e-bullet #61

06Feb12

E-BULLET #61

 

 

Networking has become one of those words that have multiple meanings. It’s one of those words that don’t change from a noun to a verb when you add “ing” to the end. It’s also has multiple meanings. A network is a system of many locations with one main title (like NBC or CBS) and a common thread through out (television signals). It’s also an action word meaning to gain information by asking people for specific information. It’s a word that is getting lots and lots of exposure. This is a little extreme but if you call and ask for phone numbers these days you are networking. Directory assistance (we used to say calling the operator) could be called information gathering. That service used to be free fifteen years ago is now a buck or two.

Well sports fans if you’re looking for your business to go to next level stop networking and start referring. Get yourself into the position where you can refer your friends to those who can really help them. It’s not whom you know in this world it’s who knows you. Who you know puts you into the position to refer. When people know you that’s when it puts you in position to be the go-to person when someone needs help with a problem. When you become known as the person who can help solve the tough issues (the stuff that doesn’t seem to get resolved) you will also become the hub in the wheel of referrals. You’ll know it when the e-mails and phone calls start rolling in. People will pay good money to get “their problems solved”. Problems can be anything from poor website maintenance to poor ventilation to getting your flooring taken care of. The emphasis is on the words problem solved. Billions of dollars are spent on shaky information and quick fixes that don’t take care of those nagging issues. Refer the right people to those who need help and watch what happens.

Referrals are golden in both directions. It’s always better to give than receive but it ain’t all that bad when it’s coming your way. There’s an old saying, “Winning isn’t everything but it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place”. Networking is a one-way street. It’s all about getting leads, getting appointments or getting your foot in the door. Referring is all about building a reciprocal relationship that will last a lifetime. Now that’s a win-win deal if you ask me.

Things in life happen for a reason. Several weeks ago Dan O’Dell of the O’Dell Group came speak to our referral group. The group is called Home Service Pros and there are 33 small business owners and we meet once a month. Dan came to speak about his business. Well not actually about his business but about what happens when the power of referring is taken to another level. Actually by definition his business is real estate but in reality it’s the relationship/referral business. There are two things in this world lower than the real estate market, residential new construction and whale poop and that’s at the bottom of the ocean. To listen to Dan talk it’s 2006 and the market is hotter than a “burnt boot”. They had a record year in 2011, their best year ever. What’s the secret? Well yours truly was invited to something Dan calls Break the Fast. It’s there that you can see why Dan’s group (half of them are family members) is knocking them stiff. There were at least 70 people in the room that morning, all of them personal friends of Dan. They are his connections that he uses to help his buyers and sellers have a truly outstanding experience buying and selling their homes. On that particular morning he handed out a number of awards to those who had played a major part in his banner year. The only thing better than giving or getting a referral is being recognized for your efforts in that process. If you don’t think recognition isn’t huge just check out the uniform of any person in the armed forces or the wall of any doctor’s office. Their accomplishments are right there for all to see.

 Referrals are powerful mechanisms for getting business and recognition for giving referrals is a powerful mechanism times ten.

Networking is just the start of the journey. Giving and getting referrals IS the journey and it will last a lifetime if you’ll remember that it’s always better to give than receive. If you help others get what they want in life they will help you get what you want…whatever that is.

All the best.

Jerry

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E-Bullet #60

23Dec11

E-bullet #60

 

 

This e-bullet starts the sixth year of sending out a message that the glass is always half full. I want to put the economy into perspective for you. For anyone who started a business in the last three and half years this economy is normal. Their business isn’t off 80% or 59% or whatever it used to be. It’s up or down compared to the last couple years. History can be a huge hurdle to get over if you let it drive all your decisions. In 1969 the carpet industry was on fire with their latest sensational fiber Kodel Polyester. It was also the year that God invented the words “SHAG”, HARVEST GOLD AND AVOCADO GREEN. Then in 1970 He also invented the shag rack because every square yard of that be/all end/all carpet just rolled over and took nap in thousands of homes across the country. Even today words like Hitler, Stalin, Judas and polyester are synonymous with evil incarnate. But for anyone who started selling carpet in the last twenty years, polyester is not a bad word at all. The other three still carry that baggage and for good reason. So the point is that everything is relative. Polyester fiber today is not the same as it was forty years ago. Hell I’m not either.

