Hot Ideas & Hot Air

Many of my clients sell software and consulting services.  In good times, they hear, “We can’t buy right now.  We’re too slamming busy to undertake a major project right now.”  In downtimes, they hear, “We can’t buy right now.  We’re tightening our belts because of the economic slow-down.”   So when is the right time?  Is there a perfect in-between time where their prospective customers are 100% sure the business is going to grow? NO!

Buyers need to ask themselves this important question.  What has fundamentally changed about their business that it would be unwise to make an investment during the slow season? 

Much of my extended family comes from a farming background.  In North Dakota, farmers are forced to deal with the cyclical nature of the seasons and of their own personal economic conditions.  One of the common sayings is, “You gotta make hay while the sun is shining.”  They work from sun-up to sun-down during the planting and harvest season.   

During the winter, they get in some R&R, but make absolutely sure they’ve done everything they can to prepare for the coming spring, when life gets busy again.  They research new opportunities, order seed, install new fencing, repair equipment – all the stuff they know they’ll need in the spring.   How short-sighted would it be for them to say, “You know, I know we talked about expanding, but maybe we shouldn’t buy that big piece of equipment.  It’s sure snowy and cold now.  Maybe spring won’t come this year.”   I’m sure it’s not news to you that in fact - spring comes every year!  And the farmers who have prepared and have planned to expand their operation are those that reap the greatest rewards.

Part of the problem for us city-dwellers is that we’ve become very disconnected from the seasons, and the cycles of life.  We sit in our air-conditioned (and alternatively heated) offices and think we can control our destiny.  We’re Type-A personalities and we can make things happen! 

Is it realistic to think you can plan a business that will have no rainy days, no snowy season?  If you find one, please let me know.  Year-after-year exponential growth is what shareholders want to hear, but is it realistic?  What gets companies (and people) in trouble is when they don’t save for a rainy day, when they don’t have a plan to deal with the good times and the bad.  Companies need to use their slow time to prepare for the coming busy season.

Spring is coming.  Smart businesses will prepare for the rebound of the economy by building better processes, improving their marketing, and buying software that will give them a competitive edge. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Friday Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.