Scramblin' in the bumpy economy

Has anyone else noticed? I am, as of late, besieged with telemarketing calls.  People are calling WAY more than usual with surveys they feel I should help them with, important product release news I have to hear, and most of all, sales calls.  Now I'll admit, working here at our corporate office, I do get a fair share of solicitation calls each week.  It used to be copier salespeople looking for that very valuable person that could change everything "Xerox" in the office to "Lanier" or "Mita" or "Konica".  This person I am not!  Or ink jet cartridge refills, which over the course of a small dog's lifetime, could save us plenty.  Not me, either. But lately, let's say the last 45 days, it has really picked up.

I routinely get calls from people in telemarketing call centers (I know this because I hear many others in the background reciting similar sales speeches) looking to speak with a Mr. Masters, Mr. Matterson, Mr. Matherson, or "Dave,  I'm Joe from Admiral Systems Realty Performance Investment Labs and Cereal company, remember me?"  Like I've spoken to them before!  Rule of thumb - If you can't properly pronounce my last name, you're on thin ice with the call.  It's pretty basic, MAST-ER-SON, you know, consonants at the front and back, not too many vowels in the middle of last name. So what's up?  Past that, they are aggressively pushing to book an appointment with me to see their salespeople.  I learn that the caller will not be present at the appointment, good thing, for the most part they stumble through the sales pitch to begin with. So I'm still there on the line and I learn astonishing news... someone will be in my area next week, and can fit me in to their busy schedule... Oh fortunate me. I don't end up scheduling appointments with most of these callers, because the subject matter doesn't apply OR we're well covered in this area.  Believe this, I do not burn off all telemarketers, some have pertinent products and have turned into relevant suppliers for us and our franchisees.  What I am saying, is this...

In  what are being billed as "tougher than usual economic times", many businesses are cracking under the pressure.  I hear of layoffs, cutbacks, and special measures being made to curb both spending and efforts to grow.  But the better businesses are leaning into the pain and trying harder.  They are putting forth a LARGER sales & marketing effort.  The wind blows directly in their face, yet they pour more coal into the fire to gain market share as their competitors wane. Or worse, their competitors do nothing and watch opportunity slip away.  The forward-thinking businesses in today's climate have saved for this rainy day, now they call in their reserves to pounce, while most shiver.  So in some ways I applaud the telemarketers I encounter, they are picking up their efforts to stay ahead or delay falling behind - both are commendable!  Our franchisees sell products and services that do exactly this - because branded apparel, signs, graphics, outdoor advertising, meetings and conferences all look to BUILD and GROW other company's businesses.  In our businesses, we are uniquely positioned to help.  That is, if you are ready.  If you have not folded under the news that things aren't as they should be on Wall St.  If you believe you can.  You are in control of your destiny, hint - that's why you purchased your own business! 

So what are you doing to aggressively promote your products and services in the bumpy economy?

- dm

Uno

Rock to the Top!So this is it, the first post.  Since visiting Australia for our annual franchisee conference, I have been excited to start and maintain a blog.  Not that everyone will be enthralled with what I'm thinking, but some might care to read, comment and interact. That's what this is about.  If this forum allows friends, coworkers and business associates to level out and contribute to the dialogue and it grows, we all win.  As I pointed out in my Web 2.0 session during our "Rock to the Top" expos,

           

           None of us are as smart as ALL of us!

Let's start with this premise.  I like to write, and this will be WAY more frequently updated than the quarterly Bits 'N Bytes article for the franchisee magazine. I can dabble with the status of projects and upcoming releases.  Really exciting will be reporting back to everyone about trade show findings and announcements, while I'm sitting at the show!  I'll also be posting updates to a twitter account for more elementary blasts of news & info. (Visit my twitter page).  Be forewarned, the twitter thing is full of trivial happenings, what I may have eaten for lunch, local weather today wherever I am, etc.  But it's part of the social networking fabric, this "keep everyone in your circle of influence in tune with what you're doing" mindset, so I expect to keep it fluid and populated with current happenings.  Try it out if you like, you can become a follower of my twitter feed and you'll get all of my updates sent to your twitter page - which is free to join... twitter signup 

Remember the very first email you ever sent?  I don't remember mine.  But this may someday be just as significant - my first blog entry.  I promise they'll get better content-wise than this.  And I'll always look to write what I see and feel, not just report the facts otherwise you'd be reading wikipedia. Minus most of that cavernous knowledge!

-dm