Recession Proof Your Business? Trade Fear in for Trust.
- August 25th, 2008
More than a couple photographers are challenged to make life work given our economy. In times likes this, it seems a lot of us are tempted with whether or not to lower prices and give away more stuff to get more gigs.
It’s like being cold in winter and being tempted to start a fire with the wood the house is made of. It’s a bit of a bad bet.
I get that this can intuitively make sense in the short haul if your goal is to sell your products and services to clients when it feels like people aren’t buying like they used to. Long term though, it’s a disaster.
What is the best response for a photographer (or anyone) to make when we’re trying to avoid becoming a commodity in a down economy? Good question.
My friend Jeff Jochum likes to say that the Internet is a great place to buy and an awful place to sell. And, he’s right.
Extend that proverb to our times and it gets even more powerful… a down economy is a tough place to sell and an easy place to buy.
What I mean is that when people have felt needs (which everyone has right now), your best option as a business person is to provide solutions for those people.
Isn’t it true that when you have a felt need?
How driven are you when you want water on a long hike, a bandaid for a blister or have a hankering for McDonald’s in the middle of a foreign country?
Won’t you pay what you need to pay to get what you know you want? No one needs to convince you. Price is not first on your mind. You just want a McAnything and you’re willing to pay.
If you can find people in that place and you have what they want, incentives are not required. But this is true only if what you have for them is unmistakably what they feel they need to have at the precise moment they want to have it.
The good news about a bad economy is a lot of people have felt needs.
A better prescription for our down times? Create unmistakable value and deliver that value in a timely way. Then, watch in amazement as people pay whatever you charge. They’ll even give up on other commodities to have your stuff.
Now, you’re in a new category in their minds and you should do everything you can to stay there.
By the way, if they don’t get the value you offer without thinking about it or if you’re feeling the need to try and sell them or convince them of its’ value, the game is already over. You’re in the selling business and people will be driven exclusively on getting the most bang for the least amount of buck. That’s a tough recipe when belts are tightening.
The flip is also true: If customers are initiating the purchase and you’re just helping people buy what they want, you’re in recession heaven.
Where good business people get into trouble is when they’re driven by fear and desperation. At least that’s been true of me. Driven by fear, I’ve been tempted to become part of the mass that does what everyone else is doing. In contrast, the millionaires that come out of recessions and depressions aren’t just lucky. My sense is they’re thoughtful and intentional and are driven by something stronger than fear and it takes them to places that are creatively unique and they stand out because of it.
Want some free advice? In a down market when everyone is spending credit to make money (or making minimum payments to have a chance to make money), try creating value for free (e.g., sharing knowledge on the internet with those you want to create the most value for). Then, trade that value for trust. That trust will be the incentive for people to go to you when they have a felt need.
So, what should you be doing in the mean time while you’re waiting for that trust to convert into a transaction? Ask and listen very carefully to your clients input on their needs. Listen especially for the solutions that would be the most valuable to them when they have the greatest need. And then, create that product and service to order. Finally, when they’re in the mood to buy, you won’t need to persuade them. They’ll have already sold themselves and be stoked they’re buying from you.
Here’s a dare: While you’re at all this value creation, spend any money you can (even if it’s spare change) paying down debt so that when people start buying, you’ll actually be able to keep what they give you. It’s amazing how much opportunity will show up just by taking that bitter pill.
Keep it proofed.
-Dane
PS… Thank you to everyone who have been saying such nice things to me online and on their blogs and in emails and on Facebook about my book! Your words have been absolute gifts. Bless you!
