For all businesses but particularly small businesses, perhaps the key to the other side of 2020 will be relationships built and relationship building.
Two stories to highlight how the difference might pan out:
1) The hotel story.Later this year on November 7th we plan to provide the 6th version of our Halloween charity ball, which has raised huge sums of money over the past 5 years and been a complete riot!
I really hope you’ll sign up to come (no money required) and express your interest by emailing millie@campbell-clinic.co.uk. This year it’s booked at the Village Hotel in Chilwell, Nottingham.
We paid a £500 deposit about a year in advance and we contacted them recently to say that we were unsure as to whether it would go ahead under the current circumstances and could they just hold our deposit and hold our booking. They informed us that should we cancel at this stage we would be liable to pay another £1,250 and if we didn’t cancel before the end of April we would have to pay 50% of the anticipated cost which would be a total of approximately £2,750 for no event.
When we explained to them the ridiculous nature of their approach to this and the possibility of losing custom for the rest of their existence they basically hung up.
We are kind of stuck on here unless we take a financial hit and I hope that the ball will go ahead.
I have my doubts as I wonder whether gatherings of that size will be aloud but I’m banking on the fact that we’ll be aloud less than 500 in a room at once.
If it’s banned by the Government they will have to give us our deposit back but if it’s not band by the Government they will have to let us go ahead, the likely truth though is that we’ll have it there in November and then never have it there again and I will tell everybody else who’s booking events (and I know quite a few people) to not book at the Village Hotel again because they are Dicks.
This is how relationships are unbuilt.
2) My IT suppliers, a company called ConnectNetwork who are local and ran by Chris Law.
We have used this company on recommendation from my friend David Heath of Shine Dental for years and Chris Law is absolutely extraordinary at looking after his clients.
His advice is brilliant, his expertise are brilliant and the service is extraordinary value for money, that’s why we asked him to be the contractor for the new site in which the IT setup in extraordinarily complex and he has smashed it.
At the end of the build project I owe Chris quite a lot of money which is due right now.
Hayley and I spoke to him separately and asked if he would be happy if we payed in stages for our Invoices at this end and his reply was “Pay what you want when you can. I know it’s difficult for you guys at the moment and our business is doing fine. I trust you as we’ve worked together for ages, I know you are good for it”.
I told Chris I would pay half the money now and the other half next month, just to make sure everything was stable and secure and to be sensible. His suggestion was I pay less than that (I will be paying half) that is how relationships are built.
I will now always recommend Chris to any of my Dental Colleagues (my brother-in-law’s business already uses him extensively) and his business will flourish and thrive.
The relationships that you have built before this crisis are absolutely critical and vital to your survive and thrive strategy beyond this.
The ability to lift up the phone to Patients who will answer or suppliers or banks or any number of people who you work with, is what will keep the game alive.
Perhaps worth thinking about that as you look forwards.
What relationships can you build now which will help you in the days, weeks and months to come?
Blog Post Number - 2354