Help Needed For Jailbreak
The photo above is one of hope, not despair. Rich Brooks, of Flyte Blog fame and fortune, was once not as family friendly as he is now. Once, a long time ago, he was a rebel without pause !
Nowdays, he’s the ultimate corporate guy, family guy and as charity oriented as anyone with a blog.
Click thru to Rich’s fine blog, join me in donating to Muscular Dystrophy and allow the Law of Reciprocity to enrich your life as you help enrich others lives.
It’s a simple, painless process. Approved by the General of Simple…me.
BTW - the description above, of Rich’s early days was entirely made up to entice you to read further and hopefully donate. All similarities to his younger days would be plain, dumb luck !
Plain and dumb are specialties of mine.
Fire A Customer Today
Having just read a post about firing customers from Seth Godin, I had to chime in with a quick post myself.
I’m glad someone else finally said it. I’ve believed it for a long, long time. I’ve also practiced it and will continue to do so.
In our business, firing customers is the only way to saty fiscally alive and mentally sound.
Years ago, the first time I ever fired one, it made me feel so empowered, it was almost surreal…and I have no idea what tha means. I read it once and wanted to use it someday.
If you feel like you HAVE to sell to EVERY human or sub-human who comes to your door, you’re gonna suffer. Find a way to sell to who you enjoy selling to and you’ll last longer, make more money and enjoy the rest of your days.
Here’s a tip that will make your employees love you all the more and work harder for you :
A downtrodden employee will cost you far more than any customer will enrich you. A motivated employee, who feels like they are worthy of your confidence will make you more than any customer will ever spend.
I had just read an email from Perry Marshall talking about this same thing the other day. Maybe he’ll let me reproduce it here or give us a place to share it. I’ll let you know.
What Do Buyers Think Of Sellers ? 2.0
Here’s the next few thoughts I have in this long-standing debate. It has been 24 hours since I started this series, and that’s a long time for some things. Like blogs.
I love it when a fairly new rep comes into my mighty presence. There’s nothing better than interrupting the speech that his sales manager told him to give. Getting him off track and flustered is almost enough to make my day complete enough to skip the work in front of me and golfing.
If you can’t speak easily about your product or service, stay in your office until you can. DO NOT come to mine !
Is it the bored look on my face as you go on and on and on about your business ?
Is it the fact that I seem uneasy in your presence ? Do you feel my desire to run !
Does my eye-roll at your silly statements of superiority give you any indication of my feeling for you ?
Does your inability to answer even basic questions about ‘ What the heck does this have to do with me ? ‘ not make you want to leave quickly ?
We met a few minutes ago. We’ve never seen or spoken to each other before. What the heck do you need my wife’s name for ? What’s that got to do with your business and ours ? My kids ? Are they gonna be using your services ?
And QUIT using my name in EVERY SENTENCE ! Which seminar was it that taught this lame freakin’ excuse for a tip ?
Stick with the program until we know each other a wee bit better, laddie.
Don’t ask for an appointment and then come in and tell me that I have to do anything. Ask nicely. Be polite. Be firm if you think it will help, but don’t give out any ultimatums or OUT will be one of the words I use.
What happened to old fashioned manners ? Do those goobers that put you guys on the street know chicken soup from chicken squat ?!
That’s enough for tonite, I’m getting too close to a full blown rant !
What Do Buyers Think Of Sellers ?
I see as almost as many salesmen every week as I see customers. Or at least some weeks I do.
At the end of that week I can usually say that I saw not one uncommon salesman among them. Zero. Zip. Nada. None.
Why are there not very many uncommonly good salesmen out there today ? I can think of about 20 to 30 reasons and I’ll start going thru them tonite and keep after it til I can’t think of any more. Or get tired of doing it.
Instead of telling me so much about your business, why don’t you tell me what you can do for my business. Just like a carefully crafted sales letter, I need benefits not features. It’s all about me.
Instead of trying so hard to get me to say yes, why don’t you ask me if your product is really good for my business. You might even try to convince me it’s good for me by showing you have actually studied for the sales call. That would be a first.
Yesterday I made a sales call that had kept me up for several nights. Bothered the heck out of me for weeks. I studied. I reasearched. I looked for a crack to squeeze thru. I also came back to the office with an order for over $215,000. Must have been luck.
My time is my most valuable asset. Don’t waste it by leaving me 6 voicemails in one day. That little bit of time it takes me to listen and delete them is enough to return one more call that I need to make. If I want to talk, I’ll call you back.
I left a message for a customer every day for 3 weeks before they called me back. But only once per day. At precisely 1 PM. Every day. They knew I’d call. I knew they’d call back. Eventually. Oh yeah, that was the sale I spoke about in the previous point. Must have been luck.
Make fewer calls on me and to me and make more intelligent calls.