 It will take another five years at least until we know what normal is, if then. So business is what it is right now. By now if you’re still “vertical” or as everyone else says, still standing you’ve trimmed all you can from your overhead sails. With the exception of the sign out front of your business or the letterhead on your website you look nothing like you did five years ago. You are as lean and mean as the new guy that started his or her business thirty-six months ago. You have what all of us wanted when we were young, the experience of a hardened veteran. You’ve learned the lessons and have the scars of battle that this “next class” of rookies doesn’t have. Now to be fair these “rookies” have what us vets don’t and that’s the energy to get out there early and stay out there late.

Whether your pistol has hundreds of notches on the handle or you’ve just learned how to fire it, arm yourself with fresh ammunition constantly because your target is changing all the time. By that is meant avail yourselves of that new “ammunition” that some of us call electronic networking and others call Social Media. Jeffrey Gitomer calls it the Social Boom. He has completely changed the direction of his company to take maximum advantage of the hundreds of millions of Face Book, You Tube, Twitter, My Space and LinkedIn subscribers to name a few, who have taken over the world. Delegating this to someone else is like moving to a foreign country and relying on translators to control your business. You’ll never learn the language if you don’t get involved. There isn’t a one size fits all Social Media site that works for everyone. If your business survives on repeat business then Linkedin is terrific. The others will take you in different directions depending on the market you want to exploit.  Anyone born after 1990 will grow up shopping electronically for everything even houses and cars.

Maintaining your website is a little like what you wear. You wouldn’t think of wearing the same pair of slacks or skirt everyday for even a week. Doing so would certainly send the wrong message. If you’re not changing/updating you website on a regular basis you’re sending the wrong message not to mention dating yourself. There was a guy who had so many gravy stains on his tie that he wore everyday that he could have survived for a week by eating it. Don’t be that person electronically.

As we charge into 2012 forget everything that happened before 2009 it’s not relevant anymore. Most of your competition wasn’t around before that anyway. Oh and keep a smile on your face. It’ll make people wonder what you’re up to.

All the best in 2012.

Jerry

 

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E-Bullet #59

03Dec11

E-BULLET #59

 

 

It will be 2012 before you know it. The real temptation here is to rail against those in power who have made it an art to completely dodge their sworn obligation to obey the wishes of those who put them there. All of that frustration will be unleashed this time next year. In the mean time we should all take notes on how those con artist in Washington will sell themselves to the great unwashed, known as US. They have millions of dollars to run ad campaigns telling US how they did all they could to do when we sent them back there.  The least we can do is we can all take notes. There’s not a scenario out there that you could recreate in your own professional lives that would rival what you will witness starting the first of next year. The only thing that can be guaranteed is that this time year you’ll be worn slick with “if you’ll just give me one more shot at fixing everything that I promised to fix the last time” pitch.

In all that rhetoric there has to be one phenomenal line or one phrase that will convince US to bend over and grab our ankles one more time. It will be fun to see whom the real salespeople are running for office. They only need a simple majority to win another trip back to the land of OZ. Study them all well you’ll be glad you did. One year from now there will be another epistle about winners and losers.

 How about for now we focus on getting ourselves sold to all those potential million dollar customers. Our customers will provide the income that the politicians will want to “borrow” from US to take care of last year’s shortcomings. Politicians are the masters of media. We don’t have the resources they do but we can use some of their logic to pin point our message. A good PR firm could be priceless if your budget allows for that. You can also pinpoint your message through Constant Contact or other e-mail driven venues. There are very few of us whose target audience is anyone who can “fog a mirror”.  It’s important to hit those potential customers who have a need for what you’re offering and it’s also important to make sure they have the horsepower to buy (and pay for) what you’re selling.

