Beat the Recession

Doom and gloom, doom and gloom! No matter where you look, the news seems to be getting worse. “Not bad” is now being termed the “new good.” Yesterday’s 38% decline in auto sales could not even be referred as the “new good.” They were absolutely frightening and with Chrysler’s 55% decline in sales, there must be serious concern that this historic company can survive the recession. As I write this, Costco has issued a warning for this quarter due to a poor January.

So what are you doing to beat the recession? As a keynote speaker (humorous, business growth, foodservice, marketing, cancer, healthcare) I’m in the same boat as everyone else. I’ve had leadership and strategy events cancelled and potential clients say ‘We’re slashing budgets everywhere.’ One thing is certain, doing the same thing, in the same way, to the same target market is not going to get me the same good results I was getting.

A few tips to beat the recession

1) Work Harder
Outgoing Wal-Mart CEO Leo Scott was interviewed recently on CNBC. The comment that really resonated with me was “I’m at my desk at six every morning reviewing yesterday’s figures.” If the chief exec of the world’s largest retailer is at his desk at six, why not you? ‘Why not me?’ I said. In the current environment you HAVE to work harder to get the same results. I am working harder and I am working longer hours than previous including commencing this blog before six this morning. That is one reason why I’m going to beat the recession.

2) Work Smarter
‘Hey, as a motivational humorous speaker on business, you’re not giving me a lot of new ideas,’ I hear you saying. ‘Work smarter’ is a simple concept. DOING IT is not simple. ‘Work smarter’ will help you beat the recession. I have ramped up a number of my activities including:
Better lead follow-up. I recently purchased a new ACT! Software program which is a pain in the butt to work with, but it definitely has improved my productivity with alerts popping up regularly reminding me to contact clients.
Continuous website development. As an Irish motivational humorist – Chicago based, who relies a lot on search engines for business development, I am adding a lot of content to my website with some over the top hyperbolic commentary related to my keywords. I have added more new content this month than any other comparable period – not just blog pages but Mark Twain speeches (the finest most inspirational humorous keynote speaker ever), Great Speeches and State of the Union addresses. All these pages include relevant commentary about the Chicago based Irish humorous keynote business speaker on topics as diverse as cancer, foodservice, business growth, beat the recession etc.

3) Network, Network, Network.
I attend every single cat and dog show that has any relevance to my business. I’ve signed up for more breakfasts, more luncheons than are good for my health. I am particularly interested in business associations which have regular networking meetings.

The more networking you do, the more networking works!

It is difficult to make a solid impression on anyone after one short introduction at a business meeting. However if you see that person again next week and the week after, you are on the way to creating a genuine business connection. Make sure you follow up on every business card you receive. You do not know always know who can make a difference to your business. So keep hammering away! I had a potential client contact me two weeks ago whose name seemed vaguely familiar. I had contacted him and sent a copy of my book Why Ireland Never Invaded America THREE years ago. That’s a long lead time that I don’t want to repeat too often, but the initial contact came about via networking.

Go to it – Beat the recession.

Let’s get more energetic here.

Go to it – Beat the crap out of the recession!