Your prospects and mine are being told daily how bad the housing market has become. In California, there is an 80 percent increase in foreclosures. As soon as the first $4.00 per gallon of gas sign was spotted, the media spread the word to our customers that it was going to get even worse. The news continues to report that job opportunities are not reaching analysts’ expectations.

So how do you keep this from affecting your frame of mind when you put this magazine down and need to make a sale?
First, take a deep breath and relax. Then, remember the words of the great philosopher Thoreau who said, “You find the world you look for.” I strongly believe this.

If you’re going to a party and know you like everyone who is invited, you’ll probably expect to have a good time. With those thoughts, you are likely on your way to having a fantastic time.

The reverse is true as well. In business, if you believe your competition has advantages over you, or if you believe all prospects are worried about their future economic welfare and don’t have money, you are not in a frame of mind to gain the best possible results. Negative thoughts prevent you from discovering and focusing on the opportunities to sell.

It’s also important to ensure you are doing the correct things to maximize your results. I recently attended a marketing meeting where the speaker addressed what we should be doing as salespeople in a weak economy. Guess what? They were the same things we should be doing if the economy was strong.

It isn’t easy to have an up attitude in a down market. However, my suggestion is to take a step back and reflect on what made you successful in the first place. Then, make sure you’re still doing it today. In fact, you may need to put more effort into your sales process. This will give you a big advantage over your competition, which may not putting in the same time and effort.

I know you might find these attitude skills difficult when the whole political election process is screaming “Bad economy!”

However, from my experience, those who continue to fight to find the business, have strong selling skills and input more energy for success become the market winners regardless of the economy.

Evolving Your Business

My market is currently a little sparse with new single-family residential building permits. Within a 50-mile radius of our business, we have a population of approximately 250,000. Yet, the new individual residential permits in the first quarter of 2008 were less than two dozen.