Everything I recommend to clients, I first test on myself.

And if I say that now, in times of crisis, it's quite possible to stay afloat by putting things in order in business and communications - I've already given myself all those tips.

So, how not to go crazy and go broke when a crisis is brewing.

Tip #1. Break down your services to the bone

Some things clearly don't bring in money but bring a lot of problems. Some things don't sell at all.

What I did myself:

I exported all contracts from Diadoc for the last three years and fed them into neural networks asking to analyze clients and services. For clients, I asked to pull information from open data by TIN on OKVED, revenue, and number of employees. I got a portrait of good clients and profitable services.

Two portraits came out. And three services. That turned out to be the reality. Only two types of clients and three services were bringing me money.

I removed everything unnecessary from the website and presentations.

Tip #2. Standardize services and create an easy entry point

I don't really believe that in a crisis, some fantastic flexibility in handling client requests saves the day; I believe that simplicity of closing a deal saves the day. Simply put, the client should find it simple, convenient, and clear.

What I did myself:

I abandoned three-stage complex negotiations. All services are simple and clear, with a fixed price. There is a developed discount system. There is a clear and cheapest service for those who cannot afford the full package (this is the easy entry point to working with us; previously it was part of the overall package, now it's separate). No week-long briefings to understand what the client needs. If at the moment the client doesn't know what they need and comes for advice or a chat - we decline for now.

What's the point of declining? See below.

Tip #3. Try to reduce the cost of services and make them more accessible

Don't compete on price, that's a rule. Dumping is evil. But look at the issue more broadly. Automate and optimize what you can, try to pack more into the package for the same money, abandon expensive sales cycles (like clients who don't know what they want, they take up managers' time). They say in a crisis you need to focus only on solvent and wealthy clients - everyone will do that. Do you want to work or endlessly fight for wealthy clients?

What I did myself:

Basically, I automated and optimized. I reduced staff, partially replacing people with neural employees (yes, it's quite real now), which, although expensive, are cheaper than live people. This allowed me to reconsider prices for some services and speed up production. Surely, you also have the opportunity to either slightly reduce the price or start giving more for the same money.

I also added banking financial instruments - factoring and installment plans.

Tip #4. Get your finances in order and start planning.

If you were planning to - now is the time. You need to take control of everything related to money and see the real state of affairs.

What I did myself:

I analyzed expenses and was horrified at how uncontrollably money was being spent on marketing, for example. Also, taxes were poorly optimized. I fixed both, and it became calmer. Because control and understanding bring peace of mind.

Don't be sad if you are.