“You should never let a good crisis go to waste,” said Winston Churchill.

I could not agree with this statement more which is why in this blog post I will focus on the opportunities presented by COVID-19’s influence on our world.

I have consolidated seven tips to help you generate new leads and opportunities that did not exist back in the days when you could meet with customers over coffee (and oh gosh, I really miss good coffee).

1. Think long-term

In times of confusion, we tend to act fast and aggressively. On the surface, this seems to make sense, but any steps you take to cope with this crisis should serve your business well, regardless of present circumstances.“Always keep in mind that short-term actions have long-term consequences,” warns Matti Blecher, Chief Customer Officer at Polyrize Security. Jay Zimmet, Chief Revenue Officer at Intsights agrees with this state of mind and says “as a startup, the one thing you can’t do during this challenging time is to completely get out of your “swim lane” and try to be something that you are not”.

2. It’s time to build trust

“One always measures friendships by how they show up in bad weather,” says wise Churchill, and I agree that during hard times what you should be focusing on is building and deepening your relationship with your customers. Echoing this thought, Co-founder and CRO at Ermetic Arick Goomanovsky: “In times like these, I’m not trying to sell. I reach out to my customers and genuinely try to understand how they are doing. I truly and wholeheartedly offer my help. We are all one community, vendors, and customers alike. And I hope my customers will remember I was a human first and vendor second, when COVID-19 hit the fan.”

3. It’s (finally) time to build a “zero-touch” product

Most startups we work with have this step outlined somewhere on their roadmap. But at the beginning of their journey, they find that it’s easier to explain their beta product over a face-to-face meeting. While there are definitely advantages to having in-person meetings at this stage of a company, being able to sell with a “zero-touch” strategy is much cheaper and more scalable.

4. Product-Market-Fit has never been easier to achieve

During a crisis, prospects might not have the budget to sign new contracts, but as they don’t travel or attend conferences, they sure do have more time for product reviews and feedback sessions. In fact, our Value Creation team’s “lead-to-call” conversion rate is higher than ever before. This is a rare opportunity for you to “open the kimono”, ask all the hard questions you were afraid to ask customers, and receive genuine feedback that may help achieve a more accurate PMF.

5. Marketing costs less but might achieve more

As there are no in-person conferences to attend or sponsor, and even the CPC is going down, your marketing spend is lower than ever before. And yet, there are plenty of opportunities out there. “Companies can still obtain leads, build brand awareness, and expand industry influence by running digital events,” says Noga Cohen, VP Marketing at LightRun. “These cost much less and with good content, proper advertising and smart lead gen, you will probably reach leads you would never meet at an offline conference.”

6. Outbound is king

In a world where there are no marketing conferences, it is harder to rely on inbound leads, and that’s okay. When you do your research right and target qualified leads using a personalized and creative message, you will most likely get higher conversion rates at lower costs.

7. Digital communities are the next best thing

COVID-19 is hard on everyone, so being surrounded by a community of thought leaders is more important than ever before. At Glilot Capital, we are lucky to have our advisory board of leading executives who support our companies during these times, as well as share insights and advice with each other. I recommend you to do the same and establish your own supportive digital community.

Yes, it’s true, we’re not exactly experiencing the best of times but here’s one last quote from Churchill to help put things into perspective: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Companies that view the difficulties herein as opportunities can emerge stronger and better than before.

So let’s make a Mojito out of this lemon, shall we?