Below are some quotes to inspire you to action.
Pick one of these and write it down somewhere and let it inspire you to action!
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed.
Elbert Hubbard:
To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.
I’ve been thinking more and more about this and I’ve decided that every business needs to ask certain questions if they are going to succeed in business – whether we’re in a recession or not.
Here are some of those important questions…
Do you know who your customers are?
Beyond their names, WHO are they?
What do they like? What do they hate? What do they love? What do they fear?
And the 3 most important questions I think you need to know about customers…
1. Why did they buy from you?
2. What else do they want from you?
3. How much are they willing to pay?
You might THINK you know the answers to these questions, but knowing the real answers could surprise you and give your business clues to succeed at a new level.
Do you know who your prospects are?
Who are the people that you’ve been trying to sell to? WHO are they?
What do they like? What do they hate? What do they love? What do they fear?
Do they match the people you have already sold to? If not, find more people like the ones who already have bought from you. You’ve proven you can reach those types of people! 
And the three most important questions I think you need to know about prospects…
1. Why HAVEN’T they bought from you?
2. What do they want from you?
3. What are they willing to pay?
You might be able to GUESS who they are and why they haven’t bought from you, but the real reasons could cause you to go from barely making sales to regularly making sales!
And what’s the best way to find answers to all of these questions?
ASK them!
Without this business doesn’t exist.
Without an irresistible one, your business won’t succeed.
What am I talking about? An Offer!
In a recession, an irresistible offer is not just helpful, it’s necessary!
If you want to read a great book on this then check this one out…
“The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less” by Mark Joyner
This post will be short, sweet and to the point.
In a recession, slashing prices drastically might seem like a good idea, but is not a good way to go if you want your small business to survive and prosper in a recession. You need all of the revenue you can get during this time.
Why not do the opposite?
Instead of just slashing your prices, why not INCREASE the value of the product or service you are selling?
Figure out ways you can add something that has low (or no) cost to you, but high perceived (and actual) value to the customer.
What simple things can you add to what you’re selling?
Here are some ideas…
-You could add free training on how to effectively use your product or service to get the most value out of it.
-You could add some sort of additional discount on another product or service you offer.
-You could offer your customer a “viral coupon”. What I mean is that you could offer a special coupon to customers who purchase another of your products or services that gives them a good discount (not huge slashed discount), but they also get a coupon that they can share with a friend that would allow their friend to enjoy the same product or service at the same special discount.
These are just a few ideas. You’re only limited by your imagination!
Look around at what value added offers appeal to you and try to do something similar!
Do this today and watch what happens!
Many of the experts I interviewed for my e-manuals are authors and speakers who have books and other programs that can help you.
Here’s a list of some of the books & programs from Vol. 1 contributors that are available on Amazon.com:
Michael Gerber’s Best-seller:
“The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It”
Tom Hopkins’ Books:
“Low Profile Selling”
Best-seller “How to Master the Art of Selling”
“Guide to Greatness in Sales: How to Become a Complete Salesperson”
Jay Conrad Levinson’s Books & Programs:
Best-Seller: “Guerrilla Marketing, 4th edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business”
AUDIO BOOK: “Guerrilla Marketing During Tough Times: Is Your Business Slowing Down?”
Marlon Sanders’ Programs
KINDLE EDITION: “The Amazing Formula: That Sells Products Like Crazy!”
KINDLE EDITION: “Gimme My Money Now: How To Create Fast & Roll Them Out Successfully”
David Garfinkel’s Book:
“Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich: Create Winning Ads, Web Pages, Sales Letters and More”
Declan Dunn’s Book:
“Net Profits: How To Win The Internet Game”
Alex Mandossian’s co-authored book:
The Business Podcasting Bible: Wherever My Market Is… I Am
Ted Nicholas’ Books:
“Winning Unlimited New Customers”
“How To Triple Sales To Existing Customers”
Yanik Silver’s Book:
“Moonlighting on the Internet: 5 World-Class Experts Reveal Proven Ways to Make Extra Cash”
Robert Allen’s Books:
“Multiple Streams of Income: How to Generate a Lifetime of Unlimited Wealth! Second Edition”
“Nothing Down for the 2000s: Dynamic New Wealth Strategies in Real Estate”
Terry Dean’s books:
“Internet Integrity: The Truth About How Any Business Can Increase Profits Online”
I’m convinced that I can show you how to make more money even in this recession. I know I can show you things you can do right away to bring in more income and to find new revenue streams.
