by Tech Support | Nov 29, 2011 | Sales
I’m crazy about Rick Houcek and his 2-Minute Monday Motivator. Usually, I try to stay away from political commentary but I just felt like Rick was so incredibly eloquent that I had to share his post. I hope you and enjoy and recommend signing up for his newsletter. See the information below!
Quick Inspiration To Start Your Week…
from Rick Houcek
Success Achieved Honorably Requires No Apology: Is it just me, or is anyone else fed up with these protesters who are turning beautiful city parks into trash-littered dump sites? On TV, I have yet to hear two protesters articulate the same group purpose. Some admit they came hoping there was free food. They’re confused, unorganized, and their ranks are dwindling. A guy in Atlanta has become the unofficial spokesperson for the local group and captures all the on-air face time. If he channeled his initiative more productively, he could have his own reality TV show by now.
I have empathy for people out of work, but no sympathy for those who blame ambitious achievers for what they don’t have. Get real. The media claims the movement’s slogan is “We are the 99” referring to the wealth gap between the wealthiest 1% of Americans and the other 99. Well, I’ll speak for the 1%. My clients are all entrepreneurs, CEOs, presidents, senior executives and managers who run companies that employ, in total, hundreds of thousands of people who, in turn, provide good lives for their families, enjoy vacations, and send their kids to college. Their companies provide useful goods and services (bought by protesters), and they are the engine that runs America. They take financial risks and make sacrifices the 99% wouldn’t dare. They’re honest, hard-working, relentlessly overcome obstacles, tenaciously improve themselves, care deeply about their employees, and donate large sums (quietly) to worthy causes. Yes, they make a lot of money and deserve every penny. Are they corrupt? No! (Sure, there’s a 3% ‘dishonest fringe’ in every people category. But 97% of the 1% are exactly as I have described.) We should be protesting the protesters, who expect handouts and entitlements in return for nothing. Question for You: If you’re in the 1% – or aspire to be – are you embarrassed by your ambition and success? For heaven’s sake, stop it. Man up. You need not be boastful, but be proud, not ashamed, and never apologize or feel guilty for triumphs achieved honorably.
Power Thought: “If you truly want a better life, do whatever it takes. Otherwise, give yourself and those around you a break and just admit you don’t want to pay the price, that you’d rather whine and complain than step out of your comfort zone and do what’s necessary to make things better for yourself.” John Assaraf, author, speaker, entrepreneur.
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Want More? To learn about Rick Houcek’s full range of strategic planning, goal setting, and leadership coaching services and products — specifically for entrepreneurs, CEOs, presidents, senior executives, managers, team leaders, and other high achievers — visit www.SoarWithEagles.com.
To Subscribe To “2-Minute Monday Motivator” (it’s free): Go to www.SoarWithEagles.com and fill in your name and email address in upper left of home page.
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by Tech Support | Nov 28, 2011 | Sales
Hopefully the title has done its job, and you’ve clicked on this wondering what the magic word is.
Good customer service?! Yes!
Good products?! Yes!
A good sales team?! YES!
All of those things are good. All of those things take vision. But the real way to crush the competition is not having vision. After all, didn’t the competition also take a risk because of a vision they had? Aren’t they your competition because they too had a dream?
The difference between good and great are the logistics that take vision and bring it to fruition. The answer, then, to crushing the competition is STRATEGY.
What is your marketing strategy, your sales strategy, your customer service strategy, or your social media strategy?
In talking to many FEC and bowling center operators at IAAPA, I found they don’t currently have these strategies in place. Do you? And if your competition has these strategies in place, how do you think they will fair? They’ll certainly have a leg up come 2012!
Don’t let your beautiful creation of a vision be crushed by the weight of reality! Spend a few hours in 2011 PLANNING your vision; make a step-by-step process on how to turn your vision into vitality.
