April 2006, Issue 9

Funny You Ask...

Jack Kinder

Hello friends!

A colleague of mine, Jack Kinder, suffered a stroke on January 31st. He's in his late 70's, but maintains a work and travel schedule of someone in their 20's. What a great example of 'do what you love and love what you do'. I don't know Jack well, but consider him a mentor and aspire to achieve his professional success. As I am, Jack is a professional trainer and consultant to the selling profession. He is based in Dallas, and has been traveling all over the country for more than 30 years, delivering sales training programs to insurance and financial services companies. Jack, and his brother Garry, are considered "legends" in the insurance industry. After meeting with Jack and having had the privilege and opportunity to speak with him, it was very easy for me to understand why the Kinder brothers have attained such legendary status.

In November, 2005, Jack and I had dinner together in Connecticut, after I first had the privilege of sitting in on a meeting Jack had with a mutual client of ours. During the course of the evening, including the time it took to drive with Jack to and from our hotel to the restaurant, I spent the majority of the time, listening, rather than talking - an unusual concept for me. In the course of our dinner, which included several glasses of Merlot, Jack graciously suggested that I take out a pad and take notes on what he was saying. I did exactly what he suggested and reserved all my questions until he had finished speaking. I must say, that the information and wisdom imparted to me by Jack, was absolutely priceless. The evening spent with Jack was truly a gift, topped off by the fact he insisted upon paying the entire bill.

So few people go out of their way to help others merely for the sake of helping others. I can never thank Jack enough for the time he spent with me. There is no doubt that I will use and integrate his advice and words of wisdom as I move forward in my own career.

I trust and hope that Jack will make a full recovery and that he will be "back on his feet" in no time, racking up the air miles. And, when he is, you can be sure, the next dinner, will be on me.

-Michael

If you have any ideas or suggestions, drop us a line at lgoodman@building-blocks.net

Want More Sales and Repeat Business?
Schtick with Danny: A CASE Study
By Michael Goldberg

So we are a party of seven being seated in a busy restaurant for brunch, on a Sunday morning, in Delray Beach, Florida. Our party consists of my grandparents, inlaws (or the outlaws as I call them), wife, and my 3 year old daughter. The restaurant is on the grounds of my grandparents senior community, so there are very few guests with dark hair - if you know what I mean.

Our waiter, Danny, rushes over to our table as we are being seated and greets us with a smile. He thanks us for coming in and says hello to my 3 year old. He quickly learns that her name is Jessica and offers a compliment. Danny's voice is loud and deliberate, his smile is genuine, and his Brooklyn schtick straight from Coney Island. He has given each of us a nickname, referring to my grandfather as 'handsome'. Moving to my grandparents side of the table, he asks if we (specifically my grandparents and Jessica) need anything immediately and is not surprised to take a coffee order - four decafs, two regulars, a chocolate milk, and an orange juice (to take a pill). He offers to bring a round of waters with the drink order and shuffles away.

The busboy immediately arrives with the waters and the orange juice. Grandpa takes his pill. Within the next minute, Danny returns with the coffees, chocolate milk, crayons, and some placemats to draw on. He moves back to my grandparents side of the table to take our food order. He starts with Grandpa, followed by the little one, and finally the rest of us. Our menu selections are repeated back to us as we are complimented for our choices and treated to more schtick - very funny by the way. It's clear to Danny that we're from New York and he correctly assumes a Brooklyn connection - and so it goes.

The meals came out quickly and correctly as I knew they would. Danny returned often to refill a coffee, play with the little one, and offer more schtick. Jessica and I even got a tour of the kitchen. I admired the way Danny took care of us, a needy table requiring some special attention. Of course, I let him know what a great job he did and it reflected in the tip - Grandma treated.

So what did Danny do right? He greeted us immediately with a smile, made us laugh, created rapport, focused on those that required some extra attention - with great respect, and executed quickly and correctly. Is that all?

OK, what does any of this have to do with building sales and generating repeat business? Everything! Whether you're Nordstom's or the local diner, great customer service requires near perfect execution in four 'hot spots' - Communication, Atttitude, Sense of Urgency, and Empathy - spelled out as CASE. My man Danny hit all four.

Communication
Ask the right questions and tell them what they need to know. Remember, you know your business better than anyone. By being clear and informative in answering questions about products, services, benefits, features, or whatever, consumer confidence will insure prospects and customers make the best decisions - for them. Take the order, repeat the order, make the guest, customer, or client feel good about the order. Is this such a tall order? Be clear and positive in your words, tone of voice, and body language and you will talk yourself into more orders.

Attitude
Know your products and services, love what you do, enjoy helping others, accept feedback, yearn to learn, strive to be the best, solve problems, offer solutions, work as a team, be accountable, be personable, and have fun. Seem easy? It's not, but the good ones make it look easy. And it's always worth it. If you can't do all of this and more in your current job, quit today and do something else.

Sense of Urgency
Everyone is in a hurry to go somewhere. Even those going nowhere. Most customers, guests, and clients associate speed of service with great service - especially when a smile is served on the side. As customers, we hate to wait, especially if we require special needs. It is always great to provide prompt service without making the customer feel rushed. Consider where the term TIPS came from - To Insure Prompt Service. Didn't know that, did you?

