Are You Referable?

I spoke at an executive workshop in Edmonton yesterday. It was built around helping leaders step back and rethink about tools and strategies they could possibly employ to gain growth going forward.

One reminder I wanted to share was ensuring you and your business are acting in a manner that will encourage other businesses to refer your goods and services. Are you being trustworthy and responsible? Are you living up to what you promise? As Jared Smith from Insight Solutions pointed out, think of the traits you look for in the firms and people you refer and then ask yourself do you practice these same habits.

All in all the mood from the executive's was that business is soft in some areas but growing in others. The key was to be flexible and be aggressive towards uncovering business. As I have said many times in this blog, it is time to rethink your marketing strategy and ensure you are talking to the right people and offering them something that is relevant to their current needs (if you know them).

Time To End The Hostage Crisis

"The world economy has effectively lost its sugar daddy." this is how Douglas Porter from BMO views the economic malaise that is underway in the United States. See the link below for the full article in the Edmonton Journal.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Business/sugar+daddy+save+banker/1497637/story.html


Past growth for most Canadian businesses were in some way tied to the United States. Today these traditional growth models lay in ruin. It was all to easy to just look south for our growth. In fact we were blinded by this ease and now we are miles behind other nations when it comes to building growth models from other markets. Today China represents the best growth opportunity for many Canadian organizations. Just read the front page of the latest Edmonton Chamber of Commerce news letter titled “Sino-Canadian Trade Potential” for the latest opinion on the matter.

So, does your business have its China strategy yet?