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This weeks thought provoker 46 ...8/30/2010 Isn’t This Logical? ? ? Jim Kinkead is a master salesman, with a talent for using the right words in just the correct quantity, to influence your thinking and decision to buy something or vote for a person running for office. He used this in the direct mail industry and is still doing it.
This illustrates the cause of most business failures regardless of the size of the business; historically major corporations that have failed or nearly failed have shut down training first and then reduced the size of the sales team, as the second step off the edge of the cliff; sales team reduction is usually done by reducing the commission percentage or the salary of sales people. The most productive 50% are the first to leave. Another reader, Mike Goodman, commented, “This like drinking sea water to quench your thirst.” Small business owners, striving to increase take home money, forget that they cannot do it all themselves. They also forget that developing a new customer takes time they do not have, even when working 60 hours per week. My Dad, a small business owner,showed me by example, the secret to overcoming cash flow problems: get out and sell more. You do it by making more, carefully researched, carefully prepared and planned, sales calls. It works for me; it has worked for every 7one client company we have brought back to success. You start by helping the salespeople to remember and do all the little things they used to do, Second step is hiring more salespeople and helping them to do the same, i.e., you reinstate the training operation. Isn’t this logical? Nuff Said !!! Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it. 45 ...8/23/2010 Dear Son, In June of this year, our middle son announced he would be wed in November. In the same week out youngest Granddaughter set this week for her wedding. My sweetheart was in the Hospital. She had been very near “death” Twice after fighting an illness for many weeks. I felt moved to share this with him. Dear Son, Thank you for the Fathers Day gift, I shall enjoy it for a long time. In the months since March, when this all began for Mom, I have relived our life together, almost like reading a book. It has brought me joy reliving all the crazy and wonderful things we have done together. It is a story of little things that made each of us happy; sometimes just a touch, sometimes a gift, sometimes doing what I wanted when she did not agree, other times doing what she wanted when I did not think it was a good decision. In the end, it always made us happier together. It was where to plant a tree, was a big car better than a small car at that time in our life, or would it be fish or steak for dinner. In the end, if it looked to be a good business decision or a poor one, what really mattered was making her or me happy over the long term. It always made us both happy in the long run. Neither of us dug a fox hole and held our ground, we listened. As I went through this reliving of our life, I realized that when something was really important, neither of us spoke loudly about it. Above all Mom never spoke loudly when she really wanted something that I did not agree with, I listened and felt, somehow, how much she wanted it and we went her way. Good examples are the colors and furniture in our homes and Betsy III, which was not a good business decision. It has been a joy to me and riding her takes the stress and frustration out of me, making Mom and I both happier. Love, Dad Nuff Said !!! Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it. 44 ...8/16/2010 Which Came 1st, the Sale or The Salesperson A long established local company just terminated its outside sales people While a start up company is hiring and training an outside sales team. Both say it is because of the recession. What is their logic? I was in sales, marketing, and corporate management during three recessions. This and consulting to108 businesses shows me that as companies grow, their management people convert from having fun, to protecting their jobs by improving corporate profits and stock value. They do it with policies and decisions that reduce operating costs. They assume that sales will grow, which never happens. The largest operating cost is usually people. Small business management knows and cares about its people; large business management calls them “labor”. “Labor” is faceless and easily replaced. This was the assumption in the downsizing era, which was born in a recession and failed totally. It will fail again because management doesn’t know or remember the following facts.
Product quality comes from quality materials assembled correctly by conscientious people. So buy lower quality materials and replace experienced people with cheaper “Labor” to reduce cost and build profits. If the product is a service, quality requires skilled, empathic, experienced people; motivate them to leave, replace them with trainees, and build profits because “consumers” won’t notice. “Consumers”, like “Labor”, are faceless. Reduce sales people’s salaries and commissions; replace those that leave with hungry, new ones and save more money by not providing sales or product training. “Consumers” will never notice. The list of companies that no longer exist, or are much smaller than they once were as a result of doing these things, is very long. What is the logic of destroying customer loyalty with poor quality? What is the logic of destroying relationships between you and I and the sales and service people we like and trust? The company that just terminated its outside sales team without warning or stating a reason, has a service that fills a real need, but it will grow weaker and smaller over the next five years. Its people used to have fun, now they are scared, every decision and every interaction with a customer will be affected by their fear. You and I will not like the feel of it and go elsewhere. The start up company I am working with will succeed. It has a product that fills a real need; it is selecting and training outside sales and customer care people, who will build relationships with you and I, not “consumers”. Every one in the company is having fun; you can feel it; it will grow and prosper, because you and I will like and trust its people. To us, its people are its sales and customer care people, who talk with and are interested in us, not words or a picture on a web page. You and I buy from people we like and trust. Which of these businesses are you, your business, emulating? Nuff Said !!! Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it. 43 ...8/9/2010 A very encompassing definition of . . . My thought provoker last week was a question, what does your integrity consist of? What was your answer? I had always thought of it in terms of honesty. One person said, “ It is all of you, your whole life.” I have been pondering this since I heard it said with great conviction, four weeks ago. A short, spirited discussion ensued as the group attempted to digest the idea. I say digest, because it is a very encompassing definition of integrity. My pondering produced a question. If integrity is your whole life, it is the way you live, the way you think and do; how do people who are perceived to have integrity, think and do? I began thinking about people, who really made a difference in lives, others and mine. Our high school principal, who always pushed us to do our personal best and exhorted our teachers to do the same for us, and themselves. My first employer; he showed that he respected me despite my youth and taught me by example, that respect for others is key to a successful business. The instructor in the only selling class I ever took, who taught us to find out what the customer really needed help with and if our product could not help, send the person with the right product to him. The owner/publisher of the weekly newspaper that served twenty different communities: he insisted on accurate reporting and if you were not sure it was, you did not publish, lest you hurt an innocent person. My first sales manager constantly supportive, encouraging, insistent on doing what was best for the customer even if it meant walking away. And of course, my Dad, who did all of these things, all his life. These people had integrity from the roots of their hair to the tips of their toes. They had several things in common; respect for others as individuals and concern for their needs, honesty with themselves and others, they looked for the good in the other person and worked to bring it out in the open, they did their individual best, without concern that it might not be as good as someone else’s best, but the most important thing about each of them was consistency. They did all these things every day, consistently, in business, at home with their families and in the community at large Go thou and do like wise. Consistently. Nuff Said !!! 42 ...8/2/2010 The heart of communication is . . . A friend’s frustration this week has caused me to give considerable thought to this question. In a conversation, when are you happiest, or to put it another way, what part of a conversation do you enjoy most?
Why? Why do you enjoy this most? Several days of pondering my answers cause me to realize I really like it when the other person is listening attentively. I am complimented, have a sense of worth and a positive perception of the listener forms in my mind. It is what happens when I stop talking that is really interesting. If the listener simply turns and walks away without any comment, I am prone to review what I said and if I still think it was honest and worth saying I cross that person off as a waste of time. When the person just brings up a new subject with no connection to my expressed thoughts, she/he loses me: I find I am not open to their ideas, certainly I do not accept them easily. .When the person talks, refers to something I said in the context of his own experience, we have a conversation and I like the person. It becomes a fun experience and I am open to listen to their ideas. The defensive wall within me dissolves and I absorb the new ideas presented to me, I may take notes on paper, certainly I mentally store them for later examination and testing against my needs. This discussion is the result of this process. In last week’s blog # 41 communication was lacking because it is clear as you read it, that the gentleman was not listening to me. He was too busy looking at me through cracks in his defensive wall. It was not a conversation, it was a sparring session, I was listening; I heard the defensiveness and learned that he is afraid his systems are not functioning correctly and that he is not sure of his himself in his role as president of the company. If he gives me time to sit and talk again, I must use words that will cause him to look over the wall and talk and I have to listen intently, with an open and empathic mind; then, only then will there be a chance of our serving each other. My listening will be key. Listening is the heart of communication, the heart of selling and all relationships. Nuff Said !!!
41 ...7/26/2010 A Five Minute Face-to-Face Cold Call This was a “warm” cold call; I’d met and briefly talked with the owner of this company a week earlier. I was intrigued because the company has been in business about thirty years under different owners, who decided to retire. This new owner struck me as pure salesman during that first conversation, he had shown some interest in what we did but had not invited me to come see him. I liked him and for some reason felt that we should get better acquainted. I planned the call to give or leave for him, a booklet titled, Our Experience, which provides a simple way to learn the kinds of companies we have helped in nine industries. This is a verbatim record of what transpired in that call. I asked the receptionist for him by name and gave her my card. He greeted me warmly in his office
I wanted to say that systems are no better than the attitude of the people using and running them, but I did not.
We shook hands and I left as I had planned. Our time together was five minutes. What had he told me? What had he communicated to me? Should I have stayed longer? Would you have stayed longer? What would it have accomplished? When have you done something similar to someone you perceive to be a salesperson? Tell me, : wes@7one.com Nuff Said !!! Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it. Looking for a new position, the "right" one, read In Transition. 40 ,,.7/18/2010Three Groups, Three Words, It’s Exciting!2,010 years ago it only took “one” to begin changing the world.What four-letter word did He use?What did He do that everyone, who saw Him understood? This week I have had the privilege of attending two networking groups in the process of being born. The people in them were an American mixture of ethnic backgrounds, theologies and generations. They had several things in common that really interested me. The first was a desire to build continuing relationships in which they would gain satisfaction from helping each other and have fun while doing it. The second was a positive attitude about themselves and each other. The third was their willingness, their propensity to smile. The beauty of these words is that they are in stark contrast to the current fragmentation in our society, which is visible in media images of people in disagreement, people with hard lines around their lips where smiles should be, people thinking negatively and shouting negative things at other people. The real beauty and strength of these new networking groups and of the Java Inspiration & Networking group I meet with Thursday mornings, is recognition that continuing relationships are deeply rewarding and can only come about when positive attitudes and smiles are shared. These are true business networking groups. The people in them know that if they think about what is best for the other person and never give that person less, everyone will succeed and make a profit in business. The difference I saw and felt in these groups is the absence of a “me first, what will I get from this”, thought process. From my perspective, this is exciting. It makes me want to shout about it from the rooftops. Can I, or will I, join up as a member of all three? No, because that requires a commitment of time that I cannot afford and still be able to serve 7one clients properly. I have to think about our client customers first. I must make certain I have time to listen to them and give them what is best for them, not me. I must carefully make the decision not to grow too much or too fast, lest they and 7one, fail to make a profit. The people I do join with will want continuing relationships, have positive attitudes in their approach to business and they will like to smile. We will recharge each other every time we meet because these qualities embody love in the true sense and every living thing in the world understands and is changed, by a smile. They are the people you need to be with, also.
