(Part IV – Infrastructure Improvement)
Let’s focus on infrastructure improvement.
What are the three things you would change about your organization right now if you could? If you answered “nothing” then think again.
You’ve probably heard the saying “innovate or die”. That might sound extreme, but is it true that stagnant companies are rarely the most successful ones.
Here are some common areas for improvement to consider that are ideal for ‘downtime’ implementation, when team members are not traveling and yet the need for connection is strong:
Team Training
Have you always felt the team could present better? To work together better? To understand each other’s roles and value-added better? To enhance processes and procedures within your firm framework? To hand off opportunities better? To follow up better? You get the idea! What a perfect time to engage around team training. The team may never be this available. Go for it!
Business Development
While you might question the team’s ability to ‘get the sale’ right now, how about revisiting the process itself? When is the last time the team reviewed its core messaging, fee structure, RFI/RFP response protocol and CRM? What a perfect time to consider modifications to the process.
Digital Presence
When was the last time you performed/reviewed an SEO analysis? Did you know that in a matter of minutes, through free resources on the web, you can run a baseline analysis about your website, its traffic, visitors and content? Now is an excellent time to revisit your digital presence, both at the firm and individual contributor level. Also consider performing a thorough review of your website. Perhaps have the team identify 3 to 5 competitive sites they ‘like’ and evaluate if yours matches up, and most importantly if it ‘tells the story’ the effectively as it can.
Branding
Brand development is important. Many organizations have created an initial identity at the time of firm inception and haven’t revisited it since. What tells the market that you are active, engaged, focused, up-to-date and ready for future business better than a brand refresh. Without changing your stripes entirely, consider the last time you made any adjustments, revisit the firm’s core brand identity and compare it to those in your industry. If you have fallen behind, now is a great time to work on that upgrade.
