The age of doing business by accident is over. Clients and customers have so many choices today that you can’t expect to just show up, throw your briefcase on the table, and grab an order.

Now, is this a doom-and-gloom scenario, stating that there’s no more opportunity out there? Of course not. In fact, there’s more opportunity out there today than ever before. I really believe that no matter how successful you are right now, you have an opportunity to be more successful than you’ve ever been before.

There’s just one catch: In today’s competitive world there is no more margin for error.The companies and the people that will succeed today, tomorrow, and on into the future are the ones who will be willing to do everything RIGHT.

I know that as a client, customer, or consumer I can buy almost anything I want from the Internet and I never have to talk to you! So the question now becomes, what is it that you are willing to do for all your clients, customers, and prospects that creates so much extra value that it is more beneficial for them to buy directly from you than to just click on their computers?

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In other words, how are you differentiating yourself from the competition?

I think the single biggest question I have for you is this: What are you really selling?

Are you just selling whatever will get you the fastest commission, or are you selling extraordinary quality, service, convenience, and value? Are you just selling the first thing out of your bag, just to get your boss off your back, or are you selling “Save me time and make my life easier”? Are you just selling whatever the customer thinks they want and need, or are you selling knowledge, expertise, information, and education?

Are you just selling stuff? Are you just selling what everyone else is selling? Because if you are, I can click on my computer and I can buy stuff from the cheapest guy in town.

Get out there and sell some value.

Delivering extraordinary customer service is not hard. It doesn’t take any amazing skill or talent. It’s very similar to playing great defense in basketball. Both take a high level of commitment, desire, communication and buy-in from everyone on the team as well as every level of the organization.

The only reason a company or organization would deliver lousy customer service is the same reason the New York Knicks play lousy defense. Not enough people on the team care; from the top on down.

Just recently, I came across extraordinary customer service in academia! Yes, you heard that right; the ivy-covered, sheltered-from-reality world of academia. You and your company now have no excuse.

My daughter Emily will soon be completing her junior year of high school and has started her college search. I suggested to Emily that she check out High Point University: a small liberal arts college in High Point, North Carolina. She agreed and we signed up for a campus tour.

I suggested it because I happen to know the new President, Dr. Nido Qubein. Dr. Qubein is not an academic. He is a highly successful businessman, entrepreneur, speaker, and author with a high-energy, can-do, no excuses attitude. I figured if anyone could create a unique, cutting-edge atmosphere on a college campus, this was the guy.

Dr. Qubein became president of High Point University three years ago. What he inherited was not pretty: a failing institution that was bleeding money and losing students. What he has done in the last three years is nothing short of remarkable.

• He raised over $100 million in the last 2 years.

• He made the decision that everyone at High Point would understand that students are customers.

• He told his professors that their biggest responsibility was to be in the classroom, be accessible and educate students.

Everyone who works for the university is friendly, accessible and gives you the impression there’s no task too tough to handle. Dr. Qubein wants every student to have an extraordinary experience in a fun atmosphere. Let me take you through our tour in order for you to really appreciate it.

First Emily, Linda (my wife) and I pulled into the visitor parking lot. Now each parking space has an electronic sign. We found our space and the sign read “Welcome Emily Greshes.” Remember, it’s those small unique touches that people remember.

Next we walked into the admissions building where up on the wall was another electronic sign welcoming all the students who were there for the 2PM tour. Each student was greeted by a separate admissions counselor. Pretty amazing since there were about 10 to 15 students there for tours. She briefed us on the university, told us what would happen on the tour, answered our questions and then turned us over to our tour guide. Our tour guide took us around campus in a golf cart, with two other students and their parents.

What we saw was amazing...

The grounds were perfectly groomed with beautiful flowers everywhere. While the university is 80 years old, there isn’t a single building (dorms included) that isn’t either brand new or completely renovated.

