Obviously, in early 2020 the world is being forcefully disrupted.

How do you feel? Is it a disaster? An opportunity? Somewhere in between?

Right now in the US, we’re not in a new normal. We’re in today’s abnormal. This crisis will pass, and the world will settle into a new routine. The big question is how is will your business be positioned for growth and success when the “new normal” takes hold?

On the go? Here’s a 4 minute audio read-out of this article.

Finding Opportunity in Disruption

First, movers who understand there is a big upside to every challenge, are the winners who are capitalizing on the high-value opportunities emerging in their markets. At the Vx Group we believe now is the time for many B2B companies to double down and accelerate their growth efforts rather than pull back and take their hand off the throttle.

If you lead a business with a long sales cycle (3 – 36 months), you’re building new relationships and selling solutions that will hit the floor at the earliest in Q3 2020. For many of you, you’re selling into 2021 and beyond.

Pull back now and you risk damaging the future of your business. Push the throttle forward and you’re setting the stage for future success months or even years from now.

The trick is finding and maximizing opportunity in the face of widespread disruption.

Global Buying, Sole Sourcing, Backyard Buying

How the world does business has fundamentally changed. If you’re a manufacturer or supplier, global buying processes are changing right now.

  1. Manufacturers and suppliers will refuse to be tied to the sole source of the parts, products and raw materials they need.
  2. They will not be 100% dependent on offshore partners. As buyers examine their sole source relationships they will expand their supplier base and require geographic diversity.
  3. American companies will onshore more work. Many will turn to their “backyards” to find new agile, responsive suppliers.

Agile & Responsive

If agile and responsive is in your business’s DNA, you’re perfectly positioned to start new high lifetime value relationships with ideal prospects that can accelerate the growth of your business.

Manufacturers and suppliers are aggressively looking for new mid-market ($5 – $50M) partners. They want and need efficient resources that instinctively understand their needs, turn around designs and quotes quickly, and in many cases move into production immediately.

Long Sales Cycles, Selling for 2021, Landing High-Value Customers

If you’re like most businesses, you thrive off of a handful of large, repeat customers – what we call “Ideal High-Value Customers” If you look at your roster of current High-Value Customers and want more – now is the time to go after them. Here’s why:

  1. They are actively looking for new, valued suppliers that can become long term partners.
  2. Right now, there is an intrinsic desire to emotionally connect. We’re all searching personally and professionally for rekindled or new emotional connections. We need to know how others are doing so we can calibrate our frame of reference and bring perspective to our situation.
  3. It’s a great time to be a HERO. If you can solve someone’s problem right now, you’re a Hero. Be a Hero for the right prospects and you’ll earn years, if not decades of growth.
  4. The world has entered a bizarre time warp. For the first time in years many people have a little time to slow down, think and explore. They may even get a little bored. Now is the perfect time to grab their attention, start a conversation, and turn new relationships into opportunities.

Your Action Plan

You’ve got your hand on the throttle…what now?

  1. Commit to pushing the throttle forward, not pulling back.
  2. Identify your Ideal High-Value Customer Profile and align it with emerging opportunities.
  3. Define your value proposition and opportunity generation plan. Start from a position of empathy.
  4. Build a prioritized target list.
  5. Launch a coordinated relationship-building program.
  6. Nurture new relationships to opportunities.
  7. Be ready to respond and capitalize when opportunities emerge.
  8. Sell your value and win new business.
  9. Execute flawlessly.
  10. Grow exponentially.

Are you going to throttle back or go full afterburner and climb like an F-16? The decision is yours. We’re here to help you grow exponentially.

Take the Next Step

  • If you need some guidance on how to push forward, let’s talk.
  • We have a weekly leadership group that meets every Thursday. Join us.