As we nose-dive into a real recession, almost everything gets squeezed. Yet, as I tell my clients, there are many things you can do in a downturn to take advantage of more thinking, developing and repositioning time. Here are 7 things you can do when times are hard and quiet.  Follow these 7 personal reputation building skills and you'll not only steal some market share from your competitors, you'll come out of the bad times stronger, leaner, quicker and better...

1. Work on your online social profile. Joining some of the social networking sites such as facebook, myspace gives you some kind of presence on the internet. Depending on the exact nature of your work, you might want to ensure your profile is not too friendly on these! Your prospects and your competitors are googling you. Make sure they like what they find!
2. Work on your online professional profile. The strategy for survival is visibility! Join a couple of the professional online networking site. ecademy and linkedin are my faves. And they're both free! Build your online reputation by putting up your profile. It's as easy as writing a word document, and it gets you seen!
3. Work on your business networking. These quieter times are great to reach out to people, build relationships and start conversations. Whether that means joining a recognised business club like BNI or simply attending a few more business events, it doesn't pay to stay anonymous in tough times. For a great start in this domain, get my Networking Pocket Guide. With 250 powerful business networking tips, it's a business book in 40 minutes!
4. Work on building your personal brand. Basically that means give some thought to what you want to be known for and what you're standing for. Consider what could make you 10% better and different from others that do what you do. Youdon't need to be radically different. Just perceptably and demonstratably different!
   
5. Work on your referral marketing strategy. Leads, customers and clients are harder to find when times are tough. Yet you have a terrific way to get to significant amounts of warm introductions; through your existing relationships. By articuating what kind of business you're looking for and why you're the 'go to' choice, you putyourself ina strong position to begin asking people 'who do you know that...?'
6. Work on your mental toughness. Not all of the tough times are in your head, but some of it is. Two similar people will react differently to adversity. Remember the two sales people sent to Africa to sell shoes. One said 'no market here - nobody wears shoes.' The other said 'great market here - nobody wears shoes.'
7. Work on your overall marketing strategy. In an economic downturn, you need to be marketing savvy. That could mean diversifying, unifying, looking at new markets, new marketing methods and new systems for doing things. All of which comes down to your ability to pick the right car and travel in the right lane to the right destination with the right package. That's marketing!

All of these 7 things are exactly what I do for my professional clients, particularly in the banking, accounting and legal sectors. If you'd like to know how I could help you accelerate during the tough times, craft your personal brand and build a powerful reputation, click here>>