People have been asking me for years the same question: How do they grow their small business in a down market. The economy is a source of concern for every organization and salesperson. When times are good and people are buying it would seem easier to sell, but the competition is fierce. When the economy is tight, uncertain, and contracted selling becomes difficult because people aren’t willing to spend as freely. Here are 5 proven ways to grow your market in any economy: 1. Stop Blaming the Economy When economies are contracting I personally achieve more than when they are expanding because it’s a time to show my other skills like work ethic, positive attitude, and discipline to stand out from the competition. I am able to get accounts I might not have been able to get before because I solve problems that others cannot and I’m not responding incorrectly during a contraction. I’m not focused on how “bad” the economy is, I’m focused on how much I can stand out from the competition. 2. Don’t compete; dominate If you’re worried about someone else who is selling a similar product for less, the same, or more than you you’re competing. You need to dominate with your product, company, personality and your offer. If you aren’t making a difference in the market others will forever outsell you with a lower price or better offer. No product stays superior forever! Sooner or later someone is going to create something better and if you don’t adapt you are going to be hit by fewer sales and less success. 3. Know the problem you solve Regardless of what you sell or what market you’re in there will be improvements and advances that will make your product, company, or idea current and keep it appealing to your clients—new and old. With that comes the challenge of staying in the know with those improvements and advances. Those who don’t make the time to study up and those who overestimate product knowledge are the only people this will be a problem for—be committed; know your product and the solution it brings to the market. 4. Control your space Organization is a challenge for me because I move at a thousand miles per hour and create so much activity and unfinished cycles around me. I need to either organize or get someone else to pick up the pieces and organize past actions and the next actions to take. Understand that moving fast doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to be organized. I like order, it gives me a sense of control and I love control! It’s critical in order to be able to find things faster, follow up, and identify what you know about a client and where to pick up with that client. Your ability to organize your space, your thinking, your clients, your office, and your own physical environment are important to organizing your success. 5. Blow up your pipeline Business and sales is a numbers game. If you only call one person and have a 100 percent closing ratio your success won’t last very long. You must keep your pipeline full, bursting and overflowing at all times! Don’t be like most businesses that only measure who they recently sold—you must value and measure all activities that fill the pipeline: sold, unsold, lost to competitors, new orders, pending orders, referrals, second sales, etc. One of the biggest mistakes I see from small businesses—and even big businesses sometimes—is that they celebrate sales and don’t keep loading up their pipeline. Don’t take a break after you win. Use the motivation from it to push you to your next win. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did. Make new problems, not old ones. Find your purpose for your product, idea or business, commit to it, go all-in and run as fast as you can. The only thing keeping you from growing your business is not knowing the best information available to you to solve your problem. I’m teaming up with Fran Tarkenton, who has been working with businesses for over 50 years and got his name to the world by becoming an NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback. He has dedicated his life to working with small business owners and startups on winning strategies to grow their business and we’re working together to produce a LIVE webcast you can watch from your home, computer, phone, during lunch, or anywhere with internet. Join Fran Tarkenton and I by going to Kickstart Your Small Business. Grant Cardone
