Many companies and businesses are cutting expenses indiscriminately across the board. In many cases they're cutting some of their most valuable assets (people), or they're cutting back on things that I don't consider expenses, like advertising and marketing; things that bring in business.

So in the spirit of "cutting smart" let me start you off with a few ideas that could save you money while not cutting back on your ability to bring in business.

1. Watch those phone bills. In our office we use Skype for almost all our outbound calls.The cost: $2.95 a month per line for unlimited calls to any phone in the U.S. and Canada! If we call overseas, the cost is 2.1 cents per minute. If you make a lot of overseas or out of the country calls, for $9.95 a month you can make unlimited calls in the U.S., Canada and 36 other countries around the world.

Plus, since you call from your computer (there are also wireless Skype phones available), no matter where you are in the world, you can make phone calls from your laptop, allowing you not to have spend a fortune on cell phone calls when out of the country.

We've saved so much money using Skype, it's allowed us to drop two AT&T phone lines and lower our monthly cell phone bill since we don't use as many minutes. Skype also offers incoming lines and now has a new feature called "Skype for Business." Check it out at www.skype.com.

One other thing; check your phone bills every month with a fine tooth comb. More often than not I find mistakes on my bills, especially my cell phone bill. This has saved me quite a bit of money over time.

2. Cut back on the entertainment budget. The restaurant owners aren't going to like this; but cutting back on business lunches and dinners will save you money without losing you business. I think during these stressful economic times clients want to see that the companies they buy from are being smart and not "blowing money" on unnecessary things like expensive bottles of wine or overpriced tickets to ball games. Look at the idiot auto execs who flew to D.C. in private jets while asking for a taxpayer funded handout.

If you're trying to cut back, it stands to reason that so are your clients. Don't you think they're going to want to know if the money you just spent on that $200 lunch couldn't have gone towards lowering the price of whatever they are going to buy from you?

I think you'll impress clients more by showing them you're putting your money where it's going to help them the most: into your products and services.

3. Does that really need to be sent overnight? I am amazed at how many companies, big and small, use overnight delivery when it's absolutely positively not necessary. So many clients say "Send it overnight" out of habit. We usually ask them if it's critical that they receive it the next day. Most of the time they say, "No" and we end up shipping UPS ground, which is not exactly slow, and saves us quite a bit of money.

4. Develop the living heck out of what you have. I constantly hear business owners ask, “How do I find good people. It’s so difficult. What do I do?” This is not an uncommon problem. Let’s face it; there’s only two ways to find good people. Steal them from someone else, or develop your own.

Considering the cost of poaching the competitions people, it’s a lot more cost effective to ramp up your training effort and develop your own people. Plus, when you develop from within, it creates a much stronger organization. People that grow with a company feel a greater attachment to it than mercenaries who sell themselves to the highest bidder.

Being a company that develops and trains from within also makes you a magnet for the better recruits.

As always, I'd love to hear from you. What are you doing to cut back on your business overhead without cutting back on your business?

During this past summer, Steven had a sales job for a scientific organization where he had to call scientists (not an easy group to sell to), and attempt to get them to join the organization and subscribe to their magazine, among other things.

To help him succeed on the job, Steven decided he would read my book: The Best Damn Sales Book Ever: 16 Rock-Solid Rules for Achieving Sales Success. I’m proud to say Steven used many of the ideas in the book and they worked for him.

I thought about it and said to myself, “Why did Steven so willingly embrace the ideas in my book, when others may not?” And, then I realized it was because Steven was a novice; he did not know what he wasn’t supposed to know. He had no preconceived notions and was open to any idea he thought could help him. He wasn’t one of those “sly veterans” who feels they’re way beyond the basics.

I hear this quite a bit. In fact, I remember speaking to a potential client who said to me, “What you’re talking about is the basics. Our salespeople are beyond the basics.” I said to him, “Are you kidding me? Selling is all about the basics.”

By the way, I not only landed the client and delivered a successful presentation, but was proudest of the fact that many veteran salespeople in the audience said to me afterward, “I needed that. I already know this, but I’ve gotten away from it and needed to be reminded to get back to it.” I think we all need that reminder.

The “Basics” are for everyone, not just the rookies. Championship sports teams don’t win with trick plays. In fact, in sports and in sales, if you need to resort to “trick plays,” you’re probably not very good. Champions win by executing the basic fundamentals on a FAR more consistent basis than the competition. Period.

