just has to be tailored to fit the market and then shared with the people who will benefit from it. It’s fast and simple.
3. Get talking and get out the door.
Talking to people remains the single best way of generating business opportunities.
It’s glaringly obvious that many people have lost the art of initiating conversations and are hiding behind their computers or phone screens – not actually talking to people on the phone because that seems to be a horrifyingly confronting thing for people…
Know this – you don’t have to know everything all the time in order to initiate a good conversation. Asking questions and facilitating conversations, having an open mind and being willing to learn is where you add value.
So get out the door and talk to people face to face at every available opportunity.
*Thank you to Robert Nankervis for the reminder of the ‘get out the door’ message in his newsletter earlier this week. When you operate in the B2B world, this how you put a rocket underneath revenue opportunities.
Ready. Set. Go!
Getting Started
Because I’m so passionate about this and I can see how stuck people are, I’m happy to have a chat or direct you to my next workshop. Contact me here if you’d like to know more.
Nina
PS. Here are the links to the post and article about Bapcor’s $100m profit hit
– AFR Article
Photo courtesy of the AFR