I just got back from Savannah, Georgia, last week. I had never been to Savannah and I just loved it. It's a charming small town, ideal for walking, filled with delightful parks (22 of them), intriguing history, beautiful architecture and good restaurants. In other words, it meets all of my criteria for a great small city!

I was in Savannah on my way south to attend a three-day Top Echelon Network recruiting conference at the Wild Dunes Resort in nearby Charleston, South Carolina. I'm a fairly new member of this group and this was my first conference. And, while I was told that the conference attendance was a bit lower than usual, I was happily surprised to see how many recruiting firms did attend.

There were firms that were large (15+ recruiters) and some that were sole proprietorships. There were firms that had been members for over 20 years, and some that were new to the group. Attending firms recruited in all industries and all disciplines. In other words, it was a very, very diverse group.

The second thing that surprised me was how upbeat my colleagues were. There was a strong belief that not only would we still be standing when "this thing" was over, there would be a tsunami of new business as the baby-boomers continue to retire and companies accelerate their growth with a smaller workforce. Furthermore, the group felt that the inevitable shake-out would mean less competition for those firms remaining. Essentially, "Hang in there and let's go get a beer and some more oysters!"

Seriously, after three days of seminars and training, I came away with a large document of action items for me to implement over the next few months in my business. Overall, there are five major "take-aways" that not only pertain to my business but, I think, are relevant to lots of companies.

1. DON'T STOP MARKETING — Your competition has slashed its marketing department, ad budget and trade show strategies. Don't you do it. It's more important than ever to stay in front of your customers. And, you've got more of the spotlight now that some of the competition is gone.
 
2. DO TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES — Now's a great time to update and upgrade whatever technologies you are using. Technology truly does give you an edge and you'll get more value and help from your tech vendors now.
 
3. HIT THE "RESET" BUTTON ON YOUR BUSINESS — Jeff Skrentny of Jefferson Group Consulting, himself an IT recruiter and also a leading trainer in our industry, calls it "hitting the reset button." What he means is making sure your sales force goes back to the basics in their sales process. If you need to bring in sales training, now's a great time to do that.
 
4. MAKE PRODUCT IMPROVEMENTS/UPGRADES — When times are good and orders are rolling in, it's hard to justify spending an inordinate amount of time "polishing up" your successful product. Now's a good time to do that. For those of you whose R&D budget never got cut, kudos to you!
 
5. DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO STAY POSITIVE — Turn off CNBC. Fold up your Wall Street Journal. Don't wallow in the bad economic news. Keep your focus on yourself. Stay mentally and physically healthy. Get back to the gym while you have the time. Your business can't be healthy if you're not healthy.

Knowing how many of our clients spend long hours in their cars, last month I recorded "Six Tips for Hiring Top Sales Talent" in the form of a podcast CD.

These tips are actually six of the most popular, sales-related "Framing the Issues" newsletters, spruced up and converted into a convenient audio format.

If you'd like a CD sent to you (no charge), I'm happy to oblige. Just call me at 978.921.8282 x202 and I'll pop one in the mail!