Outlast and Outshine Your Competition

Five Secrets for Business Owners to Come Out on Top when the Competition, Prospects and Clients are Trying to Knock Them Down

By Vicki Suiter

If your prospects and customers are pinching pennies, and you feel the competition breathing down your neck, it's easy to think the only way to get business in the door is to cut your prices.

Think again.

Take these five steps to clear out your competition, gain control of the selling process and keep your profits up too!

Secret 1: Get clear about what you can cut in costs before you consider cutting prices.

Reducing prices without reducing costs will bankrupt you. Before you reduce your prices, look for ways to cut your costs. Then, if you do cut your prices, it will not be at the cost of your profits. Here are
some key ways to do that:

• Increase production efficiencies. Increasing efficiency in project production will allow you to put forth proposals more competitively. Fewer trips to Office Depot are a good start!
• Reduce labor costs. Make sure your field people are clear about the hours you've budgeted for a project by phase and task. Manage them to keep to the budget.
• Cut material costs. Negotiate better prices on materials with vendors.
• Remove duplication and confusion. Make sure everyone involved in your process, from suppliers to staff and customers, are on the same page. Being clear on scope and schedule are two critical
  drivers for keeping costs under control.