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Company Growth Our Blogs Blog: Directory by Category Archived Blogs Wes' Archived Blogs 2011, 2010, 2009 True Stories On DVDs that give you insights on Sales, Customer Care, Leadership, Managing, and Your Life Speaker Inspiration & Networking Programs The Perception of a Difference Program™ Sales Managers & Sales Directors Program Workshops The Perception of a Difference Workshop Ethics and Professionalism In Real Estate Sales The Cornerstone
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For this week's thought provoker: click 120 …2/5/2012 Why Didn’t They? There are many ways to build your business. Here are different approaches to consider. One of my clients related the story of the time the heater on his truck stopped delivering heat. “The dealer service shop said the heater had to be replaced at a cost of $500 plus. I took it to an independent repair shop and was quoted the same price.”
I thought about this and had an idea which I related to a two person repair shop. I said…
“The heater must be stopped up with sediment. What if we took off both the intake and outlet hoses and flush water through the heater in reverse? That’s the way we used to save radiators.”
“We’ll do it.”
Twenty minutes later they were reassembling the heater connections – it was fixed.
“What do I owe you?”
“Nothing, we learned something today.”
I pulled out a couple of bills and thanked them.
“They are now my first stop for vehicle repair.”
A friend’s car had “bad” sounds coming from under the hood. He took it to a small shop. The two owners told what was needed, why and the cost. They also told him what else should be done, but wasn’t immediately needed.
“I can pay for the must do but do not have the money to do the other, so please do the must do only.”
Two days later he came to pick up his car.
“Come look so you know what we did. When we got things uncovered to do what you asked, which was really needed, we found the cause of the second problem which was a fuel leak that could endanger your life and fixed it, also. We do not expect you to pay us for that, it was something we knew we should do. We and you can now sleep well. We appreciate your business and want you to come back.”
In the first instance there were three repair operations that had a business opportunity. The dealer service shop, a large independent service organization and a small one all looked at and identified the source of the noise. But, only the small one looked closely enough to see that something else needed fixing and drew it to the customer’s attention on THE FIRST examination so the customer would have no surprises and be able to make an informed decision. In the second instance it was again a small shop with people who listened and cared. The small repair shops thought about what was best for the customer and did not give him anything less – at their cost in time and parts. Was this because they are small operations? Could the other much larger organizations have done it? Why didn’t they? Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will receive the Blog title and address to reach it every Monday.
119 ...1/29/2012 Dad’s Sayings: Never Carry Matches… “Never carry matches. That way you won’t be tempted to burn bridges behind you.” This saying has proven true in my life and in situations I have observed. Dad meant you always leave an employer on friendly terms. You may need a recommendation later. You always fire a client gently for the same reason. Don’t get angry when your product appears not suitable to your prospect even though you are convinced it is; she may decide one of your other products will work just fine and ask you back. The easiest way to burn bridges behind you is by getting angry and telling the wrong person about it when your anger level is high. It is almost as if you are drunk and do not think before acting.
Caleb had been working at his job for several years. The salary was good, he enjoyed his work, and then his department management changed. The new head of the department micro-managed him and not always in private.
He was working a late afternoon into the night schedule, came home tired and steaming, wrote his feelings down in an email, and addressed it to the person who had appointed the new manager. Caleb remembers reading the email and feeling good about getting everything off his chest. Then he did the unthinkable…he clicked SEND, and went to bed.
In the morning, the first email on his monitor said, “Your resignation is accepted effective today. Please come in and clean out your office.”
“If only I had left the ‘Send To’ space blank….” Dad also said you can never go back to a job/company after quitting even though you left with good feelings and did not burn any bridges. It was years later that I knew why this is true. When you resign/quit a job where you were liked, for personal reasons, you may be invited back later. It will make you feel good, because they are offering more money and other enticements…Do Not Accept. It will not work because many things will have changed, since you left, in ways you won’t like. You won’t be happy and therefore will not succeed. One friend went back to his old company and within a year he found he did not like the changes that had come about. He left with his then supervisor and the two started a new venture. Dad was correct. Life is a changing scene. When a soldier returns after a year’s deployment, the strain on his relationships is great due to changes that occurred at home in his absence, as well as his battle experience. His whole family compares his current self to the one they hold in memory and he does the reverse, also. You need the bridges in order to turn to a new chapter in your life and accept it as a new experience. Don’t carry matches. Do think before clicking ‘Send’. Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will receive the Blog title and address to reach it every Monday.
