Worst of all, salesmanship perished and service went to hell in a handbasket, as free-flowing, easy, excess credit and the latest in a series of fools’ bubbles (this one with theoretically never-ending multiplying of property values so homes became ATM’s, not investments) enabled countless companies with poor sales practices, lazy and inept salespeople, sloppy over-staffing, casual management, and abysmal customer service to prosper, or at least seem to prosper. Truth is, consumers welcomed a good excuse to stay home and stop buying and punish.
Imagine a very loosely held together, giant ball of yarn with dozens of loose ends poking out all over the place. It wouldn’t matter much which of the loose ends you gave a good tug; the entire ball, really pile of yarn would implode and collapse and unravel. So it has been with the economy. It really wouldn’t have mattered if it had been too many sub-prime mortgages issued to poorly qualified and irresponsible borrowers, based on inflated equity with no regard to the borrowers’ ability to pay, then bundled together in inventive investment packages or if it had been sudden skyrocketing of gas prices or if it had been the weight of mass-multiplied, poorly regulated hedge funds or accelerating disappearance of old-style manufacturing jobs sent overseas or just about any other loose end you might name—any one given a good yank would have been enough. Of course, when several got pulled hard in different directions at the same time. ...
Incidentally, the real estate bubble was visible far, far in advance of its bursting. In 2003, an outstanding book on the subject, The Coming Crash in the Housing Market by John Talbott, a former vice president at Goldman Sachs and real estate economist, very accurately predicted both the mortgage meltdown and real estate crash we’ve recently experienced—and reading it saved me some money. Authoritative articles began appearing pretty frequently from 2004 on, like the one on July 26, 2004, in the Financial Times, headlined “Party Over—Turn Off The Housing Boom Lights,” and stating that “the end is near in use of exotic type mortgage money”. We should have seen this coming. Some of us did. I began foretelling in earnest of 2007–2008 in my No B.S. Marketing Letter and other publications in 2004.
What has been painfully revealed are extreme, systemic weaknesses and flaws and vulnerabilities—and gross excesses—throughout our socio-economic, financial, and political systems, papered over for a while, but worsening like undiagnosed disease all the while until, finally, we got slapped in the face with a monster recession. It’s not my first rodeo. I built my first businesses during the Jimmy Carter recession, with tight credit, double-digit interest and inflation and unemployment rates, and gas shortages and gas lines. These things may very well be avoidable, but these things happen. For people seeing it firsthand for the first time it is terrifying and can be paralyzing. But it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time traumatic change has replaced an old economy with a New Economy.
From Monster Recession to New Economy
For people who respond boldly, creatively, intelligently, and responsibly, grand and glorious new opportunities, greater in scope, more powerful for rapid wealth creation, and more accessible to all are being presented by the emerging New Economy. With honest Darwinism, the herds are being thinned, the weakest eaten, and the strongest stepping over carcasses in the street en-route to bigger and better things. You choose whether to lie down and be stepped on or to move forward—quickly—because moving forward is the only way not to be stepped on. The once generous and cheery economy is going through a very irritable and unforgiving mood. Conditions are harsh.
There are new opportunities. They have new requirements. There are also evergreen, time-honored, wholly reliable success principles most business owners and entrepreneurs have drifted from, neglected, or forgotten that must be restored as governing priorities. This book, No B.S. Business Success for the New Economy, and its brother No B.S. Sales Success for the New Economy are about all of those things: new opportunities, new requirements, neglected principles to be restored.
Let me briefly describe the emerging New Economy as it directly affects entrepreneurs. Here are the new realities:
1. All the power has returned to the customer and he knows he has it.
2. The customer’s tolerance for anything ordinary—ordinary products, services, expertise, experiences, for the banal and commonplace, and certainly for incompetence—is zero.
3. Money will be spent more judiciously, so it will be attracted only to businesses offering much more appealing and complete value propositions, with superior reputations, unique positioning, exceptionally effective marketing to tell their story, and outstanding customer service before, during, and after the sale. A more cautious consumer, striving to be sensible and responsible, will be judging you and trying to determine if your company is worthy of his trust before he buys from you. You will be under greater scrutiny.
4. You must genuinely earn your right to your customers’ interest and support by providing well-matched, specialized, even customized product, service, and value propositions. People now have the opportunity, power, and awareness to demand what is specifically for them and precisely matched to their needs, interests, and desires. They are not going to be on buying sprees, buying whatever is in your wagon that you want to sell.
New Economy Customers will not be as tight-fisted as recession customers, but they will be extremely demanding.
The New Economy will not be as grumpy and harsh as the recession economy, but it will not be generous or forgiving either.
Business success in The New Economy will be earned, not given. Businesses must be better. Businesspeople must be much better.
FOREWORD
By Brian Tracy
You are about to get into a business championship fight. In this book, you will be knocked around, and many of your most cherished ideas will get punched and stomped on. Like a roller coaster, your stomach will drop and you might have trouble breathing. But don’t worry, you’ll arrive safely at the other end.
In my years as a consultant and business speaker, I’ve written 28 books, translated into 20 languages, and produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs. I have a good understanding of the importance and value of good business ideas.
My friend Dan Kennedy is unique, a genius in many ways. I have always admired his ability to see the vital truths in any business, and to state these realities with straight language and clear definitions.
Dan has written a timeless book, with ideas, insights, and methods you can use immediately to get better, faster business results.
His approach is direct. His ideas are controversial. His ability to get results for his clients is unchallenged. When you read, learn, and apply what you discover in the pages ahead, your business life, and your income, will change forever.
Put up your mental tray tables. Put on your conceptual seatbelts. You are entering an area of considerable turbulence. But you will come out of this experience a better businessperson than you ever have been. You will arrive at your destination of business success and profitability faster than you ever thought possible.
Good luck, and bon voyage!
—Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy is one of America’s most sought after and popular professional speakers, author of dozens of business books, and a visionary thinker about business trends, opportunities, and strategies. www.briantracy.com.
PREFACE
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
—R. SHERMAN, FROM MARY POPPINS
Welcome to what I sincerely hope is the most truthful, blunt, straightforward, non-sugarcoated, no pabulum, no holds barred, no-nonsense, no B.S. book you have ever read