Turning Upheaval Into Profit

It may sound harsh, but I've always believed that you cannot help those that will not first, help themselves. Taken a step further, those resistant to change and satisfied with the status quo are usually the same people that become stagnant. Although this holds true in many aspects of life, it is easiest to see in the perspective of a business owner.

I've recently been working with a group of online business people who were suddenly faced with the loss of an online service that was in fact, the cornerstone of their business. From this group, I've watched true entrepreneurs emerge into the limelight, but I've also seen many fall victim to an almost stubborn sense of defeat.

Successful business owners understand the need to adjust to change. Much like providing quality customer service, your ability to adapt and overcome in the face of change, should be among your priorities. Believe it or not, there are those daring successes out there that thrive on change, and see it as an opportunity to supply solutions for a new "need" that arises as a result.

One of the first rules of business is to identify a need amongst your target market, and then provide a solution. What better way is there to identify new and emerging needs, than to closely examine the implications and effects that a recent change has had amongst your client base?

============================================== How To Identify Emerging Needs In The Face Of Change ==============================================

1) Recognize the effect of change on your client base. Sometimes these effects are obvious, sometimes they aren't. The best way I've found to identify the needs of the people most directly effected is to ASK THEM. Online, this could mean conducting a survey, starting a forum discussion, or simply sending a mail, or making a phone call. The idea is to get the facts from the people most directly involved.

2) Understand that 'change' itself can be a result of management decisions you've made, or it can be the result of a market trend which effects the decisions being made by your target market. Odds are, if your sales take a sudden turn for the worse, there has been a change that's effecting your market. Find out what it is.

3) Identify the effect of the change, and explore the resulting need is has created. Has something disappeared that you have an alternative for? Has a new technology emerged that makes your product ineffective? It's time to think outside the box, are you ready?

============================================== Become A Champion of Change By Providing Solutions ==============================================

- Become creative! If you find a need for something that doesn't exist, develop it. Joint venture with someone else if you aren't prepared to handle product development yourself! Protect your ideas and time investment with the proper JV agreements, just like any other business venture.

- Offer alternative solutions. Chances are, there are already alternatives available to serve the new needs of your prospects. If you have experience with a product that fits the bill, refer your clients to it as an affiliate. If there is no affiliate arrangement available, propose a Joint Venture with the owner. Your prospect list and pre-sold clients are a valuable asset to any business person with the solution to your client's needs!

- Offer training and consultation services. It's not uncommon to find that your clients don't know WHAT they need. Offering to help them identify their needs can be a business in itself.

============================================== Act In Your Client's Best Interest To Gain Credibility ==============================================

The bottom line is to actually HELP people through change. If you try to take advantage of the needs that arise as a result of change, you will in fact defeat your own purpose.

If you can face change with optimism, and look for the opportunities that always accompany it, you will soon find yourself busier than you thought you could ever be! The time you waste on complaining and whining could just be enough time for your competition to present your clients with a solution!

-- Resource Box -- This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including links and this resource box are unchanged. Copyright 2003 Ginger Geracitano All Rights Reserved. The Portal To Success E-Zine http://theportaltosuccess.com Receive Ginger's recommendations that may solve your client's needs: mailto:subscribe@theportaltosuccess.com

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