Thursday, March 5, 2009

A Crisis in Confidence

3-05-09 Apex, NC... I know the old saying well... Time heals everything. And you know, that saying is correct; no matter what major issue we have personally or professionally experienced in life, over time we accept the event and move forward knowing that life by definition has its share of sadness, tragedy, and things we do not understand.

The problem with time is that we are not very patient. How many of us need to lose weight and want that first five pounds off in 24 hours. Or when we have to sit at a red light for three minutes and that seems like forever. We can think of a lot of things.

We all want a healthy economy. We all want to see the car business succeed. Not just the Big Three, Toyota was down 40% in February.

The majority of Americans want to WORK, have job security, health benefits, and good pay.

All of us who are affected by the recent tank of the economy, and I mean all of us, wants things to go back to "normal" tomorrow.

Here is how to do it. BUY SOMETHING. If you hold back and delay purchases of both product and services you are making things worse.

Quite frankly, my small business is very challenged by lack of confidence. The dealerships I can support just are not paying for training or recruiting right now. Every time I talk to them, whether it is here on the East Coast or in the Midwest, General Managers are just making do without. They would rather let the less successful leave and keep the survivors. They will go with less salespeople rather than pay for training.

This mind set is not 100% their fault. Sales have dived. Profits have dived. And NOTHING happens until you sell something. For every potential sale there needs to be a buyer. And at 2009 sales projections, we have not seen numbers like we are seeing since 1981.

The only way my business and all the other small businesses will survive is to sell enough vehicles to support process improvement for the troops. As the larger businesses improve, the smaller follow suit.

I just hope my personal and professional confidence outlasts my patience. Because right now there are many of us running slightly faster than the bills...

I know things will get better; but how many of us will survive in a land of doubt? No Pastor is successful without a congregation...

Happy selling!

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