While many companies only begin to market after recovery has been fully realized, the real winners emerging from economic downturns are those who invested time and money at the beginning of the recovery.

With this in mind, Scott's is here to help you make the most of your sales recovery with 5 Essentials to Growing Your Business in a Recovery.

1. Credibility

Scott's Feature: Our 100% verification standards will help you establish credibility from the first contact with your prospect.

- Communicate confidence, awareness, and authority
- Accumulate testimonials
- Publish e-newsletters, articles, e-books, free reports
- Identify what is truly valuable to your company
- Tap into your customer base

2. Planning

Scott's New Online Feature: Geocode Mapping (available with Scott's Online) allows outside sales people to plan their trips, identify related organizations, and search for local competitors. Searching by Geocode allows you to locate the precise location of a company either by postal address or geographic coordinates. Perfect for outside salespeople, this new feature allows you to better plan your meetings, and ensure that you get the most out of your time on the road.

- Create a budget/business plan
- Set realistic targets and a plan of action for your sales team
- Conduct market research for new business development areas
- Establish deliverables and determine deadlines
- Coordinate activities across all necessary departments

3. Persistence

Scott's Feature: Expanded User-Added Notes (available with Scott's Online) enable you to create your own personal Contact Management System wherever you have internet connection. With three times the storage capacity of our previous edition, our new User-Expanded Notes allow you to effectively track follow-up with prospects and clients, create your own search keywords, and much more.

- Be vigilant about your follow-ups; don't let leads slip through the cracks
- Identify common objections, and create a system of objection handling
- Create an e-mail campaign that reaches prospects on a regular basis (reach the small business market in Canada with Scott's e-blast service)
- Offer special promotions to sweeten your unique sales proposition
- Don't lose confidence. "Not now" doesn't mean "not ever"

4. Versatility

Scott's Feature: Scott's various data elements (including the new Public Company Indicator) allow you to master niche markets based on over 28 search criteria, including industry, job function, communication method, and business attributes.

- Be prepared to make changes to your business plan as market realities dictate
- Identify niche markets that your product or service could penetrate
- Come up with timely news items that are relevant to your prospects and clients
- Find alternative ways to communicate with your prospects and clients (e.g. social networking)

5. Integration

Scott's Feature: Scott's Online PROSPECTOR version allows you to seamlessly import your Scott's data into local documents, spreadsheets, and CRM programs.

- Identify key Centres of Influence (COI) in your industry, and create strategic alliances
- Win industry awards, and align yourself with key organizations and boards
- Create internal best practices to enhance communication across departments (i.e. weekly meetings, shared computer servers, etc.)

On the Road to Recovery, Fuel Up with Scott's Directories

Begin your road to recovery with Scott's by clicking on one of the links below:

- FREE 14-Day Free Trial
- Scott's Directories Catalogue
- Scott's Vertical Custom Lists