Marketer, prepare thyself.

First came the tortuous decline in the market. Next up, a corresponding decrease in year-end compensation.

To anyone paying attention, it should come as little surprise that year-end will be leaner than a Jenny Craig pot roast. In spite of the imminent frustration, this is no time to give up on financials as an employer. Come what may, compensation for financial marketers continues to exceed nearly every alternative. And there aren’t many of those “alternatives” to be found these days.

So what can you as a marketer be doing today to make sure there’s no repeat in ‘09? Get your ’09 budget prepared for the worst. The steep decline of the past six weeks won’t be fully reflected in asset manager revenues for months. However, it makes sense to take stock now of what’s essential and what belongs on the wish list. Do you really need common support across all products or can you cherry pick? Is there a technology solution available? Do you really need a whole suite of value-added offerings? A new product? Seriously.

By getting in front of the curve, you’ll score some points for demonstrating your ability to think like a business-person. Moreover, you’ll be taking action when you have the time to really think through your cuts strategically, rather than taking everything down unilaterally.

Review your use and depth of metrics. Are you measuring your marketing output? More importantly, are you validating your contribution to firm growth? If you expect to get yourself and your team paid, you need to demonstrate that you can make something happen. Start by getting the team together to determine what should be measured and how to get at the data. From there, put together a marketing dashboard and make time each month to review it with firm management. As the story goes…if that doesn’t work, make out three envelopes.

Continue to build your professional portfolio. This is an opportunity to grow yourself professionally. That means training. Take a minute to identify those areas where you think you could use some tuning up and get at it. At most firms, tuition reimbursement is still available. Also, as staff cuts are made, the specialist model gives way to one that favors the generalist. That means you’ll likely have the opportunity to work on a broader array of projects with more “face time” with management. By proving your mettle now, you’ll likely position yourself on an accelerated career plane as the environment improves.

As always, remember that difficult environments produce huge opportunity. Someday, you’ll be the grey hair who says, “I remember 2008.”