Guest Post by Ray Silverstein – www.propres.com

1. Review Your Strengths and Weaknesses – Know thyself. If you are aware of flaws in your business, fix them. Similarly, find new ways to capitalize on your strengths (you need them more than ever).

2. Monitor Your Cash Flow Closely – Cash is king, now more than ever. Be ready to manage by cash (not profit and loss statements) if you run short on working capital.

3. Retool Your Sales Strategy – Identify your most profitable products or services and focus sales efforts accordingly. Use gross profit as a measure, or better yet GMROI, (gross margin that considers inventory turns on products). 4. Fire Unprofitable Customers – You can’t afford to carry unprofitable customers now. Categorize your customers. If some are a drain on your resources, either raise their prices or jettison them.

5. Increase Efficiency –Use an assessment program like TQM (Total Quality Management) to squeeze out the excess costs in your workflows.

6. Maximize Throughput – During soft markets, customers like to purchase in smaller quantities. Instead of turning small accounts away, find ways to accommodate them.

7. Ramp Up Marketing – Don’t make the mistake of cutting back by cutting your marketing efforts. Firms that maintain marketing activity during soft economies rebound faster later. (Besides, marketing firms are hungry for business, so you can negotiate better deals.)

8. Create Strategic Alliances – Forming simple partnerships can save you money. Consider buying pools, rent sharing, and equipment sharing as ways to reduce expenses.

9. Renegotiate with Vendors – Reduce your expenses by renegotiating agreements. For example, if your lease will expire soon, suggest a longer-term lease in return for cost concessions.

10. Upgrade Personnel – There are many talented people looking for work right now. If mediocre employees are dragging your business down, do the hard thing and make some changes.

About the Author
Ray Silverstein is the founder of the peer group advisory boards, PRO: President’s Resource Organization (www.propres.com). He also offers training to peer group facilitators.