Oh, no. Not the dreaded R-word! I refuse to even utter that word. Are we in one? Are we headed towards one? The economists have been arguing over this for the past few months, and will likely continue doing so. The reason I hate the R-word is not because of its effect on my business – actually, some of my best months have been during bad economic times – but because of the effect it could have on my psyche.
See, to me, the R-word seems to make people complacent. You’ve heard it before – “How’s business?” “Terrible! Sales are down…it’s the recession.” A recession (there, I’ve said it!) gives people something to blame – a reason for their slump. And it’s easy to get lazy and resign oneself to the idea that times are tough and any extra effort will likely be wasted.
So don’t give in to the R-word! Here’s what you can do to make your business immune to it:
Increase sales efforts. Hire more sales people. People are still buying, even in a down economy. It may take some more work to find them, that’s all.
Increase marketing. Become creative; it doesn’t need to cost a lot to be effective. E-mail marketing is extremely effective and inexpensive.
Increase networking. Join a chamber or local referral group. Get out there!
Find alliance partners. Seek businesses in complimentary industries that could be a good referral source for you, or vice versa. Partner with them and try to find a win-win situation, such as mutual referral-giving, or a referral fee for any referrals given that sign up as customers..
Make some more phone calls. Stay at work 10 minutes more each day and make a few more phone calls. Every little bit of effort adds up.
Do things you don’t normally do. Think outside the box. Make that phone call. Take a chance. You may have a record month!