[Article] Building Referrals

[QUINN]

I Refuse to Participate in a Recession!
Beat the downturn mentality and see an upswing in business
By Ivan Misner

Many economic gurus are saying the "R" word .... recession. For the most part, the economy has been strong and business has been good for the past decade. However, the economy goes through cycles. Even if we don't see a full-blown recession, business is slowing for many people. Every time the economy takes a downturn, the fallout is felt strongly by salespeople, business owners and professionals alike.

So what did we learn from previous economic downturns? In the early '90s, in the middle of a nasty recession, I was at a business mixer meeting local business professionals. It seemed that everyone was feeling the crunch from the slow economy. Throughout the event, the favourite topic of discussion was how bad the economy was and how things were getting worse. Nearly everyone was obsessed with the problems of the economy and its impact on business.

I was introduced to one of the many real estate agents attending. Given the decrease in property values, I was wary of asking him the standard "How's business?" question. He shared with me, though, that he was having a great year. Naturally, I was surprised and asked, "You did say you were in real estate, didn't you?" "Yes," he said with a slight grin. "And you're having a good year?" I asked. "I'm actually having my best year ever!" he said. "Your best year!" I said in amazement.
After thinking for a moment I asked him, "Is this your first year in real estate?" "No," he replied with a laugh. "I've been in real estate for almost 10 years." I asked him how he was doing so well, given the conditions of the economy and the stiff competition. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge that said:
I Absolutely Refuse to Participate in a Recession!
"That's your secret?" I asked. "You refuse to participate in the recession, so business is booming?" "That's correct," he said. "While most of my competitors are crying the blues about how bad business is, I'm out drumming up a ton of business networking with my contacts and generating referrals."

Considering what he said, I looked around the room and listened in on people for a while as they complained about how bad business was. While nearly all were commiserating with one another, I concluded that few were actually networking and working on seeking new business. If you want to do well in business, it does no good to complain about tough times.

You cannot control the economy or your competition, but you can control your response to the economy. Referrals can keep your business alive and well during an economic downturn. During the last recession, I watched thousands of businesspeople grow and prosper because they consciously made the decision to refuse to participate in a recession. They developed their networking skills and learnt how to build their business through word of mouth.

While others are looking at the problems, those looking for opportunities will not only get through a bad economy but will prosper.

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[tec0]

Well there has never been a better time to be in real-estate, especially if you have 10 years of wealth. The reason behind the success of real-estate is the banks. See the banks will not allow loans for property especially within this so-called recession. Thus you’re only alternative is to rent a home. Thus the real-estate groups are making profits with no losses. They get to keep their property and generate wealth. All of this is possible because the banks are running around protecting their investments outside South Africa.

In the end you need 3 things to live. The first is a place to live, the second is food to eat and the last one is a job so that you can have the other two things you need.

[Dave A]

You cannot control the economy or your competition, but you can control your response to the economy.

Absolutely!

I've decided that a recession is a time when you tend to get a smaller return on effort on average. But you can still get excellent results of you do what it takes and think smart. If you just keep plodding along doing the same thing you'll go with the average.

And who wants to be average?