By Steve Adubato, PhD

President Bush says we should try to get back to normal. Others say we should get back to "business as usual." A laudable goal, but for some professionals that philosophy is easier said than done. This is particularly true for people who are in the business of selling, marketing or pitching products or services. So many things have changed since September 11.

A September 26 Star Ledger story addressing consumer confidence and attitudes concluded, "People are in no mood to buy anything." If people aren't in a mood to buy, how are those people with the responsibility to sell supposed to go about "business as usual?" This isn't simply a question of dealing with people's attitudes surrounding the World Trade Center disaster, but also the fact that many economists believe we are facing a recession.

Consider this real life example of how not to go about business in such turbulent times. My friend Betty is a dentist who often interacts with product sales reps. She told me that the day after the World Trade Center attack, a rep who she had placed an order with three months before, walked into her office unannounced and without mentioning the mind boggling events of the day before and said, "Hey, doc, did you get that stuff you ordered and is there anything else you'd like to order now?" Betty was shocked and politely said, "It's just not a good time for me." Betty said she had such a bad feeling about the sales rep and her insensitivity that she couldn't imagine doing business with her in the future.

But it isn't just sales reps who must take a hard look at how they go about their business. We're talking about any organization or individual that relies on customers to meet their goals--stockbrokers, lawyers, doctors, ad agencies, producers of Broadway plays, restaurant owners, contractors and fundraisers (are you considering donating to anything other than the World Trade Center relief effort?). There are some people who choose to ignore that the reality around us has had a dramatic effect on people's attitudes regarding the purchase of goods and services. Like the sales rep mentioned above, these people are making a terrible mistake-not only is it insensitive, it's just bad business.

There are no clear-cut rules about how to deal with such uncertainty, or how to sell in this environment, however there are some professionals who have the right perspective on things. Nick Grieco is an attorney in West Orange. He is in a small practice and is the firm's chief rainmaker. Like other small business people, Nick feels pressure yet here is how he sees it; "As an attorney, who has to bring in new clients, I've noticed that people's concentration on day-to-day business just isn't there. The only thing you can do is be supportive and be in touch. I haven't tried to talk to a single client about trying to generate business, but I've spoken to almost every client to see how they are doing and how I might be of any help." Nick Grieco says people in a small business should consider doing specific short-term things that have value. "If you can't talk about generating new business or sales, you should focus on the actual work that a client needs done. Beat a deadline. Go the extra yard for them. Take care of them and hopefully they'll appreciate it down the road. Fact is, my problems in the firm right now pale in comparison to what other people are dealing with. That's something we should never forget."

Next week, I'll offer additional suggestions on how to conduct business during a time that's anything but usual. In the meantime, write to me and share how you've been taking care of business.