Some of us are looking for one-time buyers like those wanting to buy a house and others (like flooring companies) who make their living selling to repeat customers like homebuilders and remodelers. Whatever your message always keep it fresh. To hear or see the same message month after month is tedious at best and down right obnoxious if left out there too long.

There’s a fine line in advertising between being effective and being a turn off. If you’re using print it’s important to have your picture in the ad. It adds a sense of connection when someone sees you in the store or on the street. If it’s TV you’re using please have some one who will be honest with you to tell you if you sound and or look ridiculous. Some of the “home grown” stuff that’s out there is just sad. There are some companies that use the same spokes person year after year and that’s terrific if it is consistent with your message over the course of time. Some examples that come to mind here in Kansas City are Weber Flooring’s Maggie Weber, Carpet Corner’s Rochelle and Crowley Furniture with Greg and Laura Crowley. In the world where national and regional store chains are selling/appealing to your potential customer, that “buy local from your neighbors” theme is huge. The “chains” are masters at getting consumers up off their apathy and into the spending stream. Once the buyers are “chummed up” with loss leaders, it’s important for you to keep your lure (that means to get your message out there) in the water. Once you get a bite it’s time to kill’em with unforgettable customer service. You can go one on one with any larger competitor and win with that strategy.

If you’re just getting starting it’s important to mention your experience in the business you’re in like; “we have 25 years of combined experience here”. It will make up for the lack of years “owning the business” part of your message. If you have been around awhile you’ll know that one of the tools that is rarely used is the number of satisfied customers you have served over the years. That number could be staggering if you’re in your fourth decade of business.

This could go on for a lot longer but enough is enough. Use your head when you’re allocating funds for your message. Just make sure that it is consistent with the image you want to project.

All the best.

Jerry

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e-bullet #58

04Nov11

E-BULLET #58

 

 

 

Have you ever been fired? You know when you’re being dropkicked across the parking with what’s left of your dignity bouncing right along with you? Well sports fans if you haven’t yet, it’s ain’t fun. It’s demeaning, embarrassing and a down right moral buster. Everything you were or thought you were is now subject to question. It’s a wake up call that’s tells you that the world (your client) can get a long without you. Certainly in the position you held anyway. It’s not on the same level as the death of a friend but it’s pretty close. It can be you and or your team being relieved from a project you thought was perking right along. Or maybe you just lost a crucial client. There is no such thing as an unimportant client that you just lost. Clients are just like mystery seeds when you finally get them planted and they start to grow, there’s no telling just how large they can become. It’s that loss of all the potential business that’s the hardest to handle. When it happens it’s time to look at every aspect of how you handle your customers. People will say that it’s not how well you know your customer it’s how well your (ex) customer knew you. Chances are that somewhere in your chain of command there was a weak link, someone was just doing what it took to “do their job” and nothing more. Maybe it was you not making sure that everyone was pulling in the right direction. Always question what you could have done better that would have avoided this loss of a customer, loss of future business and a future recommendation that would have resulted in getting someone else to “give you shot” at their business. It is virtually impossible to be replaced by a competitor if you were “bark tight” close to your client. This is where many people don’t follow through. If you haven’t taken your top twenty clients out to lunch in the last six months your competition already has. You are toast and don’t know it. This economy has become a survival of the toughest. Think of your competition as termites gnawing away at your foundation. Rarely do those seeking to take your business away from you bowl over your customers in one tremendous presentation. If that’s the case you didn’t have them to start with.

Some of you reading this are in an industry where the customer has several sources of supply to keep their business going. In that case you might go from the lead dog to eating snow. In others you are the critical part of his business and if someone takes your place you are “last week’s newspaper”. Either way you have lost business and getting your spot back won’t be easy if at all.

