We Do Not Need Barack Obama Or Sarah Palin - Give Us a Salesman in a Leisure Suit Right Now!
Sometimes it seems that this is the worse economy that we as a nation have gone through. Let's start out by putting it in perspective, it appears we have lost our economic way. In 1983, we suffered the worst recession since the Truman Administration. Unemployment was at 10.3% which is 0.6% more than right now. Inflation was at 14 percent annually, compared to now when we are seeing prices stable or decreasing. Gasoline had risen by almost 1000% compared to our current increase of just 28%. The Prime Rate on interest was somewhere above 21% as compared to a Federal Reserve Rate of around 0% currently. So why is it so much worse now than back in 1983? First here is a definition of economics, so I can give myself expert status as an economist:
ec·o·nom·ics n.
(used with a sing. verb) The social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services and with the theory and management of economies or economic systems.
This definition is what I have done for close to 50 years, to put food on the table for my family. You see, a professional salesperson has to know what it takes to sell a product to a consumer so that the factory can produce the next one. After listening to all the big shot politicians tell me what needs to be done (most by the way, have never had to sell something on Thursday to make payroll on Friday in their lives) to save this country from the worst depression in history, I have decided it is time to take charge and fix the problem myself.
Mr Webster was very good at explaining what a word means in such a way that most of us don't understand it (Maybe that is why he didn't write any other book's). This is my definition of economy: Knowing what it takes to sell something to someone at some price so someone can make another one to start the cycle all over again. The key to this is understanding how to sell something. Before I lose some of you who say it is because unemployment is so high, I let me answer that. First if that was the case then sales would be down a mere 5-6% and not the double-digit figures it is across the board. I back this up by the fact that as a nation of people,we are saving 6.46% of our income now. Before the current economic climate hit, we were saving less than 1% of our income. Now this is an improvement, but it also explains the mindset of the consumer. They are scarred to spend money right now. This creates a downside in the fact that by saving so much, their money's not making them money, so it is in reality costing them money to save money. A more reasonable savings rate in the current economy would be around 4%.
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So how did we get out of this mess in 1983 when it was really bad? No, it was not Ronald Reagan no more than it will be Barack Obama. It was that hard-working, show up every day leisure suit wearing salesperson who convinced people to start buying before the economy actually improved. Salespeople in those days knew that no matter what, they had to get someones signature on the bottom line before they could move on to the next person to do the same thing. The relationship portion of the sale came after the sale, not before it.
Today's salespeople have been taught that you have to worry about how someone feels before the sale. This has worked fine when the customers were lined up at the door waiting to buy something. You could have put a robot in the place of a salesperson, and we might have sold more because today's salesperson was slowing down the sales trying to be nice. Now people are scarred to buy, and no one knows how to sell them on buying something they want. It seems funny to all of us, but to prove my point, I just used my spell check and it tried to change all of the words "buy" to "by". Even the computers don't like the word buy today.
We have taken the entrepreneurial mindset away from salespeople. I used to think it was rude to see a salesperson sprint across a new car dealer's lot to get to a customer first. Now days if the customer gets lost on the lot, they may not be found for days or weeks. It is just a tragedy waiting to happen. If you sell one car and the customer is completely satisfied, and you do not sell another one,you are more likely to go broke. If you sold a 1000 and people were only so so satisfied you would still be in business. You can fix that after the sale, but you can't fix that if the customer didn't buy from you. Toyota is a good example today. After the year of the recall, sales are still booming.
Seriously, right now people are scared to buy. We need to quit having beer summits with Harvard Professors and start having beer summits with real salespeople on Saturday afternoons after the shop has closed. We need to get the Alpha Salesperson cranked up and turn him loose on a mob of scarred customers,and let the dam of built up buying break loose. People need to know that it is alright to buy something right now.
Leaders lead the way and tell people what is right, that is why politicians will never be leaders. Quit making laws to protect buyers. Buyers want to know that it is time to buy again. Quit scarring them, and encourage them to buy.
As salespeople, business owners, and self-employed people living on a commission basis, we must do the job that we chose to do, and that is to sell. Mediocre salespeople have always taught new salespeople that you have to ask for the sale until you get it. The real pros, who are selling, never ask for the business and seem to always get it. They just get to the end and start the paperwork. Turn loose the Alpha Salesperson inside of you today. Our economy needs you now. Do it for your country. Standing up for the national anthem is required, but getting the economy going is your patriotic duty. Fight this war of fear of buying. In closing, let me misquote Sir Winston Churchill "We have nothing to fear in buying something now."
Becky Shipman and her husband Mike have been business owners for over 40 years. As small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, they have prospered even in the toughest of times. Follow their latest ventures today at Three Percent Business
Who is Mike Gordon? Mike Gordon is a successful business owner and business coach with over 40 years of successful entrepreneurial experience under his belt. Mike can be found at his blog http://www.whoismikegordon.com Mike has coached every type of business from home based to some of the largest brick and mortar businesses in the nation. For more success secrets sign up for updates from http://www.whoismikegordon.com
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Orignal From: We Do Not Need Barack Obama Or Sarah Palin - Give Us a Salesman in a Leisure Suit Right Now!
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