For example, many centers I spoke with don’t have a marketing strategy. When I asked, “Why not,” I was told because they don’t have a marketing department. Okay – now we’re getting somewhere. “Do you have a sales department or team,” I asked. “Of course,” was always the reply. Well, if marketing drives sales and you have a sales department, why not ask them why they think people buy from you? {Insert looks of “Ah-HA!” here}
Your sales team should know why people buy from you. YOU should know why people buy from you. What makes you unique? What makes you special? Is it the experience or the price (I bet for most of you it’s the experience!) that sets you apart?
You and your sales team are a very good start to answer these questions (which are inevitably the key to building your strategy), but would you like to know a GREAT – possibly THE GREATEST – resource for these questions?
How about your consumers?
It used to be that we had to send out surveys (that people never completed) or ask every, single customer how their experience was as they were leaving (which got to be painstaking). But with the advent of social media you have a direct line to your most loyal customers. Why not ask them what sets you apart?
I know some of you are gasping in your chairs reading this…”Oh my GOSH – Brooke’s gone mad!” I encourage you to really think about this strategy though. More than likely, as I stated earlier, you’re selling an EXPERIENCE to your customers, right? More than likely, if someone is your fan on Facebook or your follower on Twitter they’ve HAD that great experience, right? Wouldn’t it make all the sense in the world to ASK those people about it?
Whenever I have this talk with people the “fear factor” inevitably emerges. “What if they say something negative?” Well, what if they do?
Can you immediately reach out to this person, in a public forum, apologize and ask to fix it? Yes. Can you give this person a direct line to contact you, in a public setting, so you can find out more information? Yes. Can you find out something about your employees, your products, or your service that you may not have known? Yes.
What if it’s an easy fix? Can you then go back to that public forum, thank your community for their insight and advice, and inform them that you LISTENED and FIXED the problem? YES! How many of your competitors are using that strategy? Not many…
I’m getting off my soapbox now…
My point is this: There are resources beyond measure in front of you right now (by way of social media), and using those resources can vastly improve your strategy…which will improve your vision…which will ultimately improve your bottom line and crush the competition. The strategy should not be B2B or B2C, but P2P (people-to-people or peer-to-peer).
Ask questions. Come up with a strategy, tactics or a plan of attack – and do it before the New Year! Your competitors are already doing this, and if they aren’t? Well, now YOU have the leg up.
Need a strategy? Let’s talk! Comment below or reach out to me on the TrainerTainment Fan Page for some tips on a step-by-step strategy for your vision!
by Tech Support | Nov 12, 2011 | Sales
When you say no to a child or tell them they can’t do something what usually happens? In my experience, the most likely result is that the child will try harder to do whatever it is they are being restricted from, or they will continued to ask to do other things until they receive a yes. The truth of the situation is that everyone wants a yes answer all the time. We feel good when we hear yes rather than no and we are more inclined to respond in a pleasant and confident manner when given positive reinforcement rather than negative.
Rather than saying, “No, you aren’t allowed to do this or that,” respond by giving an alternate option to what the kid is doing. For example, if you tell a child, “Don’t play in the street,” most likely the child only hears, “Play in the street.” They want to know what’s so important in the street. What’s there to see, and why are they restricted from going?
Inevitably the parent’s afternoon will be centered around telling their child no over and over again. It’s challenging for a parent to feel the need to police their child’s behavior, and the child does not feel so great being told no. Rather than giving the negative in the beginning let’s look at this from a different angle: What is the most desirable end result? Most likely the parent wants the child to play in the yard, and this is a totally reasonable request. The reality is the yard is safer, and the kid will have more fun playing in the grass with the dog rather than running around on asphalt in danger of being struck by a car.
So how can mom alleviate a stressful afternoon of watching the kids and keeping them safe? Start the day positive! Tell the child what they can do, and eliminate the negative. For example, tell the kid, “You can play in the yard” this will shift the attention from the street to the yard. Keep the subject focused on what is possible and positive. Redirecting the child’s focus to the yard will greatly reduce the chances of the street being an attractive option.
