How to sell during lockdown as a social entrepreneur

So wherever you are in the world right now, you’ve probably been experiencing some level of restriction on your freedom to go about your life as you usually do, right?

Maybe…

• you’ve had to close up your shop?

• you’ve had customers cancel their orders or bookings?

• you’re not sure if you should be selling right now?

• you’re thinking no-one is buying so what’s the point in marketing?

• you’re doing okay but want to increase sales because you know you have a product/service your target audience really need right now (go you!)

Whatever your situation I want to reassure you that you can still generate income during this time. It is still possible to make sales. And its okay to promote your business and market your products/services to those who will benefit from them.

I wanted to share some unique ways I’ve seen my own clients (and other social entrepreneurs) pivot their business over the last couple of weeks due to Covid-19.

1. Provide a “Virtual Purchase”

   A virtual purchase is great for physical stores, cafes, bars and restaurants who can’t trade in their usual way right now. A virtual purchase allows customers to buy a voucher or purchase a product which they redeem at a later date, once we’ve come out of lockdown you’re able to open you store/cafe/bar again.

   For example, The Old Abbey Taphouse in Manchester is a social enterprise event space and STEAM pub, which obviously can’t be open for face-to-face customers right now. They are offering their customers the opportunity to buy a virtual beer (or 2) which they can redeem once the pub is back open.

   Alternatively if your a visitor attraction who usually has an annual membership or family pass why not encourage people to purchase this now, be open and honest about how this will help you stay open and survive so you’re there for them when they do come out of lockdown.

2. Gift vouchers

   If you’re experienced your birthday over the last couple of weeks then you know the limits of celebrating this annual event in the usual way. Providing your customers with a gift voucher option is a great way for them to support you right now and provide simple, gifts they can email to their friends and family (without any worry if their gift will get through the post). Make sure you provide gift vouchers for varying amounts that reflect the value of your products/services. This approach can work well for any type of business but especially product based businesses and events or activity based businesses.

3. Crowdfunding

   If you already have an active and engaged community of support and customers a crowdfunding campaign may be a great approach to keeping you afloat right now. It’s ok to ask your community for help, especially if you have a very clear purpose / cause they are passionate about supporting.

   For example, The Anglesey Sea Zoo have recently launched a campaign for donations to keep their sea zoo going whilst they’re not receiving any revenue from visitors.

4. Deliver an online course, workshop, conference or summit

   If you’re used to running events or in-person courses and workshops which just can’t happen right now, pivoting online can actually increase the numbers of people who can “attend”. This is such an obvious solution especially as we’ve seen the HUGE uptake in people using video conferencing over the past few weeks but it’s very simple to organise even large events and workshops for bigger audiences. Check out the trainings in our Adapt & Thrive free virtual summit for ideas on the best approach to use for your business, or email me for support.

5. Create a monthly membership

   If you’re a service provider, have an active audience and have something valuable to share a monthly membership is a great way to create a recurring revenue not just now but in the weeks and months to come, even beyond lockdown.

   Monthly membership are becoming one of the fastest best ways to generate recurring, sustainable income in business right now. They are easy to set up and launch, they don’t require a lot of work and they generate a recurring income which helps with cahsflow and budget planning from one month to the next. Check out this incredible episode from Amy Porterfield and Stu McLaren on how to get started thinking about what you could include in your monthly membership. Like this then you’ll also want to listen to this one.

   I recently started my own monthly membership for female social entrepreneurs looking to gain clarity on what to do next, support to take action and weekly coaching to ask questions and get unstuck. The Thrive Society is weekly group coaching at the fraction of the price of working with one-to-one.

6. Offer deliveries

   If you’re still producing but can’t open your store think about offering deliveries. I’ve seen loads of businesses do the deliveries themselves within a particular radius of where they’re based and others use normal delivery / postal services to distribute their products. Even if you’re not used to doing this (because you usually just sell from your store) it can be relatively straight forward to set a simple website or online sales platform in a very short space of time.

   I’ve also worked with a client that before her website was set up she told her customers they could call her to place the order, or message her via Facebook. She’d take the payment over the phone (or via a PayPal link) and she would put it in the post for them.

   Remember you don’t have to have a website, you can sell from platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

So there you have it, six alternative ways to sell your products or services during lockdown if you’re not able to generate income in your usual ways.

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Looking for more support with running your social enterprise, attracting customers and making sales during lockdown?

Why not join The Thrive Society where every week you get top tips, ideas and expert coaching on what to focus on next in your business to generate income, create impact and maintain momentum.

There’s no lengthy commitment. No modules or workbooks to struggle through. No hour long tutorials to sit through.

This is simply weekly group coaching where you get to ask me a question or support with what your struggling with that week.

Find out more and join the Thrive Society here.