I’m so convinced that I’ve decided to offer any of you the option of getting a consultation call with me and offer it in a way that takes away all the risk for you.
Here’s how I’ll make it risk free…
1. I will only charge you $150 for an hour call. I plan on charging $200 for an hour consultation, because I believe the information will be so specific and beneficial to any business owner that it will be MORE than worth that amount, but I want to start with this amount to PROVE it will be worth your time and investment. Here’s how I’ll prove it…
2. I will allow you to call in for FREE and begin the call with no obligation to continue or for you to pay.
3. Once I get a chance to ask you a list of questions to determine how I can help you, I’ll begin to share some of the things you can do specifically in your business to see results.
4. I will then ask you if you’d like to continue and pay to talk for the rest of the hour or if you’d like to just end our time. At this point, you’re free to decide you’re done and you won’t be charged anything. OR you can decide to continue our conversation so you can hear more of what you can do to help your business during this crazy economic time. If you decide this, I’ll press “*” and you’ll have the opportunity to confirm you want to pay the $150 for the call. (It’s all handled securely through ether.com. I don’t see your phone number and I even won’t see your payment information.)
We will then continue talking until the hour consultation is done.
5. And here’s where I want to take it a step farther and make it even easier for you to make this decision without any fear of regret…
I will guarantee that the information on the hour call that I have with you is AT LEAST 10 times more valuable than the $150 you pay that if you don’t believe it is then just let me know anytime after the call and I’ll give you a FULL refund. If you don’t think the information I give you on that call can bring you 10 times that amount when you apply it in your business, then please let me know and I’ll gladly give you your money back.
But I’m very confident that you won’t want your money back. Why?
Here’s what one person said about a consultation I did with him…
“I first heard Scott Aughtmon on a local radio station interview. I was intrigued by his comments on surviving and prospering in a recession and decided to buy his books.
“The books were outstanding but the extra special benefit I did not expect was an hour phone consultation with Scott. After providing Scott with answers to questions he asked about my business, I took full advantage of the hour call and included several of my Regional Directors. The hour flew by and Scott had great suggestions and insight to our business. We have implemented several of his recommendations and we have seen improvement.
“Scott is wealth of practical, modern knowledge and marketing knowhow and I highly recommend his services.”
–Bob Benowitz
Executive Vice President of Operations
Primrose Schools Franchising Company
http://www.primroseschools.com
If you would like specific advice that you can apply personally to your business so you can see improvement like Bob did, then call me and let me prove it to you.
Click the button below to arrange a time for us to talk by phone!
*Click the “continue” button on the page the button above takes you to and you can see how to easily set up a time for us to talk.
Below are the final 19 methods from my blog series “38 Methods (from 38 experts) To Help Your Business Survive And Prosper In A Recession”. You can see the first 19th methods here.
How To Win One Of Final 4 Sets Of My E-manuals:
I’m giving away 30 sets of my two e-manuals called, “How Your Business Can Survive And Prosper In A Recession.” to 6 winners.
(NOTE: 2 people have already won.)
Why does each winner get 5 sets of the e-manuals? You can have one of the sets for yourself and give away 4 sets on your blog to your twitter followers, or to your customers.
How to enter to win:
1. Post a comment below and tell me your favorite of the FINAL 19 methods listed here below.
2. I will put all of the entries into a website that will randomly draw the winners.
3. I will draw and announce the first 2 winners on MONDAY, MAY 18th. On that day, I will also announce how the final four people can win a set.
19 FINAL Methods:
**Click the methods below that are red links to read my further advice on how to implement these methods.**
20. Falling into the “it can’t be done” trap. Instead of looking for new opportunities and ways to expand, companies try to batten down the hatches and ride it out.
A recession can be a great opportunity if one keeps their eyes open and not retreat into a defensive mode.