Some of you might be saying, “Wow this e-bullet is kind of dark”. Hopefully it’s that shot across the bough that will cause you to look at your customer base and ask, what are we not doing to keep these guys our best reference?  Look at those who put food on your table and ask when did the credit manager of your company call just to thank them for their support. That usually happens the second Tuesday of each week at your place, right? Everyone on the team should take it upon themselves to call when there isn’t a problem or a thorny issue and say, “Thanks for your business”. You have nothing to loose but your livelihood.

Experience can be a cruel taskmaster and for those of you who haven’t been there sitting in that parking with a boot print on your knossorator take this as experience speaking. Please do not send flowers but instead make a contribution to your own “save a customer fund” and do it today. It could be worth a $million down the road..

All the best.

Jerry

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e-bullet #57

11Oct11

E-BULLET #57

 

 

 

All of us have attended events where there is a speaker who talks about getting the most out of your sales call. Most of what was said has been said before by any one of a number of folks. You always have to work on your listening skills. Always bring something to take notes with even if you have a photographic memory, it will impress the person you are meeting with. Always restate what the person has said that you’re meeting with and then say,  “I want to make sure that this is what you want”. The speaker also used the words “what if and if only” a lot.

As some of us are pursuing our dreams, the rest of us are unable to pull the trigger. You know the old saying, “Ready Aim Fire”. For most of us it’s Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim. We just can’t take that shot at our dreams. Somewhere between the “what ifs” and the “if onlys” we remain on the sidelines telling ourselves that the timing isn’t good, if only the economy was better, what if someone knocks off our idea and beats us to the market and the killer “what if” I fail? The fear of failure has killed more potentially great entrepreneurs than cancer. Here’s one excuse that will knock your hat in the creek; “What if I succeed?” What will my friends say? Some of them have said that my ideas will never work. Well kiddies they’re not your friends. They are dedicated to a life of “oh poor me” and keeping you on their level is their life’s goal. There is nothing more inspiring than to hear of someone who has taken a concept and made it just a little better. Or has captured a larger part of their market by canceling their auto-attendant and making sure the phone is answered by a real “English speaking person” on the first or second ring. If need be the call is answered by the owner. That’s called adding more value to their service. The examples just given here are not earth shacking breakthroughs, just a couple of tweaks on the current way of doing business.

Here’s something you might try, get to know the really successful people in your field and connect with them on LinkedIn (electronic networking). If they are in your area, see if you can’t take them to lunch or just buy them a glass of iced tea. Ask what they have done to “break through”. Even money says that all of them will tell you that Luck played some part in their success. What you will also find out is that they didn’t swat “it” over the fence on their first attempt either. They “failed” a few times before they made it. The other common trait is that they’re having fun at what they do. You’ll never ever meet a truly successful person that just hates what they’re doing. You can’t be successful without the passion to succeed. Passion and energy are synonymous. Please remember that. Look at you’re good at, what you’re natural strengths are. You will always have plenty of energy to finish what you enjoy doing. If you can’t say that about what you’re doing right now, align yourself with something that really turns your prop. You will probably be great at it.

The gentleman finished his presentation last Thursday with these two quotes from Marianne Williamson, “There is nothing enlightening about shrinking back so that others around you won’t feel insecure”. The other is. “Playing small does not save the world”. These two quotes are telling us to grab for that Brass Ring and never listen to those who’ll tell you to stay where you are.

Oh yeah, you’re too old to try you say? Bologna, Colonial Sanders started KFC at age 65 and Ronald Reagan became the 40^th President of the United States at age 72. Age is just a number make it a badge of honor. Don’t get to the end of your life and say,  “If only I would have done this or tried that”. The grim reaper comes for all of us at some point. Make him have to tackle you from behind while you’re going 100 MPH with your hair on fire pursing your dreams.

