Podcast Episode 11: How to create business opportunities in a slow market

Hello, James here and welcome to this week's podcast. 

In this week's main event, I'm going to talk to you about a huge opportunity you have to offer business owners strategic support and a special HR audit. 

And in this week's though of the week, I'm going to explain why I always say "I have a vision" and why it's really important for you to have one too. 

So let's jump straight in. 

Transcription below: 

Main event: 

I was speaking with a client yesterday. 

She's got load of proposals out with some really hot clients.

BUT, they've all gone silent on her. 

And it's been like this for a couple of months now.
 
So she asked me if there was anything that she could do to get them over the line. 

So we went through each proposal in details. 

And Nothing really jumped out to be a problem.

They just seemed to be dragging their feet. 

You've maybe felt the same way recently. 

I told her not to worry. 

I just think the market is a bit rubbish at the moment.

I assured her that I'm having the same chats with consultants both sides of the Atlantic.

Consultants are struggling to get deals over the line.

And new work has slowed down or dried up. 

And there's quite a few reasons why.

I think there's a lot of external factors going on that are making the market a bit slower than usual.

As a business owner it's important to be aware of things that could affect buyer behaviour.  

And most importantly, as a HR consultant, it provides you with an opportunity to react to these conditions and offer business owners the right type of support.

So going back to what's going on in the world and how this affects buying behaviour. 

So years ago now there was a big hoo haa in the media about petrol prices. 

At the same time our sales had really slowed down. 

I remember my old boss saying it's because of the petrol price stuff. 

And i remember looking at him thinking that he was crazy. 

I remember looking at him thinking that he was crazy. 

But the older I get, I realise that this stuff has way more of an impact on market conditions than what you think. 

Especially for the average SME owner. 

There's a market analysis framework could PESTLE. 
 
It stands for: 

Political 
Economic 
Social 
Technological 
Legal 
Environmental 

And businesses would use this framework to better understand the big picture factors that could affect their business.

So let's just have a quick look at political stuff right now. 

In the US, you guys have got a very big election coming up which is dividing the country. 

I work in 3 different businesses that target the US. 

I speak with lots of consultants in the US. 

And everyone feels like they're just waiting for the election to happen. 

Similarly in the UK, we've just had a new labour Government. 

The media have got their claws out, as always, saying that they're doing a terrible job. 

We're being told that the public has already lost confidence in them. 

If we look at Economic, in both the UK and US, our economies are struggling. 

And then if we look at social, we're pretty much in the run up towards Christmas already and businesses are maybe hesitant to make big decisions. 

And if we mix all of this together, there's A LOT of uncertainty flying about. 

So it kind of makes sense as to why the market is a bit slow. 

And  people aren't jumping to sign a lovely big retainer with you. 

As nice as that would be. 

So, if things have gone a bit quiet at the moment. 

Don't worry. 

You aren't doing anything wrong. 

I know it can sometimes feel like the world is conspiring against you. 

It's not. 

The market is just a bit rubbish at the moment. 

And don't be so hard on yourself. 

But... 

This doesn't change the fact that you need to keep the clients coming in. 

And this doesn't change the fact that the market is a bit sluggish at the moment. 

So it's important for you to create opportunities for yourself to work with business owners. 

And as a HR consultant and Strategic Partner, there are loads of ways for you to help business owners right now. 

In the UK, the new Labour Government has just overhauled the Employment Rights Bill. 

There's a new sexual harassment duty change. 

And the new budget is coming up at the end of the month. 

In the US, you have a big election coming up. 

Inflation is sky high. 

And there are loads of worker shortages. 

So put yourself in the shoes of the average business owner right now. 

What are their worries?

What are their priorities?

And what guidance do they really need? 

This provides you with a huge opportunity to react. 

And to provide them with support that they need. 

Which will hopefully spur them into taking action with you. 

So right now, both sides of the Atlantic. 

There is an opportunity for you to offer some sort of Strategic Support. 

I think the key themes are around risk reduction and cost savings. 

Maybe they have a recruitment or retention need in there too. 

This would depend on what industries you're targeting 

And specifically how business owners are feeling right now. 

So the first thing you'll need to do is look at your current client based. 

And target market if you have one. 

And figure out what's going on in their world and what they need most from you. 

You can then probably package this up as some sort of special HR Audit. 

The outcome of the HR Audit will help them to either reduce risk, or save costs etc. 

And you'll use what's going on in the World as your negative trigger so to speak. 

I sometimes refer to things like this as a time sensitive opportunity. 

And in my experience, time sensitive opportunities are awesome at getting some cash in fast. 

So to round this up. 

The market is a bit rubbish at the moment. 

There's lots of reasons why. 

Don't get sad. 

Instead, use it as an opportunity to provide business owners with specialist, strategic support. 

All the s's. 

Package it up in the right way. 

And reach out to your network to see if you can help. 

Thought of the week: 

So one of my fav things to say when I'm being dramatic is... 

"I have a vision". 

Let me tell you a story... 

I had a hair transplant a few years ago. 

My parents blessed me with a terrible hairline so blame them. 

Once it had all grown through it looked great. 

But I was never really happy with the line. 

So a few months ago I went back to my surgeon because I wanted another one. 

I braced myself for an argument because I knew he was going to say no. 

He said it looked great and that I didn't need one. 

Everyone I spoke to agreed. 

And most importantly, I knew this too. 

BUT. 

I had a vision in my head. 

Which wasn't unreasonable or silly. 

And what In was seeing didn't match up with that. 

So I wasn't leaving the room until he drew a lovely new line on my head. 

Anyway. 

He agreed to it. 

I had it done 2 months ago now. 

And I feel like an ugly ducking waiting for it to grow in which will take about a year. 

So yeah. 

In the words of Ariana Grande, I want it, I got it. 

But what does this have to do with being a consultancy owner and running a business? 

Well, I think having a clear vision is so so important. 

Business is hard. 

You have to be incredibly focussed. 

You have to be incredibly tunnelled visioned at times. 

And you have to be relentless in your approach to make it happen. 

Even if people don't think in the same way as you. 

All of which is really difficult if you don't have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. 

So my question to you, do you have a clear vision? 

Do you know what you'd like to achieve in your personal life? 

And do you know what you want to achieve in your business? 

You might have given this no thought... 

Or you might have a hazy idea of what you'd like. 

In either situation, I think it's really important to spend some time thinking about what you'd like. 

And create a very clear vision for yourself. 

I want you to see it. 

I want you to feel it. 

And I want you to believe in it. 

If I was to start consulting with you today, this is the first thing that we'd discuss. 

Because your life vision drives everything. 

And your business is there to help you create the life of your dreams.

I'm a big big believer in that. 

I know that thinking about what you want from life can be really difficult for some people. 

I get it. 

But I think everyone can day dream and imagine. 

And this is a great starting point. e. 

Maybe you're taking the dog for a walk, or when you're winding down before bed. 

Start to imagine and visualise what your perfect life would look like. 

Allow yourself to dream big. 

See what you come up with. 

And let your visions fuel you in every area of your life.