Time is on your side…

Taking advantage of an extended period working from home

Most of us in the musical instrument and pro audio trade are in the same COVID-19 boat, regardless of our role. We are mostly working from our abodes, trying to make sense of the situation at hand, and otherwise assessing what appears to be a rather bleak picture. Suppliers, rep firms and retailers are adjusting to an uncomfortable “new normal”, one that hopefully doesn’t extend to the point of permanently damaging our respective businesses. The human toll is profound, so we willingly engage in social distancing; here in my home state of Pennsylvania, it’s a total lockdown and near self-quarantine. So how do we keep focus, taking advantage of this extra time working from our respective home offices?

Revise your strategic plan…

It’s likely that your plan has suddenly been upended, so now would be the moment to make thoughtful adjustments. Some changes are forced upon us, such as travel expenses disappearing, but along with that, income has tanked. Examining every expenditure is in order, with the idea of eliminating all but those that are a requirement. If you are an employer like me, your greatest asset is your people, so significant thought must be given on how to keep everyone working. The U.S. government has stepped in with a $2 trillion coronavirus aid package, so depending on whether you’re a large organization, small operator or individual it is paramount to examine this bill and take appropriate action.

Work on your sales machine while it’s in the shop…

There rarely seems to be enough time to accomplish the planning I would like. Caught up in day-to-day activities, interaction with vendors, dealers and near non-stop travel, I never seem to get caught up. Well now, hasn’t that changed in a hurry! Today I can map out the coming weeks, allocating ample time to shore up our selling platform. For our team this begins with updating the CRM and bolstering our outbound email plan. Organizing cloud storage, building sales proposal templates, creating new web landing pages and more can be done with this newfound bandwidth. We’ll greet our constituents with more social media posts to stay connected, even if sales are not the primary topic.

Personal development and self-care…

Read a book, record a song, enjoy deep listening of some favorite music. Take several deep breaths and try your best to negate the natural anxiety that comes along with massive amounts of uncertainty. When things return to “normal”, you may regret not having taken advantage of the one thing we cannot manufacture more of, which is time. Not dressed and nowhere to go? Find a quiet spot, curl up with a guitar, or engage in any form of self-care you can think of. Many of us are musicians, so what better time to revisit why we got involved in this wonderful industry in the first place.

Pick up the phone and call if I can help; it would be nice to hear from you.