The Meek Will Not Inherit The Earth
by Steve Rae

Much is being bandied about regarding the economy. Some is real, some is pure BS and fear mongering. There are ways to make money in an economic downturn, but bet the farm that being meek isn't one of them.

What would the meek typically do? To trim expenses they would cancel their advertising because they have so many loyal customers. But even loyal customers tend to slow down their buying when not constantly invited to. It's not that they don't remain loyal, it's that they get out of the habit.

A great example of that comes from a car wash that used to deal with us. Business was great and they were very successful. But success has its own disadvantages. After a while they forget who it was helped them achieve the level of success they were enjoying and they begin to believe that it was all because of them. It's the arrogance of some successful businesses that we have to deal with.

The car wash owner's daughter graduated from college with a marketing degree and they promptly fired us from doing their advertising. This is not uncommon, but the result is almost always the same. The marketing grad decides to stamp their own imprint on the advertising and not put all their eggs in one basket. So they cut back on radio, add a little newspaper, try some direct mail and begin to wander aimlessly like a nomad in the desert.

After a year or so, they call to re-hire us because although they haven't lost any customers, their business is down and they can't figure out why.

It's pretty simple, because the car wash folks stopped inviting the loyal customers to keep their cars clean and making it a point of pride, the customers slowed down their use of the car wash. It's not that they stopped going, but instead of every two weeks, they maybe only went every three or four weeks. Voila, business down without losing any customers.

But what a great opportunity for anyone who's competitors are among the meek. Now is the perfect time to buy more market share. In fact you may never get another opportunity like this until the next economic downturn.

So what do you do?

• Increase your advertising right now on an intrusive media like Radio or TV
• Refine your message to attract new consumers to your business
• Strengthen your offer
• Don't be afraid to offend, "The risk of insult is the price of clarity." *Roy H. Williams
• Stay the course

What will the results look like if you adhere to this plan during this economic slowdown? You'll probably see growth slow down or even stop altogether. You'll be working harder to make the same money you did in the past few years. You'll meet more new tire kickers than ever before. You'll feel that what you're doing is not working. You'll want to quit the plan because this ad guy who convinced you to do it must be mad.

What will results look like if you adhere to the plan after the slowdown? If you are prepared with the right staff and inventory, you will see the largest growth ever in your business because as the economy recovers the amount of business being conducted increases and because you own much more market share than before, your business will boom.

So it's time to show your true mettle. Are you a strong confident leader in your industry or a wimpy wannabee? The Meek will not inherit the earth. But will you?.

Looking to the Future with Hope
by Clay Campbell

America has ups it´s and downs in the economy. This down time will last about 18 months and right after the election the economy will start getting better. Our country will come back together. When the election is over it will begin, and it will be over by the end of 2009. I have a car dealer client who had a couple of the worst months he has had in 30 years, and he says the same thing: “It will probably last until end of 09”.

It’s true that many people will just not accept responsibility for their own situation in life, will and blame others for their plight; whatever it is. But not you; you must be determined to learn a new skill, find a new way a doing your business, or be innovative in some way that turn your situation around.

When you have a good; idea act on it right now. While some businesses are down right now, many others are prospering and doing great. Millionaires will be created and many in America will make a lot of money in the next couple of years. Why not you?

Say to your self, “What is one skill is holding me back?” If you could just work on one thing that could help you the most, what would that be? You cannot be great at everything; bring someone new on your team to help you that is strong where you are weak.

Be confident. Be proactive. Continue to learn. The challenges we have now will lead to personal growth and business growth, if you are confident, take action right now, and look for ways you can learn from these uncertain times. One thing everyone in America should now agree on is this: lending money to people who can ’t pay it back was not a very good idea, and all of the people who said it was OK to do it; should all be fired.

Work harder and smarter. If I want to win in this down economy I need to raise the expectations of myself, and my team. I can’t control anything about the economy, but I can control how hard I work; and I can control my attitude.

