3 Sure Fire Ways to Boost Your Business in a Slow Economy
pdiv style=”float: left; margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px;”a href=”http://corporate.wilkinsonplus.com/corp/images/pageimages/hires/mystery_shopper.jpg” target=_blankimg border=”0″ src=”http://corporate.wilkinsonplus.com/corp/images/pageimages/hires/mystery_shopper.jpg” width=300 alt=”become a secret shopper”/a/divSummertime and the livin’s easy. Or is it? For most people, business is off this time of year, unless you happen to be smack in the middle of a red hot tourist spot. But with gas prices that resemble SAT scores, even Tom Tourism is likely to be feeling the pinch./ppWhat is an otherwise optimistic entrepreneur to do? Well, you do have a few options. You could:/pp1. Whine and moan - not productive and the fallout from the negative energy ooze might just drive off the customers you do have./pp2. Make lemonade - figuratively speaking (but come to think of it, literally wouldn’t be a bad idea either)./ppThe tide will always turn on a slow economy and when it does you’ll want to be poised to capitalize on it. Luck is what happens when opportunity collides with preparation. If you want to get lucky, get prepared. Maximize the time when things are slower so you’ll be prepared for the day when the next wave rolls in. Here are ways you can turn your lemons into lemonade./pp- cents Take a look in your own backyard - pull out your Rolodex and go through it one contact at a time. Update any outdated information and re-connect with people you haven’t been in touch with for a while. Invite them out for lunch, send a handwritten card or just leave a friendly “how’ve ya been?” voice mail. Many of these folks are dealing with the same seasonal challenge as you and will likely welcome the opportunity to reconnect. Rekindling past business relationships could lead to renewed business plus create an opportunity to give and ask for referrals./ppWhen you finish with the Rolodex, move onto Outlook, your PDA, your business card collection, your LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace friends, etc. - you get the picture./ppIf that doesn’t stir up some action - and it should - then proceed to the next bullet./pp- cents Review your systems - how is your follow-up system working? What about your revenue-tracking system? Goal setting? Do any or all of these need some fine tuning? If you aren’t using them fully (or at all), it probably means you need to adjust them to suit you better./ppResist the urge to apply a system from a textbook just because Joe Biz Whiz swears by it. Be sure to adapt systems to fit your style and preferences. Good systems, fully utilized, don’t lie about results and may even reveal that things are really better than you thought!/pp- cents Take a class - use the down time to sharpen the blade. Invest in growing yourself. A better you runs a better business./ppYou may not be able to control the economy, but you can control how you react to it. So, slap on some sun block, dive into summer and make some luck for yourself./ppLisa Almeida is a Holistic Marketing Mentor and owner of Planit Production. She teaches business owners how to apply do-it-yourself techniques to powerful marketing methods and get big business results with small business resources. If you are in the market for strategies that can deliver the results you want while honoring you vision and values visit a target=”_new” href=”http://www.secretshopper123.com/ContactUs.html”http://www.PlanitwithLisa.com/a today to receive the weekly ezine, Going Soul-o and receive the Special Report: Why Successful Businesses Fail and How to Keep it from Happening to You./p
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