1. Have a clear picture of what you do best . In times like these when expenses have to be moderated, it is very important to understand where those precious dollars that will be spent will have the most return.

It starts with a clear understanding of why the company is in business and why customers purchase the products and services that they do. A good exercise is to forget about the products and services you offer, and ask yourself if you were in the customer's shoes, why would you buy from your company?

Answering the why questions will clarify what your real value is, and allows you to set the vision for how to change the product or service mix and the marketing strategies moving forward.

2. Turn your best customers into your partners . The reality is that your best customers need you. If you no longer are able to provide the benefits they gain by doing business with you, they lose too, because there is always a cost to switching to another vendor.

Prioritize your best customers and center your product and service offerings on adding extra value by meeting more of your customer's specific needs. If they believe they will realize the added value and you are important, they usually will step up.

Here are some suggested actions to improve your odds:

a. Make sure your product or service messaging clearly communicates your added value proposition. When presenting partnership opportunities, often times you get one chance to establish the added value. It is essential then that the messaging clearly and succinctly communicates what it is you want, why you need what you are asking from them, and what the added benefits are that the customer would gain from engaging. These are NOT your typically features-advantage-benefits style slides normally produced for general product or service presentations. Take the time and spend the money to get this right because it is the most critical step in the success process.

b. Make sure you fully understand your competition. The potential partner (your customer) is now engaged. Their natural reaction will be to ask many questions. They will be assessing your added value with how what you are proposing is accomplished now. These are competitive questions. Fully understanding the offerings of other companies that sell like product or services, or how products or services internally developed by your customer would be affected if the customer engaged, allows you to rapidly and confidently answer all of the questions.

c. As you move through the discussions, stay focused on the basics, why customers do business with you, how they value partnering, and what they can gain from engaging.

Businesses that maximize their core opportunities to the fullest typically are very profitable whether times are good or bad. Business levels may change, but the health of the company remains strong. By focusing on what the company does best, innovating how to service customers, and executing to meet their specific needs, businesses can grow in a down economy.

by Philip Casini