Don’t listen to Katie Couric, Charles Gibson or Brian Williams. Have you ever heard such negative predictions and forecasts?  Just remember they are seldom right and that they live in the land of bad news, getting worse. Last I knew oil was on the way to $200 per barrel, and companies like Costco would not be able to afford to use trucks to get their merchandise delivered. Now, oil is less than $80 and I don’t hear Katie saying she was way wrong.  Costco is open and there are plenty of things there to buy.
The stock market goes up and then down, have you noticed? I heard last week that a trillion dollars was just on the sidelines hoping to pile back in when the bottom was hit. Like anyone can ever tell, anyway. Simple advice—you don’t lose anything until you sell it.

The word here is panic. And the media broadcasts every hiccup like it’s malaria, so we panic.  Every move, every downturn or sign of potential price-gouging is a sign of the upcoming depression. The best line…and I am not being political here but maybe a bit anti-media, was when Katie asked Governor Palin if we could be facing ‘an upcoming depression’ (Katie’s words). Governor Palin, a bit of a novice in dealing with the big press, answered, ‘yes, I suppose it could develop into a depression.” Next day’s lead story: “Palin Says It’s a Depression.” She needed to learn the law of “Don’t Repeat the Words” reporters use, eg, “Do you still beat your wife anymore?” Bad answer: “No, I don’t beat my wife any more.”
What can we learn from this? Probably just that advertising is all powerful. Broadcast is a form of advertising and we are all experiencing how powerful it can be in adjusting our thoughts.
Who cares what happens in the future? It is all pretty much set in motion. But now is the time you should know the things that you can control and how you can capitalize on those things under your direct influence. In other words, resist playing a victim and instead maintain control over what you know works.

Someone is always buying. In our business, we sell help wanted advertising. If we had listened to everyone, we would have closed the doors a few weeks back. After all, they said…NO ONE is hiring and many are laying off workers by the busload. Well, maybe. But you know what we did? We kept our sales force on task and kept on telling our story to the HR managers who are constantly trying to find good quality people. Our solutions help them, after all, and we just insisted on telling that story…over and over and over. Maybe it is dumb luck…but our sales are level, in fact, we are up over last year.
It is easy to get off track here. Resist the temptation to change in a dramatic fashion. Keep doing those things we all know work, keep showing how your products or services will help customers solve real problems. You will be ok, because your competitors are hoping for a Hail Mary play to be sent in from the sideline. Well it is not coming, the best play is still the same play that has always worked for you.

What you do have to change.
It should not be surprising, however, that sales will be tougher, will require more time and effort and may be even a little less profitable. Just prepare yourself to be more patient and sensitive to your customers. And now is the time to increase customer contact not reduce it. Find out what their business issues are, keep good notes, and your new solutions might gain you a customer for life. Many companies are reducing their customer contact people…after all, they are typically the first to go. Getting rid of people who make contact with customers makes zero sense.
Sure other companies in your space might be having promotions and even big sales. Customers do not buy things or services they do not need. If you came up to me with an offer to sell me a great pair of red high heels for only $5 when they used to cost $250, I still wouldn’t buy….I don’t need high heels at all, truth be told. Maintain your price discipline. Customers can sense weakness…they really want to just make sure they are getting the best possible price for the services and products you are offering.

Would you buy from you? If you cannot answer this in the affirmative then you need to ask your managers or others for help. You should review what you are currently doing to ensure that customers really want to buy from you.

There are lots of things to do to get sales in days like we are having now. You must ensure that all of your customers are always treated beyond their satisfaction, each step along the way.

But it starts with you. You have to stay motivated and upbeat. A few days ago, I met with someone who was raising money for his non-profit. “Do you think I should tell them that if they don’t give, I might have to close the doors?’ he asked.

No one wants to invest in a losing mindset. Or buy from a loser either.