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Sunday
February 1, 2009 Finally, we can get back to business!Filed under: ASI Canada Love them or hate them the Conservative government will now be in power for at least a year and the budget will stand. This is good news for Canada, as the majority of Canadians did not want either another election or anything to do with a coalition government. It helps at the least with giving us some stability on one front and should help businesses in Canada to focus more on running their companies without the distraction of whose going to be running the country. While many in the industry have told me things are slow coming into the year I hear the same thing every year. January for many is a slow month as clients are coming off two weeks of holidays and it takes some time for things to ramp up again. For some the political instability would also have had an affect as planning would have been shelved waiting for the budget. But, love is in the air or is it! As we head into February now’s the time to really take stock of where we are and what our relationships truly are with our clients. Are we just selling them stuff so that we can generate an income or do we really have their best interests at heart? The days of just selling stuff are done; mass transmitting “Specials” to everyone in your contact list are a thing of the past. What’s most important to customers and even potential customers are “What’s in it for me” – they want you to save them time, save them money and most importantly make them look good! Unless you are dealing with the owner of the company, everyone is going to be concerned about the stability of their position within the company. They are being asked to do more with less, less time as many are forced to not only do their own job but jobs that were done by other co-workers. Budgets are being cut back and yet management wants to see sales at the very least maintain 2008 levels and many will demand increases. Stress levels will be higher than ever! Now’s the time to get down to business with a totally new attitude of caring and understanding for what your clients are dealing with. In the past couple of years we’ve all heard the term consultative selling and now is when we need to put that into practice on a daily basis! In today’s environment it will be all about caring and respect, the more you care and the more you can do to help your clients succeed in these difficult times the more you in turn will succeed! Check back next week for more tips and ideas! |
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