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!
Showing posts with label inspirational motivational speaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspirational motivational speaker. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Metallica Rocks, Madame Butterfly Flutters!
It’s been an interesting few weeks culturally. I saw Madame Butterfly last week and this week heavy metal band Metallica. Yahooo! Hey, I might not be very religious, but I do have catholic tastes when it comes to music.
As I stayed quiet for Madam Butterfly and behaved like an aging rocker at Metallica I pondered the lessons inspirational, humorous, and motivational, business keynote speakers – Irish or not, might learn from both performances. (The references to motivational, humorous, Irish, Inspirational business keynote speakers are a gratuitous effort to gain search engine attention). Anyway, back to the lessons!
Did the performances have much in common? Well you felt exhausted after Metallica’s non-stop hard-driving performance while you slept (just a little) during Madame Butterfly. I don’t know what real opera buffs think but the length of some of the scenes in Butterfly was a weakness. It sometimes took too much time to get to the point which is a regular failure for keynote speakers – inspirational or not.
On the other hand Metallica were in your face all the time, rarely pausing for breath which is great for that audience. If there was one minor weakness in the performance of the heavy metal icons it was they operated at two speeds – fast and very fast. Keynote speakers who do not vary their performance, pacing, voice projection will lose their audience very fast.
Metallica and Butterfly both provided awesome music. OK, I know some of you might not have that opinion of … of Madame Butterfly. Metallica and Madame Butterfly have great longevity and status because they make a connection with their respective audiences – something that is critical for a motivational keynote speaker.
The world’s best selling heavy metal band provided another crucial lesson to the budding keynote speaker irrespective if she is an expert on foodservice, humor, inspirational, cancer – whatever. The band really "turned up." Once on stage, they performed like their lives depended on it making good visual contact with all sides of the arena as they pranced around the stage located in the center of the arena.
Many motivational keynote speakers rarely change their material and rehash the same material over and over. Metallica did play some really good old material but the bulk of the show was comprised with songs from their latest and really powerful CD Death Magnetic. The lesson for the up and coming and even seasoned inspirational keynote speaker – Keep creating new material and new products. You’ll stay relevant longer and people will come back again and again. Metallica have been playing Chicago since 1983. Long may it continue.
And in an effort to come up with a really snappy end line, I’d have to say Metallica Rocks, Madame Butterfly Flutters. As Metallica fans will know ‘And nothing else matters.’
As I stayed quiet for Madam Butterfly and behaved like an aging rocker at Metallica I pondered the lessons inspirational, humorous, and motivational, business keynote speakers – Irish or not, might learn from both performances. (The references to motivational, humorous, Irish, Inspirational business keynote speakers are a gratuitous effort to gain search engine attention). Anyway, back to the lessons!
Did the performances have much in common? Well you felt exhausted after Metallica’s non-stop hard-driving performance while you slept (just a little) during Madame Butterfly. I don’t know what real opera buffs think but the length of some of the scenes in Butterfly was a weakness. It sometimes took too much time to get to the point which is a regular failure for keynote speakers – inspirational or not.
On the other hand Metallica were in your face all the time, rarely pausing for breath which is great for that audience. If there was one minor weakness in the performance of the heavy metal icons it was they operated at two speeds – fast and very fast. Keynote speakers who do not vary their performance, pacing, voice projection will lose their audience very fast.
Metallica and Butterfly both provided awesome music. OK, I know some of you might not have that opinion of … of Madame Butterfly. Metallica and Madame Butterfly have great longevity and status because they make a connection with their respective audiences – something that is critical for a motivational keynote speaker.
The world’s best selling heavy metal band provided another crucial lesson to the budding keynote speaker irrespective if she is an expert on foodservice, humor, inspirational, cancer – whatever. The band really "turned up." Once on stage, they performed like their lives depended on it making good visual contact with all sides of the arena as they pranced around the stage located in the center of the arena.
Many motivational keynote speakers rarely change their material and rehash the same material over and over. Metallica did play some really good old material but the bulk of the show was comprised with songs from their latest and really powerful CD Death Magnetic. The lesson for the up and coming and even seasoned inspirational keynote speaker – Keep creating new material and new products. You’ll stay relevant longer and people will come back again and again. Metallica have been playing Chicago since 1983. Long may it continue.
And in an effort to come up with a really snappy end line, I’d have to say Metallica Rocks, Madame Butterfly Flutters. As Metallica fans will know ‘And nothing else matters.’
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