The tough get going when the going gets tough

When the economy was booming two years ago, everyone with an extra buck was investing in the future. Real estate was a hot commodity and anyone with a sales pitch was becoming a Realtor.

Power lunches were a daily occurrence, and flashy cars were suddenly on the driveway of every “expert” in the community. Those who attired themselves in shorts and tennis shoes were suddenly seen purchasing high-dollar clothes for seminars given by smooth-talkers selling CDs and books that would spell instant success.

The fact that credit cards were used to create the success stories was reason enough to indicate a boom would eventually lead to a bust. Plastic money and plastic people were leading us to wonder when all of this would end.

In the meantime, banks provided loans with something called “stated income” based on adjustable rate mortgages in what most certainly created a house of cards that has since collapsed. Properties of all price ranges now feature “bank owned” signs while the lenders shut off the utilities and let the properties turn into eyesores.

And with real estate prices soaring, the entire scenario had frightening similarities to pyramid schemes, where investors keep feeding funds into a frenzy that eventually explodes and leaves people feeling ripped off.

With the downturn of the economy, reality has set in and the “experts” have replaced their expensive lunches with TV dinners and watched helplessly as their Mercedes was being repossessed in the middle of the night. Those same people are now taking city buses for visits with their stock brokers, who continue to say that the most recent fall in the market signaled we have all reached the bottom.

The rise was exciting, but the fall was dramatic. Our retirement accounts have been slashed and our faith in government has been damaged after learning that those we trusted weren’t so smart after all.

Even more disturbing is a recent survey conducted by CNN commentator Lou Dobbs stating that almost 70 percent of those polled believe that presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain both lack the expertise needed to lead us out of this mess.

About now, everyone is scared whether you’re someone just trying to survive or you happen to be a wealthy soul with big-time money. It’s so startling that some are comparing this to the Depression, and even the most positive of people is concerned.

However, if there is a secret to handling the current situation, it lies in the philosophy that patience is the greatest secret. In other words, flipping out does no one any good.

Great leaders are those who deal with situations calmly, although it is understandable that some are beginning to panic.

However, if ever there were a necessary ingredient to handling the current situation, it lies with people who make a living selling everything from cars to real estate to insurance and the rest.

The days of order-takers are gone, at least for now. Gone for now are the days when customers walked in the door with checkbooks in-hand.

Order-takers are stunned. They don’t know what to do now.

If you’re a real estate agent, when was the last time you called a current or former customer just to say hello? And if you’re an insurance agent, have you bothered scheduling appointments with clients to make sure they have proper coverage?

My stock broker Tim Bodie of Wachovia Securities calls me each month. More times than not, we talk more about family and friends than we do the market. But he calls and I stop what I’m doing to hear what he has to say.

Like most others, I know absolutely nothing about the stock market, and I need to be informed especially as things change.

It is just good business to stay in touch with clients.

The fact that Bodie received referral business off a simple phone call always remained a good possibility. Just calling to say hello can do so much for all involved.

We are in a shake-down period when the order-takers are moaning the blues while studying what to do with the rest of their lives. The rest of us are not going to give up and we will learn from the negative atmosphere we are now facing.

There is business out there, if only those who work in sales would call former customers or play a role in the community whether it be volunteering in youth activities or feeding the homeless. The theory that you will receive if only you will give is so vitally true.

But ya gotta give first.