21. Give greater attention to your best clients – Those customers who have proven that they will support your business during good times and bad are always important, but particularly important during tough times. They are most likely to be the source of badly needed revenues so give them special attention.
22. Send out a press release each month. Media are always looking for stories.
23. Focus on public attitude shifts by staying on top of trends like popular keywords, news headlines, and top selling products. Position your products and marketing accordingly to take advantage of existing customer awareness.
24. Keep Tight Tabs On Everything. Test everything. Make sure every ad you place is earning a profit and generating leads. Don’t ever allow yourself to place any ad you can’t track, no matter how lucrative it could be.
25. Survey my customers and get them to tell me what they want and how they want to receive it.
26. “Gather your team together. Do a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) with key members. Think strategically.”
27. “Implement creative and inexpensive methods of advertising and marketing to increase your customer traffic, like employee referral bonus programs, customer referrals, in store specials, drawings and give-aways, flyers, articles, etc.”
28. “Make company goals known by the whole team so that everyone is focused on the same mission.”
29. “Economize on expenses. Meet with your CPA and go over your expenses.”
30. “Make sure your suppliers are solid financially. This is no time to tell your customers that you can’t get their goods on time because your supplier went belly up.”
31. “Improve the deals with your suppliers. Anxiety about losing accounts during recessions makes some suppliers highly cooperative.”
32. “Slim down the product line. In general, almost every company has too many SKUs, or their equivalent. Does Coca-Cola need 14 varieties of Coke? I believe they would sell just as much Coke with half the number of SKUs. Furthermore, reducing the product line would save money in production and distribution.”
33. “Join LinkedIn or the social network of your choice. Use it to trade tips & info. Give first, and then you’ll get back useful tips and leads.”
34. “My further suggestion would be to find a product that you personally have an interest in and promote that product and category. I started a line of horse books because I had purchase an Arabian stallion. I went into a riding goods store and asked for books on Arabian horses. There were only hard cover books. I asked the salesperson where the paperback books were on horses and was told there weren’t any. That was a golden opportunity and I published a line of 70 horse books as fast as I could. My horse became a champion and well known in the Arabian horse world. My books were sold around the world and in the 17,500 riding good stores in America.”
35. “Train key people in the business. Real world education is the best investment any business can make. This includes books, tapes and seminars.”
36. “Use downtime for new product development. Have you considered writing a book that will set you up as an industry expert by the time the slump is over? How about online information products for those people that cannot afford your services and will do it on their own?”
37. “Upgrade your own skills. Tough times are a great opportunity to read more, study more and learn more about your business and about leadership in general.
38. “Ideally, I would broker joint ventures exclusively and not run a conventional business, unless I could leverage the resources in that business and reduce the overhead significantly.”“By aggressively working on your own personal growth you’ll stay more motivated, energized… and you might run across an idea or technique that brings a substantial return to your organization.”
REMEMBER: Post your favorite in the comments to win!
The 38 tips you’ve seen are contained in my two e-manuals called, “How Your Business Can Survive And Prosper In A Recession.”
NOTE: I interviewed 38 top experts in business, sales & marketing. Each expert revealed the common mistakes most businesses make, 5-10 methods that they’d use to survive and prosper in a recession, and money-making opportunities available to business owners during this time.
You are about to see just ONE method from each of their interviews. If you would like to see more, then you can go to the site and check out a free preview of two of the interviews or grab both e-manuals for one low price.
Now here is your 38th and final tip…
(Vol. 2 Robin J. Elliot - Method To Survive & Prosper)
“Ideally, I would broker joint ventures exclusively and not run a conventional business, unless I could leverage the resources in that business and reduce the overhead significantly.”
Many of you might not be ready to ditch your whole business to do what Robin says, but you do need to seriously consider what he’s saying.
Why?
Because it’s one of the few opportunities you have for you to create new income streams and uncover hidden assets. And you can do it with little, to no, additional work or overhead added to your business.
What to do… Look for non-competitive businesses that you can partner with to share customers and increased income with.
