economic trends | Dr. Ivan Misner®

20Jan2011

The End is Near!string(16) "The End is Near!"

January 20, 2011

business networking, economic trends, Economy, Networking, Referrals, story Business, Collaboration, Connections, Economy, Global Business, Marketing/Sales, Sales, Survey 4

No, not the end of the world, silly . . . I’m talking about the end of the recession. Recently, I wrote about “Business Looking up in 2011” which was based on a survey of over 5,000 businesspeople and entrepreneurs at www.BNIBusinessIndex.com. The survey was a global survey that was taken by people from every populated continent in the world.

The survey found that almost 68% of the respondents say that business is growing or growing dramatically compared to this time a year ago. What the survey doesn’t explain is why those businesses are growing.

I have a few thoughts, based on my observations recently, which may shed some light on this and also provide insight into how you can grow your business:

Innovation in adversity is a key factor. I know a commercial real estate broker in Southern California who said that he had his best year ever in 2010 (and he’s been in business for 26 years). He cited the fact that he did dozens and dozens of one-to-ones during the year to find ways to work together with other businesses. His opening approach was to help them. However, at the same time, it built his business in the process. This is counter-intuitive to most commercial real estate people he told me.
It all starts with attitude. A product sales company in the UK was about to do layoffs to meet payroll. One of the sales reps wrote on the whiteboard – “we refuse to participate in the recession.” Everyone in the office signed it. They ended up with their best month all year and no one was laid off!
Look for new or emerging opportunities. I met a residential Real Estate agent on the East Coast of the U.S. who told me he had his best year ever last year. He said he went to investors he’s worked with in the past and told them that “real estate is on sale!” He said to them, “don’t be one of those people who come to me in a few years and say… “I was crazy not to look at these opportunities. I should have bought back in 2010!” He told me this strategy has helped him sell more than any year in recent memory.
Be creative with your offers. I recently met a business coach in the mid-west of the U.S. who created a guarantee for his coaching. He said, if you follow my weekly coaching program and you don’t raise your income to at least six figures, I’ll continue to coach you for free until you do. He said it has dramatically increased his sales and has not had to provide any clients with free coaching yet.

If you have any insights / observations about the current upward slope of business or outside-the-box tips on how to boost business despite a challenging economy, please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

18Nov2010

The Importance of Knowing Your Products and Servicesstring(52) "The Importance of Knowing Your Products and Services"

When your referral marketing plan is working well, prospective customers buy from you the first time because they have been referred by your sources. They may continue to buy from you because they trust you and develop a good relationship with you. But whatever the reasons they come and whatever the reasons they stay, they are your customers primarily because they need your products and services.

A clear idea of your range of products and services is something your sources need to communicate to prospects. For each product or service you plan to market during your referral marketing campaign, you must be able to articulate for your sources the answers to the following questions:

What is the purpose of your product or service?–What needs does it satisfy?
How would you describe it?–What are its shape, size, functions, key features, principal activities, benefits?
How is your product or service delivered to the customer?
How much does it cost and under what conditions?

There are other questions concerning your products or services that you should answer for your own strategic purposes. Is your product becoming obsolete? Is there a newer or better way to provide the same service? What are the social and environmental effects of your product or service? Will economic or regulatory trends force you to change your products or services or the conditions under which you provide them? In the long term, will you be satisfied to continue to offer these products or services?

Knowing the answers to the questions above will help you clearly communicate your products and/or services to your referral sources. This is extremely important because only when you’re able to do this will your referral sources be able to effectively refer business to you.

8Nov2010

Do You Know Your Mission?string(25) "Do You Know Your Mission?"

You may think you know why you’re in business, but perhaps it’s been years since you gave it serious thought. There’s no better time than now to re-examine why you’re doing what you’re doing. Ask yourself the following questions:

What is my business mission? — Beyond simply making a living, what are my long-range professional goals? Do I wish to become the standard by which my competitors are judged? Is it my dream to help make the world a better place?
Where is my organization going? — Am I achieving my mission? Am I making plans to accomplish it? How can I change policies, procedures or personnel to improve my chances of achieving my mission?
What environment is my organization operating in? — What are the social, economic and technological trends that affect the way I do business and my progress toward my goals?
What are my core competencies? — What do I like to do? What is it that I do better than my competitors? Is my business mission compatible with my values and aptitudes?

I’ve seen too many business professionals and companies make the mistake of trying to be all things to all people. Starting out with the fundamentally sound goal of finding a niche that will make them successful, they go astray by changing direction every time a customer or associate suggests a new product or service. The mission gets lost in a frantic scramble for business before the original idea ever gets a chance to pay off.

So, even if you think you know your mission, it will serve you well to pause periodically, analyze your business and, if necessary, refocus on your mission and philosophy.