How To Make The Best Out of The November Lockdown in Germany For Businesses

So, a new #lockdown2020 is in effect again in Germany! Now what? What are the implications and what could businesses do to make the best out of this situation?

Sometimes it’s not enough to just get back on the road or return to the previous status quo. It’s time to rethink the entire process.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, people are tired of restrictions, economic shutdowns, and having their normal live activities curtailed. And for sales reps – they would just like to get out there, talk to their customers, and sell.

But not so fast.

Maybe this pandemic business is a signal that companies can – or should – dramatically change their way of contacting customers and making sales.

From the perspective of field sales, COVID-19 is bringing in at least three changes to the sales process:

1. Short, unstable time window for contacting customers – Who knows when the next lockdown will occur?

2. Transition to more online sales – As stores restrict the usual customer access, businesses are pressing ahead on their online sales options.

3. More precise customer targeting – With the economic pressure on, companies are looking more closely at their customer’s individual performance and behavior. 

Quarantine is the new prep time.

This new lockdown is not a time out – it’s actually a prep time where management and field sales reps should figure out their next moves. It is an opportunity to sort through SAP account records to determine which ones best match their own corporate priorities. It’s the time to track customer’s online efforts and seeing how these are impacting sales. And when the lockdown ends, they better be ready to beat the most efficient path to these customers’ doors.

The clock is ticking …

As a (hopefully) limited period, this quarantine period is a golden opportunity to review sales efforts, modify CRM, and plan for the future. Yes, that means working on end-to-end process optimization.

The present time is what it is. But the future should be what you make of it.