Last week, a reader of mine left a comment that was so perfect for this article (which had already been written), I had to include it!

Pat Finke, a successful advertising sales rep for Brighthouse Networks in Florida, wrote:

“Technology is supposed to make things easier, faster and more economical for us all but what I've learned in this challenging economy is the best solution is 'back to basics.' It is too easy for my prospects to ignore an email and even a phone call. It's a bit tougher to ignore me when I've walked into your place of business to talk with you. Advertising sales have been hit hard these past few months because all of the 'regulars,' especially auto dealers, have come off the air. I've been selling TV advertising since 1990 and the one thing that has remained constant is good results from 'in person cold calling.' It's not a sales reps favorite thing to do, but hey, if it was easy everyone would be doing it! I seem to have plenty of time on my hands right now, so I'm headed out to make a few more cold calls today. To be more specific, at least 6 more face to face introductions before I go home. I'm refraining from judging a business by it's appearance because some of the finest gems have come out of the roughest looking rocks!”

I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Talk about “Getting back to basics.” Pat understands three of the most basic laws of selling:

1. If you don’t get in front of prospects, it doesn’t matter what you have to sell!
2. Be specific. Don’t make “a lot” of calls; go for a specific number. The only way to handle rejection is to know how much rejection you need.
3. NEVER prejudge a prospect.

Remember, this is a SUCCESSFUL 18 year veteran who is out there getting back to basics and making cold calls.

Now just in case there are still some veterans out there who feel they’re way beyond the basics, let’s hear from Danny Clark, starting Strong Side Linebacker for the Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants.

Here’s what Danny had to say, in a blog entry, after the Giants recently lost to the Eagles, snapping their seven game winning streak.

“I believe that life is much simpler than people make it out to be. With three games left of our regular season schedule, I'm sure critics assume that the NY Giants are under insurmountable pressure. They couldn't be more wrong. We will get back to the basics by playing disciplined, sound, and inspired football this Sunday night.....getting back to the basics is more important now than ever. When you get to Week 14 in the NFL, every team is experiencing adversity whether from injuries, fatigue, or lack of focus. Our team is as good as any in overcoming obstacles, and this is what makes us a special unit.”

So here’s what I want to know: What are you doing? As a salesperson, business owner, manager or leader, what specific, “Back to basic” strategies are you employing to succeed when most everyone else is just trying to survive? Let’s hear from you!

If you’re interested in getting back to basics, but don’t know how, click this link to order my Special Package DVD Success Series, which includes a bonus copy of my book!

• Focus on better prospects: 33%

• Make more calls: 25%

• Improve sales process: 29%

• Reduce risk of buying 8%

• Lower price 2%

• Get better technology 2%

I find these results interesting. First off, on a positive note, I’m glad to see only 2% responded by stating they’d lower their price. Though the skeptic in me wonders if they just don’t want to admit that’s one of the things they’re doing. In a previous entry, a commenter pointed out the special discount this past week on my products as an example of cutting price (by the way the 50% discount ends Friday night). Again, thank you for your comments Chris! However, the engine of my business for nearly 25 years has been speaking engagements, and in fact my fee went up in 2008 by 20%! Offering an aggressive discount on product means they get into more hands and my message gets out to more people, some of which have the ability to hire me!          

I’m also thrilled to see that 25% said they’d make more calls, because many salespeople don’t make enough calls. And really, what does “more calls” mean to you? Is it one more call; two; three; maybe ten. 

If you’ve read anything I’ve ever written on prospecting, listened to my audio program, Don’t Count the Yes’s, Count the No’s, or watched my prospecting DVD, Prospecting Skills that Work, you know how important it is to specifically quantify the amount of calls you need to make. Anytime you leave something vague or open ended, it makes it way too easy to stop doing it! Without a plan, "Make More Calls" can be a recipe for disaster.

As far as “improve sales process” and “focus on better prospects,” they both seem pretty vague. I mean so many elements can fall under "sales process." As far as "better prospects," some of my least qualified prospects have gone on to be some of my biggest winners, and many times salespeople use "we need better prospects" as an excuse not to sell.

But the good news is: Salespeople and companies are recognizing the crucial need to adapt.

Which brings me to you; I’d like to know: What are some of the strategies you’re using?

If you’re improving your sales process, give specific examples how. If you’re focusing on better prospects, let us know what kind and how you came to that decision. Even if you're not in sales, any type of personal or professional strategy is welcome!

