A couple of days ago I got a letter from the Canada Export Centre that really struck a nerve. The letter promotes the new CEC International Business Network Program but it start’s with the story that made me write this post. For me, it was one more reason to go crazy.
The letter came just days after making a conscious decision to not watch any more news on TV. Why? I was coming home and turning on the news channel just to hear about layoffs, bailouts, crisis, depression… kill me now! …way to end the day. It gradually eroded my optimism and hope – like kryptonite for happiness. After 4 days in a row and I was ready to start crying.
The letter took it a bit further and encouraged a survival craziness of sorts. I love it. From now on, I’m making my own reality…
Here’s the letter.
In 1982 my Dad was almost bankrupt – a single father with a teenaged son and no income. He lost a lot of weight to ensure I was well fed. Things looked dire – we’d moved from a nice home to a dingy little flat. Everything in the news was bad. One day Dad made a conscious decision not to listen to the news and create his own reality. He was up every day at 5am on the phone calling companies in the US and Asia. Within 12 months of deciding to only fill his mind with positive input Dad made over $200,000 – in the 80’s that was a lot of money. That lesson has stuck with me. Let’s make our own realities in ’09.
One of the other things he concentrated on was to move his thinking from how, “How can I convince this guy to buy my equipment so I can eat?” to “How can I help this guy make money?” Sounds simple but it was a paradigm shift in his mind. He went from selling, to showing his prospects new opportunities to generate revenue or solve a problem. Instead of focusing on his problem he put all his energy in to focusing on his prospect, or as he would say, “partner.” In fact, I remember watching him on the phone – he would close his eyes put his finger in the ear that was not against the receiver and concentrate – HARD. He really wanted to hear and understand what his prospects were going through with the goal of trying to provide as much value as possible.
In the spirit of providing huge value when companies really need to stretch a dollar, we have come up with our IBN program (International Business Network). This allows you to get huge leverage internationally by getting your company on the radar of players around the world. While we provide a variety of deeper services and support this program can be a real step in the right direction toward building new sales channels.
Please take a moment to review our International Business Network Program as I think you will find it useful. Our aim is to help you get as much leverage as possible and to potentially partner with you to help you build your business in this challenging economic time.
Kindest regards,
Mark Mensing
CEO, Canada Export Centre
Phone: 604-685-7823 ext. 116
E-mail: [email protected]
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