Planning for 2010 -- What Will You Do Differently?

I trust you and yours are well. My family and I are just now
getting over the swine flu. After my son and I recovered, my
wife returned from vacation and got sick as a dog. My daughter
also came down with it. While my son and I had no fever, we felt
very fatigued and light-headed for 2-3 days. My daughter
developed a bad cough, and while no longer contagious and is back
at school, she is still coughing a bit. My wife developed fever
and a burning sensation in her sinuses, so the doctor prescribed
Tamiflu. The drug seems to work and my wife is almost back in the
saddle. The Tamiflu medication, however, was over $120.00! Wow!

As the end of the year nears -- hard to believe, I know -- it's
time to start planning for 2010. Gosh, I remember seeing the
sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey and thinking the year 2010 will
be so different from what it is today. It seems the world gets
older, but things, by and large, stay the same, except for the
economy which continues to wage war against those of us trying
to make an honest living.

This has been a very tough year for many people I know including
my family. I would estimate my revenue will wind up being about
25% lower than last year -- a significant drop for a self-employed person
-- and not something one can easily plan for. We've had to tighten
our belt and consider all sorts of things we never ever expected
to think about. We're still dealing with it ... but there is always hope
for a brighter tomorrow.

Knowing what you know now, having lived through a rough year,
what are you planning to change in your overall business strategy
for next year? In speaking with many businesses, managing cash
flow is a major issue. While income may still be generated, in
general, clients are taking longer to pay. This can break a small
company quickly. I remember when a former mentor had a client
sandbag $250K and it sunk his company in a matter of months.
What about you?

If cash flow is an issue, I have a strategic partner who may be
able to help you. He has many relationships in place with factoring
companies. These companies buy receivables and act as your
billing and collection agency in exchange for a small percentage
of your billable revenue. The benefits are many. First, you no
longer have to bother your clients about late payments. The
factoring company handles this for you. Secondly, you get paid
immediately upon presenting your invoice to the factoring
company. That takes care of customer service issues and cash flow
issues pretty quickly. If you'd like to learn more about
factoring and how it might help your company, please drop me a
line at info@schneiderman.net and I will have my strategic
partner contact you to discuss your situation and how this
service might improve your present situation.

If sales are an issue, you need to consider the quality of your
sales materials as well as your sales people. Can your sales
people recite a brilliantly compelling two-minute elevator pitch?
If not, it's time to write one and memorize it. Does your
marketing collateral and web site present clear features,
advantages and benefits to your prospects? If not, then it's time
to redesign and revise your sales copy. Make sure every marketing
tool you use is consistent with the overall message, too. Throw
away outdated materials and make sure everyone on the team knows
the pitch and how to access the latest and greatest supporting
marketing tools.

This is also the time to consider making an investment in a
coach or mentor to help you review your present situation and to
strategize for the future. Many economists agree that times are
likely to get tougher. Are you positioned for long-term success
despite the down-turn in the economy? What are your plans for
retaining your existing client base, looking for new ways to make
money from them, and to attract new prospects and convert them
into customers? If you keep doing what you did in the past, you
are not going to be successful and may find yourself out of
business in a year or two. You remember the definition of
insanity don't you: keep doing the same thing but expecting
different results.

Let me tell you about a client of mine. They are a small
software company. The founder and his right hand guy are
brilliant developers, and they have created an excellent product.
But after years of slow growth, they were growing disheartened.
They wanted to know why people weren't beating a path to their
door. Their product was easy to use, powerful, beneficial, and
well supported. It was also priced very competitively. So where
was all the business?

I came in to analyze their business. They predominantly used
their web site to sell their product. They knew a lot about their
market and wanted to share as much of that knowledge as possible
on their site. But all of that information merely confused the
first-time visitor and presented them with too many options to
click. They came there looking for a simple, affordable solution
and received a college education instead.

I also looked at their product. They sold it by allowing
visitors to download a free 30 day evaluation. This approach
usually works in software products and will typically convert a
number of prospects into cash paying customers. Their conversions
were not what they expected. As I looked at the web site and the
product, I determined 40+ points where the prospect would have to
make a decision to either continue or give up for one reason or
another. While the principles of the company were brilliant, they
lacked the distance an outsider can bring to the table, to see
the shortcomings of their present sales and marketing efforts.
Having a fresh pair of eyes to review the product and evaluation
process opened their eyes to new ways to simplify things.

As we started making changes to the product and the way they
were communicating with prospects, they saw their sales begin to
pick up rather noticeably. Soon we're launching a new web site
with a more contemporary design, new sales copy, and support
materials and product packaging.

Additionally, we're providing a general newsletter, and
automated email series for each version of their product. We also
co-authored ebooks for each version of their software that review
the top ten features and how to get started with their product --
quick start guides. We've worked on phone communications skills
and questions and attitude to help transform these brilliant
technical people into more capable sales people.

The combination of these changes came about because they
realized that continuing to do business the same old way they
always did would not bring about desired changes. They made the
investment in bringing in an outsider to assist them.

No doubt you are facing many of the same challenges, whether you
are an Internet Marketer or author selling digital products or
services through one or more micro sites -- or you are a small to
mid-sized company trying to maintain steady growth in the wake of
a dissolving economy -- I can help you, either on an hourly basis
or a short-term retainer for a few months.

Some people hire me for a few hours to simply review their
present situation and make recommendations for improvements.
Other seek my greater involvement, designing their sites and
product images, writing their sales copy, and mentoring them
through day-to-day sales, marketing and operations decisions. No
matter what level of involvement you seek, I pledge to do my best
to work within your budget and help prepare you for the difficult
year ahead.

But it starts with you. I can't make you lift the phone or send
me an email. You need to come to the realization that you need
some outside assistance now, and that you are tired of getting
the same old results. Click the link below to visit my new web
site and to learn more about my services:

http://www.schneiderman.net

Until next time,


Steven

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