The best way to form new business relationships is to take the time to listen.  So many small business owners are so anxious to be heard that they don’t even take the time to listen.  The more anxious they get, the more they are tuned out of listening.

You can visit any small business networking event and you will see what I mean.  There is a real need for “soft skills” development.  During good economic times, it was easy to get away with not having professional sales skills.  Today’s economy is not so forgiving.  It would seem that smart business owners will understand this and take the time to learn how they can more effectively get their messages out.  The ones who do this will demonstrate the flexibility and resiliency to survive the shake up that is going on.

Well, supposedly we all know what doing more of the same brings… more of the same…and that is a formula for insanity!

So, if we all know this then why are so many small business owners refusing to take a good look at themselves and try to evaluate what is going on?

It must be that fear has gotten a grip on them.

Fear makes people “hunker down” and then do more of the same.  It even makes them ignore information, events and people that are in a position to help them implement the changes that they need to grow even during these frightening times.

The reality is all business is not going to die or go away. This period of time is really a shake up and the ones who are going to shaked out are the ones who are not figuring out more competitive ways to do business.  It is that simple.

Businesses who seek to pare down and do more of the same will not thrive.  Most likely they will be one of the casualties.  The ones who are willing to take the risk of trying something different will distinguish themselves in the market place and consequently take on more market share.

Small businesses need to stop being peddlers who get more and more shrill as their fear levels increase.  They need to take a deep breath and understand that in this day and age consumers still want and seek added value.  They will pay for the experience (the classic example is the Starbucks coffee).

Businesses that commoditize their products or services will find it harder to recover even if they make it through the recession.