Have your heard this before from your sales or marketing department? Whose fault is it, that sales are slow now? Is it the economy, the marketing department, your PR firm or sales? Who should you blame? If you are like most people, you want to pass the buck to someone else. Take your pick, throw your dart at one of the other departments and build your case. Here is my take.

The Economy? Read all the articles you want, listen to the newscasts, look for all the ?For Sale? signs and you'll most likely say, that's it! If the market were better, like it used to be, we would be making all kinds of sales. While that may be a great call, it's not the right answer. There are still buyers out there. Don't look at the 20 or 40% drop in sales in your market, but focus on the 60% to 80% that is still out there. If you focus on the negative, that's what you'll get. Now, more than ever, you have to create more activities and do more follow-ups with them, then you've ever done. Guess it's time to get back to work and stop being an order taker!

The Marketing Department? If the marketing department would just get their act together and create more leads, we would make more sales. The only way this might be true is, if your cut back your marketing budget or shut them down to adjust to the market. Then, you have fulfilled a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is probably the worst thing a company can do. There are still buyers out there and we need to be more creative than ever, in developing marketing campaigns that will create a call-to-action, for a call or a visit. Target marketing and working your referral base and Internet, are where you can make a difference, without spending a ton of money. It's not the marketing department's job to make sales. Their job is to create the awareness and activity.

Your PR Firm? That's it. It's the PR firm's fault! You've been spending money every month and they have been getting you publicity, articles printed and story lines, but no one has called and bought one of your homes. If they just did a better job, we wouldn't be so far behind. Wrong answer again. It's not your PR firm's job to make sales. Their job is to create public awareness. Always keep in mind, that the effectiveness of PR is how you use the information as a marketing tool, to help enhance the sale and give you creditability. It's great third party testimonial. PR articles, and stories have a five-year shelf life. It's not as important as who sees them initially; it's how you use them to make a sale.

Your Sales Department? If you can't blame the first three, then it has to be the sales department's fault. Wow, glad we got that figured out! I am sure you've heard the saying, ?nothing happens until someone sells something?. Wait; let's not put the full blame here. There are other factors we should consider. If your company has stopped providing the sales people with tools, stopped advertising and not providing on-going training, then we can't put all the blame here. Yes, sales are still out there, however, the game has changed. It's a whole different approach. What worked years back, does not necessarily work the same in this ecomony. As mentioned above, it's all about getting back to work, being creative, and staying in touch with potential leads. No more cruising! It's time to track, measure and manage all leads and activities. You can't afford to let leads slip through the cracks. There is business out there. Are you going to get it, or are you going to let the competition beat you to the punch?

So Who Are You Going to Blame? ?Wait, there is more to this, then the items you listed. You forgot to mention our specific market. Our market is different than others. We are unique. You just don't understand.?

It's Our Market No matter where I have traveled in the past 18 months, no matter how bad the local market was or how many people were complaining, I always found individuals that were having a decent year and in some cases a great year. One builder/realtor in the northeast, I will just call him Dan B, told me that he was having his best year ever in 10 years! Mind you, the market area he was in was off 40%. Why is he successful, when everyone else is crying? His attitude! As part of a program that this builder/realtor attended, I handed out a sheet listing 48 Internet websites that you can list or post your homes. At the end of the program, he said he felt great because he was already using 32 of the 48 sites that I had mentioned. He is creative, he is pro-active, he is making sales, and he has the right attitude.

It's all About Your Attitude! If you feel the market has gotten the best of you, you are 100% right. If you feel that no one is in a buying mode, your 100% right. Guess it comes back to, you're attitude. It's time to invest in yourself and improve your skills. It's time to become a professional. Practice, reinvent yourself and then practice again.

Best of Continued Success!