39 ,,.7/12/2010 Life Is A Series Of Plateaus I am standing tall at the beginning of a new plateau. It has not been an easy climb. Most of us like to think that each plateau in life is higher and therefore better than the last: is this true? My answer is yes, if we use what we learned in the climb to help others and ourselves. : You see, each new plateau is a new level of understanding, not necessarily of knowing more, but of understanding what we know. Gaining that understanding is often the result of difficult times in our life, like losing a job or a series In mid-March my most significant other started coughing, she has always coughed and cleared her throat in a discrete way; this wasn’t the same. This was significant, deep, energy consuming, coughing. In the beginning it happened once an hour, then once every half hour, in mid-April it was happening four times an hour, in May it was worse and some blood was coming up. One antibiotic after another did not help; On May 21 it was the ER, two units of blood and one of platelets, and a team of specialists. In five days she came home with non-functioning bone marrow; the coughing had stopped. The continuing blood infusions did not prevent her getting weaker. When I called 911 she could not lift her hands. Ffive days later she came home again and now is walking with out assistance. But this isn’t, all of the story. During this stressful period a wonderful young person came to work with me in 7one Business Success Systems. She is not yet thirty years of age. She is very sharp, very observant with several years of experience in the corporate world and an MBA. The plan was that she would shadow me as I make prospect and client calls and learn how we help others to succeed. In the process, she became my teacher. It has been a rocky experience. Rocky because she has made me see the world as people under thirty see it. God has given me the ability to absorb that shock and combine it with my experience at eighty three and develop an understanding of why so much of what we, who are over fifty, think should work, doesn’t with younger people in their culture. It has been a tough learning experience and a climb to a new plateau in my life, a plateau of new understanding, renewed energy and hopefully, usefulness to you and others. I will share in upcoming blogs, what she is helping me understand. I can see how it will help all of us sell more effectively on the Internet, communicate what we have learned to succeeding generations, and help us to hear them more clearly. I’m excited about it. Nuff Said !!! Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it. 38 ,,.7/5/2010 Selling Is Exactly Like Farming I had the good fortune to enter this life and live the first nineteen years on a farm in Minnesota. I say good fortune, because it taught me so much about life and how it relates to time. Since 80% of the food we ate was grown on our farm, we had to do it “right” to eat well and be healthy. Doing it “right” meant doing things at the right time. Doing it “right” also meant having the patience to let things happen, without intervening. A cow becomes pregnant when she is ready, her calf needs time to grow and develop in the womb. If you intervene, try to speed it up, the calf and or the cow die. You plant seeds at the right time. If you plant before the soil is the correct temperature, they do not sprout, i.e. come to life or if they do, they die. Some times, God gives you the chance to replant the field and grow the crop, but only sometimes. Once you have planted you must wait for them to come up. If you fertilize too soon, you are apt to kill the young plants. If rain does not fall on them at the correct time and you fail to water them, they die. If you water them too much, even at the correct time, they die. Selling is exactly like farming. “Think of each sales call as a time for planting seeds; some will sprout and become business quickly, some will take months, even years, just keep planting and caring for the sprouts as they grow.” Steve Bocker You must provide value during each sales call to make this true. The seed is the value I perceive from the time spent with you, after you leave. That value is the water and fertilizer. The first call may not be timed right to make the seed sprout, but it does tell me that you exist and are worth knowing. You will be worth knowing if you thought about me and what I am and what I am hoping to achieve, throughout the call. In doing this you will think of something that relates to and will help my business, or you will trigger an insight within me that is useful. That puts the earth firmly around the seed and makes it ready for water when it comes. “I cannot buy from you until I know you exist.” ** If I enjoyed the time with you and received something useful to me, even though you do not know it, I will remember you for a time, If you come back and do it again within that time period, I will remember for a longer time. Don’t push me, don’t try to fertilize me too soon, just water me gently and let me grow. Selling is exactly like farming, Nuff Said !!! was this helpful? (click) to comment, please ** From front inside cover of The Perception Of A Difference, The Power In Buying, Marketing, Selling. Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it.
Wes Zimmerman's Book *** 37 ,,.6/28/2010 The Anguished Cry Of Dieing Managers The January meeting announcement for a business owner’s organization had In the middle of the page, Let’s Get Our Numbers Up!! What does this mean to you? To me it is a cry for help, a desperate scream for help. I have been in professional sales, sales team management, marketing, and marketing team management. I have heard that statement several hundred times; I have never been motivated by it. It is the cry of a manager or team leader, who realizes things are going down hill and he or she doesn’t know why and does not see a way to correct the trend. I know the feeling; working as hard as I could without results. A wise man answered my cry for help by telling me to stop working and evaluate the situation. Evaluation includes asking and answering questions like
I have even gone to my customers and asked them if their needs have slowly changed; this has been a real eye opener at times. It has forced me to develop new service products. It has also taught me the value of asking the customer or prospect,
When I have written down all three and studied them back in my office, I have learned how I can help her/him, or why I cannot, and who I should send to them. The business owner’s association leader wanted more people to attend monthly meetings. My first thought was, how is the content of the meetings helping the members to stay afloat in these desperate times. Attendance is a time investment. Reading this blog is an investment on your part; I must make it worth your time to read it. Every sales call must deliver value to your prospect/customer. When it does you also get value.
Nuff Said !!! Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it.
36 ,,.6/21/2010 Planned Obsolescence Or Value I remember reading an article about planned obsolescence in the 1950’s; large corporation managements were toying it with as a way to ensure a continuing market for their products. The idea was to go beyond styling changes and build in short product life. It went against everything I believed in; honesty, integrity, and value for what you paid. The Internet and blogs didn’t exist then and I saw nothing else about the idea. Ten years later I was selling computers to big corporations; only they could afford them then. One of my customers built electric motors of every size and type. They showed me a motor that would last 100 years running continuously, without service of any kind. When I told another customer, that built electric motors, about this, their chief engineer said,
He was older than I and wise enough not to follow every management directive. When we bought our first good mattress we chose the one that carried a twenty-year guarantee; it was very expensive. We paid that price again, to give our son one as our wedding gift. We did the same for our daughters wedding, then we learned our son’s had failed in seven years. The guarantee was now only ten years but the company replaced it. That famous brand almost failed before they restored the quality of their product. Quality is value. We usually measure it against cost and satisfaction. Long ago I learned that high quality results in long-term satisfaction, so I always bought the highest quality I could afford. In business I have always striven to give the highest value I am capable of. It may not be as good as someone else’s but it is the best I am capable of. I guess I do it in all my relationships. Maybe that is why they have lasted. Planned obsolescence never worked, never will. Doing your best, giving your best, selling the best, always works. Nuff Said !!! Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will only receive the Blog title and address to reach it. 35 ,,.6/14/2010 Empathic Communication Makes A Difference We have experienced an exciting three weeks. It seems much longer, but three weeks ago I took my sweetheart to the hospital. She was very weak after coughing two to four times an hour, 24/7, for eight weeks. Oral antibiotics had not helped. She was too weak to get in a wheelchair unaided. Her hemoglobin and platelet counts were low enough to account for the blood she was coughing up and her inability to get the oxygen she gasped for. They infused two units of blood, one of platelets, gave her antibiotics intravenously, did every blood test known to man, scanned her from head to toe, literally looked into her lungs and did a bone marrow biopsy. On the sixth day, Sunday, they agreed to let her come home. The coughing had stopped. Tuesday we waited in the hematologist’s examination room. We wanted information. They drew blood and when they had completed a blood count the hematologist came in. He stood, all six feet plus of him, towering over her. He was condescending, sober faced, anything but empathic as he told us her bone marrow was no longer producing red blood cells and platelets. He told her it might never come to life.
He did not say he was sorry. Amy said she wanted to wait and think things through before doing anything more. He said that was her decision, but not his recommendation.The meeting was over. We went to the car in silence. As I turned the key she screamed in frustration and rage. I sat in silence as she continued to scream and let it all out. Five days later we came back to get more information. We talked with one of his Physician Assistants (PA). She was empathic, understanding, sat down and went through the hospital charts with us, page by page. She communicated as she confirmed that nothing was certain yet and that worst case Amy may have to be infused with blood and platelets for a long time; in fact, every two weeks starting now. We thanked her for being understanding and brokered an arrangement wherein she will be the person, who delivers what the hematologist needs to tell us hereafter.
