What Would Lu Do? Adjusting to Changes & Lost Business Due to Covid-19

Episode 559 of A Well-Designed Business®

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559: What Would Lu Do? Adjusting to Changes & Lost Business Due to Covid-19

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s time for another episode of “What Would Lu Do?” where you ask the questions and LuAnn helps out with the answers.

Today’s question comes from Angela in Pennsylvania. Angela has 20 years of experience in design but considers herself somewhat of a baby designer since she only opened her own business two years ago. The Covid-19 event has had a huge impact on her virtual close rate, and she’s needing some guidance.

Listen in to hear more about the dilemma that Angela faces, as LuAnn digs into the details, susses out the situation, and lays out her reasoning on the resolutions.

If you are not working with a coach or perhaps you don’t have a business mentor or business bestie to provide guidance, this is the perfect opportunity to email LuAnn the burning issues that you need insight on and she’ll answer them on air. Please send your questions to LuAnn Nigara WWLD!

Show Highlights:

LuAnn shares the details of Angela’s dilemma:
Angela has resisted switching her business model and has picked up a few clients virtually, for which she receives a small deposit.
She presents them with a slide presentation with fabrics delivered via mail, and the clients love what they see.
When the client sees the invoice, however, they offer various excuses to back out.
Angela’s close rate prior to Covid-19 was about 90%; now it’s around 10%.
Here are some of LuAnn’s suggestions for Angela:
Think outside the box!
It’s very helpful to have an automatic salary withdrawal for yourself every week, even if it’s small. When you know you have to make money, somehow you do it.
Since Angela is having a hard time closing full-service projects, perhaps she should consider adjusting her business model, after all. Angela could lean into a temporary consultancy model, as there have been other designers who have had great success with this.
Don’t mail out the presentation unless the fee is paid up front.
A 90% close rate means prices are too low.
Get real and examine the entire process from beginning to end with the client to discover the reason why they are backing out of their deals. What signs were missed or ignored along the way?
In wrapping up, LuAnn encourages Angela to go back and think about her “why”. If Angela truly loves being self-employed, she should stay the course and keep perfecting her process, because this will increase her confidence which will, in turn, increase her profits.