When your market changes, your company must change with it. This seems so obvious - when you're an outsider looking into someone else's company. You can plainly see that buyers have changed what they are doing, and conditions have changed, but the people inside the company are behaving the way they have always behaved, as if nothing had changed.

When you're inside one of those companies, you can tell that something is different. You get hints. But it is so much easier to continue doing what you've always done. You would rather ignore the changes you sense, than admit they are happening - and deal with the changes you know you will have to make.

New players will come into the market, while the market is in its new state, and think, Ah, so this is how it is. OK, I will behave accordingly. They don't have to change their current behavior or infrastructure. They will simply start doing what makes sense.

The leaders of the companies-in-denial either wake up and take action at this stage, or continue to sleepwalk. I don't have to tell you what happens to the sleepwalkers. They walk right off a cliff, never to be heard from again.

As a consultant in Silicon Valley, where technological progress and changing consumer behavior caused massive and frequent market upheavals, I watched this happen over and over again. Now that technology has pervaded the consumer world, and instant communication has made it commonplace for whole industries to rise and fall in a matter of a few years (or even months), sleepwalkers are even less likely to survive.

To survive now, you must be fully aware, and ready to change when your market changes. You must be able to transform your company to match the new behaviors and preferences of your buyers and other influentials.

If you want your transformations to be effective, there are three areas you must focus on: your goals, your behavior, and your processes. You can also think of this as "what," "who," and "how."

Let's look at each one of these areas, starting with goals.

Goals.

There is nothing more destructive to a company than having the goals be unclear, or, worse, contradictory. There can only be one overriding goal, with all the other goals designed to implement the main goal.

Are you going to make sure all customers are satisfied, no matter what? Then you can't have managers who surreptitiously tell the staff, "Screw the customer. They're all a bunch of complaining idiots anyway." The stated goal will become a lunchroom joke, a cruel lie that demotivates and demoralizes the best employees.

Over time, the passionate, dedicated people will bail out. The CEO will find himself managing a group of people who don't trust him, don't respect him, and who are only there because they don't have any better options. They will treat customers with distain.

The best, most motivating goals are customer-centric goals. Customer-centric goals help the people inside the company take their minds off themselves (which decreases political bickering) and focus on what the customer wants. When the customer's needs and preferences change, companies that have customer-centric goals are more able to sense and respond to the change.

What do customers really want from you? What is their core desire? What are they most concerned about? What is the experience they are hoping to have when they come to a company that sells what you sell? How have they been burned by other such companies in the past?

Your goal should be one that motivates your employees to give customers what they are looking for. It should be a simple goal, not one of those ridiculous, generic "mission statements." It should be something that makes everyone proud and happy, because it makes them feel like they are making a difference for others, helping others (customers) achieve their goals. People are happiest when they are helping others; this is an ironclad truth.

Behavior.

People are consistent about their behavior, usually at one end of an extreme or the opposite. They either have a sense of urgency or are completely laid back. They are either always on time or always late. They are either persistent or give up easily. They are either truthful or full of it.

The most interesting and inspiring thing about behavior, to me, is that people can actually change. It's not wise to assume that they will, because they must choose to change - and not everyone does. But a good manager will always give an employee the opportunity to change.

Let's say Andrea needs to change something about her behavior. A good manager will meet with her in a private conference, and tell her what she is doing wrong. If Andrea accepts this information, (and most of the time, this is the case - most people are actually relieved when you make it clear you know what they are doing wrong), then the next step is to discuss, together, how she can improve.

This has to be a two-way conversation, because Andrea is most likely to change if she comes up with the methods by which she can improve. The manager and Andrea will then agree on the methods, and the manager will make it clear that he will do everything he can to help Andrea carry out her new processes. He will also be watching to make sure she succeeds. And, he will let her know if he sees her either backsliding or succeeding.

Companies are comprised of departments, and departments are comprised of people - led by a manager. If the CEO is not sleepwalking, but understands that his market has changed, he will sit down with his managers and discuss what the company must do to adjust to the change. In a sense, it will be the same kind of conversation I just described.

The managers will understand that their current behaviors and processes are not going to be successful in the new market. They will help the CEO identify the "old" and "new" behaviors and processes. They will figure out how they will help their employees change their behavior and processes, and then set to work.

There are all sorts of behaviors that must be addressed in any department. There are personal behaviors, such as an employee who is always late or always negative. There are group behaviors - such as the tendency of the group to make fun of anyone who tries really, really hard to do the right thing.

Here's a concrete example. Right now, buyers are more likely to inquire via email than by phone. That means that the most successful companies, now, are going to be the ones whose salespeople respond immediately to email inquiries. If the customer sends out an email to three competing companies, the one that responds immediately will be most likely to get the conversation going, and make the sale.

Those who respond in a couple of hours - or, more disastrously, in a couple of days - will be like the couple arriving a day late for a party. All dressed up, bottle of wine in hand, they will be greeted at the door by a post-party hostess, who won't be thrilled to see them. The party's over, and she's in a completely different frame of mind now.