All the best.

Jerry

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E-Bullet #56

03Sep11

E-BULLET #56

 

 

Over the last ten years or so there has been a noticeable down turn in the number of people who give of their time and energies for one cause or another.  What you see today is the same group of people at virtually all of the “volunteers needed” events.  In some cases you could put the all volunteers in one car. That’s ok because if you’re a devout believer in the power of networking the best events in town, you might have the entire room to yourself. Well with the exception of those you carpooled with that day. Taking a line from Top Gun the entire room was “a target rich environment”. 

You should belong to a number of organizations that deal with your products or your industry. These groups are your passports to opportunities. All of them have councils and committees that are always looking for new blood. People with fresh ideas and the energy it takes to brighten up the room. It is these groups where you’ll meet other disciples of your networking faith.  It is also here where you’ll learn about social networking or as it should be called, electronic networking. Social networking sounds like a singles club or maybe a swingers club.  That’s another e-bullet down the road.

There’s always a story in these bullets someplace. Several weeks ago a friend called and asked for the name of a builder. He said that he and his wife were co-chairs of a citywide fundraiser for a well-known wonderful organization. He said that he wanted a dollhouse built so could be auctioned off the night of their banquet.  What he really wanted was modest size playhouse to go in the backyard of the highest bidder. Builders don’t actually build but they know people who do. One phone call to a friend who owned a framing company and the deal was done. The owner of that company had a couple of employees who had benefited from the organization (Hospice) and agreed to donate their time and talent to build it. All of this happened in less than fifteen minutes. The end result was a beautiful 8’ x 10’ white playhouse with light blue trim and pink fish scale shingles. Very few of us volunteer with the hope of exposure or notoriety but it comes along as a thank you for helping out. It’s the same with getting involved with committees. People see your desire to help out the organization and will seek you out for your help with their company down the road. The more you’re involved the more you’ll see positive results. 

It is fun to watch someone taking that first step and volunteer to be on a marketing committee or council. Within two meetings he or she develops friendships that become sources for new business with people that would not have happened if they just stayed on the sidelines. Don’t waste your money joining a group if your intent is to just attend the monthly lunches once in a while. Give that money to your favorite charity where it will do some good.

Every minute of your day represents a real investment of your time. Make whatever you invest it in worthwhile. It’s really all about time. So many of us just twitter away years of our lives thinking yeah I’ll get involved someday when I have the time. It’s the classic woulda, coulda, shoulda syndrome. “’I‘d get involved IF I could just find the time”. “I get involved BUT I have to go out and make calls”. No one reading this has ever said or thought those last two statements, no, not this group, you’re different. “If, IF and BUT were a candy and a nut what a wonderful Christmas we’d have”. Dandy Don Meredith, former quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys used to say that and it’s still appropriate today.  Another old saying, “You can’t spell vol nteer without “U” also hits home.

Call today or if this is midnight call first thing in the morning and get started with some of the most fun you’ll ever have, generating a terrific return on that all important investment, YOUR TIME.

All the best.

Jerry

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E-Bullet #55

26Jul11

-BULLET #55

 

 