We can’t always make perfect decisions. We must keep learning and keep trying to get better at what ever we do. You have to step back sometimes in order to move forward. My integrity dictates to me to give you the words of my father; that I heard over and over as I was growing up: “Always do what is right, always do your best and always do unto others as you want to be done by.”

Look to the future with hope.

  

Tomorrow's America - Humility and Simplicity are the New Frontier
by Roy H. Williams

Americans have always treasured independence and achievement. We’ve seen ourselves as fighters who stood tall after every victory, chin up, chest out, shoulders back. And to the victor go the spoils, right? Big houses, big cars, lavish vacations; these were the American dream.

But we recently learned that America is not an only child. There is no American economy or American environment separate from the rest of the world. The wind blowing across Kansas today blew yesterday through Mongolia.

Take a breath of Mongolian air. Clear your thoughts. Smile into the light. This story has a happy ending:

We’re about to discover the joys of humility and simplicity. Smaller houses, smaller cars, a simpler lifestyle. We may even become the "kinder, gentler nation" Ronald Reagan's vice president believed we could be. (From the Republican National Convention acceptance address of George H. W. Bush, August 18, 1988.)

Here’s an email I received last week from a friend who runs a hedge fund:

This meltdown in our financial markets has been horrific. A friend of mine said, "The French invented democracy, the Americans perfected it and the CDOs killed it."

And that's how I feel. Our time as a nation has past and history will not be kind to us. The future now belongs to someone else, probably China. We privatize profits and then screw the tax payers with a bailout. Our corrupt politicians permitted an unregulated monster to grow out of control until it almost destroyed our financial system. So while Wall Street and Washington lined their pockets with cash, the American people got drunk on spending and spending and spending all the money they didn't have. Now those that enjoyed leverage are fu****, forever. Most people were broke to begin with, now they're really broke. Deleveraging hurts, ouch.

Warren Buffet once said the only way to go broke is on borrowed money.

For those that have heard your lesson on the pendulum of history, it would be an interesting time to have you revisit that lesson in light of current events.

Thank you for your memos each week and for your perspective.

Although I disagree with my friend’s statement that “the future now belongs to someone else,” I do understand how he feels. (My belief is that no one else can own your future. Your past and your future belong solely to you whether you take responsibility for them or not.)

I first presented Society’s 40-year Pendulum in Stockholm, Sweden, in January, 2004. Since then, more than 100 trade associations and state governments have asked me to help them better understand the rumblings of societal change they feel beneath their feet. Perhaps you've felt it, too.

Ten completed social cycles – 400 years of history – seem to indicate that in the 6 years following a 40-year tipping point, the majority of older consumers will choose to follow the younger consumers’ lead. Societal change during the next 34 years seems subtle and incremental when compared to the pace of change during the 6-year transition.

The last tipping point occurred in 2003. You may recall that I wrote to you about it in December of that year. The memo was titled 1963 All Over Again:

Forty years is how long a true ‘generation’ stays in power, during which time social change will be evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. But in the waning years of each generation, ‘alpha voices’ ring out as prophets in the wilderness, providing a glimpse of the new generation that will soon emerge like a baby chick struggling to break out of its shell.

Baby Boomer heroes were always bigger than life, perfect icons, brash and beautiful: Muhammad Ali... Elvis... James Bond. But the emerging generation holds a different view of what makes a hero.

Boomers rejected Conformity and their attitude swept the land, changing even the mindset of their fuddy-duddy parents. But today's teens are rejecting Pretense. Born into a world of hype, their internal BS-meters are highly sensitive and blisteringly accurate. Words like ‘amazing,’ ‘astounding,’ and ‘spectacular’ are translated as ‘blah,’ ‘blah,’ and ‘blah.’ Consequently, tried and true selling methods that worked as recently as a year ago are working far less well today. The world is again changing stripe and color. We're at another tipping point. Can you feel it?

