11.21.16
Posted in You've Got My Attention at 1:37 am by Administrator
Have you ever had that customer that won’t respond to you or sit down to make a decision on a program that would benefit them? A friend of mine, who is a sales representative, has a high-profile client in the construction industry that was slow to respond to repeated requests to meet and become part of their latest promotion. So, what to do? His sales team brainstormed ideas and decided to get creative. They sent the decision maker a bouquet of flowers with the following note.
Joe
Since we have yet to hear back from you regarding our proposal we thought we would try to get your attention another way. Looking forward to hearing back from you via phone, fax, email or even carrier pigeon. (carrier pigeon coordinates 32.7157° N, 117.1611° W)
Sincerely,
Your ABC Sales Team
Within minutes of the flower delivery, there was a phone call from the client uproariously laughing and saying “You’ve got my attention.” He ended the phone call continuing to chuckle and saying that he can honestly say that he has never had a vendor send him flowers and they would finalize the deal quickly. In a few days, the paperwork was signed and another relationship had been strengthened.
Think about that customer that you keep missing or doesn’t have the time to sit down with you. Most of us give up and move on but what if you and your team can come up with a creative idea that gets their attention. Humor or something that is above the industry norm are both great ways to engage someone who you have not completely connected with yet.
Go get their attention!
Have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving.
Brian
Permalink
10.27.16
Posted in You Don't Know Me But... at 2:21 am by Administrator
Some things in life you can’t make up. At a recent industry event, I observed a person approach a successful flooring dealer and say, “You don’t know me but I’m a rep with ABC company (name changed to protect the innocent). I know you guys use our competitor so that’s why I don’t come in and visit you.”
My guess is that sales rep probably will not be with ABC Company for an extended amount of time. It is a reminder that if our customers don’t see us or don’t know us, chances are very high they are not a customer at all. It initially may be unpleasant to break the ice in an account that is not friendly or open to a new vendor but if we hope to capture new business, we have to be willing to have a long term approach. Here are few ideas to open the door.
• Talk to other vendors in the industry who are not competitors or who have a relationship with the customer and ask them to introduce or refer you.
• Offer information freely that helps the customer be more profitable or efficient.
• Use industry events to begin developing an acquaintance. Often there is more of an openness to dialogue when the customer is not in the office.
• Find out a cause that the customer supports and offer to support it financially, with donated materials or time.
Get to know your customers and your business and influence will grow.
Regards,
Brian
Permalink
09.27.16
Posted in Look for the Good at 3:02 am by Administrator
A cynic is a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons. It can be easy to slip into a cynical view of the world but there is much more to life and people than cynicism. If our world view is shaped simply by social media, the news or politics instead of experiencing life with people- family, fellow employees, other cultures, then we miss out on the richness of humanity.
I find it somewhat humorous that as I began writing this, I discovered over $800 of fraudulent iTunes charges in my bank account so the test is real. Looking for the good in people and in situations isn’t some Pollyannaic view but it helps bring hope, meaning and purpose into a world that can sometimes seem that it is coming off the rails. People with hope, purpose and an expectation of goodness are the bright lights that can inspire a true change for the better in life.
Let’s be those people.
Regards,
Brian
Permalink
08.30.16
Posted in Big Mistake at 1:44 am by Administrator
A motivated sales rep comes into a new territory and in less than a year has established relationships and gained tremendous market share. His primary reason for this success was his attention to each customer and his responsiveness and willingness to find solutions to their challenges. His success, however, begins to consume more of his time and the Big Mistake begins to unfold. He spends less time in front of his customers. The return calls are delayed and it now allows other hungry competitors a foothold into a once solid account. He starts becoming the victim of his own success.
Most of us in sales have made the Big Mistake at some point. Due to the demands of business we neglect the basics that captured business in the first place. So as a reminder, remember the basics of your original successes; building relationships, giving your clients the attention and service they need and making sure they don’t forget who you are.
