--- title: Do your customers really need you in the era of COVID-19? description: How can you assess whether you are an essential supplier during the COVID-19 crisis? Uncover whether your company provides one of three sources of true financial value to your customers. image: https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/hubfs/little%20boy%20glasses.png --- [![Holden Advisors](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/hubfs/Holdenadvisors_November2018%20Theme/Images/logo.jpg)](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/) - About - [Overview](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/) - [Core Values](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/core-values/) - [Leadership](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/leadership/) - [Partners](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/partners/) - [Careers](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/careers/) - [Solutions](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Sales](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Overview](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/improve-sales-performance) - [Negotiating With Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/negotiating-with-backbone/) - [Selling With Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/selling-with-backbone/) - [Coaching](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/coaching/) - [Pricing](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Overview](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/improve-pricing-performance) - [Audit](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/pricing/audit/) - [Analytics](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/pricing/analytics/) - [Value-Based Pricing](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/pricing/value-based-pricing/) - [Insights](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Blog](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/blog/) - [Video Series](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Pricing with Confidence](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/pricing-with-confidence) - [Publications](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Books](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/insights/publications/books/) - [White Papers](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/papers) - [Newsletter](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/newsletter) - [Case Studies](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/studies) - [Events, Webinars & Podcasts](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/insights/events-webinars-podcasts/) - [Reed’s Bookshelf](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/bookshelf) - [Contact](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/contact-us/) - About - [Overview](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/) - [Core Values](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/core-values/) - [Leadership](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/leadership/) - [Partners](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/partners/) - [Careers](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/careers/) - [Solutions](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Sales](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Overview](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/improve-sales-performance) - [Negotiating With Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/negotiating-with-backbone/) - [Selling With Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/selling-with-backbone/) - [Coaching](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/coaching/) - [Pricing](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Overview](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/improve-pricing-performance) - [Audit](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/pricing/audit/) - [Analytics](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/pricing/analytics/) - [Value-Based Pricing](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/pricing/value-based-pricing/) - [Insights](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Blog](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/blog/) - [Video Series](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Pricing with Confidence](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/pricing-with-confidence) - [Publications](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/#) - [Books](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/insights/publications/books/) - [White Papers](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/papers) - [Newsletter](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/newsletter) - [Case Studies](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/studies) - [Events, Webinars & Podcasts](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/insights/events-webinars-podcasts/) - [Reed’s Bookshelf](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/bookshelf) - [Contact](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/contact-us/) # Holden Advisors Blog # Do your customers really need you in the era of COVID-19? Posted by [Brian Doyle](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/author/brian-doyle) on May 1, 2020 2:43:31 PM ![Brian Doyle](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/hubfs/HoldenHS%20(2%20of%2012).jpg) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) This is a scary time for suppliers and their sales teams. Customers concerned with the impact of COVID-19 are canceling or postponing projects and curtailing spending. As a result, suppliers are losing revenue and seriously considering pay cuts and/or layoffs to help them through this difficult time. Interestingly, it’s also a scary time for procurement and supply chain professionals. They are the ones responsible for reining in that spending, but they also need to be aware of maintaining the supply chain for their businesses. In the extreme case, overzealous procurement professionals could kill their own businesses by reducing spending to the point where their suppliers can no longer survive. Good procurement people realize they must have a symbiotic relationship with their suppliers. Lately, I’ve seen multiple blogs and articles published by procurement organizations about how to maintain the balance between prudent spending and collaborating with suppliers to maintain a healthy supply chain. Guidance from procurement groups and consultants includes: ![little boy glasses](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/hs-fs/hubfs/little%20boy%20glasses.png?width=342&name=little%20boy%20glasses.png) “Lengthen payment terms on all non-essential items,” and “Be more forceful about what the business needs vs. what the business wants." – *GEP Procurement* “Identify critical suppliers – Find those suppliers who are critical to business continuity and work with them through challenges faced.” – *ProcurementLeaders* “Building strategic supplier relationships can have a huge impact on the performance of your supply chain…clearly identifying the strategic partners who will play a pivotal role in driving business value.”   – *Supply & Demand Chain* All of these quotes include the same theme – identify your most important supply chain needs (and this includes data & information, not just physical supplies) and those critical suppliers who deliver them. Then, work with those suppliers to maintain a relationship where both companies can survive (if not flourish) in this unique business environment. Good procurement groups know they need to cut costs as their own company’s sales are at risk and they also know they need supply partners for their business to function. They’re working hard to separate their most important suppliers from those that aren’t as necessary. As a supplier, the question is, “How do you establish yourself as the company your customer can’t live without?” In the B2B space, we talk too often about “value adds” – things like sponsoring customer events – that are “nice to haves”. In the age of COVID-19, these niceties are nearly worthless. Instead, I would submit that there are three key areas that prove your value to your customers. These are your ability to: - Increase their revenue - Reduce their expenses - Reduce or mitigate their risk If you aren’t proving that you provide one or more of these outcomes, you aren’t adding real value. At the same time, if you are providing one or more of these outcomes, despite all the COVID-19 noise, you will gain the attention of your customer’s C-suite. CXOs are especially busy right now, but they continue to care about increasing revenue, reducing expenses and reducing risk. Risk reduction in particular is often overlooked but is especially critical in a crisis. Procurement is looking for ways to shore up their supply chain and if you can minimize the risk associated with the delivery of your product, you will stand out as the “essential and critical supplier” the procurement organizations are advocating for their members. In this turbulent time, both sides of the supply chain are scared. Procurement needs delivery of critical goods/services and is busy identifying the few suppliers that they will work with during this crisis. In order to become one of those few, suppliers need to clearly communicate the value they provide in ways every customer can appreciate.   Are you a seller struggling to negotiate with procurement during this difficult time? We'd love for you to attend our upcoming webinar to learn to diagnose your customer's buyer type as the first step in assessing how to engage with your prospect.    [![Register for the Webinar](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2542915/9a2f4de0-34a4-43f7-bd5e-e75d97648ee4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2542915/9a2f4de0-34a4-43f7-bd5e-e75d97648ee4) Topics: [Negotiating with Backbone](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/negotiating-with-backbone), [winning proposal](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/winning-proposal), [value selling](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/value-selling), [procurement](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/procurement) ### **Search the Holden Advisors Blog:** This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ### Subscribe Below: ### Recent Posts ### Posts by Tag - [Pricing with Confidence (68)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/pricing-with-confidence) - [Negotiating with Backbone (63)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/negotiating-with-backbone) - [Selling with Confidence (43)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/selling-with-confidence) - [Newsletter (41)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/newsletter) - [Uncovering your Value (26)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/uncovering-your-value) - [Celebrating 10 Years of Pricing with Confidence (12)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/celebrating-10-years-of-pricing-with-confidence) - [value selling (9)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/value-selling) - [Selling with Backbone (8)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/selling-with-backbone) - [value (8)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/value) - [pricing (6)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/pricing) - [Commercial Transformation (5)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/commercial-transformation) - [Setting Price (4)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/setting-price) - [customer experience (4)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/customer-experience) - [actionable insights (3)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/actionable-insights) - [procurement (3)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/procurement) - [sales (3)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/sales) - [Pricing Strategy (2)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/pricing-strategy) - [big data (2)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/big-data) - [buying center (2)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/buying-center) - [customer loyalty (2)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/customer-loyalty) - [pricing metrics (2)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/pricing-metrics) - [winning proposal (2)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/winning-proposal) - [Driving Accountability (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/driving-accountability) - [Silos (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/silos) - [b2b pricing (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/b2b-pricing) - [bundling (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/bundling) - [gatekeeper (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/gatekeeper) - [jump the shark (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/jump-the-shark) - [on demand (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/on-demand) - [peloton (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/peloton) - [pricing models (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/pricing-models) - [product portfolio (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/product-portfolio) - [rabbit (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/rabbit) - [revenue (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/revenue) - [rolling stone (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/rolling-stone) - [subscription (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/subscription) - [tidying up (1)](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/tag/tidying-up) See all ### Newsletter and Blog ### About Us Holden Advisors are experts in the pricing and sales performance development space.  We help our clients take control of their differential value and use it to transform their business. ## [Learn More](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/negotiation-value-pricing-consultants/) - Quick Links - [Contact](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/contact-us/) - [About](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/) - [Blog](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/blog/) - [Books](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/insights/publications/books/) - [Case Studies](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/studies) - [Negotiating With Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/negotiating-with-backbone/) - [Value-Based Pricing](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/pricing/value-based-pricing/) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/privacy-policy/) - [Home](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/) Copyright © 2018 Holden Advisors. 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