Volume 1 • Number 2 • October 6–19, 2008
By Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D. and Mark M. Deutsch, MBA
How Do I Build My Business In a Slow Economy?
W
hen the economy is slow, new business is harder to get. What can you do to build your business in a recessionary economy? It’s been about ten years since our last recession in the United States. For the most part, the U.S. economy has been strong and business has been good for the last decade. However, the fact is that the economy goes through cycles and business has slowed down for many people. Unfortunately, every time it takes a downturn, the fallout is felt strongly by salespeople, business owners, and professionals alike. Successful business professionals learn from the past. For many of us, this will not be our first recession. So, what did we learn from previous economic downturns? In the early 90’s, right in the middle of a nasty recession, I was at a business mixer where I was meeting many local business professionals. It seemed that everyone was feeling the crunch from the slow economy. Throughout the entire event, the favorite topic of discussion was how bad the economy was and how things were getting worse. The whole affair was depressing, because nearly everyone was obsessed with the problems of the economy and its impact on their businesses. If you want to do well in business during such challenging times, you must understand that it does absolutely no good to complain to people about how tough things are. When you complain about how bad business is – half the people you tell don’t care and the other half are glad that you’re worse off than they are! While you cannot control the economy or your competition, you can
control your response to the economy. Referrals can keep your business alive and well during an economic downturn. During the last recession, I watched thousands of business people grow and prosper. They were successful because they consciously made the decision to refuse to participate in the recession. They did so by developing their networking skills and learning how to build their business through word of mouth. You can do the same during a slow economy by: 1. Diversifying your networks. You need breadth and depth. Participate in different kinds of groups. 2. Don’t be a “cave-dweller”. Be visible, put yourself in play, get out and meet people at business events. 3. Learn how to work the meetings you attend. It’s not called net-sit, or net-eat, it’s called Net-WORK. Learn networking systems and techniques that apply to the different kinds of organizations you attend. 4. Prepare effective introductions and presentations to give to other business people at networking events and meetings. 5. Develop your Contact Spheres – these are a groups of business professionals who have a symbiotic or compatible, non-competitive relationship with you. 6. Most importantly, understand that networking is more about farming than it is about hunting. It’s about building relationships with other business people. Don’t let a bad economy be your excuse for failure. Instead, make it your opportunity to succeed. It’s not “what you know,” or “who you know,” it’s “how well you know people” that counts. In
a tough economy, it’s your social capital that has value. Make good use of it and you will thrive while others struggle. Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization, which has more than 5,010 chapters in 39 countries. Dr. Misner is also the author of several books, including the most recent addition to the bestselling Masters Series—Masters of Sales (www.mastersbooks.com), and the New York Times bestseller Truth or Delusion? (www.truthordelusion.com); and he is the Senior Partner for the Referral Institute (www.referralinstitute.com), a referral training company with operations around the world. Mark Deutsch, MBA is the Managing Editor of The Business Networker. Mark is also the Executive Director of BNI-Central Virginia; the principal
The Business Networker, LLC P.O. Box 11826 Richmond, VA 23230
of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group-Central Virginia, a sales training and consulting firm; and a principal of EnrichU, a personal and professional development training firm.
Inside... Expert Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3 Rob Mercer shares three strategies to manage your investments successfully in today’s turbulent market.
Networking Events . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4 Check out the more than 65 networking opportunities coming-up in just the next few weeks... so much business to be done!
Q & A Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 8 Robin Smith - Business Ownership Coach, The Entrepreneur’s Source
Business Fundamentals . . . . . . . . page 9 Will Turner tells us why it pays when you know if your clients are poor-fit, good-fit, or perfect-fit.
Contributor’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . page 10 Jim Roman gives us a new meaning to the word B-A-L-A-N-C-E ... when it comes to your business.