k – Page 586 – client k

Drinking And Pitching Don’t Mix

I left a message with a salesman
late at night.
I didn’t expect a call back immediately
so I was very impressed
when I got one.

Until I found out
the salesman was drunk.
He slurred through a half hour long rambling sales pitch
until I could finally get off the phone with him.
I didn’t buy.
I doubt I will ever buy from the company again.

The company had an admirable rule
of always calling clients back
within a half hour.
Unfortunately,
that didn’t take into account
the fact
that their salespeople were human
and that the workday is now 24 hours.

Don’t force your salespeople to pitch.
No pitch is better than a bad pitch.

The Right Attitude For A Recession

Tom Peters reminds managers

“**Banish gloomy from your personal demeanor—if it kills you!

(**”Sunny” is pretty stupid, too:
Who do you think you’re kidding.)

(**”Determined”-“Gettin’ on with gettin’ on” is best.)

**The great juggling act:
PMA while preparing for the worst.
(Positive Mental Attitude—
but know the drill if the recession goes 24 months,
which it easily might.)”

We all know the sky is falling.
When we are hit with pieces every day
(the latest bad news),
we don’t need our managers also reminding us.

What we DO need is hope
and a plan.

A United Front

Team meetings are held for a reason.
Within the confines of a meeting room,
team members can debate
and even disagree with
possible courses of action.

Once the decision is made,
however,
and team members leave the room,
there has to be a united front.
That means support of the decision,
whether you agreed or not.
If you can’t dredge up support,
at least be silent on the matter.

There is no benefit to grumbling.
Grumbling says
the team can’t count on you to support them.
No one wants to work with a back stabber.

What if you know the decision is wrong?
That means short term pain
but long term gain.
If the decision is proven wrong,
your fellow team members
will remember you weren’t in favor.
You’ll be listened to
or even put in charge
of the next similar decision.

Holiday Party Rules

It is holiday party time again.
Every year, I debate going over the rules
yet again
and then every year,
I attend a party
where a rising star crashes and burns
by breaking them.

First, treat this like business.
Because it is.
Holiday parties are
when execs and managers introduce
and then evaluate their star employees.
See all those execs huddled in the corner?
They’re talking about you.
Make sure that talk is positive.

Second, don’t drink.
Have a glass if you can handle it.
If in doubt, stick to soda or water.

Third, prep your date.
Tell him or her what your goals are
and
how you want to be perceived.
There is nothing more powerful
than a third party (your date)
singing your praises.
I was the spouse at a party two weeks ago.
On the Monday following,
the hubby was called into his manager’s office
and told that after talking with me at the party,
the manager added an extra percent
to his raise.

Actually, I lied.
There is something more powerful
than your date singing your praises
and that is
if your EXEC’s date sings your praises.
Don’t ignore spouses.
A good exec spouse
is doing exactly what your date is doing.
He/She is gathering information.

Most attendees don’t follow these rules.
That works out in your favor
because you’ll stand out when you do.

Don’t Tell

In The Sales Success Handbook,
Linda Richardson points out
how many salespeople blunder
by using the word tell.

“When a salesperson called his product specialist
to help him compose an e-mail to a hot prospect
and asked for help in describing
the purpose of the meeting
they would be requesting,
the specialist said,
‘To meet with you to tell you
about our fully integrated…
and how we can… ‘
A customer-first mindset would have changed
the nuance of the e-mail.
A specialist tuned into his or her sales talk
might have said,
‘To learn about your…
initiative and discusss how our fully integrated…
might support you in…'”

Notice the subtle yet significant change.
Using tell says the pitch is all about you
and what you can gain from the sale.
By switching the wording,
the pitch becomes customer focused.

The Positioning Of Price Tags

I went into a store to buy
a set of hose.
The hose section was beautifully organized.
The packages were lined up in custom sized bins.
Opened packages were discarded.
The store price tags were all neatly affixed
to the top right hand corner
of each package…

… right over the size information.

So customers had to peel off the price tags
with their fingernails
in order to find out
that critical piece of information.
I couldn’t be bothered.
I bought my hose at another store.

I’ve seen price tags over back cover copy on books.
I’ve seen price tags over UPC codes
(so the product wouldn’t scan).
I’ve seen price tags over warning labels for children’s toys.

Train your employees
on the proper placement of price tags.
Poor placement will lose you sales.

How To Deal With Recent MBA Grads

I was in a meeting with
a mix of recent Master Degree grads
and ‘experts’ in the field.

It was the most fun I’ve had in years.

The grads would ask questions
using long, complicated words.
The experts would respond back
with one syllable word sentences.
The equally well educated pros
had the hick routine down pat
and
the grads, being extremely intelligent,
quickly got the message.

The experts also
walked them through
the most popular (and rather useless) theories,
sharing why the theories wouldn’t work
in the real world.

We were all pompous asses
when we first graduated.
Be gentle.

When NOT To File For Bankruptcy Protection

Why is GM not buying time
by filing for bankruptcy protection?

Because they would never come out of it.

Sure, bankruptcy protection
helps companies deal with creditors.
It forces creditors
to step back from payment demands
and allows the company time to reorganize.

But bankruptcy protection
also sends a signal to consumers.
It says “may be out of business soon.”

When a company goes out of business,
warranties or guarantees are worthless.
Products are discontinued.
Replacement part production is discontinued.
Support goes away.
1-800 lines are discontinued.

Warranties, guarantees and support
are important to car buyers.
Their purchase will be driven for years.

Think hard before filing.

Thanking Team Members

Elisha, one of our long time readers,
asked about how to thank direct reports.
He already sent a group thank you out,
copying the management team.

That is more than sufficient.
A sign of a great boss.

However,
if Elisha wanted to make the thank you
even more meaningful,
he could also send a individual thank you email
to each team member,
copying his own boss (or human resources).

This email would be written
as though a third party might read it
a decade from now.
There’d be an explanation of what the task was
and why it was important.

Then Elisha should casually mention verbally
(and individually)
that this is for their files.

Reference letters are dead.
Managers are too worried about lawsuits.
These thank you’s can verified without that worry.
They can also be forwarded to friends and family.

Oh, and bringing in baked goods for the team
also helps.

Quantum Of Solace Lessons

Quantum Of Solace director Marc Forster
is not a James Bond fan
and
James Bond fans tell me
it shows.

The James Bond brand
is
a sophisticated playboy spy,
beautiful Bond ‘girls’
and clever gadgets.

Quantum Of Solace walks away from all of these
(with the possible exception of the beautiful Bond girls).
James Bond has a tough time with the ladies,
he is rough around the edges,
and there are no new toys for men to drool over.

In order to keep your customers happy,
you should like them,
or at very least,
understand why they’re buying your product.