Nine Ways To Outwit And Outsell Your Competition In 2009

1. Focus On Your Profit Margin
Are you selling products that have a high profit -- that is products and services that are returning a high profit in dollars and cents -- not in percentages? There can be a big difference between profit in percentages and profit in dollars and cents. Remember, you can't take percentages to the bank.

2. Focus On Your People
Is your staff on your bandwagon? Explain to them that you are building a championship team that's going to survive these tough times. Are they on board? If not, you shouldn't be employing them. You can't afford to have one dissenter on your staff because you simply can't afford to lose one customer.

3. Communicate Your Differentiation, Your Story And Your Value
Do you have a differentiation or value story to tell people? If you do, they will remember you and talk about you. If you don't … they'll forget about you. Give your customers the "materials" they need to remember you, to talk about you and to be your "marketing ambassadors."

4. It's All About Connections
Be the mayor. Your business is up for election every single day of the year. What's your platform? What do you stand for? Put your time and energy into developing relationships within your community and collecting votes. Nurture your connections. The only cost of doing this is your time.

5. Be A Personality
Get in front of people and be the face of your company. Speaking in front of 100 people is worth more (financially and in good will) than you can imagine. People would rather do business with someone they know and like.

6. Love Your Customers
Your customers are the sole reason your business exists. A lot of companies have forgotten that. So, make your customers feel important. Ask them for feedback. Once a year, invite your key customers to a special event to thank them for their business. It's easier and far less expensive to market to your true "fans" than to find new customers.

7. Wow! Be Fascinating
Everything you do and everything the customer sees about you -- your showroom, products and services, greetings, landscaping, washroom and lobby area -- must be remarkable. If they're mediocre, then in your customers' eyes, you're just another average company that's easy to forget about.

8. Make The Internet Work For You
If you're not found on the Internet, people won't know about you. Invest in "search" and PPC programs. Explore the advantages of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Learn about mobile messaging programs. Make it a point to maintain visibility on the Internet and engage in two-way conversations with your customers.

9. Develop A Written Sales-Building Plan
Ideas are a dime a dozen and don't mean anything if they remain stored in your head. Write down what you want to achieve (your vision), your deadline for achieving it and what it's going to take to get you there.

From this, develop a six-month sales-building plan. Get feedback from your staff so they "buy into" the program. And finally, get someone to hold you accountable for getting the plan done.
Having a written plan and having someone to make sure you implement the plan will make you unstoppable.

If you follow these guidelines, 2009 will be just fine.

2009 Will Be Just Fine!
Say goodbye to 2008. What a year it's been! There have been a lot of ups and downs, and most of the downs were a result of things beyond our control.
With a lot of companies in survival mode, we believe this is the best time for you to outwit and outsell your competition. If you follow our nine guidelines, 2009 can and will be just fine.

Best holiday wishes and see you next year!

Mike Langer Director of Client Solutions northlich
720 East Pete Rose Way Cincinnati, OH 45202
Direct: 513.287.1812 Main: 513.421.8840 Cell: 513.703.9637
mlanger@northlich.com
www.northlich.com