Well, it is very hard to take market share away from others, but let’s do that first, and let’s also go another route by broadening your market definition.  How to gain market share?  Clearly not easy, but this always boils down to making more calls on competitors’ larger accounts, finding out specifically why they buy from them and then finding out what else they want and providing both of those things.  Every business is different here, but re-read those words and point your selling mechanism at that concept.  Of course, your “selling mechanism” might be salespeople but more probably is the “what causes sales” we’ve talked about so many times (see www.ceotools.com, click on New Tools Catalog, and scroll down to last tool).

How to broaden your market definition?  An example is:  instead of limiting your construction to building homes, remodel them, get into commercial, pursue office building remodels, etc.  If you are a remodeler, what about showing folks how to become Do-It-Yourselfers (but do charge for certain aspects of doing that), providing them with special tools, techniques, even designs or just the parts they don’t want to or can’t do (e.g., tile work).  The thought here is to broaden our thinking!
Focus on just those two areas, and we’re pretty sure you’ll see that your market is there, just differently accessible.

With best wishes, Kraig

Regardless of the particular lender, manage your credit better with the timeless Tatum article on lending and credit:  click on the following address http://www.ceotools.com/blog/2009/01/recession-ideas-from-tatum-llc/ and then print out the free PDF by clicking on “Managing Bank Relationships…”

You’ll be glad you checked it out!   With best regards,  Kraig

How, at mid-year, to improve cash, credit, clients?  Well, how about a brand new focus on those three areas:  commission three tiger-teams in your company (or your peer or presidents group) to brainstorm, research the internet, and concoct unusual or maybe untried responses.

Here are some ideas:  1-replace your prompt-pay discount with a prompt-pay rebate, payable the following month (thanks to Abe WalkingBear Sanchez for this idea); 2-ask for cash deposits on orders; 3-teach your customers inventory earn-&-turn and DSO-tracking to improve their cash-flow, and they’ll likely return the favor of prompter pay to you; 4-lease items instead of buying; 5-outsource just about everything. 

We’ll continue to publish tips like these at www.ceotools.com/blog, so please visit our weblog and other great blogs regularly for ideas.  We’re just now publishing the updated “Top 10 Tools for Financing Businesses” which might be helpful to you.

Once again, helping each other through this recession/recovery is our goal! 

With best regards, Kraig Kramers

 MSNBC Top 10 Business Movies  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5497582 

As always, hope this is helpful!  Very best, Kraig