Regards,
Brian
Permalink
07.26.16
Posted in Look at Me at 3:18 am by Administrator
Have you ever been talking to someone while they are looking at their phone and you want to grab it out of their hands so they look at you? Perhaps you are that person. I must confess I’ve been on both sides of the conversation whether it is talking to family or business associates.
I’m re-reading one of my favorite books by Dale Carnegie, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Written in 1935, the basic principles of human interaction have not changed. A great reminder for me was this simple point, “Become genuinely interested in other people.” In a society where many of us have our heads down looking at our phones, it can become easy to miss the opportunities to show interest in other people. The beauty of our world is that we are not the same and when we begin to talk to one another, to learn about another’s background, their dreams and goals, we make a connection that can encourage and make the day a little brighter for that person.
Regards,
Brian
Permalink
06.26.16
Posted in The Person You are Trying to Reach, Uncategorized at 3:19 am by Administrator
The person you are trying to reach mailbox is full and will not accept new messages. Goodbye.
The person you are trying to reach has a mailbox that has not been setup on the system and cannot accept messages.
Have you ever called another person and received one of those messages? It can be frustrating to say the least. I understand that there are occasions when there are technical issues or the person is unable to access or delete their voice mails. Some people may not know there is a limit on various voicemail systems of how many messages can be stored.
However, there are a few other reasons this may happen. The person doesn’t check their messages, they avoid their clients or they are missing in action. When it is a salesperson who relies on people contacting them for information, the warning flags should be up. A phone call not returned can be a lost sale. The customer often has little time to wait for the return call because their client is demanding an immediate answer so the first person to respond has a better chance of closing the deal.
As we head into the summer season, I encourage you and your team to keep those messages updated.
Have a safe and fun Independence Day!
Brian
Permalink
05.23.16
Posted in Too Late at 3:13 am by Administrator
We were not planning on purchasing a new front entry door yet when our son’s friend, who happens to be a 220 lbs, 6’4″ high school football player, was being chased by his fellow team mates in a silly game of tag (one that involves being punched for sharing certain bodily noises) and he tripped and fell into the door, something had to give…and it was the front door.
So began the saga of finding a door that would be beautiful, functional and very expensive. Of course, I’ve done this with a big smile on my face. The big box store that begins with an “H” could not find the information I needed. One of my stops was a big box store that begins with an “L”. After some time, I found someone who could help. The representative emailed me a quote but there were a few inaccuracies. I asked for some clarification and her final response was, “I guess you are going to have go with your other quote because I can’t get the information you need in the time frame you need it.” Wow! She gave up. Contrast that to the local building supplier who sat with me at his desk and put together a custom order then called and emailed updated information trying to close the sell. He was willing to negotiate to a price that was fair. He wanted the sell and provided the details and information to give me the comfort to willingly buy. He also met with my wife for the finish trim selections.
One of the lessons from this encounter is that delaying or providing inaccurate information can cost a salesperson and the company the sale. The “L” store employee did not have the resources or knowledge and had a melt-down. Her pay was not affected. The local supplier was motivated to share as much information as he could and closing the deal was part of his income. He realized that too little, too late would lower his pay.
The door is on order and will be installed soon. As I enjoy the great “investment”, I’ll be reminded of the right way and the wrong way to serve a client. The losing salesperson delays; the winning salesperson responds quickly, knowledgeably and regularly.
Permalink
04.25.16
Posted in There's No Crying in Sales at 2:10 am by Administrator
A frustrated sales representative knows that he is losing business to his competition. There are a variety of ways he could approach this challenge. The choice he made was to whine and complain about the lack of support from the customer and argue regarding past issues. This was obviously one of the worst choices he could have and it further alienated his customer. He was not aware of the unspoken rule…There’s no crying in sales!
We all have the client that we may be frustrated with but rarely is arguing with the customer and whining going to yield results. A better choice would have been to request a meeting to determine how to grow the business. Be prepared to ask the difficult questions regarding past difficulties and ideas how to improve. Acknowledge past mistakes and discuss taking baby steps forward to earn the business one small piece at a time. Often, a little humility and an apology can be big step forward to gaining a customer’s commitment.