Empathy
It is important to know your customers and even more important to relate to them. Think of Danny. Most of the guests he serves are retired seniors who may not move as quickly, hear and see as well, require special dietary attention, be set in their ways, and may be a little short on patience. As my Grandma Trudy used to say, "The golden years aren't so golden." Don't worry, it will happen to all of us - if we're lucky. In relating to his customers, Danny exudes patience and understanding without being demeaning and disrespectful. It is easy to get frustrated with others and sometimes difficult to relate. Understand your customers and respond positively to their needs, or watch as your competitors do.

Providing exceptional service is one of the best ways to develop a great reputation, stimulate repeat business, and generate referrals. Improve your business today in each of the four 'hot spots' and you will have more orders than you can handle. Check, please!

Michael Goldberg is a speaker, seminar leader, author, and the President of Building Blocks Consulting. He helps organizations attract more business and retain their employees. He also helps those looking for a job to find one. Michael speaks at conferences and associations, runs sales meetings, and delivers dynamic programs on networking, leadership, public speaking, communication, customer service, and career search. He is currently writing a book on networking with a working title he’d rather not name. For more information, feel free to visit www.building-blocks.net.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
-Aristotle

Sales Training for Today: Philosophy and Mechanics
By Heather Bennett

Most sales people report that they have had some type of sales training in their career. Perhaps they attended a course, or maybe their company brought in consultants to work with the whole team. In the absence of formal training, there are many books available that aim to help the reader improve his or her sales skills. Amazon.com lists thousands of titles boasting that they contain the techniques that will help their readers have a sales breakthrough.

I think these books are great. It's rare that I read a book on sales and don't take away a nugget of inspiration, that when applied, helps me improve my own selling. But there is a problem. These books and most sales training focus only on the "to do's" of selling.

"If you wear a blue suit instead of brown, you will get more deals"

"If you make 20 cold calls a day, you will win more prospects"

"If you say yes twenty times to a client, they will award you their business."

There is nothing wrong with "to do's." There certainly are some things one can do in order to increase sales. However, these behaviors only address the mechanics of selling, the how. For sales training to really make a difference, it also needs to address the philosophy, the why.

Companies that sell, and the salespeople that work for them, need to explore why they sell. At the organizational level, selling philosophies give salespeople a core value around which to shape their own selling efforts.

More importantly, effective sales training should help the individual salesperson explore and declare why he or she has chosen selling as a career, and why they sell for the company for which they work. The reasons don't really matter as long as they keep the salesperson invested in selling as a lifestyle, not just a job.

In fact, in my experience as a sales trainer, I have found that "being invested" is what separates the top 5% of sales people from the rest of the pack. These achievers know three things:

1. What keeps me selling?
2. Why do people keep buying from me?
3. What keeps me getting the rewards I want?

If a salesperson can answer these three questions, and understand why they sell, it will be easier to develop the best "mechanics" to correspond with their own "philosophy" - making them a better overall salesperson.

In my interviews with salespeople, I learned that it wasn't the content of the answers to these three questions that was important. In fact, the answers among the top producers varied widely. The difference was, though, that these successful salespeople answered with conviction. These questions uncovered philosophies that had been crafted by people who knew that they were important. Asking these questions helped me discover the engine that each salesperson had created to keep their success alive.

To develop your salespeople to their fullest potential, be sure to nurture their philosophy and their mechanics. As you work with them on their technique, make sure they are taking an introspective look at why they have chosen sales as a career and why they choose to sell for your company. Share your company's core values and inspire your salespeople to make them their own. This way, you'll create team players that will be invested in making themselves and your organization very successful.

Be Yourself!
By Bill Jula

As founder of Fast Pitch! Networking, a "no-nonsense" speed networking event company, I've had the opportunity to witness first-hand, over 6,000 people making over 100,000 "pitches" around the United States. After hearing so many people pitch their wares, I've become adept at quickly determining (usually within a matter of seconds), who at our events will have success. Surprisingly enough, it's not the "expert networker" you would expect (i.e. the person who has been coached and taught what to say, how to sit, what to wear, etc.), but rather, the person who is comfortable in his or her own skin.

In short, in my opinion, success at a networking event comes down to two simple words: BE YOURSELF

When meeting people for the first-time, it's true what they say "you have a few minutes (maybe seconds) to make a good, first impression." This impression will often "make or break" your chance to do business not only with the person you meet, but also, with everyone else within that persons center of influence. With so much at stake, in such a short amount of time, can you really afford to be anything but yourself? Does it really pay to put on an act?

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a scripted, robotic sales conversation between people that included sayings such as, "I can get you the best deal in town," and "there is no competition, nobody can touch us," or my favorite, "Enough about me, now tell me about you." I'd probably have an extra $50,000 in my pocket. (That's 50,000 bad "pitches" if you're doing the math).

In my opinion, the people who succeed at our events (as well as other networking events) are the people who are GENUINE. They are the people who, regardless of what they sell, what they wear, or how educated they might be, are successful because they are themselves. Nothing more.

So, BE YOURSELF and in the process you'll sell yourself (and your product or service) without trying. Best of Luck!

Building Blocks to Success is a newsletter published by Building Blocks Consulting. Feel free to visit our website at www.building-blocks.net.

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