The 2011 edition of the Top Ten Small Business Trends from Small Business Labs is a must-read for small business owners. Several of the trends will surprise you, and understanding all of them will position you for greater success.
In the coming days, I’m going to look at these trends one by one and suggest what they mean for Whale Hunters.
Trend #1: “The Small Business Economy Recovers from the Great Recession.” Small business has yet to emerge from the recession economy, but 2011 will be the year that it does. My position is that you will need a very specific strategy to pull your company out of recession behaviors and get your share of the post-recession sales.
What will companies need to do in 2011 to land the big accounts? First you have to get over the recession mentality, where maybe you took whatever business you could land in order to survive. That requires a new strategy with greater discipline to find the business you want, not just what you can get. Then you need laser focus on that new business. And you need extensive preparation before you go after that new business, to set yourself apart from the competition. To accomplish these things requires:
- A superior statement of your brand promise to the market
- Clear guidelines for your team on what to hunt and what to ignore
- Knowledge of how to position powerfully against bigger competitors
- And a reliable way to speed up your sales process
Knowing how to implement these strategies will increase your close rate, reduce the cost of sales, and grow your average deal size from 10 to 20 times.
What are you doing to emerge from the recession? Let’s discuss!