For those of us who have a few years of selling under our belts this may not come as a revelation. You could bet a lunch that those of you that make it a habit to make that last sales call after 5:30pm every day have a terrific success ratio of writing an order.  For the rest of you 5:30 is sitting in traffic in your car someplace. The movers and shakers don’t go home at the “regular time” they stay around the office and get ready for tomorrow or just dream and scream about their next project or product campaign. It’s a great time to make that call because all of your competition has gone home! Another great thing about making a call at that time of day is that it’s quiet and you can take care of business quicker with the office being quiet. Not all of your customers are in their office at 5:30 pm but they are there at 6:30 in the morning. Some of us just can’t wait to get “in the saddle” to get a jump on things. Like the end of the day it’s quiet at that time too. Part of this exercise is knowing your customer, knowing when they hit the door in the morning or when they turn off the light at the end of the day. Your best transactions will take place when it’s quiet. Let your customer tell you when that time is. A lot of us have to travel as part of our territory. If it’s your first time in a particular town drive by your accounts’ addresses to see who is still working after hours. It will surprise you. The first time just stop in to say “hi” and let them know you’ll be by tomorrow. Don’t take anything with you to show them. It’s a great time to just shoot the breeze for five minutes. That also works the same way in the morning. Know when your customers are there working and take maximum advantage of that. In my current job of business development I’m not the person that makes buying decisions so no one is seeking me out. I do notice who is “working overtime” at the end of the day because they are here after 5:00 talking to the buyer. The buyer is an evening guy. You could count on one hand and not use all of your fingers to get to the ones who use that quality time to make that sales call.  The rest of them stumble by headed to the buyer’s office between 10:00 and 2:00.

Somewhere in the last twenty years or so the rules have changed with respect to selling and making sales calls.  We all know the landscape has changed in the last twenty plus years, there are selling props today that didn’t exist back then. A cell phone today has a hundred times more capacity than the first moon capsules had. But all of those props that are available today cannot produce a dime’s worth of business without you getting up “early” every morning or staying around “after” hours in the evening to make that call. Our new toys allow us to be in ten or hundred places at once by getting the word out about something that’s on sales this week or a new feature you have now when your customer reorders your products. It’s also a great way to network with your business friends. Some of us even write monthly E-BULLETS to get our thoughts out to our friends. Never under estimate the power of personal contact, about spending some quality time showing your customer how you can make them confiscatory profits with what you have to sell.

When you boil away all the fat, that’s what it’s all about, making your customer money. Your customer will always make the time to see something new if you just keep that in mind because if they’re making great money with your stuff, you’re making money. Give your customers what they want; – PROFITS – and you’ll get a customer for life. Oh yeah you’ll also have a friend and friends love to buy from friends.

All the best.

Jerry

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e-bullet #54

30Jun11

E-Bullet #54

 

 

I just finished reading a book that captured my attention from start to finish. It helps that it was well written. The only way I can explain my feelings is that when I walked out of the movie Schindler’s List I was exhausted. The same can be said for this book. It’s called UNBROKEN and it’s about an airman who goes down in the Pacific with his crew on a B-24. I will not spoil it for any of you that are currently reading it or plan to pick it up down the road. It takes the reader on an odyssey into the human spirit both mentally and physically. You learn that physical toughness can only be trumped by mental toughness and the whys as to one man surviving under the identical conditions and the man next to him doesn’t.

It’s the same in the business world on many levels. Why do some of us make it and some who are given the same tools and training don’t. The only example that I can use with any accuracy is a guy I met over forty years ago. We both started our sales careers on January 1^st 1970 after four months of the best training that was available at the time. The first three years were tough because we did exactly as we were told. We read the Monday morning objectives for that week. His territory wasn’t going anywhere with his sales figures always in the lower half of the company. It got to the point that in the late summer of 1973 he was told that if things didn’t get better he was not worth keeping. He came to me one day and said, “I guess I’d better look for something else”. Until that time we did what we were told to do and that was read the sales bulletins and go ask for the order. It’s been said that things happen for a reason. By the grace of God he was sent to a day and a half selling seminar for those of us who were given one more chance to turn things around. He drove home that afternoon of the second day a changed man. The main theme of that seminar had been a single phrase that became his “AHA” moment. It was “sell the sizzle and not the steak”. He was like Moses off the mountain that evening. The only difference was that his hair didn’t turn white, it turned loose! The sizzle was the idea not the product; it was the intangible, the reason to say “yes”, the dealmaker. He had been trying to sell a product line that was as exciting to sell as a dial tone, linoleum floors. Most of it was as ugly as a mud fence. His idea/pitch became, “Mr. Dealer I’m not here to sell you anything, I’m here to make you money, a lot of money”. He had been trapped into thinking that he was there to “save” the guy some money.  His new mission was to show him how much money he could “make” when the dealer bought his flooring. After all it was why the dealers were in business to start with and that phase allowed him to turn the corner. He also learned right after that, that being really interested in your customer’s business didn’t hurt either. He got to know all about their families, their hobbies and what turned their propeller outside of the business. He cared about them and their business and it paid off in spades.

