Edition138 Monday 7th May 2012
Hi,I love it when the seasons change as we roll from the beauty of the autumn into the frosty bite of winter. Yes it’s a bit chilly but a clear crisp sunny day in winter easily competes with anything summer (what summer?) can offer. Finding a spot in the sun and following it as it moves is the key. Also love chillaxing in front of the trusty log fire of an evening although you have to be quick in the Jones household to beat Harry and the Hendersons to the good spots up front !The family had another beautiful motorbike ride on Saturday in the winter sun. Whilst it is great getting away for weekend breaks, we love where we live and it is great to be home too. There is never any shortage of stuff to do around the whare especially as we prepare for the arrival of another family member. All of a sudden the chore list has a rapidly approaching deadline and the normal excuses for not ticking the boxes don’t cut it ! Time to step up Mr handyman Jones (not), life as you know it is about to change again…..bring it on.
Going forward we are looking forward to Harry Joneses 9th birthday next week, don’t worry mate 63 is the new 43. We also look forward to seeing Mum on Mothers Day (Sun 13th don’t forget) and acknowledging the upcoming 3 year anniversary of your very own ‘Upbeat’ blog ! Yes as always heaps of positive stuff to look forward to, I hope the same applies to each of you as well.
I also trust you also had a cool weekend in the sun with family and friends… Cheers Jonesey!
Harry and the Hendersons are looking forward to Harrys 9th birthday next week..dog party!
“Don’t judge a book by its cover, the world is full of surprises.” Henry Ford
I have a confession to make….I was once a car salesman !!!! Just like Henry Ford ,quoted above, I represented his fine company with its name proudly displayed on their automobiles in the blue oval. Sure their reputation at Bathurst could be better but hey , even the best cant win them all.
There are some who have a poor impression of us automotive consultants due to the odd bad experience or some unfortunate word of mouth bad press. But as I say to all sales people I meet, train or manage, selling is the most exciting thing you can do with your clothes on! Selling is a profession and something that not everyone is cut out for as sales people are skilled highly trained business people there to assist not deceive. If you are in sales no matter what your product or industry then you need to be proud of your profession and not daunted in the slightest by the reputation or performance of a few who have attempted to spoil it for the rest of us…..right!!!
Now that said, one of the most important things we must never do as professionals is judge customers on their appearance , first impressions, or perception of their importance,wealth or IQ.
Working at a car dealership taught me a lot about selling and about life. In particular it demonstrated to me the extreme importance of working as a team and never judging anyone in advance of meeting them or having invested quality time in establishing and understanding their requirements.
In a classic example a man visited our yard once dressed in shorts,singlet sandals, bad sunglasses and a ridiculous looking hat. Not one of the sales team was interested in meeting, greeting or investing time with him. In fact they all disappeared so fast I was the only one left for him to talk to……little did I realise at the time but it was my lucky day!
Cutting to the chase it turns out the man was in fact a millionaire businessman who owned a number of hospitality businesses in Auckland and he was looking for a top of the range vehicle which he renewed each year! So I sold him a motorcar at full retail for $100k and built a relationship with him that included becoming a personal friend of his family whom he also referred to me when they were looking to upgrade their vehicles! Wow did that teach my team a lesson about how important treating people like we would like to be treated no matter what their nationality or appearance was. That one experience was better than days of sales training and a lesson I have never forgotten!
“We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.” Anais Nin
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