Alan R. Bechtold has released the latest issue of ‘E-Wealth Report’ newsletter. This featured article is titled “News Too Good to Hold Back”. [E-Wealth Report]


Alan Bechtold’s latest ‘E-Wealth Report’ newsletter article:

News Too Good to Hold Back

I planned a piece digging deeper into using ride-alongs and cross-promotions to drive traffic to your business, but I’ve come across some news that’s simply too good to hold any longer. I’ll get back to my direct marketing discussion next week.

I’m sure you’re as sick and tired of hearing about the economic downturn as I am. I’ve about had enough, personally.

Then I found a news item the other day. It’s about some leading economists who are starting to see some dramatic signs in the economy. They point to the possibility that we could be a lot closer to turning this economy around than most other economists have predicted so far.

Yes – most other economists are still predicting continued gloom for the near future, stretching possibly through 2010. But a large group of very respected economists have announced publicly they see signs that things are starting to look much better.

One has predicted we could see a turn-around in as little as four months. Most agree we stand a good chance that we’ll be out of the worst of the downturn by the end of this summer.

That was certainly welcome news.

It also fits exactly what I’ve been feeling lately. I have a theory about what will happen next that you’ll find is also excellent news, if it plays out the way I see it.

You’ll want to make some preparations if what I’m feeling is true. I’m no economist – but the economists I read about in that article are pointing to the same things I’ve been seeing, and drawing much the same conclusions, so it’s bolstered my sense that I’m onto something here.

I’ve noticed the jobless reports haven’t dropped dramatically lately – but they haven’t risen, either. And they’ve been declining slightly. The economists in the story pointed to this sign, too.

I’ve seen reports lately of home prices stabalizing slightly, with sales actually up in a few areas hardest-hit by the mortgage crises. California recently reported an inventory of existing homes of only 6-9 months – about average for the U.S. prior to the crises, and investors starting to snap up homes in handsful. Similar reports are coming from other areas, including Southwest Florida.

The economists in that news story pointed this out as well.

The stock market saw a nice rally recently and, with just a few bumps along the way, seems to be happy around the 8,000 mark, testing higher levels routinely. It got there with one of the biggest surges in the market since after the Great Depression.

The noted economists quoted in that news story thought this was an important development, too.

I just learned as I write this that the major banks who participated in receiving bailout money are reporting surprising profits for the last quarter – profits that indicate they’re getting healthy again.

A lot of the banks are prepared to hand the money they received back to the government already. It seems they don’t care for the government telling them how they can run their banks in return for the cash infusion and they’d like to free themselves of the regulations that go along with accepting it.

Completely understandable. And a clear sign to me that things are at least starting to approach a turn-around point.

In the news story I read, the economists went on to point out all of this is happening before most of the $700 billion economic stimulus has had a chance to enter the economy. They added that most stimulus packages have a much better chance of working well going into an economy at the bottom or already entering an upturn than they do when they must first bring a crashing economy to a halt.

More than one of these economists has also predicted, when the turn-around hits and the stimulus money starts working, we could see a major jump in the economy that rivals the intensity of the dip that preceded it.

And I agree.

In fact, I think there’s a lot of solid evidence behind this notion that we could be sitting at the edge of a tremendous economic boom. Consider the signs I’ve just outlined. Consider the anemic recoveries we saw after the last two rather anemic recessions.

Then consider the depth and breadth of this recession – truly the worst we’ve seen since the Great Depression.

What kind of recovery do you think we’ll see this time?

I think it stands a great chance of being a gigantic recovery – for the reasons those economists pointed out, but also because of human nature.

Whatever happens in the future, near or far, we won’t easily forget the pain of this recession when it passes. No one will. It’s going to affect people’s buying habits for a long time to come.

But – we’re also creatures who love to spend money. It makes us feel good. Most of us are addicted to buying things. Yet, in the current economic situation, we’ve been holding back, treading with caution. Because it’s been difficult to see where things are going – how bad they’re actually going to get – we’re generally more than willing to give up the momentary rush of treating ourselves to something new and interesting in the name of conserving cash.

But we don’t like it – and we can’t wait for it to be over.

That’s why, as soon as we see a real bottom to this trend, as soon as a number of pointers are moving up, we could see an explosion of pent up buying desire unloaded on the market.

I predict we’re very near that point. And we’d all better prepare now, or we’ll miss the oppotunity of a lifetime to achieve the financial gains that await us.

If you’re already in business, start postitioning yourself now. Consider updating some of your current products and re-positioning them. And adding a couple more. Build up your catalog of offers, regardless of what business you’re in, and get ready for a flood of new business.

Some of you might think I’m being unreasonably optimistic here. I assure you, I’m not. I do look for the upside in any situation. I do know that, given the severity of this economic downturn, there will most likely be an equal or greater reaction in the other direction as soon as it starts to turn around.

And I’m going to be ready…sooner rather than later.

Next week, I’ll return to my discussion of direct marketing techniques that work offline or online and best when combined!

See you next week!

– Alan R. Bechtold, president/CEO, BBS Press Service, Inc.

Author, Will Work for Fun: 3 Simple Steps to Turning Any Hobby or Interest Into Cash (John Wiley & Sons Books)

Co-Producer and star of The FUNdamental You!, on DVD or watch the full-length movie online: http://www.FUNdamentalYou.tv

Producer and Star, Breakfast With Alan, live Ustream TV show every other Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. eastern US Time: http://www.BreakfastWithAlan.com

‘E-Wealth Report’ Newsletter

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Alan Bechtold for granting permission to reprint the latest article.

Sharing is caring