But before I start, this Monday, I will be releasing my first Motivational Minute Podcast. This is exclusive to email subscribers. Each week, you'll be getting one of these motivational minutes to supercharge you for the week. Also, I'll be releasing details about my new keynote speech for 2009 "Beat The Recession With Warren Greshes," a 90 minute hard-hitting, no-holds-barred presentation guaranteed to transform your organization. Now back to the topic at hand...

I don't know about you, but many companies with services I need seem to have dropped off the face of the earth. Are they out of business, or just hiding because they're afraid to sell, or, maybe don't know how? It has forced me to give my business to people I wouldn't normally deal with. Sure it might be tougher out there today, but everyone needs to know that when prospects say "NO" today it only means "NO" today. It's not "NO" tomorrow, the next day, week or month.

I want to tell you a story about the first experience I had with an organization where there was no sales mentality, and why to this day I speak about ensuring that the sales process permeates your entire business culture.

Around 1987 or ‘88, not long after I had started my speaking business, I landed a new client in Connecticut named Science Park. Science Park was an incubator whose purpose was to bring together, under one roof, entrepreneurs and small business owners who were trying to get their fledgling companies off the ground.

Science Park not only provided them with office space, but also with administrative and consulting support. Most of these small new companies were high tech startups. Each and every one of them was started and owned by highly intelligent people who believed they had come up with the next great product or idea. And, in fact, many of them had come up with outstanding ideas.

Their one big problem was: while they all had a certain amount of technical knowledge and tremendous expertise, not a single one of them knew how to sell. On top of that, they thought selling was beneath them and they weren’t quite sure it was necessary.

These would-be entrepreneurs honestly believed, if you build a better mouse trap the world will beat a path to your door. Unfortunately, many of them ended up sitting in their tiny little offices waiting for that door to open and guess what: that’s right; it never did.

My job was to teach these business owners not only how to sell, but the importance of having a sales mentality, how critical it is for business owners to always be involved in the sales process, even if you have salespeople working for you.

As the economy continues to unravel, it becomes absolutely critical for business owners, and executives, who distance themselves from the sales process, to get involved; quickly.

Clients need to be hearing from the top dog on a regular basis. If you don’t know how to sell; learn! If you think selling is something dirty that’s beneath you, here’s your choice: sell or go out of business!

If you think you can't sell or are afraid to sell, but still want to learn how, let me recommend two of my DVD's that can get you started. One of them, Prospecting Skills That Work, will teach you how to bring in new business and the other, Make My Life Easier will teach you how to keep it and grow it. And remember, you still have one day to buy them at a 50% discount!

Well guess what, we're the only ones who can make it better!

And I'll tell you another thing, there are salespeople, entrepreneurs and business owners out there right now that haven't even had the time to look up and witness a recession. Why? Because they're too damn busy opening up new markets, capturing market share and beating out all the competitors who have been scared off by bad news.

Listen, for 26 YEARS, from 1982 until September of 2008 the U.S. economy was in a recession for a grand total of 16 months! In other words, we are coming off of 26 total years of economic prosperity; the longest economic boom in the history of the United States, which is amazing. But therein lies the problem.

Most salespeople and business owners have been order-takers for decades.

Let’s face it, when business was booming did you really have to sell? Or did you just sit around waiting for the phone to ring or the door to open?

The big problem for far too many salespeople and dealers is they only know how to sell this way. They’re still sitting there waiting for the phone to ring (which it’s NOT) or the door to open (also NOT).

What is needed right now is a strategic attitude change when it comes to goal-setting, client relationships and prospecting for new business.

I am in the business of motivation and aggressive business development. Getting professionals of all stripes to take action in their lives, careers and businesses is what makes me tick. And with all the negativity every where you turn, I want to make an extra effort to get my programs into the hands of people like you.

My programs will help you create a game plan for your life, career or business and get back that crucial confidence you need to make 2009 a big winner. I promise you that.

For the first business week of December ending this Friday, I am offering a 50% discount on all of my products. They can be found by clicking these links:

DVD Success Series

Video Seminars

Audio Programs

This includes all of my DVDs: Make My Life Easier (my definitive seminar on building client relationships), Goal-Setting Techniques That Work, and Prospecting Skills That Work.