So how does this relate to business and sales, you ask?
At work, with friends, or while completing an independent task we are often faced with challenging questions that can spur a, “no” or a, “I don’t know,” response. Is this really true? Are there situations where we need assistance or more training to give a definitive answer? Yes, of course!
It’s extremely challenging to become an expert about any subject, and we are all learning to serve and communicate better with one another. Even though you may think the answer to a customer’s question is no, I encourage and challenge you to focus on the positive and what you know instead.
This topic came to my attention by one of our Sales Shopper callers. He relayed a story to me from a birthday inquiry he made with one of our Sales Shopper clients. The location the mystery caller called has three standard party packages, one of which includes ten adults in the cost of the package. Our Sales Shopper representative asked if there was a package that came with fewer adults because he only anticipated on having five attend the gathering.
Based on the standard packages offered by this location, the easy answer was, “No we do not have a package with fewer adults.” Although, if we stop to think about what is known at this particular location, there was an alternative way to answer the question. This facility allows for a party to add on adults to any package. To avoid the no answer to the caller’s inquiry, and to better serve the guest, the customer service representative could have offered an alternate suggestion by describing a smaller base package without adults and explaining they could customize it to include the number of adults attending.
This is a prime example of how focusing on what you KNOW rather than saying NO can help to serve the guest. When we say no to a potential guest we are a putting up barriers to new business, and in all likelihood we do know the answer to the question, and we can create a situation to serve their needs.
So how can we move from giving a quick no response to digging in and thinking about what is KNOWN?
There is a need to change our habits of response. We all fall into the trap of using negatives. We are trained and conditioned to some degree to categorize our lives into yes and no lists. We block others and ourselves by saying no. On a personal level, if we are restricting ourselves from what we want to do by thinking, “No, this can not be done,” then we are left with a feeling of loss or disappointment. If we say no to a guest as described in the example above we are setting up a situation for the potential customer to call another location where the may receive a yes response.
So what is the solution? I say work to keep your speech positive all the time. If you initial response is to say no, take a deep breath and a few seconds to come up with an alternative. This only takes a moment. In the beginning it may seem challenging and the benefits of speaking positively may take time to show themselves. It is a continuous process of self-editing.
Take the challenge this week, and see how often the no factor appears in your mind. Be it with a personal situation like, “Should I eat this or that?” Instead of saying no to chocolate cake perhaps you can say yes to a delicious smoothie. Instead of saying no to a caller on the phone, stop and think of a way you can provide a positive answer to their question. It takes a bit of creativity to get going with something like this, and I promise the rewards are worth the effort. Think of a life were the only answers you give and receive produce a yes answer! How great would that be?!
I say it’s within reach. It starts with the individual and it will spread to those whom you interact with. The result is that your child, customer or yourself will be left feeling with a greater sense of satisfaction, and a desire to move towards the yes or what is known.
~ Amanda Standlee
Director of Sales Shopper
by Tech Support | Nov 8, 2011 | Sales
Meet Chris Creason: Business owner, son, brother, friend, and Disney fanatic. I received this email from Chris last Thursday and immediately asked him if I could reprint his story. The bottom line is to pay attention to people; see when you can help. Underneath, you never know the impact your actions have on others. DO the simple stuff!!!
Beth,
Last year during the RSA conference the keynote speaker was a gentleman that had formerly worked for Disney for many years. Myself being a Disney junkie I relish new stories of how Disney conducts themselves, I have studied a lot about the Disney philosophy and how they train their cast members and I always love learning more. One of the things he spoke of is how the cast members are trained when they see a family taking a picture to offer to take one of the entire group, that way the entire family can be in the picture. I had heard of this practice in the past and had never given it much thought, but after hearing it again it was one of the things I took from the meeting and began working with my staff on when we returned home. Disney participates in so many programs like Make A Wish and other organizations and is the focus of so many first and final family trips, that their philosophy makes so much sense and can be such a gift for the family members left behind. To be honest I thought it was a nice gesture but I really didn’t get behind it in the Disney way. I viewed it more from divorce and that photo could mean a lot to someone one day.
