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A Few Crucial Strategies to Beat the Recession

Written by: Angela Kambarian

Article Overview: While economic turmoil continues to intensify, savvy business owners find ways to sustain and grow their revenues. Even tough economic times present opportunities for the ones who use creative strategies to promote themselves. After all, it is possible to turn challenges into opportunities and take your enterprise to the next level, despite gloomy economic forecasts. The article below will inspire you to take action, overcome the odds and achieve the success you deserve.

A Few Crucial Strategies to Beat the Recession

Negative economic reports, coming from all media outlets, create a great deal of fear and uncertainty in the business community. Entrepreneurs are afraid that their clients will cut down on spending, cancel a lot of projects or turn to low-priced vendors. Besides, there is a predominant worry that the worst is yet come. Sounds scary, if you ask me.

So, is there a reason to be concerned as economic crisis continues to intensify? Or should you just plug your ears and pretend that the world is a happy place? Here is the bottomline: a bad economy destroys jobs and prospects for some people and creates tremendous opportunities and even big fortunes for others. Would you like to defeat the odds and come out on top? You bet you are! Let me show you how to master the most effective marketing and sales methods that will help you survive and thrive in a down economy. The steps outlined below will guide you in the right direction and help you revive your business.

1. Reactivate old leads

What you should do is reach out to the leads you gave up on a while ago, and try to turn them into clients. One study suggests that 80 percent of sales to businesses are made on the 5th sales call. However, only 10 percent of salespeople call more than three times. The moral of the story is: don't give up too early! The old leads can be transformed into profitable business opportunities and significantly increase your bottom-line. All you need is a little extra sales effort. Call your leads and ask them what their situation is. Find out if they have any projects coming up in the near future, where you could be of help. Some of them might ask you to re-send your information and keep it on file for future purposes. Others might get back to you with an order.

2. Provide superior service

During tough economic times you should do whatever it takes to keep your customers and cultivate relationships. You might even have to bend over backwards for them. Doing a good job is no longer good enough. You should exceed expectations and dazzle your customers! Why don't you provide that little bit of extra service, go the extra mile and over-deliver? And they will give you a steady stream of projects in return. This will allow you to pay your mortgage and feed your family. So, serve your customers well and do everything in your power to make them happy.

3. Help existing customers create new assignments for you.

If your customers do not call you anymore, you should contact THEM, offer some marketing ideas and help them come up with assignments for you. In good times, you don't have to provide advice for free. But if business is slow and you have little revenue coming in, it's okay to toss out a few basic ideas and suggestions that might prove to be of great value to your customers. As a result, they might hire you to put these ideas into practice.

4. Quote reasonable fees in bid situations

When times are tough, most companies and organizations become price-sensitive. Therefore, you should bid reasonable and affordable prices. Otherwise, you risk losing a lot of business. Of course, you don't have to sell yourself short or lower your prices to rock-bottom. As you know, undercharging is bad business practice. What you should do is bid toward the middle or lower end of your fee range, rather than at the maximum. For instance, if you charge $6,000-$10,000 for an annual report, quote a price of $6,000 or $7,000 instead of $10,000. Just to be on the safe side. Some business experts suggest that you charge 15 to 20 percent lower than what you would normally charge in a good economy. Be fair and give your prospects a break. Also remember that in a recession you should defer any planned fee increases. Keep your fees at their current levels, even if you think you deserve a raise.

5. Plan an Aggressive Marketing Campaign

When things are slow, you should spend more time and effort prospecting for new business. If you devote 10 percent of your time to sales and marketing, you might have to increase it to 25 percent or more. You have to make this extra effort to attract more clients, generate more leads or close sales. Don't forget that in good times or bad, you should market yourself on an ongoing basis. That's one of the best ways to prevent a quiet period in business from ever happening in the first place.

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