Let me start this column by stating the obvious: 2009 is going to be a difficult business year.

OK, now that I got that out of the way, I can move on to actual important business strategy. You see, everybody knows that the economy is struggling and credit is hard to come by and businesses are cutting budgets. But what can you do about it? How can you, as a leader of a distributor business in the ad specialty market, thrive in difficult times?

That’s what I want to talk about. Enough with the negativity – you can’t overcome it anyway if all you’re focused on is how bad things are. That’s why the lead story in MarketWise (our news section) this month is titled “Four Tips For A Successful 2009.” Beginning on page 67, this article looks at some strategies that distributors can employ to ensure positive results this year. The first tip in the article is to renegotiate some expenses. Go to your landlord and try to renegotiate your office rent – it may seem like a long shot, but you know the old saying: you don’t know the answer until you ask the question. Landlords today may look at the stable monthly revenue and decide that a little less each month is more valuable to them than having to find a new tenant.

Yes, I’m advocating threats here. You have to be a little ruthless if you’re going to thrive right now. Don’t be afraid to threaten to leave if they won’t lower the rent.

You also have to take a hard look at your own business. Now is the time to closely evaluate two key areas of your company – expenses and profitable business – and be prepared to make strategic cuts. You can’t afford to be carrying expense loads that aren’t in line with a reduction in revenues. I’m not trying to be negative here, just realistic. In planning ways to thrive when others are struggling, you have to cut expenses now. Ultimately, your operation will be more profitable if you ensure that your expenses are realistic compared to forecasted revenues.

Being profitable now, as this article points out, also means making hard decisions with some customers. Monitor your receivables closely and check client credit histories to ensure that your customer base isn’t becoming a drain on your own cash flow. And don’t hesitate to fire unprofitable clients. Profit, not revenue, should be your number-one goal this year – and clients that sap your resources or simply aren’t paying prices that meet your gross profit goals need to be dealt with. Don’t hesitate. This isn’t the time to be a vendor martyr.

Of course, selling also matters these days. Expense reduction is vital, but getting clients to sign deals is key too. My advice and that of one of our columnists this month – check out “Bail Yourself Out” on page 98 – is to fill your sales pipeline, make as many calls as you can, and identify the marketing challenges of your clients. Sure, they may be cutting their own marketing expenses, but they still need to launch new products, go to trade shows and run customer loyalty programs. Make sure you’re in on the planning stages of those programs. Make it your business in 2009 to become the marketing consultant that your clients need – and won’t pay for otherwise.

It also won’t hurt to focus your clients on using apparel to promote their companies this year. In this, our 9th Annual Wearables Issue, we make the case for logoed apparel being a good antidote for a cold economy. The feature article, which begins on page 129, points out that consumers may be a little more thrifty with their apparel expenses and so will be even more accommodating to some free wares that your clients can distribute. Plus, apparel is the number-one seller in the ad specialty industry (with more than 30% of overall market revenues), and provides a significant amount of targeted impressions – just the kind of ROI that your clients will need this year to justify their own marketing expenses.

Want more information on how you can succeed this year? Join me on January 22 at 2pm Eastern time for an online Counselor education session titled “Operation Rebound: How To Survive and Thrive in 2009.” Just go to www.asicentral.com/webinars to register.

Best of luck this year!

Andy Cohen, Editor