Besides putting our grandchildren in deeply in debt, the government stimulus was an attempt to solve the economic problems of this nation by throwing money at them. Has it succeeded or failed? The answer depends on whom you listen to, but the truth is that it did both. The GDP actually rose three percent (3%) the first two quarters of 2009, but how much of this was due to the stimulus spending? The stimulus money that went to state governments got spent on small, “shovel-ready” projects and prevented massive lay-offs which had been planned for early 2009. Larger projects will not occur until early 2010, so they will not impact the economy until then.

Using as a measuring stick, the actual expenditures reimbursement by the Fed, which usually lags two months behind the spending, it is expected that the effect of the stimulus will abate this Fall. The construction industry, however, is working on projects that were funded by the stimulus, both the small shovel-ready work and larger projects just beginning and this activity is expected to last through the Fall into Winter. The effect of the Federal infusion on heavy construction will abate late in the year. The overall effect on the building market is just now beginning so it will begin to be felt substantially in 2010, 2011 and well into 2012, when it too begins to fade, according to construction industry prognosticators.

It is very difficult to properly gauge the success of the stimulus, because other federal spending was already ramping up into the housing market, where nearly $1 trillion was fed into the mortgage companies and banks to encourage more “subprime” loans and to cover the lending institutions’ exposure to losses through foreclosures. These moves had a greater impact on the market than did the later stimulus bill. Additionally, the Fed had thrown several trillions of dollars into available credit for housing lenders, a move that prevented a deep recession for housing and other construction spending.

Construction spending is a precursor to the economic situation. Indications are that the next two years will be good in construction, so companies targeting that industry with goods and services should begin their sales push now and not wait until the upturn is apparent to everyone. What is one of the best means to accomplish this without a large capital expenditure? Outsource, that’s what. Smart operators recognize that this is the time to make your salespeople more efficient and effective and thus realize greater sales volumes than those who wait, safely hiding behind their downsized office doors.

Sales lead generating and qualifying companies can go a long way towards keeping company salespeople in front of the customers, rather than sitting in the offices doing the cold-calling and prospecting. It makes a lot of sense to hire the professional specialists at telesales outsourcing companies generate sales leads, qualifying them and then follow-up on the qualified prospects until the company rep has an appointment with a decision-maker.