Posted: February 15, 2024 | Categories: Customer service, Sales, Self-Improvement

This message is only taught to sales professionals, but it applies to all of us.  If we want to be in step with someone, always check our assumptions to see if they are correct.

Here is a painful example:  Many years ago I was facilitating a sales training session and we were covering the part of the sales process that included “check questions”.  Check questions are asked when we need to check the correctness of our assumptions.  One of our class participants was a car salesman and shared a conversation he had with a potential buyer.  The prospect was considering buying a new Corvette as a college graduation present for his daughter.  The customer asked, “Is this car fast?”.  Immediately the salesperson enthusiastically replied, “Absolutely!  This car will go up to 180mph!” As soon as he said that, the expression on the customer’s face went from happy to scared.  He did not want to give his daughter a car that went that fast.  The deal was off.  It cost the salesperson a $1700 commission.  He learned his lesson.  He said the next time he will ask a question first before he answered like, “Is speed important to you?”  This question would have allowed him to stay in step.

This story carries a lesson for all of us to remember:  Before we assume, check our assumption with a good “check question”. By doing this we will save ourselves unecessary stress, and maybe even a friendship!

Posted: November 17, 2023 | Categories: Sales, Self-Improvement

“Success comes in cans”

-Fortune Cookie

Many people know the story of Sir Roger Bannister.  The legendary runner from the UK achieved something that physiologists said could never happen:  In 1954, he broke the 4-minute mile.  He believed he could do it, and he did.  Since that event, the 4-minute mile has been broken hundreds of times.  Bannister led the way.

This is a great story we all love to hear.  It reminds us that many of the barriers to success are in our thinking.  Bannister thought big!

My question is, “Where can we think bigger?”  About 20 years ago I was working for a company that did an excellent job of tracking sales goals.  Among the chatter throughout the sales team, the most common topic was the record revenue goal for one month:  $320K.  Many of us would come fairly close, but we always fell short.  Like breaking the 4-minute mile, the $320K record was a barrier in our minds.

Then one day a new kid came to town.  Hi name was Dan and for some reason he wasn’t aware of the 320K mark.  He fervently dug in to his work and within three months he broke the 320K barrier by nearly 40K.  It wasn’t a fluke.  For the next several months he kept breaking the threshold.  In less than a year he left to start his own company.  We all loved Dan and were sorry to see him go.  We missed him but we knew he left us with a gift of wisdom we could never forget:  We challenged ourselves to think bigger and put our goals in a “can”!

Posted: August 25, 2023 | Categories: Customer service, Sales, Self-Improvement, Team Building

Have you ever talked to an excellent customer service rep regarding a product or service-related problem?  It is amazing how kind, caring and helpful a good rep can be.  They must talk to their share of angry and irritating people, yet they have sense of equanimity about them that is fascinating.  They have learned to “think right about people”, not take things personally, and focus on solving our problem.

When I was in my 20’s, I managed a property for a national lodging chain.  I remember a specific customer we’ll call Mr. “K”.  He was demanding, abrasive, and treated the front desk staff poorly.  It wasn’t long before the team saw Mr. “K” as “persona non grata”.  I could tell Mr. “K” was beginning to affect the morale of my staff, and decided to follow the philosophy of Mark Twain:  “A sense of humor is a sense of proportion.”

I have always been good at impersonating others, and I developed a good impersonation of Mr. “K”.  I captured his voice and mannerisms and began to act in character.  I would wander around the front desk area with the stern look and intimidating voice of Mr. “K”.  Each time I needed to tell the staff something or correct them on an error, I played Mr. “K”.  The staff loved it, and we had a blast.  I must admit that at first we were mocking him.  Then a change occurred that we would not have predicted:  We began to like Mr. “K” and looked forward to his visits.  We were thinking good about him, and it showed up in our tone and facial expressions.  This change in our thinking resulted in a change in our behavior.  You see, abrasive people are not used to being treated kindly.  Being nice to them can be disarming.

Mr. “K” became one of our favorite guests.  He raved about our place and referred his friends to us.  He was a walking commercial.  The lesson here comes from author David J. Schwartz:  We should “think right about people”.  When we do, we strengthen relationships and become more influential.

Posted: June 21, 2023 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Networking, Sales, Self-Improvement

Throughout my nearly 50 year coaching career there is one question I ask that has generated the most productive leadership discussions.  Here it is:  “How many can think of a way to improve relationship and leadership growth that does not include improving our listening skills?”  From the responses I have received from this question, I can only conclude that improving our listening skills is the best single thing we can do to strengthen relationships.

Yesterday I attended a visitation to pay my respects to a very special mentor who passed away earlier this month.  His name was Joe.  The funeral home was packed.  In the memos, people talked about Joe’s caring and sense of humor.  Most importantly, there were many who commented on what a sincere, empathetic listener Joe was.  I remember when I talked to him he would focus on me and not get distracted.  There was no tension in his eyes, and I could easily see that he was listening to understand rather than respond.  It was such a great feeling.  When we can listen as well as Joe, we can make people feel good about themselves and build strong trust.

Now would you like to know how good a listener you are?  OK.  When was the last time you received a compliment for being a good listener?  Hmmm…

Posted: June 13, 2023 | Categories: Sales, Self-Improvement

We’ve all heard expressions like, “it is what it is” and “what goes around comes around”.  Old sayings can help us in our thinking and actions.  They can also hurt us and others.  Here are a couple of my least favorite sayings:  “It never hurts to ask” or “Ask and you shall receive”.  These sound reasonable.  If I am a sales professional, it is important that I ask for the order when the time is right instead of continuing to talk about the features of my product or service.  Many salespeople struggle with closing.

Now let’s look at the other side of the coin:  Has anyone asked you for something and your first thought was, “What nerve!”  We get offended when we feel we are getting played or manipulated.  So when do we ask or not ask?  If what we are about to ask is appropriate, built on trust, and leads to a win-win situation, asking can be a good thing.  If our motive is not noble, we may want to hold back.  Whatever saying or maxim we tend to live by, let’s make sure we apply them unselfishly and with noble motives.  That works!