February 6,2009
Okay okay, I get it. We are in deep crap with the economy and no one can tell us when we may emerge from it. Each newscast you hear, see or read in whatever media always begins with the latest roster of layoffs and downsizing or streamlining. It hammers the consumer psyche.
We as a society or culture gravitate to The News because we tend not to measure our individual success by our contributions or results, but by how truly messed up someone else is. The News, by its very nature, is Bad News. We mentally react to each news release with “thank god that wasn’t me that poor bugger.”
With every staff layoff, employers cut consumers; in many cases the very same people that they hope will buy their products or services.
The Globe and Mail said today that 7.2% of Canada’s workforce is now out of work.
How about this; 92.8% of Canada’s workforce is still working!
Most business people find it surprising that their business while it might be down is not dire. This is a weird contradiction. I have been told by some business people who say “we are still doing okay,” it’s almost like an apology. It is as if they haven’t lived up to the latest news stories.
I have arrived to a point in my life where I measure new information by two pieces of criteria; ”Do I need to know this? or “Do I want to know this?” If you don’t fit under either one, my brain starts airing old reruns of the Flintstones and your information is lost forever.
You may want to try it, with The News being what it is these days, ignorance can be bliss.
We can’t control the world. We can only control what we do and how we react to the new competitive factors presented. The consumer isn’t dead; they will just be in fewer numbers. That being the case, you are going to need to improve your close ratio.
We must change, and change is hard. I was talking with a sales person who was struggling a week or so ago and shared my other favorite mantra. “Whatever got you to where you are today is not enough to take you to where you need to go.”
Improve your close ratio by “Reinventing the Basics.”
How your phone is answered. Have you thanked them for calling, or coming into your place of business? This is one of the most underrated business functions.
Have you sincerely taken an interest in their needs, wants or desires?
Are you honest? (nuff said)
Do you implement the WOW factor?
Do you really know your customer and what they want or do you think you know what they want or worse, what they need?
Can you solve a customer problem within minutes or hours not days?
Can you be proactive?
“I was thinking about you and our conversation the other day and. what about this…..”
Or “I just reviewing your account or contract, I have found a way to save you some money.”
Or what if you had found a mistake before the customer did?
Most problems occur when we think that we have enough information or that we think that we know our customer.
The following amusing story, illustrates this basic business skill rather eloquently.
I THINK YOU'RE THE FATHER OF ONE OF MY KIDS...
A guy goes to the supermarket and notices an attractive woman waving at him.
She says hello.
He's rather taken back because he can't place where he knows her from.
So he says, 'Do you know me?'
To which she replies, 'I think you're the father of one of my kids'
Now his mind travels back to the only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and says, 'Are you the stripper from the bachelor party that I made love to on the pool table?'
She looks into his eyes and says calmly, 'No, I'm your son's teacher.
Okay okay, I get it. We are in deep crap with the economy and no one can tell us when we may emerge from it. Each newscast you hear, see or read in whatever media always begins with the latest roster of layoffs and downsizing or streamlining. It hammers the consumer psyche.
We as a society or culture gravitate to The News because we tend not to measure our individual success by our contributions or results, but by how truly messed up someone else is. The News, by its very nature, is Bad News. We mentally react to each news release with “thank god that wasn’t me that poor bugger.”
With every staff layoff, employers cut consumers; in many cases the very same people that they hope will buy their products or services.
The Globe and Mail said today that 7.2% of Canada’s workforce is now out of work.
How about this; 92.8% of Canada’s workforce is still working!
Most business people find it surprising that their business while it might be down is not dire. This is a weird contradiction. I have been told by some business people who say “we are still doing okay,” it’s almost like an apology. It is as if they haven’t lived up to the latest news stories.
I have arrived to a point in my life where I measure new information by two pieces of criteria; ”Do I need to know this? or “Do I want to know this?” If you don’t fit under either one, my brain starts airing old reruns of the Flintstones and your information is lost forever.
You may want to try it, with The News being what it is these days, ignorance can be bliss.
We can’t control the world. We can only control what we do and how we react to the new competitive factors presented. The consumer isn’t dead; they will just be in fewer numbers. That being the case, you are going to need to improve your close ratio.
We must change, and change is hard. I was talking with a sales person who was struggling a week or so ago and shared my other favorite mantra. “Whatever got you to where you are today is not enough to take you to where you need to go.”
Improve your close ratio by “Reinventing the Basics.”
How your phone is answered. Have you thanked them for calling, or coming into your place of business? This is one of the most underrated business functions.
Have you sincerely taken an interest in their needs, wants or desires?
Are you honest? (nuff said)
Do you implement the WOW factor?
Do you really know your customer and what they want or do you think you know what they want or worse, what they need?
Can you solve a customer problem within minutes or hours not days?
Can you be proactive?
“I was thinking about you and our conversation the other day and. what about this…..”
Or “I just reviewing your account or contract, I have found a way to save you some money.”
Or what if you had found a mistake before the customer did?
Most problems occur when we think that we have enough information or that we think that we know our customer.
The following amusing story, illustrates this basic business skill rather eloquently.
I THINK YOU'RE THE FATHER OF ONE OF MY KIDS...
A guy goes to the supermarket and notices an attractive woman waving at him.
She says hello.
He's rather taken back because he can't place where he knows her from.
So he says, 'Do you know me?'
To which she replies, 'I think you're the father of one of my kids'
Now his mind travels back to the only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and says, 'Are you the stripper from the bachelor party that I made love to on the pool table?'
She looks into his eyes and says calmly, 'No, I'm your son's teacher.
Never assume that you know the whole story.
. "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."-- Mark Twain
Stay in a Good Mood.
Brad
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