“Hello, this is Sad Sack Contracting, how may I make your day somewhat miserable?”

Whoo boy, changes everywhere. After my last speaking gig — which are always fun while being nearly permanently exhausting — I reflected on the variety of questions and personalities and found something very interesting.

One contractor would be in line, looking downward, asking me to sign a copy of my book but admitting, “Looks like this is going to be a slow year; I’ve got to cut back on Yellow Pages; I’ve got to get the phone ringing; I’ve got to…” and it was all a bunch of painful, if not overwhelming, demands placed on himself by … guess who? (If stumped, read on.)

The next guy in line would say, “Oh man, I am so fired up! I can’t wait to cut my YP budget down to size; but first to clobber my frightened competitors with that service postcard you showed and put some money in the bank! Plus, I’m starting on the Cluster Control campaign you advised next month! Awesome!”

And there I’d be, meeting person after person at the same event, in the same business, facing the same opportunities, in the same area, with mostly the same need … and approaching them as differently as if they were alternate species.

In a year from now, how much more different will these two be? Who will come out ahead and why?