Is It OK To Sell During A Global Crisis?

Right now, small business owners around the world are asking themselves: Is it okay to sell during a global crisis?

Won’t it come off sleazy, heartless, or tacky?

After all, our local bakery Ovenly just laid off all 72 of its employees. 

An old friend who just realized his lifelong dream of opening a restaurant had to shut the doors, and he doesn’t know if he will ever reopen. 

And there are thousands more. The crush of the quarantine on business owners, workers, and the entire economy is unfathomable.

Which is why we must keep our doors open.

If we shut our doors, too, we compound the problem. 

If you market and sell a service or online product that you can deliver virtually, you need to keep marketing and selling. There is no reason not to, and at this moment, we are in a unique position to keep the money flowing.

Has this global situation created a bunch of new challenges and concerns for a lot of people? Absolutely. 

But do people still have all the problems they had before this happened. Yes. 

And, in fact, those problems might be even worse now. 

For example:

• If your clients were struggling in their marriage, being quarantined together is probably going to magnify their problems.
• If your clients were having a hard time getting into shape, being stuck inside isn’t going to make it easier.
• If your clients were struggling to stand out from their competition, the need to rise above the rest is even greater now.

 Your clients need you more than ever! 

Many are cooped up with time on their hands, their past problems possibly compounded by current economic uncertainty, and they need your help.

But they may not need your help in exactly the way you usually offer it.  

Fine. It’s OK to sell, but how do I market my business without coming off as sleazy, opportunistic, or tone-deaf?

How can you present it in a way that makes sense for the current climate?

It’s important to stay true to how you are feeling, so if you are desperate right now, don’t email your list about how excited you are about all the opportunities in front of you. It’s disingenuous, and everyone will smell your desperation. 

Start with getting clear on how you really feel about the situation, then decide how you want to position yourself.

Take some time to square your mindset before you start reaching out. 

Here’s how you’ll know if you’re ready: If you want other people to hire you to help them, but you know you wouldn’t spend money on helping your business right now, you’re probably not ready.

It’s very difficult to genuinely believe you are worth investing in when you aren’t willing to invest in yourself. (Note: You don’t have to actually invest in your business to be ready, but the check-in is enough to know where you stand and how genuine you can be with your audience.)

Once you are ready mentally, think about the position you want your brand to take. 

Are you an empathetic ear who is here with love, hugs, and support, or do you want to motivate your audience to kick butt and take names? Both will work, but your message needs to resonate with your audience and be in line with your brand. As long as it’s true to who you are and who you’ve been, your audience will be receptive.

Finally, acknowledge what your community might be feeling and connect your offer to their biggest current challenge.

If you recalibrated your offer to meet their immediate needs, you already did the most important part. When it comes to your messaging, just be sure to connect the dots. 

Keep marketing and selling, but also keep buying. 

As I said, we are in a unique position to keep the money flowing. Now is a great time to invest in your business as well. You may find yourself with extra time on your hands, why not take the time to invest in increasing the value of your business, while also supporting other small businesses?

So don’t just keep offering your products, but also take this opportunity to support other businesses around you. Not out of charity, but because you will genuinely benefit.

Last week I talked about the value of using this extra time at home to invest in building value in your business and the different ways you can do so. But when you buy someone’s online program to improve your brand or hire a coach to help you improve your public speaking skills, or engage a marketing company to help increase your online presence, not only are you improving your business, you’re also supporting other businesses. 

You can also use this time to read and watch a ton of free and valuable content! Like my new Masterclass: 4 Steps the Thrive (and not just survive) in the New Economy— watch .

This is what makes the solopreneur economy I’ve been talking about for years so special. We are our own little ecosystem. 

Sure, we can’t live in a vacuum. Online service businesses can’t grow your food (although maybe they could teach you how to do it yourself!). 

But we do create value out of our ideas and efforts, and that’s worth everything right now, and I have a feeling a lot of people are going to want to join our world in the coming years.