Class sizes are no more than 20 students per class. The entire campus is wireless. The new School of Business building was designed to be exactly like the Harvard School of Business. The dorms look like hotels. A freshman girls dorm had two, three and four bedroom apartments with a kitchen, dining area, common area and bathroom. The bedrooms were singles and each apartment accommodated 2 people per bathroom. The dorms had lounges on each floor with flat-screen televisions, leather recliners and games like foosball.

Now for more of those unique small touches...

In today’s crazy world, I’m sure many of you (like me) worry about security on campus, especially those of you with daughters. At High Point U, the campus police are right in the middle of campus next to the Student Union. If you get back to campus late one night and can’t find a parking spot near your dorm all you need to do is drive over to the campus police; they will take your keys; valet park your car for free and shuttle you to your dorm.

There is an ice cream truck that drives around campus dispensing free ice cream. We met the driver: he’s the Student Body President! They’re lucky my son Michael doesn’t go to school there or that truck would be out of business. There are also outdoor kiosks on campus that will dispense hot coffee, hot chocolate, and breakfast snacks for FREE to any student who is rushing to class and didn’t have time for breakfast.

The new Student Union has an outdoor pool with a hot tub (Emily was sold). Since High Point is the furniture capital there are leather recliners all over campus. Linda was so impressed she asked Dr. Qubein if she could apply for admission.

Needless to say, enrollment is soaring and better yet, so is retention. And just in case you’re wondering, and I’m sure you are, the price represents one of the best values in America for a private school.

It’s amazing what an organization can do when everyone is on the same page and is committed to the same thing! If it can be done in the stodgy, resistant-to-change halls of academia, it can be done anywhere.

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In my last entry, “A Recession Is Coming And I Can't Wait!,” I wrote that recessions and down economic periods are the best times to do business because most of the competition gives up.

As expected, there were some very good comments. Normally, I would leave it at that; but one of the comments was so good, I wanted to make sure you all got to see it. It’s from a woman named Davida Roth and I think she sums up the prevailing attitude, because she’s on the front lines witnessing it. Here’s what she wrote:

Mr.Greshes

Thank you so much for this article. I am an Independent Consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics and I'm finding that many Consultants in my area had already started to mentally close the figurative doors of their business due to their fears over the economy. Especially since the purchase of cosmetics and skincare is often made with discretionary/ disposable income and for some women it's even a luxury purchase.

I didn't know how to address their concerns and frankly was finding myself getting antsy and anxious every time I even heard a news report on the coming recession. Every "No" that I used to be able to brush off, now seemed to confirm my worse fears. Already, reading and re-reading this article has helped to bolster my flagging confidence and I'll be able to encourage my sister Consultants as well.

Thank you for taking the time to write this post and of course for sharing it with us.

Does that sum it up or what? First of all, WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION; and there’s a real good possibility there will not be one, but it doesn’t matter! As you can see from Davida’s comment, it’s our own fears that create these self-fulfilling prophecies.

Do you really believe, even if there is a recession, women will STOP buying cosmetics and skincare products? What about all the millions of women who go to work every day, will they stop wearing make-up or using face cream? Yeah, and I think I’ll stop showering because my water bills are getting too high. Sure, maybe they’ll use less or buy cheaper brands, but with so many salespeople giving up, there will be more business out there for the rest of them.

I’m sure glad my article posted at the exact right time and I was able to help Davida as she was about to succumb to one of the biggest obstacles in the world: negative people!

Don’t let negative people stop you. They’re just looking for an excuse to not have to try as hard. Your efforts to keep doing business while ignoring the nay-sayers are less likely to inspire them than it is to make them try harder to stop you, so as not to make them look bad. Your only solution is to tell them, “Either join me and come along for the ride or get out of my way!"

