Market Turnaround

Remember that company that you cold called last quarter and they laughed at you when you tried to qualify them?  Call them back.  Remember that prospect that you had in your pipeline for 6 months and brought the deal to final stages only to find out that their budget got yanked?  Call them back.  Remember that guy who you offered a blockbuster discount to get a deal before year's end and he backed out because he was preparing for the worst in 2009?  Call him back.

It has been a tough year – we started feeling the market slowing down a year ago…a full quarter before Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns showed the world exactly where this economy was heading.  The market came to a standstill.  Companies went into hiding, budgets were cut, layoffs occurred, employees put their heads down and hoped that their name would not be called to the chopping block next. 

Some companies are still feeling the effect of the economic down turn.  However, for many companies – the market is opening back up.  Companies that have kept quiet for the past three quarters cannot sit still any longer.  There are many companies that are no longer reacting to the market but are rather trying to define it.  These companies are easy to identify – they are the companies that are making headlines in the news…for good reasons.  For a lot of companies, including Treeline, the phones have started ringing again and business is brewing.  For the first time in a while, my voicemails are being returned and companies are looking to grow again.  We in the staffing industry consider ourselves ahead of the curve in terms of seeing the direction of the market. So, for those of you who are still in a holding pattern…hang in there.

Pick up the phone and call everyone.  Let them know that the turnaround of this market is in their hands.  If your prospect is not in the position to buy at the time, tell them "no sweat, give me a call when you are.  It is not too far down the road."  I am not saying that it will happen tomorrow, in fact, I am saying that it is happening today.  I am not being optimistic, I am being a realist – buy into the good news and start selling again.  If you don't somebody else will.  Happy hunting…and call me back.