118 …1/22/2012 Small Lies Kill… A recent experience had me thinking about the unseen results of small lies. My mother called them white lies. Years ago, friends and I would go to lunch together each month. We drove six miles to get delicious Rueben sandwiches. Some of us would also have a cup of soup. One day the engineer in our group switched his order to a bowl of soup. He consumed his bowl in the same time as the others ate theirs. “Either I eat fast or my bowl had the same amount of soup as your cups.” “Are you suggesting you were cheated?” “Yes. Let’s find out.” He ordered another bowl of soup; when it was delivered he asked the server to stay at our table. He poured his bowl of soup into one of the cups…it filled the cup. “Who puts the soup into the bowls and cups? “We servers do.” “How much do you put in a cup?” “One ladle full.” “And how much in a bowl?” “One ladle full.” “The cup’s price is $1.50; the bowl’s is $3.50. “Does the proprietor know about this?” “Yes, he instructs us to do this.” As we left, we told the proprietor what we had learned and how, so he would know why we would not be back. In the 1980’s, a survey of 2,400 people with great statistical veracity found that we remember and talk about a good business experience for 18 months and remember and talk about a bad one for 21 years.
My sons took me to a well known restaurant for my birthday. I ordered beef short ribs with brown gravy. As I picked at my plate with a fork, one son asked “What are you trying to find in the gravy, Dad?” “The short ribs.” “Why? You’ve got a thick piece of meat there.” “Yes, a thick slice of round steak.” “I’ve been a server and captain in two restaurants and short ribs always looked like these.” “What are ribs?” “Bones, of course.” “Bone from the top of the cut that makes rib roasts and prime rib. Short ribs have a different texture and flavor than round steak which is from the animal’s thigh and is usually tough like this meat.” “I’m sorry, Dad.” “Don’t be. It is not your fault that the people running this place are liars. Next time you are shopping for meat look at the two cuts, you’ll know this wasn’t an accident here and the places where you worked.” I will never trust that restaurant enough to go back. I’d wonder what was in their “Super Hamburger”.
Since being widowed, I’ve signed up with an internet find your match service. I marvel at how wonderful women of 75 plus years look in their photos. I only consider contacting those with dated photos after meeting someone who admitted her photos were 10 years old and she said “Doesn’t everybody?” Why would anyone ever want a relationship with someone that lied during the selling/buying process?
Do you want to do business with someone who tells “small” lies? Do your customers do business with you because you tell only “small” lies? Do you want to live and sleep with someone who tells only “small” lies? What size lies do you tell? Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will receive the Blog title and address to reach it every Monday.
117 …1/15/2012 Dad’s Sayings – Close Doesn’t Count… In the game of pitching horseshoes, the aim is to throw your horseshoe so it lands with the target stake inside the shoe. You also score a point if it lands near enough to the pin that a shoe can touch it while touching the stake. Dad and I were cleaning the dairy barn and I almost got a forkful of manure in the spreader. “Horseshoe pitching is the only game where close counts for anything, son. In selling you cannot be close and expect to make money. You must zero in on the prospects needs and fill them completely. Half a solution will not do the job” Dad never offered a partial solution. If he could not do the job completely, he told the prospect and made an effort to find out who could. He did not give up easily, however. He would look at the prospects situation from different angles and viewpoints. Most importantly, he would look at a problem as a symptom of something else. He would then see if he could solve that problem, which of course helped the prospect, landed the sale and made the prospect a friend. Dad was telling me that alleviating the symptom did not count as in “close does count in horseshoes”. When I was allowed to be with him on a sales call, it was on the condition that I say nothing and show no reactions to what was being said. I was young and didn’t always understand what Dad was doing or why, but on the way home he would tell me what he had learned from the prospect. I discovered that what sometimes seemed like a simple conversation was really guided by the questions Dad asked. Because they were non-threatening and Dad was never judgmental, the prospect would reveal a host of things that created insights for him and Dad. Dad would tell me his insights and say, “Next time he and I are together we will come up with a solution and decide to do business together.” Dad did not “close” a sale; he and the prospect opened the first sale together. What a wonderful way to sell. No wonder he was successful. Go thou and do likewise!!! Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will receive the Blog title and address to reach it every Monday.
