06.06.08
Green Eggs and Ham
It is possible that most of what we need to know to be successful in business we learned in kindergarten. Take the matter of persistence, Dr. Seuss was onto something when he wrote Green Eggs and Ham. How many of your sales or customer service reps can be called Sam-I-Am. “Would you like them in a house? Would you like them with a mouse???? When the “customer??? declares, “I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse? I do not like…??? and on the story goes. Does Sam-I-Am quit? No, he explores every possible option to convince the contrary customer to at least try them. In the end, the customer relents, “Sam! If you will let me be, I will try them. You will see–Say! I like green eggs and ham!??? The prior difficult customer becomes Sam-I-Am’s biggest advocate. Encourage your sales and customer service reps to adopt the Sam-I-Am attitude by exploring every possibility of what makes their client tick and most importantly to not give up. The customer we perceive as our biggest challenge often ends up being our greatest cheerleader because we stuck it out and found a solution that met their specific need.
Children can be frustratingly persistent. As adults we sometimes are willing to give up too soon. Recently my youngest son had been incessantly bugging me for an answer on something. After the umpteenth question, I responded with a definite, “Maybe???. Instead of being discouraged, he cheerfully told his siblings, “Daddy said maybe so that is probably a yes.??? To which I say, “I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you! Sam-I-Am!
Have a great week.
Brian