The party-goers will do what every salesperson ought to do in this situation: Realize they're too late, apologize, and leave.

Processes.

Once you have agreed on your customer-centric goal, one that addresses the needs of the current market, and you have identified the behaviors that will be most successful in this environment, you need to put processes into place to establish, facilitate, reinforce, and reward those behaviors. CEOs who get the other parts right - customer-friendly goals and behaviors - often get tripped up by poor processes.

They think that it's enough to identify the new direction, have a frank talk with their managers, tell them to "make it so," and give them an encouraging slap on the back as they leave the conference room.

It's not enough.

Even if the employees and managers are willing, the overlooked infrastructure will not be up to the task. A weak infrastructure can only lead to frustration, and frustrated employees are mere shadows of their peak-performance selves.

Every company should have a process fanatic, someone who is constantly looking around and asking, "What is needed here, for peak performance, and how could we be doing this better?"

In the most effective companies I've worked for and with, the CEO is that person. Jeff Bezos is a perfect example, as is Michael Dell, and as was Bill Hewlett (of HP), in his day. In the stories that employees tell, it's obvious that these CEOs were (and are) always focused on how things can be done more effectively.

Good processes are simple. They can be explained in seconds and understood by everyone. They are well-documented - not with 3-inch binders, but with step-by-step instructions that can fit on one page. They use tools that are intuitive, so even a new employee can understand and start using them right away.

We are all working in a screen-based world now. Every single day, billions of workers (and customers) are clicking on an icon or link, and looking at the next screen that comes up. How easy it is for them to "take the next step" is becoming the true test of a company's processes.

The backend of these screens drives the front end, and the success of the front end is determined by the intelligence, empathy, and organization of the backend. If the backend is confused, the front end will be a disaster - one of those screens where you stare at it for a few minutes, and think, "I have no idea what do to next," or, "I know what they want me to do next, but it's really stupid and really time-consuming. I'll go with the other company."

Concrete example: Those shopping sites where, instead of a screen filled with pictures and little clumps of text, with clickable categories in the left nav, instead you are faced with fixed catalog pages, which you must navigate through by clicking page numbers or alphabet letters. This is a classic case where the customer changed the way they want to buy (web pages versus printed catalogs), and the vendor refused to adopt. Instead, they simply scanned their catalog pages into their website and considered the job done. WRONG.

When your buyers change, you must change also, if you are going to survive. Use what remains of this cycle of economic uncertainty to focus on your goals, behaviors and processes, and improve where needed. Customers will recognize and reward your improvements.

And remember, customers would rather give their business to an established company that "gets it" than to a new company that "gets it," especially in uncertain times. So the wind is at your back, if you start moving in the right direction.

The most accurate economic indicator I have ever found is "primary customer motivation." As I interview customers for clients, I learn what is driving them to make the decisions they are currently making. In times of uncertainty, there is usually one big, fear-based driver. In times of economic growth, more drivers come into play, such as the need for status, the need to solve a problem, the need to change one's lifestyle, and the need to experience something new.

I have also found that journalists and economists don't have a clue about "primary customer motivations" until it's obvious to everyone what is going on. And, you can be sure that if the facts conflict with their agenda, the agenda will overshadow the story. That's why any business owner who depends on the press or economists to "guide" him is always going to be a day late and a dollar short. Instead, if he was personally and regularly interviewing customers (or having someone he trusts do it for him), he'd be finding out what's really going on - six months before everyone else (including competitors).

In any economic situation, these primary customer motivation drivers determine what people are buying and how, as well as what they are deciding not to buy.

Let's look at our current situation. Right now, customers are fearful about their investments. They are being spooked by gloom-and-doom banking industry headlines. They are hearing horror stories from friends or reading them in blogs - horror stories about investment vehicles, such as Auction Rate Preferreds, that have become "illiquid" overnight, a euphemism for "you can get interest, but you can't get your money out." This is frightening to people who had expected to be able to redeem these funds to send Junior to college.

There's also the fall of the dollar and the rise of the Euro (and other currency) against the dollar.

And finally, there's the cost of gas and food, and stories people are reading about food hoarding and restrictions that some stores are putting on people who are trying to hoard rice and other grains.

How does this all affect your particular buyers? Drastically, not at all, or somewhere in between. In other words, if you aren't talking to them right now, you have no idea. NO IDEA.

You won't get it from reading trade journals. Trade journal articles will tell you what your competitors are telling editors (in other words, their PR spin) and what a few customers have cautiously said to a reporter.

You won't get it from reading blogs. Most blogs are written by one person with an axe to grind. Those who comment on the articles are either in agreement, rabidly disagreeing, grinding their own axes, or tooting their own horns.

Only customers will tell you what they're thinking, what's driving them, and what they're afraid of.

