Monday, January 26th, 2009
Let’s face it – a lot sucks these days. The economy is in the tank. People are freaking out about all sorts of things. People are losing their jobs and businesses are closing their doors.
I decided early on that I wasn’t about to take it lying down. As I’ve said in a number of previous posts (here, here, here and here) newsletters (here, here, here and here) and a teleseminar, in addition to many private conversations with clients and colleagues, the state of our businesses on 1/1/2010 has less to do with the Dow Jones average, the unemployment rate or the liquidity of the credit markets than it does with what we, personally, do to improve our situations. Yes, those macroeconomic factors hurt. Ok, now what are you going to do about it?
I’m happy to say that I’ve been taking my own medicine, built around the Six Recalibration Questions in my recent teleseminar. I feel completely energized, because this situation has forced me to come up with new ideas, engage with more people, create new programs, question my beliefs … among many other things. I can’t believe how much I’ve done already in January that I would not have done if things were rosy.
Yes, of course, I wish the economy were booming. But I’m not going to let an opportunity to live through something this intense go to waste. I am going to use it as a time to learn, create, engage, challenge myself and others, stretch, think, try new things, stop doing other things … etc.
One of my main themes is that this is not a recession, it’s a recalibration. Recessions imply cycles, and tempt us to wait for things to come back. Recalibration implies that we need to reset all of our expectations, strategies and actions. This is an incredible, however unwelcome, opportunity to do just that.
Posted in Invent Your Future, Recalibration | 1 Comment »
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
In Steve’s new post at tompeters.com, he tells us to be suspicious of across the board cuts. Go read it! Then answer this question:
Have you noticed any particularly egregious examples of “across-the-board-cuts mania” lately?
I have. Just tonight, someone close to me lost his job because his company laid off all their consultants. These are the consultants that wrote proposals and made sales. Do you really think all of them should have been let go?
Posted in Observations | No Comments »
Friday, January 9th, 2009
Exact Target is a company who markets itself as “On-demand email marketing and one-to-one digital communication platform. ” I’ll add to that by saying that I think of Exact Target as a group of really smart, cutting-edge marketing experts.
They asked a number of people, including me, to contribute to a whitepaper called, “Letters to the C-Suite: Sage Marketing Advice for Uncertain Times.“ Please have a look.
Posted in Announcements, Speeches & events, Thrive in a tough economy | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
I address the headline’s question in today’s newsletter - Dealing with a harsh economy: The Window and the Mirror.
The newsletter’s premise is simple: Is the current economic crisis an excuse to hide or a call to action? Are you looking “out the window” for the reasons you can’t succeed, or looking “in the mirror” to focus on the things you can control?
Of course, what happens out the window matters. But the real issue is how you will deal with it.
I was talking with my friend Miguel Latronica about the concept of the Window and the Mirror the other day. Today he sent me this picture, which captures the concept beautifully:
Miguel took this picture looking into the mirror in his laundry room, which sits opposite a large window. He sees himself and the world outside the window reflected together.
What happens outside the window is real, but by looking in the mirror to see it, you can’t use it as an excuse. You can only help but see yourself, and be challenged to think about the actions you can take to help yourself.
Please have a look at the newsletter, and share your comments below. Are you ready to look in the mirror?
Posted in Wisdom from everyday life | 4 Comments »
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
(I published this post in June on tompeters.com. The news of the past few weeks encouraged me to republish it here.)
The U.S. economy is in bad shape. If, by chance, you haven’t heard about this yet, just turn on cable TV news for 30 seconds.
What does this mean to your business? It could be terrible, but it doesn’t have to be.
How can I say that?
For the last few months, I have been asking workshop audiences the following questions:
1. What percent of your customers are giving you all the business they reasonably could?
2. What percent of your referral sources are giving you all the referrals they reasonably could?
The answers to these questions have stunned me, because they have been so low. I knew they would be quite a bit lower than 100%, but I’ve found that most executives estimate that only somewhere between 0 and 25% of customers are giving them all the business they could. The numbers are even lower for referral sources.
So, let’s say that the economic downturn has softened the market for your products or services by 10—20%. Yes, that’s a lot. But it pales in comparison to the 75% of the business you are missing if your current customers are only giving you 25% of their potential business.
Here’s the cold, hard (but potential-laden) truth: For most companies, the untapped latent profit in their existing customer relationships is much greater than the magnitude of our current economic problems.
The downturn is real. But so is the amount of business you are missing from your current customer relationships. How do you develop this potential with your existing customers?
Customers who believe they are in “We” relationships with you will give you a larger share of their business. They are willing to pay more, and they are less likely to leave you for a competitor. On the other hand, customers who are in “Us & Them” relationships with you are more likely to spread the business around among your competitors, and will also be more likely to bolt to the competition for a lower price. If you create “We” relationships with your customers, one relationship-building encounter at a time, you will go a long way towards making up for—and maybe even surpassing—the effects of the soft economy.
So …?
Posted in We relationships | No Comments »
Read