Aftershocks from the 2020 coronavirus shutdown continue to shake the ground beneath our feet, causing us to re-examine and adjust the way we live and work. Maybe your spouse began to work from home in March 2020 and has negotiated a deal with the higher-ups to work in the office just three days/week. That’s a change you probabaly like. But the hybrid office has disadvantages that present real challenges to the workplace. Getting the job done can be an uphill climb.

In addition to building relationships with team members and other co-workers who were hired after WFH began and nurturing a healthy company culture in an unusual environment, hybrid teams must also create and implement decision-making processes that function in a hybrid office. The logistics of corralling now-you-see-them, now-you-don’t WFH decision-makers and stakeholders whose presence is needed to discuss and either move forward or kill important proposals requires lots more planning and more time.

Long accepted practices that became routine and familiar when leadership teams evaluated strategic business decisions have changed and may continue to change. If decisions involve spending money, you already know that factor will further complicate matters. Unfortunately for Freelancers, the decisions on which your livelihood depends are increasingly more difficult to even schedule for a fair hearing, let alone obtaining an approved.

The WFH revolution is just one change that your current and potential clients are facing. Disappointing economic and political conditions, glaringly demonstrated by the Ukraine-Russia war and big lay-offs at blue chip tech companies like Facebook/Meta, Amazon, Google, Salesforce and Cisco amplify whispers of a coming recession. Inflation has already arrived, shrinking spending power in its wake. Global and national realities incline business owners and leaders to pull back spending and carefully assess the ROI of all big-ticket expenditures.

A recent survey of small businesses found that 57% of owners cut spending as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and they continue to spend cautiously in the current period of economic uncertainty. Those that maintained their spending tended to revise budget allocation, often choosing to fund salary increases (34%), marketing (28%), or operations management (27%).

So what’s the best way for Freelancers and others whose client roster consists mostly of small businesses? Let’s think about devising a buyer’s journey GPS system that will help you succeed in the new normal business climate.

Get used to it

For best results, the attitude adjustment starts now. Your clients are in the midst of a sea change and if you expect to make money over the next few years , you’ll have to change along with them. Pay attention to actions that indicate your clients are changing things and let them know you and your team are willing and able to meet their updated priorities and needs.

You already know that the coronavirus shutdown and WFH phenomenon speeded up the use of online tools, leading your prospects to browse your website and your competitor’s to research potential product and service solutions, hold videoconference meetings with you (and your competitors) to discuss those products and services and when a final decision is made, prospects are comfortable buying the chosen product or service online, as if it were lunch. To provide the best response to the new way of doing business, getting specific aspects of the B2B buying journey right can ensure your organization is well positioned to handle whatever the future holds.

On the same page

If you’re not on the same page with your clients you won’t be able to implement strategies for clients and make sales. Salesforce found that 86% of business executives believe ineffective collaboration and communication are the two major causes of failure in business.

Don’t limit your focus to the tools and systems that facilitate collaboration and communication. Remember the B2B pain points your company exists to resolve.

Streamline and clarify communications

Because the decision-making process has become more complicated in the WFH era, smart Freelancers know that it pays to clarify and simplify all communications connected to the buyers journey. Your B2B customer experience most likely needs re-examining. Meet your prospects where they are and provide them with relevant information that drives the decision-making process.

Incorporate videoconference meetings, telephone calls, emails, SMS (text) communication and, yes, face2face meetings to inform and bond with prospective clients. Keep your company website and social media platforms updated and calls-to-action compelling and obvious. Your goal is to continually encourage customer engagement throughout the new normal B2B buyer’s journey. It is the key to your sustainable success.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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