Last month I was proven wrong not just once but twice, and both in one day. The first party of the day was for 4 year old Indy and like most of our birthday kids he wanted a party at the skating rink. However, Indy is not expected to live to see his 5th birthday, he has a brain tumor and is not expected to make it another year. Indy did not know how to skate and under these circumstances we bent our own rule and let Indy use his scooter. The memories that his family have of his last birthday party will be of their experience in our skating center and when they look back over the photos of that day, they deserve to have lots of photos of their family together with their son and not just the ones they took. Our second private party of the day was a 47th anniversary party for Donnie and Linda. Donnie has terminal cancer as well, and was not expected to make it past 2009. Donnie and Linda first met at a skating rink, all those years ago and their daughter, Joyce, wanted to have their 50th anniversary in a skating rink. Donnie’s health continues to decline and he is not expected to make it to see his 50th anniversary; so Joyce wanted to throw them a skating party while she still could. Both Donnie and Linda laced up a pair of skates and took to the floor, and once again the photos they have of that day will be so important to the family that will be left behind.
Needless to say, this is a practice that I now firmly stand behind and during my future training sessions I will bring this to my staff in a whole new way.
Chris Creason,
Manning’s Skating Centers
What small things do you do at your center to make a difference? Let us know in the comment section below!
by Tech Support | Nov 1, 2011 | Sales
You know, I have the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing people. On a weekly basis we coach many sales teams. Last week the training focus was on Passion. I happen to have a “favorite” District Manager in the Louisville, KY area. This guy is very young. He started in the game room and moved up to the GM quickly and has recently taken over DM role of 2 stores in Louisville. Mike is still very young and a wonderful leader. He leads with passion, it shows and I’m amazed at how his staff looks to him for leadership.
The operations teams usually participate in these weekly coaching calls. We’ve found that when sales and operations take 30-45 minutes to get together on a weekly basis that the energy of the team and the sales levels increase, as well as the communication.
During our call last Thursday, Mike was pulled away; and I didn’t know it. I reached a point in the training where I thought using Mike as an example was very appropriate. I know him; and I know that his young family is a big part of the passion that drives him to do the great job he does on a daily basis. He was unable to respond but got the gist of what was going on. After the call was over I received the following email and knew that there was nothing better that I could share with you all this week. So with Mike’s permission, I’ll let you peek in on his private email to me:
Beth
Sorry I was unable to get back on the call as I was talking to a lady from the Zoo here about an upcoming promotion we are doing.
I appreciate your kind words and you are absolutely correct; my motivation comes from my family. I love them more than anything and that certainly helps motivate me. This business is nuts. You can love it and hate it at the same time but you must have a short memory, learn from your mistakes and make every opportunity a possible teaching moment.
The leadership in this company is excellent and the love and passion they have for this business is contagious. Bill, Nick, Derek, and people like Jim Barclay (and of course you!) are so passionate about what they do that you cannot help but be the same way.
These people have taught me to never stop improving and to always step back and look at things from a customer’s perspective. We will all go through many struggles and challenges but the attitude you choose each day will ultimately make the difference. Your people feed off of you and you must be a leader. It all starts with me.
Take Care,
Mike
Sometimes we just do what we do because it’s our job. If we’re lucky, we love what we do and the passion for people helps drive our daily actions and decisions. I know that when I got this note from Mike last Thursday that I was reminded why we do what we do. Honestly, I just couldn’t help but being pretty overwhelmed with his words. Thanks Mike for putting it all in perspective. Your note was far better than any Passion Powerpoint I could have delivered!
What’s your passion? What gets you out of bed every morning?
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