You can only imagine the shock that was unleashed when the pundits announced the winner of the recent New York City mayoral Democratic primary. The experts had to ask, after the shock wore off, what they missed. Were they looking at the wrong data? Possibly. Were they making mistakes? Also possible. Or were they drawing the wrong conclusions from what they saw? Could be. Don’t make the mistake of missing clues in sales. It could cost you your business.
What are you missing in the media?
The financial health of your customers, especially the larger ones, is relevant information. You probably checked their financial health initially, but now you want to be sure they are maintaining their financial health. You can be notified any time a company is mentioned online. That’s where you can read about financial information.
Use Google alerts (https://www.google.com/alerts) to get notified of the companies or industries you are tracking. Reports often include financial information. You also want to know what other people are saying about your key customers.
Some smaller companies aren’t in the news. There might be limited financial reporting you can access. You can gage financial performance a little differently. Ask to read their internal publications. You can watch for a change over time. Management in a sales decline will have less positive things to say. They may also announce cuts to hours or other cutbacks to benefits.
What changes are you missing at your customer?
Do you think things will stay the same with new people in charge at your customers? They might for a short while, but it often doesn’t last. New managers want to make their mark on the business. They change personnel. They add or cancel programs.
There’s a possible change in business strategy that could impact your business any time there’s a change in management. Quickly learn who the new leaders are, which business they came from and what is being said about them. Learn their leadership plans. New leaders often send announcements to the company employees. Get a copy and learn the plan to see how it could impact your business.
Above all it shouldn’t be too late for you to justify your business to the new management. Always be working on documenting the value you bring to all your customers, especially the ones with recent management changes.
What are you missing by not seeing?
Companies remodel, acquire new equipment, or hire new employees. These changes that you can see often are significant and you should understand their meaning. Why is the company remodeling? Are they getting ready to sell? What’s the new equipment for? Is it a new product and then they will stop making an old product? Always be looking at your customers locations to see any changes and what that means.
Appearance means something, but only if you know what you’re looking for. For example, Wesley Batista Filho, chief executive for the U.S. business of JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, judges slaughterhouses by their parking lots. He looks for fresh cut grass and flowers planted around the facility. He says it shows that people take care of the plant which is a good sign.
The New York primary was a shocker for a lot of people who missed the signs. Don’t be shocked to lose business because you missed the important signs.