I wrote the following article exclusively for my How She Does It ezine subscribers a couple of weeks ago. It received such a raving response, I wanted to also share it on my blog…
*****************
The market was soft and we were raising our rates…
Every sales person on our team was, well…freaking out! “How could we possibly go into the market place with rates higher than our closest (and even peripheral) competitor?” They feared the kiss of their professional death and it didn’t feel good.
We were in tumultuous times. Budgets were slashed. Advertisers were cutting back and in response, our competitor was offering a 2 for 1 sale! The smell of fear was in the air and everyone was in reactive mode…except me.
All around us, professionally speaking, chaos ensued. And I had a choice…
I could follow the same strategy as my colleagues and the market in general, and view the climate as a negative. Or, I could reach in, grab hold of my inner ‘she’ and shake up the status quo by posturing differently.
As you can imagine, I chose the latter.
Not only did we raise rates during a time when businesses feared they’d have to shut their doors forever, we also landed accounts that would never talk to us in better times.
And here’s why…
The people you serve (your target market) will always have a need for what you offer, no mater the circumstances, if you have:
• A detailed understanding of their greatest need
• Made100% clear what you offer
• Proven that what you offer benefits them, particularly in times of crisis
At the time, fear of lost business (lost clients, revenues, staff, etc.) was on everyone’s mind. We strengthened our position by lasering in on all the ways our service would help businesses KEEP what they had.
The strategy I chose back in my corporate days is a strategy that still works. And the key to strengthening your business, your brand and experiencing growth instead of loss is in how you value what you offer. If you don’t value it (and slashing rates is evidence you may not), neither will anyone else.
So before you consider dropping your rates, offering a ‘coach 2 for the price of 1’ option or any of the other creative crisis crunch strategies being presented to you consider this…
Drill down into the heart of your offer and connect the outcome of using your incredible service (or product) with the biggest concerns your market has today.
Make a compelling, honest case and you’ll be leveraging what appears as a negative into a revenue generating positive.
Is this a bold approach? It sure is, but the power of ‘she’ is not negotiable.
©copyright 2008, Liz P. Communications. All rights reserved.
This article (nor any posts made on this blog) may not be reproduced without permission by Liz P. Communications.
To receive weekly strategies, insights and tips to help you strengthen your brand, market more powerfully to the feminine, and help you slip comfortably into bigger shoes, register for your subscription to How She Does It at www.LizPabon.com. The only online publication dedicated to the way She creates success.
Tags: brand, branding, branding maven, female entrepreneur, liz pabon, liz pabone, marketing to women, mavherick, small business marketng
