Posted by
GeorgeBruno on Sunday, November 23, 2008 10:03:54 PM
This so-called recession just brings us back to the nuts and bolts of business again. We as business people, MUST have a bias towards sales and marketing. Period. Like I told my entrepreneur meetup group the other night, in the light of everything going on, the market drops, the seemingly unstable economy, the new administration, world instability....Don't get too worried...sales still have to be made and those who can sell will survive. It is the business equivalent of being able to make a fire in the wilderness without matches. You have to do it to live.
Again...one thing is not changing. Sales will all be have to made in the same way as they always did. They have to be presented. They have to be smart. You have to overcome objections. You have to perservere. You have to create trusting relationships. You have to nurture leads. And most importantly...they still have to be CLOSED. You have to lead people to a sales decision like Billy Graham brings people to Jesus. He presents the information. Tells a story or two. (Facts tell, stories sell.), gets people to relate, personalizes the "message" as a solution people need, and then has an "altar call" where people "make a decison for Christ" and come forward. There is a formula and he stuck to it for over half a century. Now people like Franklin Graham and Greg Laurie do the same thing on a huge scale.
Bottom line: It's closing a sale.
For believers, it's a spiritual matter. The unseen comes into play just as much as the seen.
Back to media and culture:
The media are the last group you should listen to for encouragement in life, whether it be in business or your spiritual walk.
Have a personal moratorium on broadcast news of any type for a week and watch your stress level decrease, your relationships improve,
and life just generally get better..or a least the perception of it...which is just as powerful.
Cancer can kill you. Doctors now tell us that cancer can kill you faster if your opinion about it is that it will kill you. Having hope is the one thing (along with common sense medical treatment and lifestyle changes) that can help you survive or live longer with cancer. You have to decide to not let it take you when it dictates. Of course there are many sad exceptions, but I've known people who went because they decided it was time to stop fighting, and that may have been the right choice for them. I know people who dared to say "yes" when cancer said "no"...and lived many years beyond a doctors estimate.
Greek philosopher Epictetus said "Men are not disturbed by things...but by their opinions about those things".
Do you want to be the shoe salesperson who went to Africa and came home because no one wears shoes there or the shoe salesperson who went to Africa and thought WOW...NO ONE WEARS SHOES HERE!
If we change our opinions, maybe the outcome will change.
Back to business:
Disregard the traditional media. You create your own culture, your own good news, your own encouragement, etc.
Don't let anyone or anything sway you.
This is a great time to be a sales person.
Sales is a skill that all people must know. Pull out all those books and tapes. Refresh that skill.
The person who can sell is like the person with the who can build a fire in the wilderness. They will prosper.
The person who can teach people to sell is going to be even more prosperous.