2008 is shaping up to be an unhappy year for most product and service categories.

If your year-to-date numbers are trending ahead of 2007, I salute you.

Today’s Monday Morning Memo is for the remaining 96 percent of American business owners.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1. Write in a vertical list the names of every competitor you face in your chosen product/service category. If you need help remembering them, look in the Yellow Pages. This should take no more than 10 to 12 minutes. Don’t leave anyone out.

2. Write next to each name an estimate of that company’s sales volume in the category in which you compete.

3. Add your own name and sales volume to the list.

4. Total the dollars that you’ve estimated will be spent in your product/service category this year in your trade area. This is your Market Potential.

5. Tell us the name of your city or trade area and its approximate population.

6. Email all this information to Tamara@WizardofAds.com

Now for the “Treasure” part:

1. I’m going to ask my market research department to verify or modify the snapshot you’ve given us of your Market Potential. You'll receive the results by email.

2. Ninety-nine of you will be invited to be my guests in Austin April 14-15 for the unveiling of an all-new presentation and workshop: How to Make Business Good When Times are Bad.

3. This is a session I’ll soon be presenting to business owners from coast to coast at $25,000 per market visit. But 99 of you will get to experience it in Austin for free.

You’ll learn to identify your Limiting Factors, the things that've been holding you back.

You’ll learn to evaluate your Competitive Environment, the key to good strategy.

You’ll learn to develop Unifying Principles, the secret of esprit de corps.

You’ll learn to leverage your Defining Characteristics, the essence of persuasive ads.

You’ll learn Wanek’s Ways to significantly increase the believability of your advertising, your sales presentations, positioning statements, tag lines and slogans. (There are only 6 things you can do. I'll teach you all 6, courtesy of my partner, Tom Wanek.*)

You’ll return home equipped to take your place among that happy 4 percent of business owners who are trending ahead of last year.

Interested?

Get started on your list of competitors and sales volumes. Be sure to tell us the name of your trade area and its population. We need to have this information as soon as possible.

Have a great week.

Yours,

Roy H. Williams

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