We create the perception of a difference with little things. What we do and how we do it. What we say and how we say it. Go thou and do likewise... in life and business. Nuff Said !!! 34 ,,.6/6/2010 What is the best way to raise prices and run a business? There are many ways to raise the price of a product. The logical one is to simply increase the price. The price increase can be announced on the product display with an explanation that it is necessary because the price of energy has increased forcing an increase in the cost of ingredients and packaging. I, your customer, will not be angry with you; I am intelligent, appreciate your recognition of that, and your honesty. It is the fair and ethical way to run your business and preserve our relationship. The relationship sours quickly when you demonstrate that you think I am not intelligent. The manufacturer of a high priced ice cream reduced the quantity of ice cream in its unique shape package by 21.875 percent; it did not reduce the price per package. It assumed the majority of its customers were lacking intelligence. The quantity of 1.75 quarts was clearly printed on the package. There was no great public outcry. Some people probably did switch to other brands but only the manufacturer knows how many. A major supermarket soon matched this “success” with its house brands of ice cream. Their package got smaller by 21.875 % i.e. 1.75 quarts with no decrease in price. Less than a year later, in the middle of a worldwide recession, the package shrank again, now it looks the same but only holds 1.5 quart. The reduction was announced and the price was reduced … a little … for a short time. The marketing people for the super market chain are creating a series of “sales” and two for one Gimmicks to make up for the fact that many customers have decided to eat less ice cream. Having gained experience with the art of making ice cream in my consulting career, I notice that since the above actions have not worked out, they are raising the price again, by increasing the “loft” of the ice cream. The more air you beat into the ice cream as you package it, the less ice cream there is in the package, provided you freeze it quickly. This high “loft” ice cream is relatively soft immediately after you take it from the freezer. Now tell me how to do business in a fair and ethical manner. I am eating less ice cream in total and enjoying it more. I buy it from a major membership retailer. The package proclaims loudly that there are still two one quart cartons in it, When I carefully remove one half quart, the one and one half quart remaining, weighs far more than the supermarket package with the same volume. The ice cream in this heavy weight is creamy, solid, and hard to dip out when just taken from the freezer. The “loft” is low. What is your definition of fair and ethical? Does honesty have any place in your definition? In the way you run your business? In your choice of who to buy from and what product to buy? Nuff Said !!!
33 ,,,5/31/2010 Success in Business; Success in Marriage; is there a … It all begins with respect. When you communicate respect through words and actions you become likable and therefore fun and satisfying to be with. At that point I hope you are honest. I look for honesty in your actions, your eyes, your words, your tone of voice and cadence when you speak. Consistent respect and honesty create trust. A business cannot exist and be done by one person, since the same person cannot be both buyer and seller. Business is always a transfer of something, ideas, services, things, to another person. Trust is inherent in business: the buyer trusts the seller to deliver honest value, the seller trusts the buyer to pay. Consistent respect and honesty create trust. It is a fact that a business grows, becomes profitable when the buyer trusts the seller enough to come back and or tell others to go to the business. A bond develops between the buyer and seller over time that is satisfying and enjoyable to both. Two days ago I sent this message to our family and friends.
It’s 61 years, 2 months, 2 weeks since we met, She said yes 6 weeks later, We became "as one", have been since. Love, respect, kindness, Trust, love.”
Nuff Said !!! 32 ,,,5/24/2010Don’t be afraid to open up and share yourselfOur very perceptive Grand Daughter is considering joining us in 7one and the work of helping others to reach their goals. This will require helping to sell our Perception Of A Difference Program, our workshops for small business owners, and other products. She has more than five years experience in corporate Human Resources and an MBA with Human Resources emphasis. This gives her great background for what we do. As we discussed this a few days ago, she said,
Truth is many people are afraid to share their real selves because it makes them vulnerable. Deep inside they are lonely and really want trusting relationships in which they are accepted for themselves, not their position in a company organization chart. They will not open up to you until you sincerely and spontaneously share with them. This tells them you trust them without expecting something in return. It releases tension and begins a sense of relationship. It can grow into a deeply satisfying one for both of you. In this kind of selling buying relationship there is no room for manipulation on either persons part.You cannot reach the Consultant level of Professional Sales without sharing in this way. The Sales Professional at the Counselor level shares and cares in everything she or he does and is blessed with life satisfaction, happiness and success by any measure.When your customer asks for your advice about a problem in his/her business, you have become a consultant. When she or he closes the office door and asks you pray you have become a counselor. That is selling at its best and most rewarding.Nuff Said !!!
31 ,,,5/17/2010 Why do we insist on coming back when they are either… “Why do we insist on coming to XXX to get our prescriptions when they are either rude and/or can't find our stuff every time?” jenn_ex on Twitter. You come back to XXX, jenn, because it is the drug store most convenient to you and all your prescription records are on its system. That convenience, the value you place on time it saves you, the price of gas, and the fact they are open 24/7 keep you coming back. It is a business decision you made when they first opened that store. If there were a competing pharmacy within a short distance, and the people were not rude, smiled when you came in, greeted you by name and were competent in having what you need in stock, would you move your prescriptions to it? Probably not because moving your prescriptions would be too much of a hassle. But if XXX had a sign saying, if you don’t like our service ask us for a print out of your prescriptions and associated records, you would be far more likely to change pharmacies. Something else would happen; the service would be much better, and the store management would be much more careful hiring people. It may be that you can get a printout of your prescriptions, just by asking, but the fact they don’t tell you and their employees, is key to maintaining their grip on you, and me. There is another side to this, however, that is in your control. Life has taught me that the attitude I have when I approach a person in a store or anywhere else, determines how I am served and what quality of service I receive. If I am having a bad hair day, I communicate it unknowingly and I get poorer service. The grumpier I am the worse the service gets, and I probably cause the next three people, in line behind me, to get bad service. That does not excuse incompetence on the part of the person serving me. It does not excuse a system in the store that is too complex to be remembered and used easily and it does not excuse rudeness, lack of courtesy or impertinence or impatience with me, when I have not exhibited any of these to the person serving me. Note that you and I are at least two “generations” apart and all of this applies equally to us. People make the difference no matter what our age, ethnicity, or gender. Human nature has not changed in 10,000 years. Courtesy is the oil in human relationships and business is human relationships. Nuff Said !!! 30 ,,,5/10/2010 “You’ve Got To Feel Their Pain” “You’ve got to feel their pain.” He said this loudly and then “You’ve got to make them feel their pain.” The audience was professional sales people. The speaker is a well-known sales trainer. It turned my gut into knots, I wanted to stand up and tell him how wrong he is; I wanted to tell him to stop teaching sales people to be arrogant because it never wins sales. I started to write this blog an hour after I left the meeting place, then decided to hold off until I had cooled off. That was about a year ago. This morning I woke up wondering what to write as a follow up to last weeks “See the person within.” It’s interesting that “You’ve got to make them feel their pain” popped up and I cannot get it out of my head. Seeing the person within is the antithesis of arrogance. When you look for the person within you are looking for a personal connection, a basis for a relationship, which will be satisfying and enjoyable for you both. That relationship will lead to sharing with each other, discovering and filling each other’s needs. This is what every sales situation, every buyer seller interaction, is all about. It happens when I sense that you feel equal to me as a person. When I feel that, I will answer your questions, which are designed to help me understand what I need to fill a vague want, a want I have converted to a need, or something I perceive as a real problem. Reducing my communication costs, improving my personal sales success, getting my sales team to be more productive, are three real life examples. That speaker and thousands like him, are trying to fill a need that every sales person feels at some time; the need to increase cash flow; to make more sales in less time. These sales gurus have had personal success using techniques to shorten the time for me to tell them about my need. They are now making money teaching it. The technique is a “cut to the chase, we don’t need to know or like each other” process. It is arrogant, manipulative, annoying, even aggravating; it often leads to buyer’s remorse because I don’t get the chance to identify what my real need is. When I take delivery of what you got me to buy, I look at it and instantly know what I really need, except you are gone along with my money and you have wasted my time. There are no shortcuts to happiness or success; they both result from caring human relationships. Nuff Said !!! # 29 ..5/4/2010 See The Person Within Jim Clark’s granddaughter was recently in a TV piece about people who make a difference to others. She was in an accident and lost the use of her legs. Watching the video reminded me of some others, who are dear to me; knowing them has always been a reminder of the importance of seeing the person within. Clyde and Jerry are friends we have enjoyed knowing for many years. They met in college. He was and is a quiet, deep thinking man with a wonderful sense of humor. Jerry was and is a vivacious fun loving, spirited woman, who laughs easily and often, and is always helping others. She captivated Clyde and she loved his sincerity and the fact that he is always a gentleman. They married, raised two sons, Clyde climbed the corporate ladder to upper levels, Jerry has been active in community work, they have traveled the world and been a blessing to everyone they meet. Jerry was paralyzed, no use of her legs, when they met. Clyde saw the person within. My Dad knew the need to see within. It was the real meaning in one of his repeated sayings, “There is some good in everyone so always look for it in the other fellow.” Dad was very successful in business, was a master salesman, was “color Blind” and enjoyed people of every ethnic background. Every one respected him and enjoyed doing business with him. I am certain they sensed that he saw what was within them, looking past, really not seeing, their physical frailties. Perhaps this was why he could sense a lie, an exaggeration, and what the person’s real need was. Knowing this he could help the person with what he sold or send him to the business that could fill the need. I thank Jim Clark for causing me to remember the importance and practicality of seeing within. Go thou and do likewise! (The TV clip is short and worth the time.) Nuff Said !!! # 28 ...4/26/2010The cover of a business magazine caught my attention. The headline reads as does the title above except that it begins with “Is ____ “. It got my attention because the blank is filled with a person’s name… It should have had a pronoun. Those of you, who know me, are already smiling because you know what I am about to say. You know of my experience in business and life. If you do not please go to http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=hb_tab_pro ,where you can read the details of the business experience behind this discussion. My life experience can be summarized very simply, When the business you own is hurting Look in a Mirror. In every case you are causing the hurt, the decline in sales, the loss in profitability. You are doing it with your attitude, your lack of enthusiasm, by not smiling when you answer the phone or write an email, by not greeting every customer when they walk in, by not greeting your peers when they come to work; all of these little things make the business hurt. The really big thing you do to make the business hurt is continuing to do everything the way you think you always have. Years ago my business was hurting bad, I did not know what to do so I went to a breakfast meeting with a small group of veteran business people, expressed my gloom and asked for help. One said,
It took me more than two weeks to think of and begin putting into practice, all the things I had stopped doing. You know, he was correct, as in right on target. My business, sales and profits, came back to life despite the recession our country was in then. People had not changed, I had. Customers could not buy as much, they took more time to make decisions, and I had to re-learn to give them time, not be so impatient and treat them with the sensitivity of a friend. It worked then; it works today. Nuff Said !!! # 27 ...4/19/2010You are rich in value. When asked, “What jobs have you held in your lifetime?” I thought, is he serious? An eye opener, because there are seventy different jobs that I had to learn to do and do well; far more than I imagined possible. That total does not include the 109 separate consulting/coaching engagements in ten distinct industries since I began consulting and helping people, full time, in 1981. The experience of learning the skills, facts and nuances of use, necessary to be a success in each “job” is what I bring to every business and personal relationship. It is the value I carry everywhere I go. My point is you have and carry the same value. It is unique to your specific combination of life and job experience. It is what you bring to the work you do each day; to every personal and business relationship you are part of. This is your personal value package and no one can take it from you. At the end of our first large multi month, multi state consulting engagement, we met with the CEO in the Connecticut headquarters of the client corporation. We had done our sales effort in Arizona with the General Manager of a division located there. Our competition had been four of the largest consulting firms in the U.S. We had never met the CEO before presenting our report the preceding day. He’d asked us for this private meeting so he could ask his own questions. The conversation ended with me asking,
We shook hands and left his office. I wrote down his words when I reached my car. List all the jobs you have had and think about what you had to learn to be successful in each one. Think about how in each one you used something from your experience in the preceding ones. You are rich in value. * * * * * * Are your prospects, customers, peers and employers aware of the richness of your experience? How have they become aware of it
One other thought to ponder; at least seventeen of the jobs on my list and the experience from them can never be duplicated because on going technology has removed them from existence. Nuff Said !!!