For example, trade journal reporters receive free equipment for review all the time; sometimes the "review" version has better performance than the real thing. They then write about that equipment. Potential customers, reading that review, may be impressed with the product's features and performance, but their buying decision is affected by other, more pressing concerns.

Can I afford this right now? Do I really need this right now, or can I get by with what I have? Do I really have the time to learn how to operate and maintain something new? How long will it last? How soon will it be obsolete? Does someone else make a better one? Will the manufacturer be there - with the right answer - when something goes wrong? My own experience with these types of products has been less than reassuring. In fact, it's been a real pain.

These are the questions and perceptions driving the buying decision, which is what we're talking about here. You only make a sale when the customer has decided that he wants to buy.

I can't tell you how many times a CEO has told me, "We're getting great reviews from the trade rags. Our unit beats the competition, hands down. Why aren't we making sales?" Because what is driving customers to buy has less to do with the product and everything to do with the pressures, needs, and concerns of the buyer. The buyer might be deciding to wait, because he knows that in six months there will be a better model anyway. We call this "anticipation hesitation." This is quite common during tight economic times.

In the absence of real data, from real customers, you will apply your own concerns to the hysterics you're reading in the press. If you're in the luxury goods market, you'll assume that people are going to be looking for "value." Sure, some of them might decide that they aren't going to pay outrageous prices. But that doesn't mean they have stopped buying. It just means they're changing what they're buying and how they're buying. The point is, they're still buying.

If you know what they want to buy from you and how they want to buy it, and you shift your business to match their current decision drivers, you will make money. You could even make a lot of money - even now, in a time of economic uncertainty.

The underlying drivers for purchases don't go away. People always have problems to solve. People's needs are never-ending. If you understand what they're trying to do, you'll be able to transform your company so you can meet them "where they are."

Get on the phone! Or call me, and I'll call them. Find out what's driving your customers. Learn how they're looking at your type of product or service. Ask them to describe "the perfect scenario" - how they want to buy your product and how they want to use it. Ask them what their problems are and how they're trying to solve them.

Once you have this information, your course will become clear. Then, it's up to you to have the courage and maturity to actually transform your organization, so your offerings are in sync with customer needs. Next week I'll talk about the art and science of successful transformation.

Well, it's that time again. People are worried about a recession.

Strange, because according to the US Department of Labor, the unemployment rate is at 4.4%. For historical perspective, ten years ago (April 1997) it was 5.1%. It rose to a high of 6.3% in June of 2003, and has been falling ever since.

Average hourly earnings have risen from $12.29 in January of 1997 to $17.10 as of January 2007.

How do I know people are worried? The phrase "How to make money during a recession" has started to become more common again in my search term results. Plus, the bigger companies have stopped spending while they wrangle over budget cuts. And entrepreneurs are focusing more seriously on making more sales.

If we do have a recession, what will happen? What typically happens in all recessions?

• People spend less vigorously than they did before. When you think of their buying process (something we do just about 24/7 around here), what happens is they apply more scrutiny to their purchases than they did before. They are especially reluctant to make big and risky purchases.

• People think "maintenance" rather than "expansion." The entrepreneur who wouldn't hesitate to buy a new piece of equipment or software decides it would be better to wait. The homeowner who has been thinking of getting the roof fixed decides to live with the bucket and the drip for a while longer. What was normally routine spending changes to carefully considered spending.

• Employees watch their bosses more carefully. The feeling is one of "tight" rather than "fluid" budgets. Employees spend much more time justifying expenditures than they had to before.

• CEOs hire people who are good at cutting costs. During long-term recessions, the finance people drive most decisions.

• The press is full of negative statistics, warnings, and dire economic projections. Everyone wonders: How long will this last? How much will it affect my investments? How cautious should I be? The overriding motivator will be fear, not confidence. The basic behavior pattern will be contraction, rather than expansion.
  

How you can swim against the recessionary current

It's important to note that during recessions, even with all the "analysis paralysis" going on, people still spend money. The banks still process literally trillions of dollars every day.

What changes is what people spend their money on, how quickly they make buying decisions, and why they spend that money. The trick is to look for opportunities in the new setting. Don't waste time cowering in a mental hole of denial, or waste time wishing things would go back to the way they were. Things never go back to the way they were.

Back when we were working in Silicon Valley, I remember one particularly long-lived tech-industry recession. While the rest of the marketing firms were laying people off, we had our best year ever.

Why?

By the time this one set in, I had developed some theories about recessionary spending. I applied those theories to our client acquisition efforts.

When people aren't buying new stuff, what do they do instead? They focus on their existing stuff. They take better care of it, so it will last longer. They buy accessories for it, so they get more capability from it.

In the business-to-business, high-tech world, which was our specialty at the time, this meant that test equipment companies and peripheral companies would be doing well. They'd have customers who wanted to buy, and they'd be open to spending money to attract and sell to those customers. Our firm ended up with accounts in the test equipment and peripheral markets. We had a record-breaking year.