116 …1/8/2012 Do You Manage or . . . ? It is my observation that everyone uses the words manager, managing and management without understanding their meaning. I contend that it is only possible to manage things and data. People cannot be managed, only guided. The correct words should be Guide, Guiding, and Guiders. I speak after being promoted to Manager of a group of people and being taught by them that they were perfectly capable of managing themselves, but were open to and appreciated guidance. They taught me that I could manage a sales campaign, by guiding the sales team and removing all obstacles to their success in landing the sale. Once I accepted this fact, they and I would land sales. I learned this same lesson when the General Manager of a manufacturing plant moved on and I “inherited” his job. Unknowingly, at the time, I guided the 175 person team and it became very professional. The myth of “managing” is that a Manager controls people and can discipline them without their consent. When a “Manager” discovers this isn’t true and just doesn’t work, his/her frustration results in failure.
A friend went into the car dealership Customer Lounge to wait while her car received an oil change and minor repairs.
The reception desk was unmanned for a few minutes when she arrived. When the receptionist returned from the bathroom, a “Manager” came in and berated the receptionist for being absent from her desk.
When she explained about being suddenly nauseous and faint, he disregarded her explanation and ordered her never to do it again. “Next time it happens, I will fire you.” He did all this in a loud voice so all 12 customers in the lounge heard it then walked away looking “pained and proud”. The receptionist quietly cried. She needs the money the job gives her. Most of the customers began thinking about where else they could go the next time their car needed servicing. The “Manager” had no realization of how he had demonstrated to the customers and receptionist that he was inconsiderate and lacked the knowledge to handle the situation with compassion. Do you manage or guide? Nuff Said !!! Wes Zimmerman Want email notification of new blog postings? Click here and send me your email address. You will receive the Blog title and address to reach it every Monday. Wes, Good points as always. Thank you. Hope you are doing well. Keep up the good work. Wayne
See Blog Archives for 2011, 2010, 2009
****************************************************** Building your reputation and business - See Blog # 13, 26, 28, 32, 37, 57, 69, 71, 74, 75, 76, 79, 85, 91, 95, 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 110, 111, 112, 115 Courtesy - See Blog # 31, 66, 68, 69, 71, 95, 99, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 113, 115 Customer care - See Blog # 20, 30, 51, 53, 59, 70, 71, 73, 74, 78 , 80, 82, 88, 92, 93, 95, 97, 107, 109, 112, 115 Educational process - See Blog # 53, 67, 77, 78, 83, 86, 101, 114 Ethics in business - See Blog # 13, 14, 16, 28, 34, 36, 46, 65, 70, 75, 76, 78, 83, 87, 90, 92, 111 Everyday growth/daily happenings - See Blog # 24, 25, 29, 39, 54, 62, 70, 73, 87 Golden principle in business and life - See Blog # 8, 12, 13, 19, 21, 23, 28, 29, 35, 46, 52, 55, 59, 64, 68, 69, 71, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 92, 96, 97, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 109, 110, 111, 113, 115 Growing your business - See Blog # 53, 90, 91, 97, 110, 115 In transition/Looking for work - See Blog # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Leaders leading - See Blog # 79, 112 Love/marriage - See Blog # 11, 63, 64, 94, 96, 105 Managing - See Blog # 109, 110, 112 Marketing and buying - See Blog # Personal growth - See Blog # 12, 17, 29, 39, 61, 67, 72, 81, 90, 111, 114 Pricing your product - See Blog # 58, 65, 98, 99, 100, 101 Respect, honesty, trust - See Blog # 12, 26, 28, 33, 40, 43, 45, 55, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 74, 76, 79, 80, 82, 83, 87, 89, 95, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111 Sales/Selling as it really happens - See Blog # 9, 15, 18, 22, 32, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 56, 70, 71, 75, 77, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88 Supernatural and spiritual - See Blog # 10, 19, 47, 48, 94 Value in experiences - See Blog # 27, 29, 39, 56, 60, 62, 67, 72, 73, 82, 98, 102, 113, 114, 115
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