Was this helpful? (click) to comment, please # 26 ...4/12/2010The downside of a hierarchical business organizationLast week I was struck by the fact that the Governor of West Virginia was the spokesperson on all TV coverage of the mine disaster that claimed 29 lives. It wasn’t the CEO or owner of the mine and business. This moved me to post these consecutive tweets. “Interesting that the Gov of West Virginia is spokesman on TV for mine rescue status. The CEO of company doesn't seem to care.” “The lesson is that when you get to the top of the ladder, you have no responsibility and are free to have no feelings.” Ms. Beth Shuler Bagwell tweeted back, “What’s your point?” Good question, here is my point. The organization structure commonly used in larger companies is hierarchical. A Chief Executive Officer, at the top, usually but not always, a President reporting to the CEO, below the President a layer of Vice Presidents, with a layer of Directors reporting to them, who have managers reporting to them, who may have supervisors reporting to them; finally at the bottom are the people, who do the work. This structure is copied from the traditional military structure where it has worked pretty well for a couple of centuries. It works well there because it effectively insulates the person at the top from having to feel any personal responsibility for the people he/she is sending into the fires of hell. The top general and direct reports can plan strategies that will win the war without hesitating because of the cost in lives. Mentally they are playing with toy soldiers, not sons and daughters. The responsibility has been pushed down to the level of the regimental commander, who has 140 people and probably knows the names of many of them. He however, must carry out the decisions handed down to him, regardless of the cost or his personal feelings. In the modern Corporation this structure has the same result. The CEO/owner decides that a certain profit must be made in a given time span. The orders are handed down and at the lower levels decisions are made to reduce quality, or customer service, or squeeze the suppliers so they deliver at a lower price, or ignore safety practices, because the fines are cheaper than the cost of safe practices and high morale among the workers. In working with more than 100 business organizations, getting to know them well enough to help them become or regain success, I have found that those with flat organizations invariably have great success; their people are happy, proud of their company, their products and every one morns when a customer is lost. Everyone takes responsibility for a customer’s well being and for teaching a newcomer how to do their work so customers are not lost. No one is insulated from the joy and pain of others in the team, including customers. The owner and stockholders come second in everyone’s approach to work, with the result that they are as happy as the people in the company. The mine owner is so totally insulated he has no reason to feel any remorse and therefore could not possibly be the company spokesman during a disaster. My point is simple, if you are at the “top” in your business organization change the structure to a flat one and reap the benefits in joy, pain, and riches. If you want help in doing this contact me. Nuff Said !!!
Was this helpful? (click) to comment, please # 25 ...4/5/2010 What’s your definition of being rich? Robert Kiyosaki says, “The only difference between a rich person and poor person is how they use their time”. Referagain posted this on Twitter. It caused me to think about how I used my time last week. The significant things are these. Monday: - Wrote Blog about messing up dreams. Spent an hour with Zach Wentz learning about his happiness in new job. He offered to help our granddaughter Carrie when she comes to live with us to look for the right job, after graduating with an MBA Human Resources in three months. Our oldest son called to ask what we were having for dinner. Total surprise, He is in town on business trip. Wonderful conversation. Tuesday: - Wrote 7th Sense Parable “When are we too young to be respected” because I was appalled at something I had heard in conversation and wanted to tell someone how important it is to respect people, no matter what their age. Wednesday: - Helped other Kiwanians prepare and serve dinner at Ronald McDonald House. Thursday: Began day with getting help from and helping wonderful peo;le at Java Inspiration & Networking group. Then met with client at length, left happy knowing I am helping him and his team even as they have helped me in the process. Friday: - Granddaughter Jenn, husband Rob and family arrived. They had invited themselves, didn't ask, just said were coming so their children could enjoy an Easter egg hunt at our house. Youngest now calls me Grandpa. Rob and I have good talk while new tires, furnished by Mark, our youngest son and his sweetheart, are installed. Our cup ran over. Wes, fiancee of youngest Granddaughter, Tina, who’s been living with us, furnished and grilled Elk steaks for all of us. Delicious and we did not have to cook, just sit and enjoy Saturday: - Rob and I change out all tubing in Patio drip system, lots of hands and knees, up and down, for three hours. I do two lbs bacon on grill for big breakfast, then wrap raw eggs with onion skins and cook to color them special for Sunday, Grill dinner’s chicken, enjoy everyone Sunday: - Stiff, painful to sit and stand up, Amy is also; she fell yesterday on her tailbone. But, Easter egg hunt is a blast, coil of Guido’s Italian Sausage grilled, colored eggs, Amy’s Czech Hoska, champagne and sons Paul, Mark and their sweethearts make for a magnificent Easter Brunch. Then I smoke a turkey for dinner and when all is over, the gang picks up and puts the house in order. Amy and I are a very rich couple, guess our children are, too. I’ll bet you are, also. Makes you wonder how a poor person spends his time. Nuff Said !!!
Was this helpful? (click) to comment, please # 24 ...3/29/2010 Don’t Mess Up a Lot of Dreams Last week a man in a large dump truck messed up his and those of several hundred other people. The first news story I watched said he had stated that he was shuffling his work papers. Later stories say that he says he was distracted. Distracted at a critical time in the lives of eight people on motorcycles, who were stopped in a proper formation, behind two or three other vehicles waiting for a red traffic light to turn green. He was not focused on what he was doing. Like you and me, he had a lot of things on his mind and did not stay focused on his highest priority, most important job. That job was driving the truck. He was driving on a straight stretch of a four lane divided street when he lost focus on driving and began thinking about something else, took his eyes off the road to look at something else. When he hit the first motorcycle the noise and jolt of impact caused him to switch focus to his first priority job. During his reaction time to get his foot hard on the brake, he scooped a second motorcycle under his cab, then a third and then he knocked down the other five, pinning one or two of them against the vehicle in front of them. He messed up the dreams of the four, who are recovering with broken legs, arms and other injuries and the four, who will never dream again. Each of them had at least fifty people that loved them a lot. He and the people that love him will have a lot of bad dreams, too. About ten years ago, my sweet heart was stopped for a red light when the driver of a heavy pickup truck lost focus on driving and did not hit his brake pedal till after he hit her back bumper at 45 miles per hour. The Mercury Gran Marquis had $1,100.00 in damage. She lost 60% of the use of her right arm despite the best efforts of medical science and specialists. She is in constant pain. We can’t make love anymore. She sleeps on her left side and puts her right arm on a pillow between us. I used to go to sleep with my left arm around her, ever since then I rest it on that pillow. Both of those drivers messed up a lot of dreams. The insurance settlements do not fix messed up dreams. Stay focused on the first priority when you get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Stay focused on the road, not the radio, the cell phone, the text message or what the other people in the vehicle are saying and doing. Don’t mess up a lot of Dreams. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman
# 23 ...3/22/2010 Powerful beyond your dreams Thank You two simple words that carry a wealth of meaning when they are directed to you. My thank you, in a sincere tone, shows Appreciation of what you have done for me by
Affirmation of your value as a person
When I say Thank You, Friend I tell you I depend on you and want you to depend on me To be sure, please is important too, but it implies I will ask something of you; thank you has no strings attached, which makes it special indeed. The shortened version, Thanks, carrys no real power, nothing special. My Dad said courtesy was the oil in life and you should use it the way you use oil; a little bit in each contact spot every day. When you do that with people, you and they work together smoothly. Think about this in your daily activities. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 22 ...3/14/2010 The Power Of “I Don’t Know” Last week my thought provoker for the Thursday morning Java Inspiration & Networking meeting was “What are the three most important words for creating credibility in a sales conversation?” I was surprised that the group of eleven did not come close to identifying the words as “I Don’t Know.” My Linkedin and Twitter postings also drew a blank. Why? Is it because we are afraid to look dumb, or not informed? Or is it because we are afraid to be or are not in the habit of being honest? Now please re-read the two questions above and put you in place of we. I cannot remember the last time I heard an expert on selling, advise us to say I don’t know, when we do not have the answer to a prospects or customers question. I know it has been at least fifteen years since I heard it. To me, that reflects the cultural change that has occurred in my lifetime. A change, from honesty with yourself and everyone else, to one of fear, and, just maybe laziness? Fear of losing a sale; fear of losing the customer’s confidence; fear of being wrong, because you really have not done enough homework about the customer’s business and how your product will actually fit into and improve it; or are you actually using these three words regularly without realizing how important they are to your success? If it is the latter, be glad; if not, consider this. In a lifetime of selling everything from garden seeds and Fuller Brushes to computers when they cost a fortune and no one knew how they worked or what they could do for the user, I don’t know has been the most powerful phrase in my vocabulary. Powerful because it communicates honesty, builds trust and makes everything else I have said credible. Of course, I always followed it with “I’ll find out and tell you what I’ve learned.” I then busted my tail to find out and went back with what I had learned. It did not matter if I had been unable to get a solid answer, because when I told them what I’d done to get an answer, I also built credibility. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 21 ...3/8/2010 Are People Important to You? This week I listened to two conversations in which one person was describing an experience in which they were attempting to buy a product or service and a third describing past buying experiences. If you are physician, a specialty retailer, auto or truck retailer, these will give you pause for thought.
