Will the 2011 holiday shopping season bankrupt retailers?

 There’s a new brand of holiday shopper.

This person spends less, shops online, and requires more convincing than ever. With fallout from the recession and growing reliance on the Internet, the 2011 holiday shopping season will be a key litmus test for retailers.  Will they dodge the bullet and report healthy profits in 2012?

Not under their current modus operandi, says Ron Volper, a business development authority that has advised Fortune 500 Companies, including General Electric, Exxon Mobil, Cablevision, American Express and JPMorgan Chase. His advice might go against conventional wisdom.

“Companies are shooting themselves in the foot by reducing marketing and sales costs,” he says. “Rather than cutting staff, slashing commissions, and dropping prices, now is the time to increase advertising, hire more sales staff, and hold your prices.” 

We are in a new sales reality, says Volper in his new book Up Your Sales in a Down Market: 20 Strategies To Win Over Cautious Customers. With cautious customers taking longer to make their buying decisions and switching providers at the drop of a hat, even seasoned sales pros are feeling the pain. Volper¹s book arrives just in time.

RON VOLPER, Ph.D., is a leading authority on business development. He has been interviewed on Bloomberg Television, MSNBC, and CNBC, and featured in Fortune, INC, Nation¹s Business, Success, Accounting Today, and others.  As Managing Partner of the Ron Volper Group‹Building Better Sales Teams, he has advised 90 Fortune 500 Companies and many mid-sized companies on how to increase sales in tough times and good times; and he has trained over 30,000 salespeople and executives over the past 25 years. He is an Adjunct Facultymember at New York University, and a sought after speaker. He and his wife live in Larchmont, NY. Learn more at www.ronvolpergroup.com.