If you’ve been following the economic news lately, you pretty much hear nothing but doom and gloom. Energy prices climbing; the housing market continues to fall; the dollar is weak; economic growth in the fourth quarter climbed but at a much slower rate due to weak holiday sales; the consumer spending binge seems to be slowing; and then, as I write this, I see on my newsreader “Inflation rate is worst in 17 years.”

All I can say to that is, “What a perfect time to do business!” Now before you start filling out the commitment papers, let me tell you something; there is no better time to do business than during a down economic period and for one simple reason: most of your competition has given up. It is my belief that during down economic periods or recessions, salespeople stop selling long before customers stop buying.

Sure there might be less business out there, and, most likely, the size of the average sale might decrease; but, with less people chasing the business, it will be a lot easier for you to get what’s out there. It is the perfect opportunity for each and every one of you to go out there and grab market share.

One thing we know about the economy is that no matter how bad it may get (and I don’t think it will be that bad. Remember, good news doesn’t sell), the economy always comes back. If you capture market share when business is down, you’ll be perfectly positioned to explode your business and crush your competition when things turn around.

It is so critical for you to be more visible than ever to your clients and prospects, because of the perceptions you create. During good times, if your clients and prospects don’t see you for a while, they just assume you’re busy. But if they don’t see or hear from you during tough times, they just assume you’re gone.

The average to poor salesperson is not looking for business: they’re looking for an excuse and a recession is a great excuse. They can go see one prospect or client who will tell them, “Business is tough right now, we’re not buying,” and turn that into “Nobody’s buying.” You see this way they can’t actually fail. They can tell their manager, “I’ve been out there. Business is bad, nobody’s buying.” Their ass is covered. Of course, they never do succeed: which is what it’s all about.

Don’t you just love it when people say, “Nobody’s buying?” What the hell does that mean? The United States has a 13 TRILLION dollar economy. If it went down 10%, which is unheard of and would cause panic in the streets, there would still be 11.7 TRILLION dollars of economic activity going on: Somebody’s buying something.

Do yourself a favor, don’t listen to the negativity: let your competition do that. Just go out there and show up. Keep talking to prospects and clients and keep asking for the sale. Lot’s of companies will be buying and you might be the only salesperson out there who’s actually selling.

As I look back proudly on what turned out to be a very successful 2007, I want to thank all of you who helped us along the way. To our speaking clients who gave me the opportunity to address their audiences; to our new private podcast clients, who have helped us find a new successful, efficient yet cost-effective way to deliver information and inspiration to their far-flung sales forces; and to those of you who purchased our educational products. I hope we have lived up to your expectations and have helped you and your companies become even more successful.

But now, a new year is about to begin and with it, all the optimism and anticipation that comes with it. I know I’m excited about 2008, because I can’t wait to build on all the success we achieved in 2007. I hope you feel the same way, because you should. Every new year brings new opportunities to those who are ready, willing and able to take advantage of them, no matter the circumstances.

As you begin your journey through the new year, remember: don’t listen to all the negative people who will be bombarding you from every angle. For months I’ve been hearing predictions of a recession in 2008 and all I can say to that is: “Who the hell cares!” That has nothing to do with me and it should have nothing to do with you, unless you let it.

You know as well as I do, no matter what is going on in the economy there are people who will do well and those who will not. Heck, even during the depression, there were people who made fortunes: How does that happen? It happens because successful people will always be successful, no matter the economic conditions.

I am convinced that during recessions (and this is not a prediction, because I don’t listen to predictions), salespeople stop selling long before clients stop buying. All I know is, I hope my competition listens to all the “gloom and doomers,” because it will make it a lot easier for me to do business.

Beware of the losers! They will try and drag you down with them. Why? They need company. They don’t want to see you do well. They would rather have you fall down to their depths, than work hard to keep up with your success. They’re not trying to protect you from failure; they’re trying to detour you from success.

So turn off the TV, pop in the ear plugs, put on those blinders and let’s charge straight ahead into what I know can and will be a tremendous 2008! (OK, OK, so I made a prediction.)