She went on to name the surgeon and problem she needs help with.
* * *
Now tell me again, are people important you? How Important? Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 20 ...3/1/2010 She went to the specialist our physian recommended in hope of getting help. Her right hand has problems. The thumb is often totally without feeling and there is pain when she moves her fingers. She used to type at 115 words per minute and loves to knit.
She had trouble getting to sleep that night; tired, up tight mentally, her thumb numb and her fingers sending pain signals. She cried softly. I held her right hand carefully and put my other hand gently on the side of her face; finally she went to sleep. . . Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 19 ... 2/22/2010 Regain your energy and your Perception Of A Difference Twenty years ago I was working with clients scattered around the US and Canada. Much of this client work consisted of leading workshops. I would spend four hours in front of an audience, then go to dinner with them. Often I would be asked, "How do you maintain the energy and creativity that you display?' My answer was always that I began the day after seven hours of sleep, did an exercise routine first thing, then showered and ate a good breakfast. I would arrive home on Friday evening and schedule no business work for two days. The first day was family and doing things around the house, Sunday was God's and family. I made it a point spend as little time as possible thinking about the business those two days. Last week I was with a very interesting person who displayed a great deal of passion and energy about his work. I asked him what his typical work week consisted of. "Five days in the office, often till six pm. Saturday is family. Sunday is God's day." This prompted me to think about my own schedule and energy level, which has not been as high as I would like. I thought back on the old days and decided to try the old approach. My first day was planting seedling tomatoes and peppers in the back patio. It involved a lot to medium lifting, getting up and down from my knees, and totally kept me from thinking about the business. I finished the day, vacuuming, cleaning hard floors and helping Amy at various tasks and sending two heartfelt thank you notes. It was fun. Yesterday was church and slow cooking a beef roast. Not much thinking about the business. Today this and other creative things are coming easily and my energy level is high. I'm sure the key is not thinking or talking about business, allowing my brain to put things in order without my knowing it. I have relearned something important. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 18 ... 2/15/2010 Sales compensation: Commission? Salary? A Blend? When? Why? Why do we pay salespeople commission, why not pay them salary only? I posed this question on Twitter and Linkedin, a couple of weeks ago expecting to get some discussion started; I received only one comment. This really surprised me because sales compensation is the single subject most often listed as a problem by our business owner clients and their salespeople.
These statements are true. Our experience in thirty years of working with business owners and sales people clearly shows These statements are true. Many, if not most, business owners do not understand the sales process; neither do most salespeople, neither do most sales managers. So, you ask, what has this to do with sales compensation plans? When you know the selling process you will know what effort is needed to sell your product and that will tell you what compensation plan has the best probability of building your business. I said building your business not just building your sales. I am going to be talking about sales compensation and its effect on building your business and or building your sales in upcoming blogs. You will find the information very helpful, thought provoking and useful if you are a business owner, in sales management or in professional sales. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 17 ... 2/8/2010 You Build Your Legacy Without Realizing You Are Life experiences push us to do things we have not thought of; writing this is the result of such an experience. The past year has been one filled with personal effort and wonderful people. I have had the joy of being able to help others grow through this "Great Recession" and be helped by them in turn. It has been deeply satisfying to share stories and insights from my life experiences in DVDs, Blogs, Java Inspiration & Networking on Thursdays and see others succeed as a result. Amy and I celebrated our 60th anniversary of life together last week. We wanted to share our joy with our family and as many friends as desired to join us. It was a week filled with tension, expectation, love, laughter, tears of joy; much as our wedding had been. It was also a humbling experience. On Sunday morning, after all the wine and fun of the night before, I walked across the street to thank our neighbor for being there..
That started me thinking... It's true. You build your legacy without realizing you are. When Amy and I opened the cards people had left in the basket, we found many with handwritten messages;
These are only three of many with the same thought. As a couple loving and treasuring each other, we have done nothing special, to us, to create these feelings. Individually, we have made an impact on others in the same way. Many times I've been told that "Amy changed my life." I am aware that I have individually made a difference to others, always without being aware of it and certainly not by planning it. When we started our life together we did not think of it as a marathon, or an effort to break a record. We did it because we liked each other and had fun together. In our separate careers it has been the same. In our separate jobs we do what we like and have fun doing. We are humbled, yet pleased to know we have made a difference. As I read what I have just written I am moved to highlight the key words our neighbor said on Sunday morning. Go Thou and Do likewise. You build your legacy without realizing you are. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 16 ... 2/2/2010 Is This Ethical, Greedy, or Irrational? The president of a local business tells me of his problems negotiating a lease for his business. The business has been in operation for more than thirty years, has always paid the rent and is of a type that draws people who would never come to its shopping center if it were not there. The person that represents the center to the landlord owner's of individual properties has been quite honest in reporting what both sides of the negotiations have said. Having served as a mediator between opposing business organizations several times, I find this interesting. The business in question has always paid a high rent. Now after two years recording small losses the business is at a slow pace, which cannot sustain the rent payments in the lease coming up for renewal. Its President has sent in a renewal offer that reduces the rent by a small amount and holds it steady for three years, after which the situation would be reviewed and an adjustment possibly made for the remaining two years of a five-year lease. The answer conveyed to the President and Directors was: - I had an opportunity to speak to the owner of and discussed in great detail your comments concerning the latest proposal. The owner wanted me to stress to you that they value your long standing tenancy at the building and want very much to maintain a long standing relationship with you. The owner would like to move forward and bring closure to negotiations and get a new lease extension wrapped up soon. The owner is willing to provide some financial help by offering a discount on your future lease rate. In addition, the owner is also open to providing some level of rent abatement on a short-term basis. This is all the owner is willing to do in light of the fact that it’s been communicated by you, that revenues are substantially down and the business as a whole is suffering. As you may or may not be aware, the building owner has also experienced a number of large tenant move outs which has put stress on the overall building occupancy, which has affected the cash reserves just as in the case with your business. The Property owner than submitted a new offer that gives two months rent abatement and raises the rent at the end of the two month abatement and each succeeding year to a total of twenty-five percent (25%) in the first four years of the five-year lease. The Board of Directors understands this to mean that since the owner lost so many tenants as to be in financial trouble, he intends to make existing valued tenants make up the difference with increases in rent. One Director asked me, Is this unethical, greedy, or irrational? What is your answer to his question? * * * * A year ago when this "Great Recession"began, a client of mine experienced falling sales and told his shopping center landlord he needed a rent reduction. He pointed out that his was the only business still open on his side of the center. The landlord refused. My client left, reopened elsewhere and is doing OK. The shopping center is now less than 50% occupied and the landlord is under water. Was this also unethical, greedy, irrational or just plain stupid? What makes business sense in these situation? If you were the landlord what would you do? Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 15 ... 1/27/2010 Listen, Write Notes ! Successful Salespeople Listen and Write Notes
Dad always began by listening. If the prospect did not begin a conversation Dad would do it by asking questions. He wrote the answers on a note pad; back in the car he would add things to what he had written while things were fresh in his mind. More than once he told me, when you put your mouth in gear your ears are automatically shut off. My experience has proven the truth of Dad’s statement. There is an interlock in our minds that makes us to concentrate on what we are saying and prevents us from being interrupted by our ears. The interlock does not prevent us from listening and writing. In fact, when we write notes as the other person is speaking, we remember what they said, far better. Our mind processes and underlines the access keys to where it has been stored. When Dad cleaned up his notes, he was strengthening synapses in his mind, which made it easier for him to remember and use the information when he did want to talk. Years of selling, teaching and helping sales professionals have given me an insight to share with you. When you ask questions on the first selling appointment, listen without talking and write the answers. Include notations telling you how the person answered, the tone of voice and force. In doing this you are learning and you are enabling the your prospect to learn; to put things in perspective and understand her/his needs in a way that creates new insights in his mind. These insights are your value add on that call. You have made the time with you valuable. Now end the call. End it without commenting on what she/he has said, without talking about your product and what it will do for them. Just say, can we meet again at this time on (a date in two weeks which fits your schedule) thank them for their time and leave. Listen, write, give them time to think and digest the insights you have created, and you increase the number of sales you can make in a year. Why? Tell me why and I'll discuss your reasons and my own in my blog two weeks from now. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman # 14 ... 1/19/2010 What are your ethical standards? Ethics seems to be lurking in the back of our collective minds lately. In the last four months I have learned something about ethics and being ethical; it isn't black and white, cut and dried, simple and easy. My learning began with the discussions in our Thursday morning Inspiration and Networking events where it became obvious that it is more than simply being honest. An article in a national magazine surprised me. It stated that all of us tend to become more ethical during a depression. This based on the fact that there is less employee fraud, less stretching of the truth by salespeople, less purposeful misrepresentation in marketing messages and by management, when jobs and business are all on a downward path. This really troubled me. Last week at a meeting of sales professionals and business owners, ethics was also a subject of discussion among attendees. One person has developed a game of ethics that she is about to market to management in large corporations. I did not know that ethics is or can be a game. The game forces you to recognize the multitude of decisions you and I make every day, in which ethics is a factor in the decision process. Players can become quite stressed because they have to choose between their own ethics and those of the corporation. Ponder that awhile. Do you have one standard of what is right, ethical, in your personal life and another in your business life? Is it because what you know is right does not fit what your company policy says is right?
