Resilient Business: How To Grow In A Tough Economy | EXCC

How to build a resilient business in a tough economy – with specific tips for the construction and housing sector in New Zealand.

How to build a resilient business in a tough economy

While the NZ economy isn’t facing a recession, there’s no doubt there’s a squeeze on. The construction
industry is particularly affected by the economic downturn: the housing market is slowing down; prices are
slumping; interest rates are climbing; supply shortages are on-going; and the frenzy of new builds has
slowed down.

What can construction companies do to build a resilient business?

While the current environment is challenging, there are steps you can take to build a resilient business that’ll not only weather the storm – but come out the other side, thriving. The main thing to do is to work at securing revenue – in other words, bringing on new clients. And it’s also important that you keep your team engaged so you retain your best people.

In practical terms, that means working on each of the following:

    1. Sales process
    2. Vision
    3. Goal setting

1. Sales process

Gartner Group conducted research to see what the biggest influences were in buying decisions. Here are the biggest factors:

    •  Price/value 9%
    • Brand 19%
    • Product & service delivery 19%
    •  Sales experience 53%

How to give a great sales experience

The fact that over half of decisions are made according to the sales experience is noteworthy and important to focus on in your organisation. The key to providing a great sales experience is to have a robust and consistent sales process that’s enjoyable for buyers – and has a high sales conversion rate.

The sales experience begins online

Consider the buyer’s digital journey too. In the high price point consumer market – for example, investing in a new house – buyers are already 54% down the buying process by the time they contact you. That means that as well as having a sales process that covers your sales teams’ interactions with buyers; you also need to have an online sales process that creates a positive online sales experience. Do you have this in place? Or do you need to adjust your approach?

2. Company vision

It’s imperative to keep your crew together over these stormy times. Now is not the time for you to have to deal with a key player leaving to work for a competitor. To avoid that scenario, it comes down to motivating and aligning your team. And a key part of that is to have a strong company vision so everyone’s on the same page.

The steps to creating a company vision are as follows:

    • Project five years into the future.
    •  Determine your purpose and position as an organisation.
    • Describe what success looks like in your organisation.
    •  Consider your company type and structure.
    • Reference your competitors or create an analogy.

3. Goal setting

Once you’ve defined your company vision, it’s time to set some goals. This helps create team commitment and builds a strong company culture. As well as setting organisational goals, it’s also important to work with every team member to set personal and professional goals – and help them achieve them.

Summary

While there are likely to be some challenging times ahead, getting ready for them now will help your business become more resilient, more focused, and keep motivated.

Need help? Contact us for a free consultation to see how we can help you define your purpose and values – and get your team motivation going.

By Jason Dinan, Executive Coaching and Consulting

With 29 years of leadership experience working in 23 countries, Jason specialises in growing organisations through developing high- erformance leaders, teams and strategy. He was the project head for a leading homebuilder in New Zealand, Australia and North America, helping grow annual sales from 47% to 311%.

In the construction industry, EXCC has worked with Placemakers, ITM, NZ Bricks, Generation Homes, CS Doors, Sequel Lumbar, and Kohler. And within the NZCB network, Jason has worked with Dash Build, Wiki Scaffolding, Wiki Earthworks, Wiki Electrical, Tomik, and Falcon Construction.