This Economy Demands Best Practices, Not Free Services!

Stories are going around how companies and suppliers of professionals are doing work for free to assist their clients in need. They rationalize this because business is slow and they want to keep their employees busy. They also want to be there for their clients.

That all sounds pretty good, but if you're doing this, sales trainer Ron Karr has a wake up call you need to hear to start making more money, now!

You want to be there for your clients? Become relevant!

The concept of doing free work has been used as a solid marketing strategy for years. Occasionally, I have given a free talk to certain groups as a marketing vehicle to generate new prospects sitting in the audience. And yes, in this down economy, we have helped clients by providing additional value for a nominal cost. But make no mistake about it, we still got paid for our work.

Once you give your services and products away for free, you immediately lose your value and you will never gain it all back.

This recession has changed the way the world does business. If you are doing no business or very little business, the market is talking to you. It is saying you either have to re-adjust your services to become relevant again or look for new markets who want what you have.

As a professional speaker and consultant, I am taking my materials and creating internet based venues to continue educating and advising my clients. The market is calling for this as companies have drastically reduced their travel and meeting budgets.

My messages are also being refined to be relevant to the needs of my market. And yes, I am marketing to industries that value my services and are willing to pay for them.

We all have a responsibility to reinvent ourselves and stay relevant to our markets. Only when we are relevant can we adequately serve our clients. We also have to maintain fiscal strength. It's the same as being a caregiver for a sick person.

You can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself and stay strong.

Markets like Financials Services may be decimated. But they will come back. They may be re-aligned in terms of players. They certainly will be doing business differently. If you are working with any of these businesses, do yourself a favor and figure out how to stay relevant, prosper and grow. Your customers are counting on you.

If you simply use this time to ride out the storm, you will be weakened and when the recovery occurs, you will be bypassed by the competition.

Your employees have nothing to do? Have them develop solutions for your clients and make a living doing it. You owe it to yourself, your family, your employees and your clients.

Ron Karr is a professional speaker, consultant, trainer and author who specializes in helping organizations build and maintain high performing sales cultures. Visit him at www.RonKarr.com and sign up for his free Titan Sales E-Report.

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Increase Profit and Revenues in Tough Times - Part 2

Yesterday sales trainer Ron Karr gave us some excellent ways to increase profits by avoiding lowering prices in this economy. Today he's back with a unique way to increase profit - raising your prices!

"You may be asking yourself how you can possibly do this in a down economy," says Karr. "The answer is simple. Just ask for it! You need to remember a few points of power you have, especially when dealing with existing customers."

--You are the devil they know vs. the devil they don't know. Things are going well. Why take the chance of screwing things up? There is a value for an insurance policy.

--Link your value proposition to how you can help them weather this storm and be ahead of their competition.

--Nobody will protect your value except for you. That is your job!

CASE IN POINT: Michele Litzky, Principle of a Hoboken-based PR firm was attending a meeting with a current client to discuss 2009 strategies. While waiting in the conference room, she noticed a piece of paper on the floor that had two lines: "Cancel firm Litzky", and second line said "reduce fee".

When the client walked in the room, Michele asked if this note was left on purpose. The President said no, it was left unintentionally from an internal meeting. Michele immediately changed the direction of the meeting and revisited the significant positive outcomes they had provided the firm with a recent publicity campaign. After restating her value proposition, the client, which wanted to either cancel her services or reduce her fee, wound up giving her two additional projects and agreed to a fee increase after 90 days.

This is a classic example of how one needs to operate in today's environment!

"Whatever you do, please do not act with a bunker mentality," continues Karr. "There are opportunities out there and there are people who are actually raising prices. If you don't believe me, look at the new sports stadiums going up. Seats in those stadiums are much more expensive than in the old stadiums. And they are selling them. Maybe not as fast as they would like, but they are selling!"

"People want to save money. People need to reduce costs. But more importantly, people need to succeed. Is your conversation centered on reducing prices? Or it is centered on how you are going to help others succeed?"

"Again, you may need to reduce your prices," says Karr. "However, make sure you do not do it until you have tried everything else first. If you do reduce your prices, remember to get something in return. And then be accountable for making up the lost profitability with increased volume somewhere else. Every action creates a reaction. At the end of the day, you still need to meet or exceed your quota."

Ron Karr is a professional speaker, consultant, trainer and author who specializes in helping organizations build and maintain high performing sales cultures. Visit him at www.RonKarr.com and sign up for his free Titan Sales E-Report.

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Increase Profit and Revenues in Tough Times

Sales trainer Ron Karr recently posted an excellent article detailing ways for you to increase profit - advice we could all use! Stay tuned today and tomorrow for his expert advice.

"Think about this. If you reduced your fees or prices by 20%, you would need to increase your sales volume by 400% to make the same profit you were making before the price cut. This is what Donald D. Juschartz, County Extension Director at Michigan State University, discovered in his study of how Price vs. Volume relationship may alter the retailer's thinking."

"In declining markets, it is very tempting to lower one's prices to hold on to business, especially if your customers are demanding it. Yet, some are probably lowering prices too fast too soon. And in some cases, it may not even be necessary. Realize that for every price reduction you agree to, you are going to have to sell more to make the same."

"This is the time to hone your skills to avoid price reductions whenever possible," continues Karr. "And in case you need to give in at some point, there are things you can do to limit your losses and in some cases wind up ahead of the game."

--Many customers are going to ask you for a price reduction and even threaten to take your business away. Do not give in. You need to restate your value proposition and ensure the value they are getting from you far outweighs any price concession they are being offered by the competition

--Do not get angry. It is very frustrating to constantly have to restate your value proposition and continue to make it stronger. Get over it! That is the job of a rain maker and sales professional. In tough times, you have to do it more and you have to be better at it.

--If you have tried everything and there is nothing more you can do, make a strategic decision if this business is for you. Will the precedent of discounting affect your overall market position? If not, do what you have to do. If it does, then you may want to take the risk of losing that customer. Anytime one raises a price, 20% of existing customers usually cannot come along for the ride. In a declining market with declining prices, you may want to view the act of staying firm with your current price structure as a form of a price increase.

--If you decide to reduce your price, never do so without getting anything in return. Here are some examples of what you can request in exchange for a reduction in price:

- Longer term of agreement
- Increased volume for existing product
- Placement of additional products
- Reduction in service
- Improved terms
- Referrals

Keep going and do what you can to keep from reducing your prices. It's a slippery slope from there. We'll be back tomorrow with more ideas from Karr on increasing your profits, no matter what the economic situation.

Ron Karr is a professional speaker, consultant, trainer and author who specializes in helping organizations build and maintain high performing sales cultures. Visit him at www.RonKarr.com and sign up for his free Titan Sales E-Report.

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