Pick One: A Math Problem or a Math Solution

I am hearing lots of news and talk about what percent industry sales are down. Some are saying industry sales are down 70 percent. Others are saying industry sales are down even more.

If you listen to how much industry sales are down, you have a math problem. The problem is that it can sound so negative, so hopeless, so impossible. I know there are people who are feeling that way. I see their posts on social media about how they are spending their time putting together puzzles or binging on Netflix and waiting for things to return to “normal.”

Let me encourage you to see the math solution, not the math problem.

The math solution is the flip-side of the problem. If industry sales are down 70 percent, that means that 30 percent of industry sales are still happening. So, if you are primarily a promotional products distributor, that means you are in a $25 billion industry. If a $25 billion industry is down 70 percent, that means that businesses are still buying 30 percent, or $7.5 billion a year. $7.5 billion is your solution.

$7.5 billion a year is a lot of money. Let me encourage you to see your solution in the 30 percent that are still buying. See your solution in the $7.5 billion in sales that are still happening. Put away that puzzle. Turn off your television. Pick up your phone and start finding your share of the $7.5 billion.

(NOTE: Proforma and some other distributors are also in the printing and packaging industry, which is over $200 billion. I’ve written blogs in the past about getting your share of that market, too. Perhaps now is a good time to add printing and packaging to your product mix.)