The score I put on that card included the stroke that I had whiffed. It was a simple decision. ** That is basically my ethical standard. But it isn't always that easy. It is often very complex. Since it is complex, take time (when you are not’t driving) to review and write a simple statement of the ethical standard that you comply with/practice. Is it the same at home, on the golf course, and in your work? Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman **Years later a client reminded me of the time when he watched me spend five hours wrestling with a decision, make the wrong decision and how he saved me without my knowledge. That was a question of ethics. I’ll tell you about it another day. # 13 ... 1/11/2010 Is It Ethical? Last week a TV morning show made me think of all the things that have happened in the past few years that I consider downright unethical. The show discussed the disparate and growing number of boxes on grocery shelves, whose contents have little relationship to the physical size of the box. The display included a dozen or more items of various brands; with boxes that are one quarter to one half full in terms of volume. You and I are not being ripped off by any of them because they contain the quantity by weight, specified on the outside of the box. Therefore the manufacturer is doing nothing illegal, we are being charged for the weight specified, plus, maybe, the extra cost of paper and ink needed to make the larger box. Is this deception devious? Or is it simply smart marketing? If it has actually been accompanied with a real increase in price per lb or ounce with the intention of masking that from your eyes, is your answer the same? Is it ethical? Why or why not? Is it the way you run your business, or would if your product made it possible? Is it ethical? After thinking about this carefully, please comment to me wes@7one.com. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman
# 12 ... 1/5/2010 Networking… “The Question” Effective Networking begins with this question and ends with a relationship Networking for business and social reasons has existed for thousands of years. More than 100 years ago, Kiwanis and Rotary began as business owners came together to socialize and promote business between them. After a few years they decided to help poor children and their families. Cocktail parties in the 40s and 50s were basically social and business networking in purpose. Today’s free networking events and dues paying networking groups such as BNI are simply a current recognition of the fact that we like to meet people socially and that we inherently prefer to do business with people we like and trust. The first of The Four Eternal Laws Of Sales Success©, is People Buy From People They Like And Trust.© We can like and enjoy someone rather easily; trusting them is another matter, entirely. Trust develops over time as a result of observation of a person and absorbing a myriad of silent communications from she or he. The key words in this are Like, Trust, and Silent Communication. Effective networking enables you determine which people you like and help them like and remember you. The last time you were at a networking event you came home with several business cards, right? Do any of them have something written on them in your handwriting? Can you remember the face of the person represented on each of those cards? I will not be surprised if you cannot and neither should you be, since the majority of us will not remember the face of every person we meet and exchange cards with during a networking event. Why not? Because they did not say anything or do anything memorable to us. Stop reading and picture yourself in a networking event with 20 to 100 people. I am there also. I am standing alone deciding, who I should talk with next when you come up to me.
You have my attention because that is a question I have rarely been asked by a stranger and you have written something on a pocket size pad. I assume it is my name and my answer.
You say this sincerely while looking me in the eye, not at the handsome guy walking by, and you have pen and pad, actually waiting for me to say more. You have my complete attention and I start talking. I talk because you have created the perception that you are actually interested and you are showing me respect. I tell you a lot about what I think has made me successful. I may mention my company; if I don’t you quietly ask
Now I really like you. It isn’t my company but you complimented me by indicating it could be and you have made me take ownership of the company I work with. I keep talking, you keep writing and eventually you ask for my card and give me yours. You make a point of reading what is on my card and you write on it so I know you will connect it with the notes you’ve written.
You have made yourself very memorable to me. I will have no trouble remembering you when I get your email the next day that simply says, Thank You, I enjoyed talking with you and will be in touch to set a time when we can talk about … etc. Now we actually have the beginning of a relationship, which over time will become a trusting one. It will happen faster because you communicated to me that you respect me, that what I say is important to you, as is my time. By sending me a message quickly you have re-enforced all that you communicated to me last night when you kept looking at me, did not slouch during the conversation, asked questions to make me educate you about my hopes, my work and what makes me tick. You and I can now make a reasoned decision about how we may work together in business to our mutual benefit. That is Effective Networking and it all happened with “The Question”. Nuff Said !!!
©Wesley W. Zimmerman 1/5/2010 The Four Eternal Laws Of Sales Success by Wesley W. Zimmerman, Copyright 1986
# 11 ... 12/28/09 Christmas Memories Did you get a message, hon? As we returned from Christmas Eve services at 10:45 pm the phone was ringing. I fumbled for my key, turned it in the lock. The phone kept on ringing as I rushed to get to it.
Amy and the children were looking at me.
Two years earlier I had been certified as a Lay Pulpit Supply in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I’d grown used to calls like this in the middle of the week or with much longer notice when a Pastor was planning a vacation. Never before at this late an hour the night before and certainly not to serve on Christmas Day. We put the children to bed, played Santa Claus filling the stockings, then sipped sparkling wine and talked in the soft warm light of the Christmas tree and candles. This was and still is our tradition, a time to reflect on the year and be together. We did not talk about the next morning other than to note how different life becomes when you answer God's call. As I backed out of the garage with window open Amy called to me,
I drove in silence, thinking, listening for what I was supposed to say. As I walked into the church I knew. The service went smoothly, my sermon was short as always, delivered with sincerity and feeling. I was at ease as I walked to the door to shake hands with departing worshipers I had never seen before that day. Early in line a person gripped my hand firmly
A little later a second person told me
I drove home saying thank you out loud. I knew He was there…
* * * * Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman ©Wesley W. Zimmerman 12/25/2009 # 10 ... 12/21/09 When Hope Replaces Fear What’s it like to be poor? I was in second grade at the low point of the great depression. I saw the bread lines and the men coming to our farm home asking to work for food. Dad made a dollar a day with out a steady job. We grew our own vegetables, potatoes, popcorn, feed for the cattle and hog, milk, butter, meat, and fed those, who came to the door. We were poor by today’s standards, not the poorest in those days. I never knew we were poor. Amy and I have been active in Kiwanis, serving poor kids, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, clothing drives and other community service throughout our lives together. Of late my Kiwanis club has added service at ICM to its service projects. I have been serving in the Pantry giving food to the working poor; these are the famiies where all providers only earn minimum wage to support their children and each other. If a tire fails on their old car it is decision time. The choice is between paying the rent, buying a used tire and everyone eating. Without the tire, the car is not available to go to work, in which case the rent is not paid. These are the people, who come to the ICM pantry. I see clearly how much they love each other; they are kind with their kids; I also see in the eyes of mother and father, the pain I have never felt. This friend decided to find a way to feel it.
* * * * This story has helped me to understand what I am seeing in the eyes of those I am giving food to in the Pantry at ICM. Fear displaces hope, when we have food and enough clothing to go to work and send our children to school; we have hope instead of fear. Those standing in line to get unemployment checks know a degree of this fear. It is akin to the bread lines of my youth, so are the lines coming into the pantry and the other non-profit organizations handing hope to people in need. Our family was poor, yet always gave food to those who came to our door. We did not know fear, they did. You can help all year by joining a Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary or other service group and know the inner satisfaction of giving hope. If this is not within your capability, my friend’s organization needs help at www.heartforthecityaz.org where you can find out more about what caused him to know fear for four hours and donate on line, or mail a donation to; Heart for the City, P.O. Box 2, Glendale, AZ 85311. Nuff Said !!!
# 9 ... 12/07/2009 Sales Success Networking Effectively Ask This Question
He’d been with us several times and had always made solid contributions to the discussions. This question surprised me since he appeared to be completely successful in his business. “What do you need help with?”
There were six of us in the room and all had their eyes and ears on me. I could only tell them what has worked for me. “The two situations are the same in many ways.
I will explain what this question accomplishes and how to ask it, in my next blog. I will also give you the three follow on questions I have learned to use in my years of selling. To get the most from the next blog, ask yourself this question and write the answers so you can refer to them as you read it. I am stopping here because I believe blogs should be short whenever possible. In this case, your completion of the homework step above will prove very useful to you. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman #8 ... 12/07/2009 "We buy from people we like and trust" ** The Difference is a Perception Created by Little Things On Thursday mornings, 7:15 am, a group called Java Inspiration & Networking meets. It is never more than ten people, who come together in a small room at the Jolta Java coffee shop to share problems and help each other with solutions. It has been very successful in helping people over various humps and there are always new people coming in to replace those that have been helped enough to no longer need to attend. Justin was with us for the second time on a recent Thursday. A discussion arose about business cards; what paper they should be printed on, what information should be printed on them, etc. Caleb, the owner of a UPS store that does fine printing, took two business cards from his pocket and got everyone’s attention.
He handed the cards to one of us and we passed them around.
“That’s my store!” The people in this store were not thinking of themselves when Justin came in, they were thinking about him because serving is the satisfying part of working in the store. They created a positive perception that madea difference to him.. When we are proud of ourselves, Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman **The Four Eternal Laws Of Sales Success by Wesley W. Zimmerman, Copyright 1986
#7 ... 11/30/2009 In Transition akaLooking For A JobSeventh in a series of seven What To Say In The Job Interview & Why
I have lived through several job interviews as the candidate, and many more as the one looking for the ideal person to fill a vacancy or to make my organization’s growth possible. What I tell you in this blog is the result of these experiences and the success or failure of the subsequent decision to join, or hire. Come to think about it, everything I have written in the preceding In Transition blogs, has resulted from this experience. Looking back I note that I have never been turned down when applying for a position I wanted. That’s not a bad record now that I think about it. I’ve lost other sales efforts, however, and I have been fired three, maybe four times. I say maybe four, because in one case it really was a mutual decision. I had decided to quit before coming to work that day and was fired before I could do it. The man told me he thought from my lack of enthusiasm, that I had quit on the job; he was correct. The Interview is an educational process and a social experience. This is true of all sales calls, but particularly so on the first one with a person who you will report to, or is in the management level above that. This person wants to get acquainted with and know something about you, as a person. You also want to leave the interview, with a sense of knowing about the hiring person as an individual you will be with on a daily or certainly weekly basis. The easiest way to accomplish this mutual desire is for you to ask, What has made you successful? If you have been asked a question first, answer by saying, Before I answer that question, please tell me, what has made you successful? It is almost impossible for the person not to answer this; because we love to talk about ourselves, if we sense the other person is really interested. By asking this you are showing interest in and respect for him/her. Look her in the eye, except when you are writing key words on the pad you have brought with you, words like honesty, enthusiasm, persistence, always trying to do the right thing, empathy, helping others to succeed, growing the company; these are words that tell you a lot about the person. Jot down just enough so you can fill in the balance later. When she stops answering that question you have Made her/him feel good, To strengthen that message, pause and count ten, before you comment on what he has said, or answer the question that you deferred answering. The pause will add to your credibility and give you time to think. Do you want to know more about the person, if so, don’t hesitate to ask about something they have said; and write the answer. Never ask a question without writing what they answered, because not doing so, signifies the question was not important to you, and you should not have asked it. If you possibly can, ask now, or at some point later in the conversation ask, Be certain to write these down in sequence and do not say a word if there is a pause between the first and second and the second and third concern. If you speak you will never get all three concerns. Wait in silence until the third answer is given. This is the most important of their concerns and it may the one you will be able help them with. At this point, many interviewers will have provided a description of what the position includes in terms of work, daily and weekly duties etc. It is important that you know What is the purpose of this function in your business? Write all that is said in answer to these questions. Then ask, Why is this position open or, why are you looking for a person? The answer is important for two reasons.