When things start to slow down, don't obsess about what the economists are saying. They will come up with a reasonable-sounding analysis, but they haven't a clue about what your customers are actually thinking.

Go straight to the source. Ask your current and prospective customers what they're thinking. What trends do they see? How have their own perceptions changed? What are their needs, perceptions, and expectations?

Are people applying more scrutiny to their purchases? If so, what can you do to answer their additional questions? What are their additional questions? Which answers satisfy them? Figuring out how to answer buyer questions is a good exercise - no matter what the economy is doing - but it is especially useful in times of higher-scrutiny buying.

If people in your industry become more fearful, what is likely to happen? What would they be more likely to buy - and less likely to buy? An answer to this question might be: "They will be more likely to buy 'smaller' things rather than 'larger' things." Can you repackage your products or services into smaller "chunks"? Can you make it possible for them to buy now, and pay over time? Can you find out how they want you to change your products or services so they are more affordable?

You will also want to be more careful with your own expenditures during a recession (see, this is how it all starts to snowball - but it's reality, so we need to discuss it). One way to do this is to align yourself with vendors who are nice people. They tend to be kinder during times of tight money, and they will never waste your money, even when times are good. Greedy, nasty types, on the other hand, will do everything they can to bleed you dry. As you deal with them, you'll be less productive - something you can't afford even when times are good.

Avoid spending marketing money on dubious things that have little chance for return. You still need to spend to attract new business, but you'd be wise to drop those directories that have never, ever brought you a single customer. Focus on marketing efforts that can be traced to sales.

The last, and probably most important piece of advice I can give you is to follow every sale through to completion. You'd be surprised at how many people "assume" that people "aren't spending" during a recession, causing them to stop pursuing a sale long before they should. I'm not talking about "persistence," which usually means "pushing," but helpfulness and patience.

People still have needs you can fill. They still will spend money. They just want to be more sure about who they give it to. Inside companies, they want to make sure no one can fault them for spending money unnecessarily or unwisely. If you are the helpful, patient person who makes it easy for them to get answers to their questions, they will want to give their money to you. Be more organized. Don't let a single lead fall through the cracks. Keep focused on it until it either results in a sale or you are absolutely sure it's a dead end.

Of course, you can always decide that this will be your best year ever. But that's not enough. The way to make sure it happens is to put energy into understanding what your buyers want - in the new environment - and giving it to them.

When you do this, money will chase you, rather than the other way around.

I really enjoy making sales departments more productive. It's one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do, because there's always so much to improve, and because even a few changes can make a huge difference in a company's revenues. As we slip further into group-recession-think, it's time to look at what an economic slowdown really means and what you can do to make sure your business continues to grow - in spite of the persistent recession drumbeat. There are a number of things you can do to improve your sales levels in this economic environment.

1) Ignore the recession drumbeat. It's easy to be spooked by the latest news on the economy. Even if you are in an industry that is directly affected by a slowdown, being distracted from your normal revenue-producing tasks - and lowering your sights - will only make matters worse. Make a personal, definite decision that your business will be an exception to the overall trend.

It is possible to be going "up" when everyone else is going "down" - I've done it myself several times in my career, so I speak from personal experience. Your two biggest enemies are always distraction and fear.

During recessionary periods, there is a lot of talk about "economic uncertainty." So what else is new? Truth be told, we live with economic uncertainty every single day. The only certainty comes from your own behavior. You're either focused on your revenue-producing activities, or you're doing something else - including being hypnotized by your favorite news source, fretting about the economy.

2) Help your people discount the recession drumbeat. Too many company leaders underestimate the day-to-day, mission-critical importance of communicating clearly and frequently with their employees. They make decisions and start implementing projects without properly telling the troops what's up.

Employees spend a portion of every day watching and discussing their boss' actions. If the boss does not clearly and frequently communicate his decisions and "next steps," employees come to their own conclusions and start making stuff up. As they talk amongst themselves, they create their own version of reality, and start acting on it. This tendency is particularly active in sales departments, because they are professional talkers.

"Our manager was fired because he told the boss the truth," is a good example of a shared belief. This belief then leads employees to avoid telling the boss the truth. In this situation, what the boss should have done is sit everyone down after that manager was fired, and, in a gracious but honest way, tell the employees what really happened. "We had to part company because he reported that he was doing one thing, when in fact he was doing something else - over and over. We can't operate a business this way."

Instead of thinking the boss fired someone for "telling the truth," employees would realize that the person was fired for exactly the opposite reason - because he wasn't telling the truth. This is just one example of a widely held false belief; I could give countless other examples.

During a recession, the employee gossip machine will be fueled by the latest gloom-and-doom news being spewed out by the media outlets. You must counter this drumbeat with your own. Make it clear that your intention is to be a "recession-free zone," an exception to the trend. Put things into perspective for your employees. For example, you can tell them that during a recession, spending slows by a few percentage points, and more in some areas than others. The statistics are measuring and reporting the average - and it is entirely possible for one business to be going "up" while others are going "down."

