It's time to embrace the uncertainty
I can’t remember the last time I read a business or financial market analysis that didn’t highlight just how volatile and uncertain things are. It was definitely before COVID hit back in 2020, so we’re coming up for four years now. And this uncertainty looks set to be here for some time to come, especially with elections both here and in the US. Is it time then that we all learned to accept that this is how things are and look at how we can make the most of the situation? We can’t exactly change it, can we?
This landscape is our new normal
There are a lot of companies out there whose pipelines are looking ok and that’s great. But there are just as many whose pipelines have completely dried up and they are waiting for the markets to improve. The reality is however, that we need to see this landscape as our new normal and find ways to work with it.
Companies need to wake up and accept that they need to do things differently. It’s like if you have a 100 mile walk to do. You could spend days moaning about the fact that you’ve got to cover 100 miles on foot and wouldn’t it be better and faster by car, or you could just get walking. During the time you spent moaning, you could have covered off a load of miles and be much nearer your destination.
You've got to grind out the work
For us as a business, we have had to be very nimble to respond to the ever changing market conditions and to how different companies are managing their hiring process. But it’s not about fixating on the difficulties, it’s about finding the things you can do to make the situation work better for your business, it’s about grinding out the work. It’s not easy, but it’s just what we have to do.
Yes, we’ve had to reassess every contract. As a recruiter, LinkedIn is an essential tool. They have just tried to increase the cost of our contract by 24% on the previous year, explaining that there was no room for negotiation on the price. There was – we just cut back how much of their tech we will use next year. It was a sacrifice we had to make. But we’re also investing. We’ve invested in a new CRM system. Moving all the data across was painful process (as many of you will know from your own experience), but we now have a much clearer picture of our data and can do better planning. We’re in a really strong place and can more easily adapt to changing marketing conditions.
Think creatively and you can still grow
Companies need to change their mindset and focus on what they can proactively do to keep the business looking fresh and hitting targets. No one wants this to go on indefinitely, but let’s make the most of what we can, while we can. A sensible company with a sensible balance sheet who is looking to grow can still achieve this. It will just take a bit of get up and go, a bit of creativity….and a lot of hard work.
And of course, if you’re interested in expanding your sales teams, do get in touch – you can’t grow your business, if you don’t have the right people out there selling for you.