Most of the people I know and/or interact with today never attend after hours networking events. That tells me that their job is just a job and not a career. There are very few people out there that are known as “Mr. Cabinet Guy” or Mr. Appliance Man or Ms. Bath Fixture Lady. My friend became known as Mr. Armstrong Floors. He became the cream of the crop, the best of the best and in 1975 was awarded a Master Salesmen Certification out of a national sales force of 200. He went from the Outhouse to the Penthouse in just two years. We stay in contact on a regular basis to this day.

Ask yourself, am I one of these idea people whose mission in life is to make their customer confiscatory profits or am I just another person who shows up at the monthly lunches or the annual golf outing trying to get a potential customer’s attention? You don’t have to be tall or handsome or have perfect teeth; you just have to give a damn (now there’s an idea) about those who put food on your table and how much better your life would be with a few more “friends” in it. GET THE IDEA?

All the best.

Jerry

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e-bullet #53

02Jun11

E-BULLET # 53

 

 

I wonder what the suicide rate for economists is today. If I had to write about what’s going on in the world everyday I would be living on “uppers” every morning or evening depending upon when I started writing my epistle. The P.I.G.S. (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are bumbling along with Greece about to paddle their canoe over the falls any time now. You could make a case for the US of A being in the same boiling pot but it wouldn’t make the broth taste any better.

 We had some cluck running around for the last year saying that world would come to an end last week. Where was I when all those poor souls were giving away everything they had? I’m on all the social networks; the next time this guy pops up I’m going to tell the world that my place is the next depository for their wealth. Some one once said that this would make a great comedy if it weren’t true. You don’t have to look very far if you’re looking for a reason to feel sorry for yourself. If that’s what you’re looking for here go ahead and click this off.

There are people becoming wealthy everyday right in the middle of this less than stellar time. They have figured out what they’re pretty good at and set out to become the best there is at what they do. Oh yeah you say? Give me an example. Ok how many of you have ever made a very good living selling lemonade at ball games? How many of you have even considered doing this. Well there was a young man several years ago that showed up at one of our major league ballparks selling his own brand of lemonade. You all have seen most of these vendors climbing the isles barely audible. Well this young man could be heard all over the stands crying LEMONADE, LEMONADE, LEMONADE and then would follow it up with a WOOOOOOOOOO! After a while the entire crowd would follow with a chorus of WOOOOOOOO! This kid became a celebrity; it was like buying a drink from one of the players. His energy level was off the charts. He made the price ($4.00) seem irrelevant. He made people smile. He made people to buy lemonade when most stadiums couldn’t give it away. Passion trumps almost any obstacle.

Fast forward to now. How would you like to be a homebuilder in today’s economy? No way you say, no one’s buying houses unless they’re half price. We have one in our market who is not only selling houses but also a lot of them when our market is off only 85%!

His name is Fred Delibero and he owns Summit Custom Homes. If that’s not challenging enough Fred and his team partnered with St Jude’s Hospital in Memphis Tenn. to raffle off one of his houses with all of the proceeds going to cancer research. His company kicked off this event and you would have thought they were erecting the new Freedom Tower. This event had non-stop coverage for several weeks following the initial press conference. Lizzi Hartzell is the “ball of fire” running this project. Zalman Kohen is the Vice-President and General Manager keeping the gears turning and the wheels greased for all facets of the business. Fred’s passion simply overpowered all those who thought that doing this now wouldn’t work. Oh yeah, their goal was to sell 9,000 tickets (at $100 each) by the end of June. They started in April and as of two week ago they were approaching 6,000 sold. Summit Custom Homes isn’t taking a break from building and selling homes during this time period. It’s business as usual and business as usual is not stopping to read about some loon talking about the end of the earth.