You can also say that you are viewing this economic period as a challenge and opportunity, rather than a threat. "We are going to make sure that it's easier than ever for our customers to find us, understand what we're selling, and buy from us," you could say. And then you can make good on that promise.

3) Intensify your marketing efforts. I know, this sounds like the advice that magazine publishers used to give advertisers, back when magazines were the main source of leads. They did all sorts of studies proving that the companies that were more aggressive about their marketing during a slowdown were likely to be more profitable after the slowdown.

Whether you believe the studies or not, there are many advantages to being more aggressive during a slowdown. Your message will be more likely to stand out, since there will be fewer people spending money on marketing. You will attract the good employees who get laid off when your competitors fold. If you thrive during a recession, in addition to gathering in the best people, you will also have gotten all the inefficiencies out of your business. You'll be a fearsome competitor - if not king of the pond. The odds on someone successfully coming into your industry after things improve, and taking business away from you, won't be very good.

4) Streamline your selling machine. This is where real, measurable gains can be realized. I don't care what you sell or how you sell it, your selling process can be improved. I'm not talking about the boilerplate, rah-rah, manipulate-the-customer advice you will get from a sales consultant. I am talking about lasting and significant changes in the way your salespeople sell and the way you support their selling efforts.

How your salespeople sell. Salespeople are out there every day talking to customers. What happens in that conversation will determine if the sale is made - or lost. The salesperson has to answer the customer's questions to the customer's satisfaction. The salesperson has to make it easy - not difficult - for the customer to buy. The salesperson needs to smooth the road to the purchase. What often happens is just the opposite - the salesperson says and does things that raise red flags in the customer's mind, and the sale is lost. Salespeople must be made aware of the mistakes they're making and must be taught how to eliminate them. Red flag mistakes include:

• Negative, offhand or "off-the-record" comments made during the conversation, such as, "I am looking for the answer here, but 'they' never give me the information I need, so I'm not sure I will find it." "I've told 'them' over and over to provide this information for you, but 'they' haven't done it." "We are about to be bought by XYZ Conglomerate." You can imagine the red flags this raises for the customer, who is now convinced that the company is not supporting the salespeople, or is distracted by a pending acquisition - which means that the customers will not be supported, either.

• Interrupting the customer during the conversation. Salespeople are impatient. Time is money. Every minute spent on "unnecessary" activity is robbing them of another commission. If the salesperson thinks he knows what the customer is about to say, he cuts in and finishes the customer's statement. The customer, after being interrupted for the second time, thinks, "This guy is not interested in what I want. I'm not going to get what I need from this company."

• Trying to impress the customer with his knowledge, while failing to answer the customer's questions. While it's important for the customer to know that the salesperson knows his subject, the salesperson shouldn't ramble on about how smart he is. The customer will become bored and look for a way to bail out of the conversation. No one likes dealing with a blowhard - especially one who spends more time proving his expertise than answering the customer's specific questions.

• Failing to get back to the customer in a timely manner. All of us - no matter what business we're in - are selling to people who expect it NOW. If you get an email from a prospective buyer, and you don't return it within a half hour, you are literally sending that customer to a competitor. "Well, they aren't getting back to me, and I want to resolve this today. That other company got back to me. It's obvious who wants my business."

• Failing to understand and support the customer's real buying process. Every purchase involves a series of questions and tradeoffs. A salesperson who engages actively and courteously with the customer as she weighs her options will most likely make the sale. The salesperson who tries to railroad the customer into something that she really doesn't need will irritate the customer during the buying process. If, out of desperation or cluelessness, the customer goes along with the salesperson, and realizes later she's been had, she will tell all her friends she's been had. This negative word of mouth reputation will make it harder for you to make your next sale.

How you support their selling efforts. How are your selling systems? Are you asking salespeople to do things that are basically a waste of time? Even one minute of wasted, duplicative effort can put a frown on the face of your most dedicated salesperson, because that minute could be spent on commission-earning activities.

What happens when a system goes down? Is there someone who instantly springs into action and hammers the IT department until it is fixed? How much time do your salespeople spend on documenting their activity, versus actually talking to customers and making sales?

Do you invest in their ongoing knowledge and training? Today's customers can spend hours on your website - and your competitors' websites - before talking to your salesperson. By the time they reach your salesperson, they may know more about the product they are interested in than your salesperson does. And they expect your salespeople to be familiar with your own website. Don't laugh - salespeople who rely on internal selling resources may only visit the website once or twice a year!

It's very important to have weekly sales staff meetings where you focus on some aspect of your business - the website, tools, products, employee responsibilities, processes, etc. Managers tend to overlook this, thinking that salespeople are learning as they go. But I can tell you that every time I run one of those educational meetings for a client, at least half the sales force has several "Wow - I didn't know that" moments during the meeting. You should never assume the salesforce is properly educated about anything - partly because salespeople tend to pretend they know things they don't, and partly because salespeople want to spend their time selling, not learning.

