This is the fun part....

I was asked to consult a business on some areas of concern regarding slipping sales, dipping response rates to marketing efforts and an overall slowdown of business. The manager seemed despondent, depressed and frustrated. They have a great product, superior service, yet they were not keeping pace with their plan.

Call me Little Mary Sunshine, the annoying optimist, but..... in my opinion this is when the fun starts. This is where you can tell who LOVES running and marketing a business and who just relies on formulas they learned in a seminar in 1996.

All of the business books you've poured through, the magazine article case studies you've pondered, the blogs you follow, the tips and tricks you've heard along the way when times were good. Now is the time that you get to actually put those golden nuggets of DIY in place and see what works!

If you love business and especially marketing, these are the best of times, when creative business minds produce their finest ideas. Perhaps motivated by fear or necessity, but regardless, you are forced to shake things up a bit. It is easy to get lazy when sales are steadily going up, your employees are enjoying healthy paychecks, and your clients pay their bills on time. So, now is the time to become the clever whipper-snapper of days gone by, when you were still fighting to show off your stuff.

Let me also say that for those of us who sign the BACK of a paycheck, now is also the time to show off your best stuff at work. With layoffs looming, you want to show off your best stuff when times are tough. Present a cost savings idea, dig deeper for new business, show your enthusiasm regardless of the economy.

Bottom line: Your attitude makes all the difference, for you, your co-workers and your own economic future. If you approach these challenges with enthusiasm, passion and the spirit to find the winning combination of efforts, you will not only increase your chances of great success but also gain the self-confidence of having come through it all a winner, no matter what.