I recently spoke to Allison Maslan of Pinnacle Global Network, who has mentored thousands of business owners over the last decade. She has been in business for 35 years and is used to pivoting, whether it’s through economic crises or otherwise.
Pivoting is absolutely necessary for businesses, especially now. Get creative and create new revenue streams and reach new customers.
Allison says, “When your back is against the wall, the human spirit prevails. In that way, it is kind of an exciting time. They need to have a virus-proof business. They need to have an economy-proof business. Pivot now or there’s some real trouble down the road.”
Business is a series of imperfections. No matter how dialed in you get it, there’s always invention, innovation, and evolution. To find revenue, look no further than your customers.
“Ask your clients what’s working? And anything that’s not working or working just barely is a waste of energy, time and money,” says Allison. “Go toward where the demand is and ask, ‘How can we serve you? Where’s the gap? Where’s the pain?’ Create a revenue stream around that.”
One of the ways to do that is by pre-selling, or what I call “Win, Then Play.” You’re surveying customers to get feedback on what you know will sell and selling it first to fund its creation versus raising money. And that’s how you really test an idea.
“It’s 100% above the board because you know it is happening,” says Allison. “Think of an iPhone. Apple is a genius with the presales because they’ll take the pre-orders which helps them to finance the production of the new model and they’ll wait sometimes months for that phone. It actually creates anticipation and excitement. Even creating a course, you can do a pre-sell and then create the course live and then you record it and now you have a product that you can continue to sell beyond that.”
Listening to your customer and delivering what they need isn’t a new concept, but it is more important now than ever.
“I have a client that does UV lighting and they work with corporations. Now they’re using the UV technology to disinfect clothing and medical-grade apparel. We have a makeup and skincare manufacturing company that is working with a distillery to create hand sanitizers. We have restaurants. A lot of restaurants have just shut down, but some of our restaurants are doing better than they did even when they were open because they’re selling kits to make things like quiches. We had one that sold 2,000 ounces of watermelon blueberry sangria in two hours,” says Allison.
There are a few different ways to pivot according to Allison, including expanding to a new region, a new product, or a completely new market. And then once you do, you can tweak it.
“It’s about putting that detective hat on and figuring out where that missing puzzle piece is and going towards that,” says Allison. “Perfect it along the way. I think a lot of times business people spend way too much time on the plan and way too much time on the prototype and then they put it out there and it doesn’t sell. So let your market be your focus group.”
You can look at this time with despair or you can see opportunity. It hurts me to think of people that are going to lose their business, but at the same time, it inspires me on how things can actually get better on the other side because new energy and opportunities are going to arise.
“Business changes the world and business owners are a catalyst to changing lives,” says Allison. “You don’t even realize the impact that you’re making, that ripple effect with your products and services. Think about all the people that could be transforming because of you, because of what you have to offer. My mission is just to really help millions of people around the world to tap into their gifts and breakthrough to the next level and elevate humanity together. That’s what excites me.”
To me, the best investment someone can make is not in a 401k or some IRA, but in their own knowledge where they can grow their capabilities and serve more people out there.
I am Chief Wealth Architect at Wealth Factory, author of the NY Times best-seller Killing Sacred Cows, and a Keynote speaker. Wealth Factory helps entrepreneurs optimize
I am Chief Wealth Architect at Wealth Factory, author of the NY Times best-seller Killing Sacred Cows, and a Keynote speaker. Wealth Factory helps entrepreneurs optimize cash flow, streamline their finances and keep more of their hard-earned money so they can make more powerful investments in their best wealth creator: their business. I’ve appeared on ABC News Now, Your World with Neil Cavuto on Fox, CNBC’s Squawk on the Street and more — and my first firm made the Inc 500. Read more at WealthFactory.com and follow me on Youtube (http://garrett.live), Facebook (@WealthFactory) and Instagram (@garrettbgunderson).