Sending Out a Sales SOS?

Message received: It’s hard out there for a salesperson. Luckily, we’re here to help.

Though it’s funny to me that I do this each week, because I’m not really the most Internet-savvy person I know (as I’ve previously discussed), something tells me I’m not the only one. Twitter? Digg? Facebook? Not my forte. But, especially now, it should be yours.

Stay tuned. Coming soon to a mailbox near you: Promo Marketing‘s 2009 Sales Outlook. It’s complete with an article, written by me, on how to make the Internet your friend during these challenging times. Don’t worry, I have plenty of experts weighing in on this subject.

On another note, though, have you noticed that the pitch for pretty much every economy-related venture these days begins, “In these [insert adjective here. I’ll give you some to start with: turbulent, precarious, unsteady] times …”? I just did it without thinking (see above).

Gotta love corporate spin. The clichés! The gentle terminology! I’ve only been around a short time, but I’m clearly fluent. It makes me laugh because it always sounds like a movie trailer.

In a world where the stock market is as unpredictable as the weather—they had to fight to survive. At the end of the day, can these five friends take the bull by the horns? Or will they bet their bottom dollars? Join us this February 24 as these whiz kids Break the Bank.

In case you were wondering, this movie of my making is entitled Break the Bank and the plot centers on five plucky stockbrokers. Armed with nothing but quippy one-liners and a so-crazy-it-just-might-work plan involving a computer genius, they bring down the entire banking industry. Hilarity, some shenanigans and, yes, a case of mistaken identity ensues.

Where was I again? Oh yes. Corporate spin and the economy. Our supplement. Right.

We’re not going to sugarcoat the topic, whilst trying not to alarm anyone at the same time. But really, who are we trying to protect here? You guys all know the deal. Do you read the news? I think so. They’ve done more damage than we could ever do in terms of people’s morale.

So, though the word “bad” doesn’t quite make it into the corp-speak lexicon, we all know it’s there—lurking under the surface of every euphemism. But fear not. The supplement will be packed with tips you can implement today to help you secure your customer relationships, think creatively about your sales tactics for the year and stay optimistic about 2009’s prospects. I’m excited about it, and I think you will be too.

It’s a special addition to our much-anticipated March golf issue, so there’s a whole lot of good things to look forward to. But until then, I leave you with these words of comfort.

When all is said and done, it is what it is. Let’s just agree to disagree, because it’s a slippery slope my friends. We need to dialogue—get on the same page with our thought leadership, put some best practices together, think outside the box. I’m confident we can take this to the next level. You with me?

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