Picture the following facts about a deadly chemical as the basis for a story on the evening news:

• When in its gaseous or liquid state, concentrated amounts will cause death if inhaled.
• The gaseous state can also produce severe tissue damage and death when applied to the skin.
• As a solid, not only can it cause severe tissue damage to the skin, but it can also lead to gangrene, amputation, or even death.
• As a liquid, this compound is extremely corrosive, with the ability to damage steel and dissolve the hardest minerals.
• It changes its state within a narrow temperature band, making it one of the most volatile chemical compounds.
• It is present in all malignant tumors.
• If combined with chlorine or sulfur it becomes a deadly acid.
• It is the major component of acid rain.

In spite of all of the above FACTS, hundreds of American companies package and distribute this chemical as an ingredient in food products. Furthermore, it can be purchase in its pure form. Even children can acquire this compound, without checking their ID. The name of this compound is Di-Hydrogen Monoxide, and its common name is:

Water

When the media (or anyone) presents facts out of context, one can gain a mistaken view of reality. Unfortunately, the financial press often takes facts out of context. Bad news sells. ANY financial fact, condition, or statistic can be a cause of concern for the average investor when viewed out of context. You must show your clients “The Big Picture.”

What does the big picture look like in reality?

• Billions of people throughout the world continue to demand shelter, food, transportation, and clothing.Companies meet these needs.
• People desire a better life for themselves and their families. They still want to retire, educate their children and grandchildren, and leave their estates to their family – not the government.
• Clients want advisors who reduce the risks associated with investing.
• Over the long haul, ownership of companies gives an investor the best opportunity to beat the cost of living.
• Strategies to reduce risk are always attractive.

Let there be no doubt – we live in perilous financial times. That is EXACTLY why your clients need you. You provide them with perspective, risk reduction strategies, and the perspective needed to maintain a long-term focus. Tell your clients that when they want to know what is happening, they should turn off the news and call YOU. You can help them make sense of the world we live in. You can help them make it to their financial goals.
Good selling!

Technorati Tags: Bad news sells

Believe me; I know it is tough out there right now.  People passed nervous, anxious, and concerned several weeks ago; they are scared to death.  Investors continue to make the fundamental mistakes of buying high and selling low.  Asset allocation has become one hundred percent cash, spread over a large number of financial institutions.  Companies, (which are, oddly enough, made up of people) continue to freeze budgets, choose paralysis, and wait to see what happens next.

What everyone is waiting for will happen before they know it, for this too shall pass.

Make no mistake about it; we have seen a fundamental change in broad asset valuation unlike anything we have seen during our careers.  Mountains of debt and the prospect of parasitic new tax increases loom on the horizon. Earnings drift downward, or in some cases plummet.  Business failures will increase.
So where do we go from here?  Simple – get back on the phone.  Call your best relationships.  Contact new prospects.  Go see someone.  And in all cases, have your story down cold.

Last week I returned to an old discipline – twenty calls per day.  Not everyone was glad to hear from me, but some people were.  The results: four new speaking engagements, and several future commitments.

America, it is time to get back to work.  See the people.  Make some calls.  Ask for the order.  It won’t be easy – it was never easy – but you will open accounts and make sales.  When business returns to normal – if it is ever normal – your sales with grow beyond your wildest dreams, and your competitors will start calling you “lucky.”

Good selling!

Technorati Tags: buying high and selling low, speaking engagements