How to Sell to Customers Profitably in a Bad Economy

1. You're running around pitching your product at a certain price.
2. No one's buying.
3. "We don't have the $$$ in this economy," they say.

What do you do?

1. Offer what the customer can pay for X. (what you can't control that)
2. Focus on reducing X's costs. (what you can control)
3. Boost net profits.

That's Toyota's wisdom:

1. 'We can't control what our customers pay for XYZ.'
2. 'But, we can control costs associated from producing XYZ.'

For instance, say you're selling print services to businesses in the Midwest.

You can't sell over Y price, and right now with the economy tanking, you're taking a freakish loss.

1. You have to sell at a certain price -- otherwise, the bulk of your customers and prospects won't buy.
2. So, start looking to cut %$^@% costs.

Examples?

1. Create detailed training manuals on how to print stuff, how to sell stuff, and how to service stuff -- such that high-schoolers can read the mofofloko and do what's necessary. Hire/manage/direct employees accordingly.
2. Move out of your high-rent buildings to lower-cost rent.
3. Sell your high-maintenance printers for lower-maintenance printers.
4. Negotiate with your team to take pay cuts -- where your executives take the biggest hits.
5. Eliminate unnecessary work/steps/processes.

The moral:

1. Charge what a bulk of your target customers are willing to pay for X.
2. Viciously beat down X's costs like it just slapped your children.

%^@% costs.

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