Kirstin Carey

ARTICES

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Why You Should Be Thrilled
that the Economy is Tanking

Jumping for joy that the economy is sliding sounds counter-intuitive, but stay with me.  No matter what the economy is like, there are always businesses that do more than just survive – they thrive.  How is that possible?

Anyone can be successful when the economy is good, but it takes a smart business owner to do well when things aren’t perfect.  Businesses that want to flourish don’t retreat when financial experts spread doom and gloom.  In fact, smart business owners push forward harder with their marketing and sales efforts. 

The great thing about a sliding economy is that the “hobbyists,” accidental successes, and people who undercut prices will fall away quickly and get out of the business.   This helps your business and your industry by getting rid of the hacks and improving the opportunities available to you. 

What can you do to make sure your business is insulated from financial disaster?  

1. Solid Marketing Strategy

Take a good look at your marketing plan.  Make sure you put together a solid strategy for marketing and don’t let up on any of your efforts.

Grab a calendar and plan out the next 12-24 months of postcards, newsletters, email marketing, letters, phone calls, thank you notes, and other marketing efforts, so when others bottom out and leave the industry, you are standing on top when potential customers come looking.

A strong marketing approach which includes web marketing as well as postal mailings will have your business soaring – and your competitors wondering, “How is she doing so well?”

2. Sharp Sales Skills

Make sure your sales skills are sharp and effective.  Once you spend time, energy, and money marketing to get your prospects to contact you, you had better know what makes your customers fall in love with the idea of buying from you.  Asking the right questions in the sales process is often the difference between losing the customer and gaining a customer who chooses to spend big bucks to hire you.

3. No Advertising

Do not, under any circumstance, get lured into advertising.  It’s a sure fire way to spend a bunch of money with little to no return on your investment. 

Advertising is when you pay to place an ad in a magazine, newspaper, online, or in another publication.  Businesses are often attracted to advertising because it seems like an easy way to bring in a new stream of customers and because they see their competitors doing it.  Some businesses are convinced to place an ad by a slick advertising salesperson who spewed a bunch of large numbers about readership and circulation, but made no mention of how many actual sales occurred for advertisers in their publication.  It doesn’t matter how many people see your ad, it’s how many buy because of the ad.  

Here’s the straight truth: advertising efforts do not work – especially for small businesses. You will see far better results for a fraction of the money if you put your efforts into solid, thought-out marketing. 

Plan out your marketing, sharpen your sales skills, and avoid advertising to see a successful business in any economy.  Put down the white flag and get out there and fight for your success!