I wouldn’t mind you calling me every day, IF you have a different tip for me every day. Sometimes I find out about 4-5 projects that will be perfect for a customer of mine. I don’t tell him about all 4 or 5 in the first call, I call every day and make him think I’m really looking out for his business. Afterall, his business is my business.
There will be times when I can’t use your product. There are times when I can’t sell mine. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - When you find out you aren’t getting the order, ASK for the next one. Right then. Right there.
Make it known that you accept their decision like a professional and start working for the next order. Just that little bit of professionalism will put you miles ahead of most sales people out there today. It will also brand you as someone easy to work with and that will increase your sales with 95% of the buyers out there. Don’t whine.
Let it be known that you’re disappointed, but that you are ready to start on the next opportunity.
Here’s a great little slogan to remember and USE :
” Some will, some won’t, so what, so what’s next ? “
Use that to help you get over your disappointment and start your preparations for the next sale.
Another Blogger Gives More Than He Receives
Well it looks like another blogger has joined the ranks of those who give more than they receive.
Today I learned a new word courtesy of Liz Strauss of Successful Blog fame and fortune. Her post about blog tipping transported me gently over to Business Blogwire and another post about blog tipping, written by blog friend Easton Ellsworth.
Without a thought about losing any readership, without a thought about link leak, without a worry about what might happen, Easton tipped his readers toward 3 other blogs ! OMG !
What’s next ? Are bloggers gonna link back when someone links to them ? Are they gonna use internal links with reckless abandon ? Are there any repercussions to be suffered from this atrocious malady ?
You can freakin’ bet there’s repercussions ! They’re called friends ! You’ll end up with some if you aren’t more careful with your linking. Beware or be friended. It’s your choice.
Oh, by the way, this seems to be along the same lines as a post I recently did about Links, Trackbacks and Pings.
Please don’t link to that post…I’m afraid it might spread.
PS - I’m claiming link leak as my phrase…unless you can show me that someone’s already used it.
Carnival Of Marketing At Fire Someone Today
My blog friend Bob Pritchett, over at Fire Someone Today, reminds me that he’s hosting The Carnival of Marketing starting today. Please, everybody please drop by and support Bob.
The Truth About Average 2.0
I’m revising a post from September of ‘05 because I just read a great post by The Sethmeister.
I knew I had written a post about this so I dug it up and am republishing and revising it.
I used this on a co-worker. I don’t know who said it, where I read it or when.
All I know is it’s the truth. 100 % fact. No doubt.
If you think you’re okay just because you think you’re an average worker, you’re wrong.
I hate average people. I hate wishy-washy. I hate fence riders.
Make a decision, Morty. ( remember that line from Bill Murray ? If you know what movie it was, leave me a comment. First one to identify it gets a link, a post, an opportunity to post, or some other fantastical gift I can digitally send you )
I’m not sure why people get up in the morning and go off to school, work, the lake, the golf course or wherever it is they go, and go there without the idea of being exceptional, remarkable or unforgettable.
If you’re average, you’re just as likely to get gobbled up by the world as those that are just below average. Think of it like this: You and I are on a golf course in the Canadian Rockies. We come to hole 11 and we hit our drives over by a river. Cold rushing water with Salmon swimming upstream to get to the place where they turn them into fish-oil capsules. A bear see’s us and starts to chase us. You are an average runner. I’m not. I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.
There is absolutely no reason to ” Wake Up And Be Average ! “. You ever see that book on the NYTimes Bestseller list ? Me neither. Then why the heck do you do it ?
I’m surely not skilled enough with the English language to learn you how to excel, but if you wants to read some fine articles and get some top of the line info on how to excel in all aspects of life, then head over to The Mental Fitness Center and Out Of Bounds. My wife has a multiplicity of good info waiting on you there.
Tell her Mike sent you.
EDIT - I just read a post by Seth Godin about saying No to average.
The Secret To Customer Retention Is No Secret
I’m about as busy as a human can legally be and I’m being bailed out by a guest blogger. My good friend Debbi Bressler of The Home Business Review has responded to my plea for help and has written a fantastic article for us today.
You can follow the link to Debbi’s blog and site and find her About Me page and see all that she can do for you.
Take it away Debbi and thanks for helping me out. You guys go check out Debbi’s site/blog and leave her some comments here and there. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough, if you’re nice to her, to get her to come back on a regular basis.
I continue to preach about how easy it could be for companies to differentiate themselves from the competition with one simple technique. This tactic will not only create referrals and increase retention, but it is absolutely FREE to implement !
It’s called Customer Service.
Yes.
I know you’ve heard it from me before.
But here it is again.
Here’s the deal: As a small business person, you cannot compete with huge corporations with multi-million dollar advertising budgets. At least you can’t compete on their turf. But you can bury these faceless bureaucracies with the proper care and feeding of your customer.
Today’s case in point are wireless carriers.