Until you become passionate about what you do, you will be at the mercy of all those who will say, “Now is not the time, wait a while, trust me”. Trust your instincts they will really let you down.

All the best.

Jerry

 

 

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Laughter

15Apr11

E-BULLET #47

Laughter

I watch people constantly. I watch them when I can stand off to the side and observe their actions. I watch the wait staff at restaurants. I watch those folks who check us out at the stores. I watch sales people in retail stores and sales reps as they make their pitch on flooring products. What’s always refreshing to watch is some one who can use humor effectively in their presentation. Humor is a powerful weapon when you want the person you are with to remember the conversation you are having.

If you can get them to laugh you have their attention. Laughter is extremely contagious and like passion it’s incredibly energizing. We all feel better after we laugh; it’s like a good sneeze. It puts everyone in the “right” mood. It can be a game changer if you’re in sales and all of us are selling something, ideas, philosophies, views and of course products. If you can do it with humor your chances of getting the order go up dramatically.

I use one-liners when making a point. They’re called,  “RATWAYISMS”. If a flooring pattern is really ugly I’ll say,” That’s ugly enough to scare the balls off a pool table”.  If confusion is the issue, it’s “I don’t know whether to scratch my watch or wind my aspirator”. It’s ok to poke fun at yourself, self-deprecation when used at the right time can be very disarming, and you’ll be perceived as very human. “When I first started selling I was the only one in the sales training class who brought a cheat sheet in for a urine test. The only problem with my golf game is that I stand too close to the ball after I hit it.” Lines like these when used at the right time are very effective for me; if you can get them to laugh you have’em.

If you’re serious by nature, first of all I’m jealous but more importantly when you use humor you’ll knock’em dead because no one will see it coming. There are a million books out there written about getting a head, making all the money you need, keeping customers for life and having wonderful lifelong relationships but I haven’t read a single chapter in all these books that is titled, “You can ‘have it all’ just be drier then a popcorn fart” Humor is tough for some of us but work at it and it will get easier, not easy just easier.

The point of this e-bullet is to let you know that you have incredible powers that lie just under your personality, waiting to be tapped like a pool of oil. A few of us are cursed with what some say as being incurably odd (I call it incurably creative), maybe even crazier than an outhouse mouse.

Four and half years ago my wife me a book called The Little Red Book of Sales Answers by a guy that I had never heard of, Jeffrey Gitomer.  Today I own and have read’em all, several times, more because I’m a slow reader with poor comprehension than anything else. I have been writing most of me life but it was Jeffrey that convinced me to start writing to get connected far beyond my normal range of influence. Four years ago last month I started writing what I call e-bullets, short for electronic bulletins and sending it to friends via e-mail. I sent the first one out to fifteen unsuspecting friends and associates. Today it goes to over fourteen hundred e-mail addresses. They are by design not commercials for products but my thoughts on what “turns my prop” and what I’m passionate about. The unintended consequence is that I have gotten business from these bullets every month.

This is my forty-first year of selling at many levels in the flooring business. I have run  a couple of companies in that time but owned one.  I have always been connected with sales and always in the flooring business.

I am a Master Sales Award winner with William Volker Co in 1975, four times Distributor of the Year for Tarkett flooring products in 1984, 1986, 1987 & 1993. Associate of the Year 2008, Membership Drive Winner Greater Kansas City HBA, Ambassador Award Winner Kansas City Chapter N.A.R.I.

Member Board of Directors KC HBA, KC NARI and ASID Missouri West & Kansas

Bog site: http://lonestarjr.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jratway

Linkedin: jerry ratway

Facebook: jerry ratway

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