Approach them and offer first to promote their product or service to your customers for a share of the profits. (*Make sure they have a great product or service that your customers need and that will add value to their lives. Otherwise, don’t offer it!)
Then once you both enjoy some new profits from this experience, ask them to offer your product or service to their customers for a share of the additional profits that you will give them.
(I can take you by the hand and help you discover new income streams and uncover some of your hidden assets. I can walk you through the whole process. I’ve studied the methods of one of the top joint venture experts in the field and know his methods to do this effectively. I would only ask for a small amount to be paid for my help and a small percentage of the money I help you bring in. Email me at recessionsolution at gmail.com if you want more info. Please also look into Robin’s services and training for another way to learn how to effectively do these deals. Robin is a respected expert at this method.)
———————————
Robin J. Elliott has worked with literally thousands of businesses, in Africa, Canada and the United States since 1987 and has trained and spoken to thousands in his seminars. He has appeared on national television, radio, and newspapers, and conducts his business on an international level. Mr. Elliott’s passion and specialty is helping people to start and grow their own businesses using joint ventures.
This is the LAST method in this series. I hope you liked it. Please stay tuned for more methods and ideas to help your business. I will have another contest on Monday to give away the remaining sets of my e-manuals. It will be MONDAY at 8am PST. Sign-up at top by email or RSS feed, so you won’t miss it.
**You still have a chance to enter the contest for the 2nd set of ebooks. IF you enter BEFORE Monday! Go here to see what to do to enter to win!**
If you like these tips please share a link to them on your blog or tweet them.
The 38 tips you’re about to see are contained in my two e-manuals called, “How Your Business Can Survive And Prosper In A Recession.”
NOTE: I interviewed 38 top experts in business, sales & marketing. Each expert revealed the common mistakes most businesses make, 5-10 methods that they’d use to survive and prosper in a recession, and money-making opportunities available to business owners during this time.
You are about to see just ONE method from each of their interviews. If you would like to see more, then you can go to the site and check out a free preview of two of the interviews or grab both e-manuals for one low price.
Now here is your 37th tip…
(Vol. 2 Dave Anderson - Method To Survive & Prosper)
“Upgrade your own skills. Tough times are a great opportunity to read more, study more and learn more about your business and about leadership in general.
“By aggressively working on your own personal growth you’ll stay more motivated, energized… and you might run across an idea or technique that brings a substantial return to your organization.”
A couple posts ago you saw the need to train your team, but here Dave brings the other key element in training: your personal training.
If you aren’t on the top of your game, then how can your team be?
John Maxwell talks about what I think he calls the “law of the lid”. It’s the law that states you can never attract someone who is a greater leader than you are.
That means this: if you are a level 7 out of 10, then you can only attract someone onto your team who is a 1-6 level leader. If you want to attract someone higher you have to climb higher first!
I believe this is true in other arenas of business too. Training yourself during this down time allows you to upgrade your skills, so that you can better lead your company and attract and grow a stronger team!
(*If you haven’t listened to “The Missing Ingredient To Success” Part 1, then I’d encourage you to do this NOW. It can help you to learn how go to the next level without any new training! I guarantee you that it’s worth 9 minutes of your time. Click here to listen to it now.)
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Dave Anderson is president of LearnToLead, an international sales and leadership training organization. He is the author of nine books, including the TKO Business Series. Dave gives 100+ leadership speeches and seminars annually and has spoken in 13 countries. He is a columnist for two national magazines and a frequent panelist on MSNBC’s Your Business.
The FINAL METHOD is on the way! It will be tomorrow at 8am PST. Sign-up at top by email or RSS feed, so you won’t miss it.
If you like these tips please share a link to them on your blog or tweet them.
Did you hear?
I’m giving away 30 sets of my 2 e-manuals “How Your Business Can Survive & Prosper In A Recession” to 6 winners.
(One set for the winner and the other four to give away on their blog, website, to their customers – or even twitter followers!)
I already picked two of the winners and they have their e-manuals.
YOU could win one of the next two sets easily. Here’s how…
All you have to do is post what I ask for in the comments section of this post.
**You still have a chance to enter the contest for the 2nd set of ebooks.
Go here to see what to do to enter to win!