This means you can buy my DVD Success Series which includes all three of my DVDs plus a bonus copy of my book for less than $75! Click here to order.

Simply click on any of the "add item to cart" links like you normally would to purchase with us, and the 50% discount will automatically be deducted from the order total.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of all the whining: from politicians, media dopes and from the general public.

I keep hearing “The middle class is getting squeezed.” But it seems to me as if the middle class is squeezing themselves. The same way we excoriate congress for spending more than they take in, and blowing our hard earned money on projects and programs that are nothing more than jobs programs for the marginally employable, how many of us are doing the same thing?

When I was a kid (late 50’s, early 60’s) I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with my parents and sister. I shared a bedroom with my sister. We had one bathroom; one TV; no car; no air-conditioning; no dishwasher, washing machine or dryer.

We never took a vacation that involved an airplane. In fact, I don’t ever remember us taking a vacation that lasted more than a long weekend. In the summers, I went to a day camp run by the school system or, just spent the days playing ball with my friends at the local school yard.

Yet, back then, we were considered middle class. Today, anyone living under those conditions would be considered poor. We have come to a point where things that not that long ago were considered luxuries are now considered necessities.

I find it very hard to feel sorry for people who earn a good living but constantly blow their money on “Crap.” Here’s the point: stop whining and either find a way to make more money or figure out how to spend less, and that shouldn’t be too hard. For example:

Does your 10 year old really need a cell phone? Yes, I know you’re going to give me the “Security” argument. OK, even if I buy that, why does the kid also need text-messaging?

Do you really need to spend upwards of $25 to $30 a week on coffee? The same people who complain about $4 a gallon gasoline are paying FAR more than that on coffee!!! Heck, they’re paying far more than that on bottled water. I know people who complain they can’t save money, but could have funded a 401K very nicely on what they spend on water and coffee.

How come a $2 to $3 thousand Disney World vacation is a priority but health insurance is not? If you can’t afford to save for your retirement or kids’ college education do you really need cable TV, with HBO to boot?

People are moaning about having to spend as much as $50 extra per week on gasoline. Here’s an idea: eat out one less time per week and that pays for the gasoline. Or, how about eat out two less times per week and pay for the gasoline and send one kid to college.

Eat breakfast at home before you go to work and make yourself lunch at home and bring it to work. That alone could save you $10 to $15 a day.

Cut down drastically on your phone bill by signing up for Skype (www.skype.com). For the insanely low price of $2.95 per month you can make unlimited calls to any number in the U.S. or Canada. Plus, you can call overseas to most countries for 2.1 cents per minute. You must have high speed internet access. Calls are made from the computer and all you need is a standard ear piece/microphone that plugs into the computer which Skype will send you for free. I have clients in the UK and Sweden that I have saved a bundle talking to because of Skype!

Using Skype has allowed me to get rid of phone company lines and has allowed me to cut back on my cell bill because I don’t need as many minutes.

This boils down to four things:

1. Personal responsibility – take control of your life and finances, because if you don’t nobody else will and the consequences will not be pretty.
2. Sacrifice – the small sacrifices we make upfront will allow us not to have to make HUGE sacrifices in the future.
3. Priorities – When you don’t have health insurance, life insurance, retirement savings or a college fund for your kids; but you do have new cars; go on expensive vacations; eat out 4 or 5 times a week and spend as much on coffee as you do on gas, what does that say about you and your priorities in life?
4. The ability to think long term – I would much rather endure short term pain for long term gain than do the opposite. That $25 to $50 you save every week on stuff you don’t need, could live without and wouldn’t miss at all, could be the difference between a more comfortable retirement or working till they carry you out feet first.

I recently posted a blog entry titled, “Look in the Mirror.” The article was about personal responsibility. However, the idea for the post came from a Wall St. Journal article about the surge in the number of foreclosures of million dollar plus homes.

It specifically focused on a man who while $250,000 per year bought himself a $2.5 million house. After losing his job, he couldn’t make the mortgage payments and his house was about to be foreclosed.

The point was: most of the experts quoted in the article seemed to be blaming everything and everyone but the man who bought the house. Not one person stated the obvious: “What the hell is a guy who earns $250,000 a year doing buying a $2.5 million house?”