Don't make the learning tedious; just cover a new subject in depth for a half-hour each week, and encourage them to ask questions.

There's more you can do to make sure you're selling as aggressively as possible during "down" times, including thoroughly understanding your customer's buying process and their new concerns in the more "cautious about purchasing" environment. We'll cover those subjects in future articles.

A depression is one of the worst things that can happen to the economy - it affects just about everyone, in every industry, in every country. Recessions, on the other hand, tend to hit a particular group of industries the hardest, with lesser "ripple effects" on others.

What's happening now, as everyone knows, is that lending institutions have stopped lending with wild abandon. The first people to be effected by this are those in the real estate business - real estate agents, lawyers, title companies, and all the others who gain income from real estate activity. Their income - and their spending - decreases. Many decide to leave the business. There is a personnel shift from the real estate industry to other industries, where the money is still flowing. Until they are securely ensconced in their new positions, and have recovered financially, they are still cautious about their spending.

Recessions affect other industries, too, because of the recessionary drumbeat. The news media is always prowling around looking for the latest disaster. As you know, right now they're writing stories about the "subprime lending crisis," profiling people who have been affected. This steady diet of bad economic news affects everyone. Anyone who views their house as their main economic security will be more cautious about their spending. They will take longer to make decisions. They will want more information before making a commitment. They will more carefully compare one option against another, and will be more likely to postpone major spending decisions.

Consumer spending will slow, and so will business-to-business spending. People who run businesses are consumers themselves, and they follow economic news closely. They become more cautious about their spending, too. Their employees see the boss pulling back, and they tell their families, "Things are getting tight at work. Better wait on buying that new car."

This classic, recessionary mass psychology will affect your own outlook, the outlook of your employees, and your revenue stream.

So why am I saying that recessions can be good for you? Because they provide a unique opportunity for improvement.

When business is booming, it's all we can do to get the essential work done every day. As business owners, we work from dusk to the wee hours, then crash, exhausted, into bed...only to rise the next day and do it all over again. We make time for family and our close friends, but otherwise we are working, flat-out, just to keep up. When the tempo slows, and it takes longer for your buyers to make a decision, you are being given a gift. This is your big chance to examine your revenue-producing processes and systems, and improve them.

Before we talk about what you can do to improve your revenue-generation methods during a recessionary period, I do need to inject a warning about things you will want to avoid. When things get slow, there's a tendency to start cleaning your office, or, in larger companies, to spend an unusual amount of time discussing "strategy." In other words, you engage in some housecleaning and navel-gazing. Nothing wrong with that, in moderation, but doing too much of it is really just a form of reality avoidance, a mental hunkering-down, merely waiting for things to get better - rather than preparing yourself for when they do get better. And, rest assured, things will improve - especially if you use this opportunity to prepare yourself. It's a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Even better, when recessions hit and the media is full of the bad news, your competition is hunkering down, too. They won't be as aggressive. This is a perfect time for you to make gains on them.

Now let's look at how you can turn a recession into one of the best things that ever happened to you.

1) It's time to decide if you really want to be in this business. Don't spend a lot of time on it, just ask yourself the question. When things get tough, it's always a good question to ask.

a. If the answer is, "I love what I do, even now," good. Now you can be more committed than ever to being successful at what you do. It's important to routinely re-commit to the things we're doing. You don't want to get to the end of your career and regret that you didn't pursue your real dream.

b. If the answer is, "I'm really not enjoying this anymore - my heart's not in it," then it's time to make some big changes. (If you want a roadmap, Rivers of Revenue can help.)

c. If the answer is, "I still love what I do - but I need to make more money," keep reading. That's what this article is about.

2) It's time to gain a deeper understand of the concerns your customers have when they are making the buying decision. When people are less free with their spending, the concerns they have during the buying process loom even larger in their minds. These "barriers to the sale" can more easily stop a sale.

The good news is, buyers who are in hesitation mode are more open to describing their concerns to you, if you ask them the right way. Not to continue pushing my book, but it was written for this situation (which is why the subtitle is "What to do when the money stops flowing"). The Appendix in Rivers of Revenue goes into great detail about how to interview potential customers and current customers. It shows you how to find the right people to interview, which questions will give you the best response, how to conduct the interviews, and what to do with the information once you've gathered it. You can use these calls to understand what their concerns are, what else they've done to solve their problem, what they want from someone like you, and what they would consider a fair price for your type of service.

During the call, you must resist the temptation to sell to them - even if they invite you to. Save that for another call. This call should be strictly an interview call, where they talk and you just listen. You only say enough to get them to talk.

