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Recently I had a friend ask me about a relationship with an organization I had done business with. In particular, he disclosed who in the organization he was working with. Here is the dilemma. I severed my relationship with this firm in large part due this individual and the way he did business and communicated.

A long time ago I took a course by Dale Carnegie in Human Relations and learned that if you can’t say anything good about someone you should not say anything. Yet I have a friend who has asked for ... << MORE >>

I was reading yesterday morning and getting my attitude on, and I read about control. In particular I read how it is important to recognize what we can control (and focus there) vs. what we can’t control, (great way to get frustrated). And, that led me to think of my chosen profession, selling and business development.

If you think about it, traditionally sales people were hired to control the thinking of others to get them to change their minds and ... << MORE >>

What are the immeasurable things that make a measurable difference? The title for this blog came out of a cup of coffee with two good friends where we were discussing trends we saw in the world of business and leadership. We were wondering why some organizations seem to thrive while others struggle.

In the course of this conversation, we talked about traits like, Attitude, Honesty, Environment, Trust, Generosity, A Smile and so on. It struck me how do you measure any of these traits? Yet, we all notice the difference each of ... << MORE >>

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; selling is a life skill. Regardless of your profession, you will have to use selling skills to get ahead. In this essay, we are going to explore one of the more terrifying aspects of selling. The Cold call

There are a number of activities that go into selling. Arguably, the most challenging is “Cold Calling”. Talk to almost any salesperson and ask them what their least favorite part of the game is and they will tell you cold calling. And yet, if we don’t ... << MORE >>

A few years ago I read a book called, The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton. It is a Parable about investing and becoming wealthy. In it he introduced me to the word Lagniappe. This is a value add concept like the Bakers Dozen. A little bit of Extra Value. I can remember when I used to buy donuts when visiting customers, some shops would always throw in an extra one for me. A nice touch.

My wife likes to visit Park Meadows shopping center with her girlfriends when they get together. And when ever they stop into Rosey's Apparel and make a purchase she gets something else. A pair of earrings, a little tote, some lip gel, something.

The result of this is Rosey's has developed a place in my Wife's mind. If they go to the Mall and they are in that section she visits Rosey's whether she needs to or not. And as a merchant getting you in the door is more than half the battle.

Rosey's Apparel has recognized that by giving a little away, they can gain a lot in return. They get it.

What are you doing to add value that is unexpected for your customers?
What can you do?

Take Good Care,

    

Recently I read an Article in the Customer Collective by Kevin Eikenberry that spoke to the idea that as we engage with customers it is important that we ask the question, “What do you expect?” We often engage with clients and colleagues and we don’t ask what do you expect we make assumptions. And Eikenberry’s advice was to ask this question early in the buying process so that everyone is on the same page.

Yesterday I was reading Forbes on line and ... << MORE >>

For a long time I thought that Social Media and online communities like Face Book, Twitter, etc were just for people with nothing else to do. However, I heard enough about it from people I respected that I dipped my toe in several months ago. The way I dipped was on Face Book, Twitter and Linked in.

 I also started to follow individuals and engaged them on line. Essentially I said "Hi, I Like your material." And just like in our day to day world some responded and some did not. At the same ... << MORE >>

Recently I have been following and participating in a discussion on LinkedIn regarding the question of “What is the root cause of the mindset that fails to put customers first”. There are a whole host of good observations and viewpoints on the topic. These, range from, the greed of executive leadership, to ivory tower thinking to the lack of “servant” mentality and so on. I think we could ask this question of all of the organizations we work in. Recent studies have pointed out that, customers expectations continue to fall with respect to customer service. This does NOT ... << MORE >>

How often have you lost a sale to a competitor that you know you could out-perform? How did you respond? Did you blame the “stupid buyer?” Or, perhaps you affirmed that the competition lied to get the business? What if you stepped back and asked yourself, “Why would they have bought from me?”

I have observed hundreds of sales calls and selling cycles in my career. And, I have seen sales won and lost by the intention of ... << MORE >>

My wife was on the phone today with Capital One regarding a disputed charge. While on the phone with (Lets call her) Jenny, my wife learned that Capital One is the only credit card that does not add a surcharge when traveling out of the country and that because there are no  blackouts or time restrictions there are card members that have over 2,000,000 miles.

Let’s look a little closer. Jenny was helping my wife with the dispute. She also passed along two value added pieces of information clearly differentiating Capital One from the ... << MORE >>