Obviously, I got my point across judging from the emails and comments I received. I wanted to point out a comment written by Teri, who wrote:

“Thanks Warren. I would add though, that there were many people who were encouraged by lenders to take on larger mortgages than they could afford. They weren't all million dollar houses. Some were $500,000 and customers should have only qualified for $250,000. Mortgage brokers and bankers made more money if they sold more loans. Then on top of that the same brokers encouraged Home Equity Lines and gave the customer a book of checks that they could use to buy cars, designer clothes or golf club memberships..I could go on and on but we all now see the result as the risk was passed on in nice little packages to others who were looking for higher yield and didn't consider the risk.”

I am 100% aware of what happened in the lending industry across a wide variety of income brackets, my point with this article was even at the high end many people were over leveraging. And the majority of the news is typically not about million dollar homes in foreclosure.

Now for a rant: not a single lender put a gun to anyone’s head and said, “You need to take on a bigger mortgage than you can afford.” And, I’m pretty darn certain not a single broker handed over a book of checks for a home equity line of credit and said, “Now remember, you can blow this money all over the place; cars, vacations, clothes, club memberships. Heck, it’s virtually free!”

Are we supposed to feel sorry for people who didn’t bother to say, “What will my monthly payments on a mortgage that’s twice as big as what I can afford?” How about those who spent their line of credit on luxury items: whose fault is that?

Enough already!!! Until everyone decides to take responsibility for their own actions, history will continue to repeat itself.

There isn’t a single private entity that can force you to pay them money or make you do anything you don’t want to do. As a customer you can always say, “No thanks, I don’t feel like getting ripped off.” Or, if you feel you’re not being treated right, you can take your business elsewhere.

Banks or mortgage brokers can’t force us to take on bigger mortgages than we need. Even oil companies; if you think they’re gouging you, cut back on your driving; drive slower; start car pooling, or do what thousands do: buy a bicycle.

Every company is entitled to charge as much as they want for their goods and services. The good news is: we can choose to walk away from them.

There’s only one entity that can charge as much as they like; forcibly take your money and do anything they want with it. Ironically, it’s the same people who claim they’re trying to help you: the government.

I can’t take credit for the title of this article. A client of mine said to me the other day, “A downturn is a terrible opportunity to waste,” and I thought to myself, “Boy, that really sums it up.”

While there is always business to be done (let’s not forget, there were people who made fortunes during the depression), there are plenty of other things you can and should be doing during a downturn to make your business smarter, sharper and more efficient.

Develop your own. The biggest complaint I hear from small business owners is: “How do I find good people?” The solution is one of two things: steal them from your competition or develop the living hell out of what you have. Personally, I think you’re better off developing what you have.

Stealing someone from the competition might work during boom times, but during a downturn you just might be getting someone else’s mistakes. Remember what I wrote in my recent posting titled, “A Swift Kick in the Rear.” Our economy has been so good for the last 26 years (only 16 months of recession in that time) most salespeople have no idea what tough times are like and are not used to selling in them. Do you think the competition’s people are any different?

Turn up your training effort. Get back to the basics in your sales training. So often when business is booming and everyone is doing well, we tend to forget about the basics.

Don't forget about sales managers! The sales manager is the key link in any sales organization. Give me a mediocre to poor sales force and let me put them with a great sales manager and guaranteed, you will soon have a great sales force.

When business is great who notices bad sales managers? Heck, we don’t even notice bad salespeople, since anybody can do business in great times. But, in uncertain times like these, the cream rises to the top. If you haven’t started already, it’s time to teach your sales managers how to motivate, educate, inspire, coach and lead the people that report to them.

Don't forget your service people; or anyone else who has any contact with the clients and customers. It’s time to really emphasize everyone’s role in the sales process. Remember, everyone sells.

Just because you are a customer service rep, an installation technician, an administrative assistant or a delivery person don’t think you are not part of the sales process. Sure, you’re not responsible for bringing in business, but just like everyone else in the company, you’re sure as hell responsible for keeping what you have and making it grow.

This point was emphasized quite clearly in a September 19th, 2008 Wall Street Journal article.

The article was about the surge in the number of foreclosures of million dollar plus homes. The beginning of the article talked about a man named Robert Provost, who in 2003 purchased a $2.5 million villa with its own boat dock in Sarasota, Fla.

Mr. Provost earned more than $250,000 a year working for an auto-sales chain and had an impeccable credit history.

Then he lost his job and missed one $10,500 mortgage payment, then another. This month, he put his house on the market for $3.4 million, but the listing has attracted very little interest. Mr. Provost expects to receive a notice of default- the first step to foreclosure in the next month or two.

