JANUARY 1991

Competitors can be good for business, believes Richard Gsottschneider, CEO of RKG Associates Inc., a $1-million real estate consulting firm in Durham, N.H. He gets job referrals by sending his company newsletter to his rivals.

The semiannual four-page newsletter features items on RKG projects, regional news, and economic issues. It costs about $1 per newsletter to produce and mail to some 1,800 current and prospective clients and 200 competitors.

The first two mailings brought two jobs -- and lots of leads from competitors, he says. "We refer work to them, and they do the same for us. There's more than enough work to go around."