Then, 4 years ago, (Nov. 1, 2004,) I wrote,

The Age of The Baby Boomer ended in 2003. The torch has been handed to a new generation with new ideas and values. Sure, we Boomers still hold the power at the top, but the prevailing worldview that drives our nation is completely other than the one we grew up with. Businesses that don't get in step are going to find it increasingly difficult to succeed…

Being a Baby Boomer isn't about when you were born. It's about how you see the world…

Baby Boomers were idealists who worshipped heroes, perfect icons of beauty and success. Today these icons are seen as phony, posed and laughable…

Baby Boomers believed in big dreams, reaching for the stars, personal freedom, "be all that you can be." Today's generation believes in small actions, getting your head out of the clouds, social obligation, ‘do your part.’

The adoption curve of the new values by the mainstream of society began in 2003 and will be complete by mid-2008 or early 2009. You have plenty of time to get in step with tomorrow. But you need to get started today.

The 6-year transition from an Idealist outlook to a Civic mindset will be complete in December, 2008.

What this means to business:

Purchases in the future will be less about impressing others, more about meaning and relationships. My partners and I are currently interpreting how this trend will apply to specific business categories. Do you know how it applies to yours?

Tomorrow has arrived, right on schedule. Humility and simplicity will be our new adventure. And frankly, I think we’ll be better for it.

What's the Boss's Most Important Job?
by Chuck McKay

The boss has a unique responsibility. And it's not the one most people think of when they describe the duties at the top.

Robert Kiosaki, in his best selling business book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, explained that as an employee, you have a job. As a self-employed professional, you own the job. And the owner of a business hires people to perform the job.

So, in terms of making business happen you are either someone else's employee, or you're responsible. There are no other options. And though there's an outside chance that in good times any business can just muddle through, over the next few years if you're not aggressively pursuing new business you're not likely to make it. Sorry.

Some people are just cut out to be employees.

Consider a carpet cleaning business. Not just any carpet cleaning business, this one was being contemplated by a young man who asked my help creating a marketing plan. He had worked for another, similar, business, enjoyed the work, and saw the profit potential.

We spent two days together researching and building that plan. When it was finished, I offered my best advice: DO NOT OPEN THIS BUSINESS.

The market was strong, there was room for another competitor, and the young man with the ambition and the new marketing plan actually enjoys cleaning carpets.

Unfortunately, he hates selling.

And, as we've already established, the owner's primary function is to bring in the work.

Does that mean face-to-face selling? Possibly. But it definitely means that the owner can't simply place an ad in the Yellow Pages and wait for the phone to ring. Business owners who avoid selling end up with skinny children.

At any given time, roughly 2 percent of any market is actively seeking what you sell. That 2 percent will come looking for you, or someone else who sells what you sell.

The other 98 percent?

You're missing them. Most of your competitors are missing them, too.

Most of your competitors.

Care to know who's attracting that other 98 percent? Those who actively sell the value of doing business with their companies.

The competitors who have television ads that are being watched by potential customers are getting some of the 98 percent. Those competitors who's postcards and letters are making it to the homes, who's public speaking and referral programs are producing familiarity, and who's Yellow Pages ads are being read by the very people who need their goods or services are tapping into the other 98 percent.

But, like the young man waiting for carpet cleaning customers to find him, those businesses which wait for customers/clients/patients to seek them out are hoping that their "share" of the 2 percent will pay the bills. It won't. After all, we're discussing 2 percent of a pie that may be shrinking for a while.

What will grow your slice of that pie?

There are two things you can implement immediately, and you should be doing them both.

Find a reason to get back in touch with every customer and every former customer, then remind them of the reason they chose to do business with you. That reason shouldn't be price.

If they were originally drawn to your business because of your selection, remind them that you can help them find exactly what they're looking for. If customers chose you for the speed of your service, point out all the other things they can be doing when they finish with you. If they chose you for your detailed knowledge, help them recall the value of getting exactly what they need.

You may indeed lower prices, but only do it if it will help you to gain some of your competitor's customers. And remember that he's going to be strongly tempted to lower his prices, too. Reminding people of why you're their best choice keeps you profitable.

Bringing in the business is the boss's most important job.

Are you the boss?

It's time to start selling.

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See you next week.

Clay Campbell
Wizard of Ads

PS. Need help to attract more customers and grow your business?


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