I suspect many people harbor such feelings about this historically challenging year. At varying times, 2020 has been frustrating, challenging, maddening, disturbing and even downright depressing,
But it hasn’t been all bad. As the old saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention, so this challenging year has created unforeseen opportunity. Individuals and companies have advanced their rate of development, and achieved countless break-throughs, some of which have already translated into profits.
Throughout history, crises have accelerated innovation, leading to gainful progress that makes humanity better. According to another old saying, “recessions create millionaires.” That’s absolutely true in 2020 as countless people are taking quantum leaps forward because of the unexpected opportunities that manifest during times of trial and tribulation.
My experience so far in 2020 has mirrored many business leaders. My rapidly declining revenue in March and April kept me awake at night. By May, however, I was innovating – formulating, testing and implementing new ideas. I am now enjoying the results of that creative work performed under frantic conditions. In other words, my company’s revenue in 2020 will likely exceed that of 2019.
I couldn’t have imagined such a result last spring, but conditions outside my control FORCED me to do things I probably should have done years ago. Here’s the crazy thing: if it weren’t for the massive external threat that 2020 presented me, those things would be mere ideas still sitting on the back burner.
As we move into the later parts of this remarkable year, sales professionals and business leaders need to be aggressive. We need to work hard to capture the opportunities coming out of the recovery. At least that’s what I plan to do.
According to a September 10th, Wall Street Journal article, the economy is recovering from the coronavirus-related downturn more quickly than previously expected,
“Business and academic economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expect gross domestic product to increase at an annualized rate of 23.9% in the third quarter,” the article stated. “That is up sharply from an expectation of an 18.3% growth rate in the previous survey.”
With the rapid recovery underway, this is a time to capture opportunities, new clients and more market share. Are you embracing the recovery or are you being passive, acting hesitantly?
Back in March, I wrote, “The only way you get out of this crisis is to sell your way out of it.” I remain convinced this advice is sound.
Now is a time to push forward. Be active and assertive. Think of fresh ways to serve clients and develop new messages to engage people who aren’t yet working with you.
Indeed, this is a bizarre year, but not everything about it is bad. If GDP truly does grow at an annualized rate of nearly 24 percent, be sure to get your share of that growth. Granted, the reason it’s growing so fast is because the pandemic tanked the economy last spring. But at this point, I don’t really care why it’s growing so fast; I just want to take advantage of the opportunity.
Will we ever again see so much economic growth in such a short period of time? Probably not, unless we have another pandemic-driven shutdown someday.
So pick up the phone, get a hold of some dream prospects and take advantage of what may be a once-in-a-career opportunity.