If this number is high, you had better ask why because it should be a red flag in your mind. Remember, most of us get bored and want a promotion or transfer every five years, if we don’t get it, we move on. If most people have less than three years with the company, there may be something wrong with the management on a personal level. If this isn’t the case it is time to compare the results you planned to bring to the organization, to the concerns the person has voiced, particularly the third one, (it is the most troubling to the person), and explain how you can help with the concerns. If you have gotten this far in the conversation, you need no more help from me as to what to say next. Actually, there is more than a 50% chance you have gotten this far, because this line of questions has created great interest in you. Now just be yourself and continue the conversation, taking notes all the time. By the way, a smart interviewer is going to be writing notes also, if they don’t at the start, they will take out a pad and do it just because you are, and that is good. If the person has not already seen and read your five proudest accomplishments, this is the time to give it to him. After he has read it, answer any questions he asks you. Are you comfortable or uptight at this point? The aim in all this has been to get you and she/he comfortable with each other. If he isn’t you will not get a job offer, if you are not, you should not take the job if offered, until after you have sorted out the cause of your discomfort, i.e. is it this individual, or is it the whole environment. Remember, if your liver quivers, it will not work. If your problem is this individual, and you are going to report to or work with him/her, forget it. If you will report to and work with someone else, it is safe to look into that person, but only if they are above this interviewers position on the organization chart. If the one that makes you uncomfortable is the owner/CEO in the company, forget it. What ever is making you uncomfortable is probably bugging everyone else down the chain of command below him/her. Never take a job with someone you do not like, Never !!! Wesley (Wes). Zimmerman This series of blogs is available on DVD. They are very informative, include additional information, and tell you more of the why for each step. They are highly recommended if you are seriously looking for a job or a job to improve your future. To order click on Parables in left column of this page #6 ... 11/24/2009 In Transition aka Looking For Work Interviewing With The Hiring Person Six in a series of seven The Hiring Person Is Key Yes, the hiring person is key to your getting the job you want. This is the person that will actually make the decision to hire you and which position/job you will fill. You may interview with several people in succession; they may be part of a hiring committee, which is not unusual in well run companies or there may more than one position open without your knowing it. In that case each of the of the people you talk with, may be a hiring person. In either of these situations you should treat each person you talk with as though they were a hiring person. In a large organization with a Human Resources department, you will be told that one or several people will interview you. Ask the Human Resources person what role each person is playing in the selection process. In a small organization, less than 25 or 30 employees, at least two people will interview you; the person you will actually report to and the top person in company. Both will have a budget salary number, the top person will have the power to exceed it for a person both of them decide can really help the organization. The Day Before The Interview The day before the interview, review what you plan to accomplish for them after you are hired. Then practice the interview speaking out loud, in private looking at your self in the mirror, or looking at a doorknob, as I do when preparing to speak to a TV audience via the camera. Better yet, do it live to a friend that will say nothing in response to your questions but will silently note your body language, posture and conviction in your tone of voice. Do this once, if with a friend discuss her/his observations, then wait till evening and practice it one more time, then quit and get a good nights sleep. This is importan because you do not want to memorize it; which would kill its effectiveness. In the morning Look at yourself in the mirror. Tell yourself that you really are a great person, manager, salesperson, or whatever you are appling for, dress professionally, and particularly check your shoes. They shoud be clean and shined, if appropriate. Do not overdress; you should have noticed the basic dress code of the place on your test visit, now dress just slightly above that level in a way you are comfortable with. You have to be comfortable on this sales call. The Interview Yes, this is a sales call, you are the salesperson. The product you're selling is the results they will receive after you come on board. This is exactly what every successful salesperson knows: that the prospect is buying the results that will be possible with the product being purchased. The salesperson, (you), educates the prospect on the results, why they will happen and how the salesperson (you) will make certain they happen. This is the essence of every discussion between a sales person and a potential buyer. In the book, The Perception Of A Difference, there is a story that ends with the buyer saying, "Six weeks ago I didn't know I had a problem and now I'm buying the solution. You know what inventory is. Most of the salesmen I see don't know what it is when they are standing on it. You are one hell of a salesman, a professional. I'm glad you called on me." The salesman had done his homework about the company, before the first call. You have done the same in your research of the company, its needs, and how you can help it reach its goals. On the first call he had asked enough questions to confirm that he could produce results the company needed. On this second call he presented the results, which would be obtained with the product he was selling. You are going to do the same in your job interviews. Note I said interviews, not interview. If you will only be interviewed by one person, plan on two interview discussions with that person. On the first be prepared to ask enough questions to fill the gaps in your research. These questions, which I will give you, will accomplish two very important things. This is key to every sales call and you are selling on this call. The person must think or say, "I'm glad you called on me." If Human Resources said multiple people would interview you, the answers the first person gives you will prepare you for the meeting with the next person. Each one must be glad they talked with you, after you shake hands and leave. This is key; it means they will be glad if you are hired. They will be glad, because the questions you asked created new ways of thinking about their work and created insights in their minds. They liked your attitude, the way you dressed and presented yourself, and they liked the fact that you listened to their answers, took notes and did not dominate the conversation; this told them you would be a good person to work with. Can you think of a better result from your first visit? If you think this is a crazy way to interview for a job, your wrong, If you think this is totally different from what many other job counselors have told you, you may be correct, at least on the surface, but if you read this blog over again and really think about what it says, you will find that the other job counselors have told you much the same, in a different way. Why different? Because most of them have not been involved in a big ticket sales situation, as the lead salesperson. This sale is Big Ticket; the results will be worth every penny they pay you. Thanks for reading this, your comments, agree or disagree, are welcome. Wesley (Wes) Zimmerman #5 ... 11/9/2009 In Transition ; Getting To The Correct Person Fifth in a series of seven Where we’ve been, where we’re goingIn the four preceding In Transition discussions, we have decided on the five accomplishments we are proudest of in our life as a whole, we have discovered what makes us happy on a daily basis, and from these efforts have decided what kind of work we want to do during the next five to seven years. We followed this with research on the companies/employers we would like to work with and researched them carefully to learn their management’s goals and ensure we know how we can help them reach those goals. In all of this we have been in buying mode; now we must switch to the selling mode, the professional selling process. Landing your position of choice and hiring you, are both educational processes Everything listed in the preceding paragraph has been an educational process. Think about it; you have been educating yourself. Now think about the person(s) in each target company, that you believe will most benefit from what you can do for them as a member of their team. They haven’t the foggiest idea of what you can do for them until
Accomplishing these three things is an education process in which you are the teacher. Every professional salesperson performs this education process in order to gain each new customer. You are not applying for a job; you are educating them on what you will do for them. You must reach the person, who will appreciate and profit from what you will do for them. Remember, as in every selling situation, there is a ”buying committee.” In a larger company this will be the Human Resources (HR) department. In a small company organization there may not be an HR department so labeled, but the function will be there in one of two forms.
