It used to be that a small business could get a short term loan to get over a rough patch. That's no longer true. We are in the midst of a credit crisis. So, if you can't get financing, what can you do?

You can increase revenue. Business owners are pretty predictable about spending. When revenue goes down, when income falls, they cut expenses. Unfortunately, they tend to cut all expenses. They fail to approach the problem strategically.

Declining revenue is really a problem that needs to be confronted, not accommodated. The first step is to figure out why it's declining and then fix the problem. When companies focus on maintaining income by cutting expenses, they rarely think about increasing marketing. In good times, if a company wants more customers they increase marketing. Then why, if a company needs more customers, more revenue, would they decrease their marketing now? Does that make sense?

Notice how thin newspapers have gotten. Count the number of ads on TV for other network programs rather than products. Even those coupon envelopes that appear in your mailbox have gotten thinner. This is because businesses haven't seen a return on their advertising dollars.

But marketing doesn't have to involve spending a lot of money. Your best source of increased revenue is your existing customers. Your most prudent investment is the time you spend finding out how you can help them and the people they know. By focusing on creative ways to increase revenue you stand a better chance of increasing income than by cutting expenses. More revenue will solve most problems. 

You have between 8 and 12 seconds to get someone's attention. Instead of telling people what you do, or about the products you provide, describe the problem you solve, the pain or fear you eliminate. People buy based on their emotional response. What 25 words can you use to make a real connection with that emotion in your prospects?

Take the time to write out a few options. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to get people interested.