My mom called me yesterday to tell me that she had just discovered her Sprint bill was wrong. Now, mom only has a cell phone for emergencies and when she and dad travel. She’s had a Sprint cell phone for SIX years. Now, she’s probably not their biggest customer by a long shot, but she’ll probably stay with them forever.
Unless they blow it. Which they did.
Should I point out my mom’s a redhead ? And you KNOW what they say about redheads and their tempers !
Anyway, my mom calls Sprint customer service (or as Clark Howard likes to say, “Customer No Service”) to find out about this new charge. (She’s had the same plan for the past six years so the price doesn’t fluctuate much.)
” It’s because you added international calling. “, the operator says.
Well, I’ve known my mom a pretty long time. And she has NEVER even placed an international phone call ……much less added interntional calling to her cell or landline phone. EVER. They’ve never travelled internationally and don’t have friends or relatives who live abroad.
” Well, this charge has been on here for months. Why don’t you look and see how many international calls I’ve placed in the six years I’ve had this account ? “, she said.
Sprint replies, ” Never. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t order it. ”
Well, this goes on and on. They couldn’t tell her WHO had taken this international order. Only that THEY don’t make mistakes and she did it. Later in the conversation, the lady intimated that because she’s up in years that she may have forgotten that she called to order this.
The Customer Service Rep and the supervisor told her there was nothing they could do. And it was obvious this was a mistake on their part. Someone just keyed in something wrong. (My daughter works for Cingular and she said that is quite common and Cingular CORRECTS the error for their customers.) But they told her that SHE had the problem….not them.
Here are the facts:
- The total cost for this “service” over the months she had it was around $32.
- This was a six year customer.
- The average cost to acquire a new cell phone customer is $300-400. It takes approximately 6-12 months to break even on new customer acquisitions.
Can you say STUPID ?!
Many years ago I had a cell phone with Houston Cellular. Similar circumstance.
One month I found my bill was $37 higher and found that they had instituted a policy that, if you did not specifically sign up for a new plan after one year, your plan would divert to their highest rates. With most companies, you continue on the original plan until and unless you change plans.
When I called to say I was never notified, the CSR told me ” too bad “. The supervisor told me they would not reverse the charges and there wasn’t a darn thing I could do.
So I wrote the Better Business Bureau.
And the Public Utilities Commission.
And the Attorney General’s Office.
Not only did I get my $37 back, but they had to tie up time in their legal department to answer to all three of these cases. Hmmm…..think that might have cost them more than $37 ?
Oh…and….I’m not the quiet type. So you can be assured that I warned everyone about doing business with them. For years.
If you will make exceptional Customer Service your mantra, you can find and keep customers that those big budgeted corporations can never touch.
‘Cause to those big corporations, you are Account #109073403. But to a small business person, you are ” Mr. Jones ” or ” Mary “.
‘Cause loyalty and respect are reciprocated.
And you can’t put a price on that.
Let Down Your Buckets Before You Die
Just read this and had to share it. Funny how these things come to you when you need them most.
A group of explorers were in the Amazon River. A storm came up and washed them out into the Atlantic. Far, far out into the ocean. They ran out of fresh water and then drifted for days, in despair. Suffering untold agony, they were near death from thirst when a ship was spotted.
As the ship grew near they signalled frantically and begged for fresh water. As the rescue ship grew near, the captain yelled back,
The explorers were not aware that the Amazon River remains fresh for more than a hundred miles out to sea. They were drifting in a body of fresh water and dying of thirst at the same time.
Many people/bloggers are like these explorers. In the midst of plenty, they are starving … themselves and others.
In a world overflowing with abundance, they are begging for opportunities. Opportunities are as plentiful as the air. They’re all around you. Let down your buckets and draw upon that ocean of ability and talent you have deep inside of you.
PS - yes, I’m still hacked about the link stingy bloggers and their scarcity thinking.
The Best Observation Of Sales People Ever Done
My blog buddy Mike Smock over at Maneuver Marketing Communique has written the best observation of sales people I’ve ever read.
In his post about the Three Kinds Of Sales Reps he detailed and spec’ed out those three groups as well as they could be done. You could use this for a blueprint, that’s how right he is.
Here’s a little snippet to entice you into clicking thru :
” Entertainers tend to be outgoing, gregarious, friendly folks who are likable sorts and fun to be around. They’re good at dinner, golfing, telling a joke, remembering birthdays, and the name of your fourth son. They’re not necessarily the sharpest tool in the shed but most of the time they know their products and they tend to be very loyal to their customers. “
If that’s not enough reason for you to click thru, how about this :
” Competitors like to win. Selling is a conflict for them with a winner and loser. They tend to be aggressive, sharp, serious, disciplined hard workers and students of their industry, competition and customers. “
That’s enough bait, now grab the link and read the whole thing. And somebody leave a comment and tell ‘em Mike sent you ! Please.