They will study your resume and compare it to the written criteria in the job description. They will look for things that don’t make sense, the typos, misspellings and bad grammar. They will administer the various tests used to filter out those who will not fit the company’s culture and image. The tests are used to learn if your characteristics are similar to those of successful performers in the position they are filling. The tests and interview questions are designed reveal what makes you tick. If you are lucky enough to get hired without going through all I’ve described, you will have to do it later. That is what happened in the true experience described in my blog, Crazy Like A Fox.” Chances are the HR people have never seen anything like your Five Proudest Accomplishments. Having never been a part of a Human Resources Department, I cannot know how the five proudest accomplishments will work with them, but my years of experience in professional sales, tell me to suggest you save your Proudest Accomplishments for use when you meet with the actual hiring person. You want to have something extra for the meeting with them. Your time with the people in the HR function is your opportunity to get educated about the company and the hiring person. To get educated you must ask questions that you have written and practiced. You want to know what you have not been able to learn in your advance research about this company. Begin as if you had met this person at a networking event; ask about them, start a relationship by asking them how long they have been doing their present job; what did they do before this; why do they like working in the company: Listen between the lines as they answer, their tone of voice, body language. Remember what I learned watching people leave the company in part three of this series on In Transition? You are still buying at this stage, you must be sure this is the place you want to be a part of. If it doesn’t feel right, if your liver quivers, be careful. Wesley (Wes) Zimmerman ************************************************************************************** #4 ... 11/9/2009 In Transition, Step Four;
You're selling Fourth in a series of seven The Product Is What You Will Do For Them
Remember this from Step One of this, In Transition series? Know what you want to do If you don't remember this, go back and read that blog again and do what it discusses, because to find the work and place of work that will be fun and satisfying, you must know what you want to do, what you will do it with and what will make you happy. Having done those two important tasks, we asked you in part two of this series, to pick several, at least three, companies/businesses that could, have, or create the position you really want. In Transition, is both buying and selling In part three of this series, we had you go through the buying steps in finding the work you really want to do. We stopped you at the point where selling would begin if you really liked what you saw about the company you were looking at. Whether you liked that company or not, you must now go through the same steps for the other companies on your target list. In each case stop at the point where selling will begin and give yourself time to read the notes you made on each possible target and think about your gut reactions. You need time right now, no matter how much you need income and a job. Do not be hesitant about putting these targets in a different order of preference at this time. You are going to spend three to seven years in your new position, you better like them from the beginning, or it will not work. In The Perception Of A Difference The Power In Buying, Marketing, Selling, Customer Care, there are two quotes that are important to you at this point in your transition process. "I cannot buy from you until I know you exist." "I will not buy your product until I know how it will help me reach my goals." These are the thoughts of a buyer of anything; they apply to any and all products. Remember that services are products. At this time in your transition, you are the seller of a product. The product is what you will do that will help them reach their goals. Read the last two sentences again, and again, and again. Now think about your presentation of how you will make a positive difference to them, the one you created and practiced in step three, and think about how this will help them reach their goals. Put this into words you can say confidently and you have what you need to cause them to think of you in their team even if it means creating a position where you can help them reach their goals. Ah, you say you don't know their goals, than you need to learn what they are. The steps to learn their goals are these. You've looked at their web site, now read it again, read between the lines of every page and finally at the contact us, or join us, page. Write what you perceive their goals to be. Then do an internet, Goggle or Yahoo search on the name of each management person listed on their web site. Read everything that comes up. As you do so, update your perception of their goals and write what kind of person you perceive (in you gut) them to be. Next, talk again to anyone who suggested you consider this company as a place to apply. You want to know why they told you this and what ever they know about the management's goals. You also want to know, who they know in the company, that might give them an insight into their goals, or talk to you about those goals. If this is the person that is actually looking for someone with what you can bring in, wonderful; we'll talk about this a bit later. For now just ask this person, who else should I talk to? Now repeat this process with as many people as you are directed to and when you are finished, you will know more about this target company than most of the other people applying for work with them. This is called research, it gives you a powerful positive edge when you do finally ask for and go into an interview. The edge will come from the fact that the research process has put the target company's products, terminology, language and culture into your mind in a way that it will be heard and sensed by the interviewer, with out you consciously thinking about it. I have told you this just in case you did not do all of it when you were building your target company list. Even if you did it then, a review and even repeat conversations with some of these people will help you zero in and be confident as you move forward. You see, this is what professional salespeople do when they prepare to sell a product to someone that is not already a customer of theirs. You are selling a product, do it professionally. This creates a powerful perception of your difference. In a few days, we will talk about the next step in your transition. Wesley (Wes) Zimmerman
#3 ... 11/3/2009 In Transition, Step Three; Pick Your Target Third in a series of seven The Job Or Work You Want!
When picking your target, remember that you are selecting a place, a team, you will enjoy and take pride in being a member of. If you can’t be proud of the company and the team you work with, you will fail to make a positive difference there. You will be unhappy when you leave for work in the morning, unhappy when you come home, and your family, friends, will feel the unhappiness. What you should target is places where you will make a positive difference, do something different, and grow your list of proud accomplishments. Now answer this question. Write down your answer: Tomorrow key it into your computer and print it. Do you like what you see? Change it so you do, then give it to five people, who know you and make the changes they suggest, or that you think of while answering their questions and listening to their comments. Give this changed version to a person, who employees people, not one of your target companies, and get her/his comments. Now write a final version. Tomorrow speak it out loud, with conviction. The words do not have to be exactly the same when you speak it, but you must say it with the tone and force that tells someone else you really believe it. If you do not really believe what you have written, start over. The next step This is the fun part: Call the company that is lowest on your target company list. Listen to the person that answers the phone; ask a question that will allow you to hang up gracefully, e.g. I’m sorry, I dialed the wrong number. Listen to what follows, say Thank You, and hang up. Write down your feelings, your perception of the company, and the person answering the phone. Was it a live person, or recorded? Next, visit this company; look at the building, the lobby, note the way you are greeted, when, by whom; are the people happy? * * * * My appointment with the Vice President, who was hiring, was at five in the afternoon. I arrived in the dimly lit, underground parking lot at 4:30. I dodged water dripping from the ceiling as I found my way to the lobby. There I signed in with the security guard, took a seat with the executive recruiter, who had arranged the appointment, and waited. At two minutes after five, people came streaming down the stairs and out of the elevator. They were employees leaving work. What I was very conscious of was, The first people reached the lobby two minutes after five. The building, all six floors, was empty within 20 minutes. No one smiled, laughed, said see you tomorrow, or some other pleasantry. They all left in silence, not a word was spoken; no comments to the security guard or by him; just silence, sober faced silence. “I’ve decided I don’t want it.” “What?” I stood up, thanked him for his time, shook hands, left the recruiter with him and went home. It was a very good decision. No one in the organization was happy. My perception was that he wasn't happy either. Why would I want to be unhappy with them? The six-digit salary would not have been worth it. I was buying; the sale was lost in the parking garage and the lobby. * * * Next time we’ll talk about the next steps, when you are selling, and I’ll tell you the strange twist to the end of this story. It will convince you that when things don’t feel right it is time to get out, as I did. Wesley (Wes) Zimmerman ***************************************************************************** # 2 ... 10/26/2009 Looking for workSecond in a series of seven In Transition Step TwoDeciding What You Want To Do
Last week I gave you the assignment of writing one or two paragraphs describing the five achievements you are proudest of in your life as a whole, business and personal. When you have finished the five achievements, you will have looked pretty deeply into yourself. You will have discovered the traits and skills that enabled you complete those achievements, and I expect you will realize that you were a happy person during the course of completing each of them. Give careful thought to this because you are in transition into a new season of your life, one in which you can experience new things, new challenges, and accomplishments you can be truly proud of. This new season of your life should be truly new; new as in not doing the same thing you did during the last season. You are probably saying, “Wes, I need income, the check book is running dry and so are my credit cards.” I understand, I’ve been in your shoes a lot of times, not so much between “jobs” as between sales while selling on straight commission, as in if I don’t get a sale, we will have to choose between gas in the car and food on the table; with four children, no less. I have always talked with God, which has been a big help: this has taught me to be patient, think before I act, and constantly remember that I am a good man. It has also taught me humility, enough humility to take a job at night, stocking shelves, cleaning a restaurant and other things, just to provide some income, while I worked my day job with energy. By the way, being in transition and doing the things I am suggesting, is a full time day job. Give your self and God, time, with Him there is no need to panic. While you are finishing the proudest achievements and thinking about what they tell you, do three other things, if you haven’t already.
Then read again, your five proudest achievements. At that point, you will know what you really want to do in this new season of your life. Think about it, do not put restrictions on your thinking, get out of the box and mental walls you may have installed, and look out, way out. Next week we will talk about finding the company, the way, to make this happen. Wesley (Wes) Zimmerman *****************************************************************************
In Transition aka Looking…First in a series of seven What Are You Looking for? I meet and talk with five to eight new people every week. I do it by attending networking events. I usually start the conversation with “What has made you successful?” and eventually the person says, “I’m in transition.” “I’m in transition” replaced “I’m looking for a new challenge,” which replaced, “I’m looking for a job with a future”, which replaced, “I’m looking for a job”, which replaced “I’m looking for work.” If you figure 15 years for each evolution in term, you know about how long I have been around. I even remember when our city’s Sanitary Engineers, were known as Garbage Truck Drivers. We give out new, less informative, titles in lieu of raises, hoping to add dignity to a task, forgetting that all work is worthy and good when performed properly and in a timely manner The fact that we have been laid off because the employing company is not as successful as it once was, or because we got tired of working with someone we didn't like and finally popped off, is not a thing to be ashamed of. We forget that it means we were at that job too long and got bored, or should have asked for transfer to a different work team so we were not close to the person we did not like. I have been advising people for years, that five years is the longest anyone should work at the same task. One of the most successful companies in the country, helps everyone in it to change jobs, learn new skills and experience new challenges, at least once every two years. As a result, turnover is very low, customers and staff are happy and profits, which are shared by everyone, are outstanding. Being “In Transition,” for whatever reason, is a time of opportunity, but only when you know what you want to do in your next five years at work, choose the company you want to work for, the income you want from it, and sell the employer on buying you for that work. Notice the key steps,
To know what you want, do this. Make a list of the accomplishments you are proud of, in your life as a whole to this point. Consider your whole life’s activities, personal, career, or business, from high school to the present. Next, choose from the list, the five accomplishments you are proudest of. Take your time in this process. Next, write one or two paragraphs about each of the five you are proudest of, describing what it involved, the satisfaction you felt from it, and why. Type these, check carefully for grammar and spelling, and appearance on the paper. Use good quality paper. Put a bold face title at the top, My Proudest Achievements and your name and date on the bottom. Next week I will tell you the next step in the “In Transition” adventure, including how and when, to use, My Proudest Achievements.
Wesley (Wes) Zimmerman ******************************************************
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Our readers Comment
Wes, re. Blog # 28 Always right on the mark my friend. It all starts and ends with our attitudes. If we are to be consistently successful, we must understand we are on the stage all the time. Every word, observance and interaction with our audience determines whether they like us more today than yesterday. When people stop liking us it’s because we stop being likable. We are sometimes unaware that we are shifting from liked to disliked. The mirror can only reflect back the image presented, people can interpret the image, for better or worse. It is increasingly important to be able to manage expressions, body language and tone of voice to convey our likable characteristics. Even in the most passionate of moments, we as professionals will be gauged on how we manage negative situations and emotions. Learning poise and composure under fire is essential to maintaining the likable persona. Nuff Said! Steven Bocker, MBA Vice President BLS Communications S.W., Inc.
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