The media is pounding the “[tag-tec]recession[/tag-tec]” word into our heads. Turn on the television or radio and you'll hear it. Pick up your newspaper or any business-related magazine and you'll see it. The internet is full of the "R" word. Technically we're not in a recession but we sure feel like we are. The media grabs our attention by constantly screaming doom and gloom at us.
The [tag-ice]economy[/tag-ice] is tanking. [tag-tec]Gas prices are soaring[/tag-tec]. Foreclosures are breaking records every day. [tag-ice]Housing prices[/tag-ice] plummet. [tag-tec]Unemployment[/tag-tec] jumps. The war will never end. [tag-ice]Global warming[/tag-ice] is melting the polar ice caps. Murder rates soar.
Watch your local news tonight. The first 15 minutes will be full of doom and gloom stories. Then you'll see the weather which will be full of extreme weather stories and huge storms. The sports will follow with story after story about athletes that were caught cheating or breaking the law. They'll squeeze in your local team's results but the majority of the time will be focused on negative sports news.
Feel good stories rarely make it in your local news except at the very end of the newscast. One cute story about firemen rescuing a cat from a tree or a local girl scout troop that sold more cookies than last year will end the newscast. Katie Couric experimented with focusing on positive news when she became the evening news anchor at CBS. That experiment lasted only a few weeks as the ratings plummeted to last place.
So if the media is pounding the “[tag-tec]recession[/tag-tec]” word into your client’s heads, how are you going to get them to spend any money? If they’re watching the news, they’re scared to death and afraid to spend any money.
You need to focus on the positive and be the bearer of good news. Now is the time to be communicating with them. Give them some good news. Lift their spirits. Send them a joke. Give them a great deal. Do something. Do anything to lift their spirits. Now is the time they need to hear something positive and they’ll remember you for a long time if you’re the one that lifts their spirits.
