If you're wondering how you're supposed to survive the economic climate, wonder about this instead - "Why am I worrying about it; relying on and placing my source of power in the hands of someone else?"When you own a business, you're supposed to translate your corporate (and to some degree, and personal) company cultures and ideas, create unity and engage your potential clients, to facilitate an exchange of ideas with coworkers.
And, you're supposed to do all of this well - to the point where you've proven your worth as being a part of a group of respected professionals.
Maybe, for some strange reason you've been thinking, "How do I survive this?
If I really want to be successful, then why on earth should I (or would I) join the "discounting" trend, by reducing our company prices to try to get ahead?"
Maybe you're like me, you've thought about that and come up with asking yourself what good will come to any business that puts it's years of acquired value in jeopardy - value that you've not only acquired, but worked for, studied for, poured your life's blood, sweat, and tears into, and lost sleep over.
I'm sure you plan to and always expect to deliver great work, awesome service and fantastic products. So, you can't operate from a position of limitations and limited perspectives, can you? That's just not right.
But keep this in mind...
Be willing to innovate. It's wise to entertain clients to get ahead, even when your budget is extremely limited.
Start every week with this:
What can we do to raise the bar, make a memorable impact on our client base, attract the perfect client who "gets us", elicit a "wow", and better solidify our company relationships?
Take action, is what you can do.
Take matters into your own hands. Follow Jack Canfield's "Rule of 5" from his Success Principles and commit to five actions that will move you forward.
Here are a few ideas to help you.
Keep your business in the front of your clients minds. Have a company/client mixer. Invite all of your clients, at once, to join your entire team for lunch.
Host a simple hotdog and hamburger barbecue for your clients and market it to them that way. It won't cost a lot and there's nothing wrong with that. But come on now, do it right!
Take something this simple and present it in an upscale style. All it takes is a little attention to detail and you can make things look amazing. Impress your clients by hosting a good, old-fashioned grilled burger and dog party of simplicity.
That's the beauty of it. It's inexpensive and simple.
Make cheap look like a million bucks.
Host your client barbecue on company property, in your most attractive and shaded area.
Move tables from your employee break room outside and jazz them up with red and white (or blue and white) gingham check picnic tablecloths made of cloth, not chintzy paper.
Place big, beautiful sun flower blossoms on each table as centerpiece flowers. Place long stemmed sunflower branches in attractive galvanized buckets, along with accompanying flowers and leaves, in the center of your food buffets.
Quality food doesn't have to cost a lot.
Along with the best looking and best tasting hotdogs and hamburgers, cater to your client by serving all of the proper burger and dog accoutrement, including individual bags of Fritos, Doritos, and potato chips.
Have every condiment you think that they could possibly ask for, including Frank's RedHot hot sauce for their burgers.
Serve lots of refreshing soft drinks. And, serve "big bang for your buck" Costco apple pie and Costco sheet cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Be sure to keep everything bussed, neat and tidy!
Corporate social responsibility - Diversify and win big!
Support your clients favorite nonprofit by inviting the nonprofit to get involved with your company barbecue plans.
Doing so, you create a win-win program that will serve both organizations. The nonprofit segment has become/been a valued part of company professional growth. Use that fact to promote personal growth for yourself and your employees.
Get known as the Kings and Queens of Collaboration.
Stick your neck out. Invite other professionals (once described as competitors) to stop by your barbecue.
You never know. You may get the chance to collaborate with them. Together, vow to court any upcoming multifaceted projects that might bring together several companies toward one client goal. Your unity will strengthen your entire market.
Educate, educate, educate. Learn, learn, learn.
A new style of corporate training?
If you'd like, with the help of the "professionals" mentioned above, incorporate education into your barbecue to create community.
Or, do this with your team, alone. Educate and learn with informal roundtable-type discussions that are open, frank and enlightening. Strategically plant members of your management team at tables occupied by your clients and your invited guests formerly known as "your competitors".
These no pressure, "off-the-cuff" discussions will allow you to find out what they think. Consider this to be a type of "Executive Seminar" - to help you survive and thrive in difficult times.
How easy is that? It's a piece of cake.
Now you're off to a great start with how to plan a party and you don't have to wonder, "How can I plan the perfect picnic or perfect corporate picnic?"
I've given you the perfect plan encompassing four Success Principles. Now all you have to do is come up with only one more on your own. And, I know you can do it.
You can survive this. You are the designer and protector of the tone, mood, experience, success, inspiration and attitude - which are contagious, by the way - that your company takes.
Do you see what you'll accomplish by having a company party - when you've made the decision to adopt a mind-set to thrive, no matter what?
You're smart. You get the gist of this. Survive and thrive, that's the name of the game!
Consider giving a corporate entertainment picnic as a corporate gift to your clients.
Now go get everyone excited to rally behind you and plan your company event.
Brandix Corporate Retreat
Image source: Carlo At Your Service Productions
Corporate party planning, Corporate parties, Business, Corporate social responsibility, Costco, Company, Potato chip, Ice cream, Education, Business and Society: Technorati Tags
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