This may be a tall order for those of you whose companies are reeling and who're suffering. But the basics aside, of course – stuff like reducing spending without cutting into necessary expenditures and investments, and so on and so forth – positivism is really the only way to get by during touch-and-go times.
Many people nowadays are floundering – milling around and being all indecisive. The old systems many of them may be used to are obviously no longer working, and many of them will not know what to do or where to turn. By contrast, even if you yourself are scared or nervous, you must stand out from the crowd and project an air of optimism. This is because whatever industry you are in, many of your own competitors will also be fearful and indecisive – you can't be just like them. You have to be different in order to attract customers – take the opportunity to glow a little brighter and increase your chance of stealing customers from your less attractive competitors!
What do you do then? Call a general meeting and inform everyone that you need to start adopting a bold, optimistic tone each and every time. Whether it's the PR Manager doing a press conference on your latest product, or your webmaster tweaking the text on your homepage, it has to be all of a piece. Project a good positive image every time; show that your company is growing, doing well and is eager and ready to serve both old and new customers. Have your staff dress and look nice; have them answer the phones sounding eager to do business. Leave no room for doubt or ambivalence. Customers will not want to go with a company that's in the doldrums – or, worse, is teetering close to the brink and may be shutting down as soon as the next day.
Just avoid sounding too aggressive; you don't want to come across as cocky and brash, and you certainly don't want to rub people the wrong way. Look and sound like "business as usual" – like business and serving your customers is at the forefront of your concerns – and you will have taken a good first step towards making sure that you keep your business even in the toughest times.
Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, recession
