9 Strategies To Help You Become Bullet Proof In This Slow Economy
by Steve Clark
As the economy slows and businesses cut back on purchases, it will become more important than ever that companies and salespeople aggressively increase their efforts to acquire new clients. This new economic climate will provide great opportunities for those businesses that get off of their butt and hustle.
Below are 9 strategies and ideas to help you increase market share and take advantage of opportunities that others will ignore.
- As your competitors sulk and complain about how bad the economy is and cut back on their business acquisition activities there will be less competition in the marketplace. Those who are out in the marketplace aggressively seeking new business will find themselves having to deal with fewer and fewer competitors. This thinning of the marketplace will become an advantage for those who are out there looking for new business.
- Some of your competitors will go out of business and it will make it easier for you to acquire their customers and clients.
- Many companies will cut back on their advertising, marketing and sales efforts in order to save money. You must resist the urge to do so and instead increase your marketing and sales efforts by ramping up and increasing your level of activity and calls.
- Consider new marketing and advertising initiatives. This increase in marketing and advertising will help you penetrate new markets and increase market share.
- Increase your frequency of contact with existing customers and clients by doubling or tripling the frequency of contact. Remember, your best customer is someone else's best prospect. And in this economic climate it is imperative that sellers do everything they can to cement and maintain relationships with existing customers. Above all, resist the temptation to take your existing customers for granted.
- Increasing your level of contact with existing customers will reassure them and provide them with confidence that you're still there. Your customers want to know that you're still there and doing well. It is reassuring for them to know that you will still be around when they need you.
- Consider repackaging and bundling products and services that you now offer. Prospects and customers are becoming more choosey and are looking for greater value and good deals.
- Consider adding new products or services to existing offerings that you have. Be bold. Be innovative and use this time to become a market leader.
- Improve your own personal sales and marketing skills by investing in training, coaching and mentoring programs that will give you a competitive edge. During a slow down one of the first things people do is to cut back on training and education. This is a huge mistake. Take advantage of your competitor's poor business strategy by increasing your training and skill enhancement.
Entrepreneur and Executive Sales Coach, Steve Clark publishes the highly acclaimed "Tips for Profitable Persuasion" weekly ezine. Get your FREE copy at www.newschoolselling.com.
Wal-Mart advertising on the radio . . . a success story
"After years of minimal spending, there's evidence that Wal-Mart has embraced
radio as a way to drive shoppers into stores. And it's working. The
discounter has had some of the strongest sales during this economic downturn.
Media Monitors says that the country's largest retailer aired 52,739 spots
last week,
four-times last year's average."
I know that hardly anyone else could afford to multiply their radio ad by four - but it shows
that in an economy like we are in now, if want to stay afloat; advertise like crazy. You will
get a greater % share whatever business there is “out there”.
Let’s say you have a small business, and you are spending $12,000 a year on radio ads and you asked me if you should double that I’d say, absolutely, triple it if you can, and if you want to do like one of the most successful companies in America does in this down economy; multiply it times four. One word of caution; make sure you are saying the right things in your ads. That way you will get the best bang for your buck with those ads. If your not saying something the audience gives a hoot about your just urinating in a breeze.
Doing the Right Thing
by Clay Campbell
Even though we have the new President Elect.. Barack Obama, many small business
owners are struggling to keep their business going. We are in an uncertain
economy, with wild swings up and down of the stock market and all the talk
of a recession. The actual definition of a recession is: two 3-month periods
of negative growth in the economy, and it looks like we may receive just
that.
I did not realize at the time, months ago, when I started on a remodeling
project at my business, that I was really doing the right thing. But
because I am a Believer, I believe God is guiding my life, so I give
credit to Him for whatever blessings or success have come my way. On
the other hand when things don’t go so well I tend to blame myself.
We have all met folks who get that turned around. They tend to blame
God when things go wrong, and take credit themselves, when things are
going great.
I met a wise man years ago by the name of Jim Rohn.
He told me, “Clay if you want to be successful in life, try to find out what everybody else is doing and then you do the opposite”. Jim also told me that John D. Rockefeller once said that he bought when everybody else was selling and he sold when everybody else was buying; and that made him one of the richest men in the world.
I own a 575-seat Country Music Theatre and just this past year we went into debt for a new addition. We built new restrooms. We tore out the old ones and built a new 900 square ft addition
with a badly needed storage room, and put in all new commodes, sinks, and urinals. My wife did the decorating, picking the styles, colors and matching up everything. They are just beautiful, if restrooms can be beautiful.
Where the old restrooms were, we put in 40 more seats. (I bought them on Ebay for a $1 each) We spent a total of about $65,000. This has given us tremendous good word of mouth advertising. Quite possibly more good will and delight from our customers, than if we’d spent the $65,000 on advertising. That’s because 100’s and 100’s of people have come up to my wife and I, and went out of their way to thank us for the new restrooms, and commenting on how nice they are. After being in business here for 20 years, I can tell you, even if you spent $65,000 it would be extremely hard to create the response we have had with mass media advertising.
While the gas prices were rising to over $4 a gallon I was adding on, believing I was doing the right thing. It turns out that now that we have an economic downturn going in America our business is doing very well. And we have a lot of great equity built up in the very good word of mouth advertising we have going for our business.
See you next week.
Clay Campbell
Wizard of Ads
PS.
Need help to attract more customers and grow your business?
In Australia Call (07) 4728 4866 or email craigarthur@wizardofads.com