I kept reading the article, looking for some reaction to this, and waiting to see if someone, anyone, was thinking the same thing I was. However, the only two quotes I saw from people trying to explain this phenomenon of million dollar plus foreclosures were an economist from Wellesley College, Karl Case, who said, "If you’ve got a lender who pushed them to the limit and you have some change in supply or demand, you’ll have foreclosures."

Hmmm, "the lender pushed them to the limit." Sounds a little like Flip Wilson’s old routine, "The devil made me do it."

Next we had Tom Lawler, a housing economist in Leesburg, Va. who said, "Loans were unbelievably risky in every category. We’re seeing the results of that lending in the high end."

Are you seeing where I’m heading with this? No one asked the simple question: What the hell is an employee (not a business owner) who is making $250,000 a year doing buying a $2.5 million house? Plus, the fact that Mr. Provost stopped making mortgage payments right after he lost his job tells me he went into this with no cushion. Whose fault is that?

Oh, and if you’re thinking that some unscrupulous lender talked him into this let me give you one more piece of info that I withheld till now: Mr. Provost’s job with the auto-sales chain was that of finance chief! No wonder he’s out of work.

Let me tell you what happened to too many people. They saw friends, neighbors and people on TV making what looked like "easy money," just buying, selling and flipping houses. You didn’t need any money or income, because the prices would just keep going up (where, in fantasy land) and all you need to do is sell and use that money for the next purchase, or maybe even buy two. Why work for a living, when there’s such a sure thing staring you in the face?

As you know the bubble burst and many of these people want to be bailed out. What about the vast majority of people who paid and continue to pay their mortgages on time? Nobody was asking for a bailout when they were making money and they certainly weren’t going to share it with the homeowners who weren’t speculating.

Investing is a risk, whether it’s real estate or the stock market (I own 1,000 shares of AIG and you know what? This won’t be the first time I take a beating, nor will it be the last. I bought it. I knew the risk. Hell, life is a risk. If you want to be successful you have to take chances. Success is as much about failing as it is about succeeding. But when those chances blow up in your face (and sometimes they will), stop looking for scapegoats (that’s the job of gutless politicians), just look in the mirror and move on.

There’s an old saying, it goes like this: “Just because you keep on doing what you’ve always done, don’t expect to keep on getting what you’ve always received.” Unfortunately, a lot of business owners and salespeople haven’t figured this one out yet.

In the last few weeks I’ve spoken to three different clients whose business is suffering. Right away you’re probably saying to yourself, “It’s the economy,” and to a certain degree you may be correct.

However, after speaking with these clients and really understanding their sales process, I realized that the economy was only part of their problem; and not necessarily the biggest part.

The real problem is that their salespeople or dealers have been using the same sales process during tough times that worked for them during boom times. They refuse to change; mostly because they either don’t know how or they're afraid.

Let’s face it; we’ve had it pretty good for the last 26 years. Since 1982 the economy has been in a recession for a grand total of 16 months! At this point, any kind of downturn brings panic because there are literally millions of people out there who have no idea what a real downturn looks like. These same people have mostly sold during good times. They don’t know any other way.

During boom times, many of these salespeople and dealers didn’t sell; they didn’t have to. They just waited for the door to open or the phone to ring and the orders would just pour in. They never had to leave the office and actually drum up business.

Guess what? The phone’s not ringing and the door’s not opening and that’s not good. But what’s worse is that there are too many salespeople, dealers and business owners who are still sitting there waiting for that phone to ring or door to open.

It’s time for a strategic attitude change. If the business is not going to come to you, you have to go to the business. I’m not saying you’ll necessarily do as much business as you did during boom times, but you’ll do a lot more business than you would sitting there waiting for the phone to ring and sucking on the gas pipe.

And I don’t care that you don’t know how to do it because you’ve never done it before: Learn! You have no choice. What’s the alternative? Besides, that’s just your "fear" speaking. Everyone is afraid of doing things they’ve never done before. Also, don’t give me the tired excuse, “That’s not the way things are done in our industry.” Baloney! Times have changed, so that means the rules have changed too. If you don’t change with them, you will be left behind.

Talk to people. Go back to all of your past clients and ask for referrals. Will you hear a lot of NO? Sure you will. But I can tell you from experience, “No,” from a real live person is a much nicer sound than a dead phone.