3) It's time to look at the processes you are using to find new business, complete each sale, and all of the "paperwork" associated with each sale. When times are good, a little inefficiency here and there doesn't hurt you much. But when things are slow, you must increase your selling efficiency. Because selling is usually run by sales types, the process of selling is usually shortchanged. Sales types hate thinking about processes; they find analysis is boring. They'd rather sit through a Wagnerian opera than dissect and improve the processes associated with selling.

What you need to do is thoroughly examine the typical sale, from start to finish. Where do the leads come from? What happens to them when they come in? How are they given to the salespeople? How quickly do the salespeople follow up? (Note: If you're not responding to a prospect's email within a half hour, you've already lost the sale to a faster-moving competitor.) How do they follow up? What happens then? What questions are asked by the customer during the sales process? Who's involved at the customer end? What clinches the sale? What happens afterwards? Is the customer thanked for his/her business? Is the customer asked for a testimonial? Do you make it easy for the customer to refer others?

No matter what the economy is doing, knowing the answers to these questions - and making the changes needed to get things working more smoothly - will result in higher revenue.

4) It's time to look at what your competitors are doing and implement some of their better ideas. We can all learn from our competition. If you routinely visit competitive websites, you will find things that make it easier for the customer to understand what is being sold and easier for the customer to buy. If they are doing something better than you are in these areas, improve what you are doing. This will help you now, when times are slow, and even more, when business picks up again.

Whatever you do, don't slow down with the rest of the economy. It's such a temptation to become a victim when the press is screaming "RECESSION" wherever you turn. But, this is not the time to take a snooze, just because you assume everyone else is asleep.

This is the time to tiptoe out of the Recession Zone and start focusing on making it easier for your customers to buy. This is the time to re-commit to your life's work, to learn everything you can. This is the time to give your revenue machine an overhaul. You'll sell more - now, during the slow time, and later, when people start spending more freely again.

I am currently working with a couple of clients whose sales are being affected by current economic events. One client is in the luxury travel business and another is in the recreational boating business.

In the former situation, high gas prices, higher food prices, and the fall of the dollar against the Euro are causing their customers to pull back on their buying decisions. In the latter situation, high gas prices and a concern about the economy are causing their customers to put off their next recreational boat purchase.

Of course, they're not the only ones feeling the pinch right now. If you are too, here's a recessionary rallying cry for you:

If you want more sales, get serious.

Serious about what?

All those things you didn't think were important when sales were good. All those things you thought were "good enough." All those things that happen "after the sale," and so didn't matter as much to you as things that prevented sales from occurring. All those things that, truth be told, your customers were watching, like a hawk.

When you did the right thing, they told others what you did, and recommended to others that they buy from you. They even went out of their way to tell others (more on that in a minute).

Similarly, when you did the wrong thing, they told others what you did, and warned others to stay away from you, with vehemence. They looked for every opportunity to tell others to avoid you.

When the rivers of revenue are full and flowing, it feels like these things don't matter (even though they do). When your river starts to shrink and slow, these things can become company killers.

Here are two examples.

Doing it right: I mention Amazon a lot in this space, but that's because they continue to impress me. For example, I recently bought a folding Plantronics headset from Amazon, to use with my laptop and Skype. One of the reasons I chose that particular headset was because it came with a USB dongle that accepted the mic and earphone cords. I wanted to see what effect the USB plug would have on voice quality, if any.

The headset arrived quickly, as Amazon orders always do. I opened it up, took everything out of the package, plugged the mic and earphone cords into my laptop, and tested. Then I looked for the USB dongle, which - according to the Amazon description and the info on the box - was included inside the box. It simply wasn't there.

So I sent an email to Amazon via their webform - which, remember, for most companies means you WON'T get an answer at all, much less a quick one - and explained that the USB dongle (which isn't sold separately) wasn't in the box.

What happened? The very next day, I got a package from Amazon. It contained the same Plantronics headset I ordered. The invoice amount was "$0.00." This time, the box included a USB dongle.

What am I doing as a result? Well, for one, I just told all of you about this. I am also planning on going back to the Amazon site and complimenting Amazon for the incredible, no-BS approach to customer service.

Doing it wrong: A friend of mine, Harry Newton, the author of Newton's Telecom Dictionary, writes a blog called InSearchOfThePerfectInvestment.com. One of his investments has caused him so much grief that he created a separate blog called AuctionRatePreferreds.org. What's happening with Auction Rate Preferreds (ARPs) is that investors are being told their investments are "frozen." They can get statements, but they can't get their money out.

Harry is leading the charge to put heat on the organizations that are holding these investments. One in particular is making him boil: Nuveen. Harry is considering using his own money to write and place a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal. He is composing the copy on his blog. This is what he's saying so far:

-- draft Wall Street Journal advertisement--

Why You Should Never
EVER Do Business With Nuveen

Number 1 reason: They lie to their customers.

Number 2 reason: They are ruining their customers' finances by forcing many to lose deposits on homes they can't close on, to not finance their business's cash needs and, for some, to declare bankruptcy.

