This is the third in my brief tips from the Dan Kennedy seminar I attended several weeks ago, in which I got to admire a master who makes a big deal out of telling it like it is (with books such as "No B.S. Direct Marketing: The Ultimate, No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Direct Marketing for Non-direct Marketing Businesses" and "No B.S. Time management for entrepreneurs") and acting like a big grump!

 How is this for a provocative Dan Kennedy statement?:

"The degree to which you are willing to drive away others is the degree to which you and your message will resonate with your market" .

His argument goes this way:

In order to immunize your business against recession, you need to discriminate. While this is not a comfortable word for the politically correct amongst us, one of  Webster's definition of discrimination is "the quality or power of finely distinguishing".

The initial stepping stone to successful business results that come from marketing is:

• Be clear WHO you plan to sell to (or attract into your practice)  i.e. who is in your special niche?
• and WHAT it is you are best at selling or offering i.e. what are you passionate about and skilled at offering that others want or desire?

Have the courage to make that clear to the marketplace.

I hope I am starting to sound like a nag, because I AM one on this topic. I learned the hard way, and want to make the path to success much smoother for you.

Who do you need to "discriminate in favor of" in order to recession-proof your business?

Here are Tip #1 and Tip #2.