Scared clients don't buy. As salespeople in a recession we need to fight the fear. Economic fear is a group thing. When the stock market tumbles, as everyone watches, panic and fear spread. Now that signs of economic recovery are in the air, our job is to see that a new message spreads.
New York Times has provided us with a FREE 25 page study we can use to convince clients not to be scared. The study is actually about President Obama's performance ratings, but we are going to ignore the politics and focus on just the results of just three questions that tell our story:
First, while the recession fearing mob may be paralyzed, but that same mob TODAY believes it is better off economically than their parents were. Recession and all, 33% of Americans say they are much better, and 25% say somewhat better off than than their parents were growing up. Put in perspective, maybe things are not that bad after all.
Second, people are actually much more worried about their jobs than the economy. While there are gloomy economic stories in the media, they are not what is driving the fear. If you want to know about fear, think about the job market and ignore the headlines. Currently, 44% of of Americans are "Very" concerned about job loss.
Finally, the American people are far more confident that things are on the right track, and by a huge margin. In January 2009 15% of Americans thought the country was on the right track, 79% wrong track. As of April; 38% right track, 53% wrong track. Still not great numbers but a huge increase in just a few months.
Show your client the data. Do not get into the politics. Sharing these numbers is about showing that confidence is being restored. If you get into issues of gloating Democrats or defensive Republicans you will miss the point.
On a call, first share the numbers.
Then ask a simple question, "Could the mob fear of the recession be fading?"
Download the whole study for free:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/nytint/docs/new-york-times-cbs-news-poll-on-the-approval-ratings-of-president-barack-obama/original.pdf