According to a survey performed by Constant Contact, in conjunction with the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), SCORE and the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) , 70% of small businesses expect moderate to significant growth in 2009. Almost ¾ of the respondents cited marketing, sales and new business development as being their biggest challenge. (To review the survey click here).

According to the stats provided by the SBA, small firms (defined as those with less than 500 employees) represent 99.7% of all employer firms and have generated 64% of new jobs over the last 15 years. More interesting is the fact that 52% are home based.

In the past both large and small firms have sought the big well-established corporation as the coveted client. However, in today’s business environment that may not be an effective sales strategy. Given the ever-convincing empirical data suggesting the proliferation of small businesses as the future economic powerhouse, all sized companies may need to sell into this small landscape.

Albeit a good strategy, many businesses are at a loss, not knowing how to locate, attract and sell to the smaller sized company. It requires a diversified and targeted marketing strategy as it is no longer a simple act of locating a published phone number or driving by an established building. These prospects are opaque, interspersed in the business community and harder to locate. Moreover, given the reduced order size and increased need for handholding the cost of doing business with the smaller company may be in conflict with some firms fixed overhead. Even with these inherent difficulties many firms will find the need to adjust their business model accordingly, as the recession has abruptly changed the players in the game.