So wipe away the tears and go win that customer’s heart back!
Regards,
Brian
Permalink
03.31.16
Posted in Honor and Leaders at 12:40 am by Administrator
This past weekend someone shared the following research regarding leadership with me and a group of other individuals. I’m not sure who the author of this research is but I found these points interesting and helpful.
These are attributes that are held in common across most cultures. This research went back thousands of years and here are the top six attributes that were most common. For this research they looked at military, martial arts, legal codes and religious precepts.
Honor, Honesty, Humility, Heroism, Generosity, Integrity
Honor
Honor refers to worthiness to be admired by others. It is behavior that is always upright
and blameless and worthy to be emulated by others. Honor respects life and acts to protects
innocent life. Honor respects other persons and acts to protect the defenseless from harm and
exploitation. Honor seeks to help those who are in need. Honor respects and gives grace to
others in love. In this, an honorable person respects cultural norms and manners, yet not in a
manner that would violate another person, even one of culturally low estate. Those who are
honorable also seek justice for others and for society as a whole.
Honesty
Honesty refers to communications (in word and deed) with others with truthfulness and
that does not lie or deceive. Honesty requires absolute fairness in all transactions -a fair scale
and a just heart. Honesty commands the respect of others, even those who are not similarly
inclined, and also actively seeks truth and exposes lies so that deception cannot succeed against
the honest person.
Humility
Humility refers to not holding oneself above anyone else. Humility gives recognition to
others to whom it is due. Humility does not demand honor or glory from others, but accepts
honor gracefully. Humility gives honor to the lowly when it is due. The humble person respects
all who are in authority, and exercises authority over others with respect. Humility brings a
person to do whatever tasks, no matter how lowly, need to be done- humility does not elevate
one task above another.
Heroism
Heroism is the manifestation of courage and purpose above what is required by others.
Courage is the ability to do what is right and needful despite fears. Heroism provides for people
to act and to help others sacrificially (even risking death, if need be). Heroism assumes purposes
of love for others above love for self. The heroic person has purposes above or outside of
himself to accomplish that which a greater good than self-interests. Heroism seeks to deliver and
provide relief for those in need or to remove the sources of their distress.
Generosity
Generosity is giving without expectation of repayment and without a motivation of
endearment or obligation. (Giving generously may be anonymous.) The generous person gives
to satisfy true needs of the needy or of society without any expectation of the acknowledgment of
others; therefore the generous person may be quick to volunteer or to give materially when a
need becomes known.
Integrity
A person of integrity is always the same in character in every circumstance; they are
totally without hypocrisy. Thus, integrity means that a person always acts consistently in his
character without regard of the circumstances. However, integrity also embodies righteousness
and moral or ethical behavior toward others. Therefore, a person of integrity values other
persons and will not violate their personhood physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
This is a great reminder to always look at where we are at and how we can improve. I hope you benefited from it as much as I have.
Regards,
Brian
Permalink
02.24.16
Posted in Recruits and the Relationship at 5:48 am by Administrator
The past few months in our household have been busy with another high school senior making college plans. As he has been planning, there have been football recruiting opportunities offered by several colleges. What has stood out to me about this process is the amount of time that the coaches and their staff put into building the relationship with a potential recruit through phone calls, texts, cards and visits-making the player feel special. They know that one of the important parts of the player’s decision is that they like the people where they will be spending at least four years of their life.
It has been a great reminder to me as I have watched this unfold that most people respond positively when we seek to get to know them better. Phone calls, email, texts, cards and one on one time cause growth in our personal and business relationships. Making relationship building a priority will give us a more complete personal and business life. So reach out this week to someone you don’t know so well and show an interest in their life.
Permalink
« Previous Page — « Previous entries « Previous Page · Next Page » Next entries » — Next Page »