Number 3 reason: There is no reason why Nuveen customers should make lawyers even more rich by forcing us customers to sue Nuveen.

There's a lot more on this subject in Harry's blog; my point here is to simply point out two things: 1) If your customers are affected by ARP illiquidity, your sales will be affected and 2) note how easy it was for Harry to make his grief public, and to even serve as a lightning rod for others experiencing the same grief.

Harry had been covering the ARP problem in his InSearchOfThePerfectInvestment site, but the subject began to dominate; so he simply bought the domain name AuctionRatePreferreds.org for about $10, and started publishing diatribes about ARPs and the organizations selling them - and asking others to email him with their own stories.

We are living in an age where a negative story can circle the globe in seconds, via something as easily posted as a blog comment or a YouTube video. This is not the time to be hostile, callous, or even lax as you interact with customers. This is not the time to do business as usual.

This is the time to get serious. About what? Your "resolution time."
Or, if you would like an acronym, your Time to Resolution or TTR.

Every time a potential customer asks a question, every time a current customer has a problem, every time someone in the company is trying to answer that question or solve that problem, you are faced with an issue that needs resolution. It's not enough to simply "respond."

Amazon could have sent me an automated email saying, "Thanks for the email, we'll get back to you." But they didn't do that. What they did was send an email the very same day I sent my email to them (how many companies do that?). The email, written by a real human being, said:

I'm very sorry to hear that one of the items in your set was missing a USB sound card when it arrived. We'll replace this item at no cost to you. However, we're unable to send individual items from a set. We'll send you a replacement order for the entire set.

I've placed a new order for the item at no charge. Here are the details of the order...etc.

Every detail of this email is perfect. The sender is Amazon.com Customer Service. The subject line is Your Amazon Order #...etc. At the end of the email, there's this:

Please let us know if this email resolved your question.
If yes, click here: [link]
If not, click here: [link]

The copy in the entire email is short and to the point, obviously based on a template - one designed for situations where an item is missing from a "set."

I'm sure, knowing Amazon, that the customer service rep was able to pick this template from a list of templates, type a couple of words in, and hit "send." I would bet that the details of the order, and the sig for the email were automatically inserted after the rep hit "send," probably using the Order Number data in the subject line. Or, the rep was able to select the data from another database and it was automatically inserted. The point is, I'm sure the rep didn't have to type the order number.

This is serious customer service. This is resolution. This is why I am an Amazon "prime" customer, happy to pay $79 a year to get free shipping on other items. This is why, whenever I need to buy something, I always check Amazon first to see if they carry it. And yes, I always look at the customer reviews, which are almost always incredibly helpful.

How is your Time to Resolution?

When business is good, it's easy to slip into your comfort zone, and let certain things slide. It's not smart, but it's easy - and you won't suffer as much for it as you will when money gets tight.

For example, let's say that the person you've put in charge of customer service is a bit laid back. There's no fire in his belly. He doesn't obsess over resolution. Most of the time, he coasts. Yes, he gets work done, and when the CEO calls him on the carpet about something, he will grudgingly get it resolved. But mostly he just keeps plodding along, while the army of unhappy customers (and the salespeople who must apologize to those unhappy customers) continues to grow.

This situation deteriorates until it becomes the company's Achilles heel, just waiting for someone like Harry Newton to blow the lid off the company's lax customer service. On that day, the company's competitors will be gleefully rubbing their hands, chortling. They will drive their own weapons into the open wound. Their salespeople will say, "Oh, yes, but you don't want to buy from them. They have a terrible reputation for customer service." Customers who had a bad experience will discover they're not alone, and will increasingly tell others, "We had problems, and apparently others have as well. I'd stay away from them."

Think about your business in terms of your Time to Resolution. First, define resolution. What are the problems that must be resolved, and what are the ways you can resolve them? From the customer's perspective, what kind of resolution speed are they expecting? How can you set up systems, processes, and tools so you resolve the problem in the ways and in timeframes that completely satisfy your customers?

This analysis requires flowcharting, showing the steps to resolution. Perhaps your customer service people have to get info from someone else before they can answer the question. If that is a the reality, fine. But don't keep the customer waiting while you get the answer. Instead, respond immediately to the customer's complaint. Make it clear that you understand the customer's problem and tell the customer exactly what you are going to do.

Promise the customer that you will get back to them in X amount of time, and then do it - whether you have an answer or not. As long as the customer knows you are working on the problem, and you keep them in the loop, the customer will be reasonably patient. "That's one less thing to worry about," the customer will think. And your salespeople won't have to keep apologizing, which only saps their selling energy and robs them of precious selling time.

Make Time to Resolution a priority. Design business processes to meet - or exceed - customer expectations.

This is what I mean when I say, "Get serious." Sales slide in recessions because managers let their companies slide when things are good.

When things get tough, they get desperate, and try to solve the problem by selling more aggressively. But that's like putting lipstick on a pig. It makes you feel like you've done something, but the pig still stinks.