The life of Riley to be sure.

                                                      

Edition144 Monday 25^th June 2012

Hi,there is no excuse for not taking regular leave especially these days with four weeks annual entitlement. I am someone for whom this gem of wisdom took far too long to sink in,but never again.

We had an awesome break recently where we relaxed and fully recharged the batteries in preparation for the final countdown to the birth of our precious son. I read a couple of books and took advantage of the opportunity to take some real time out from the normal day to day.It would be fair to say we made sure we had the life of Riley….I havent met this guy but he must have some life that’s for sure. One of my regrets from the past is that I did not take more leave especially in school holidays so there was more work/life balance. This is however something I am already planning to do going forward. What have I learned?....there is only one person responsible for planning your leave and that is ….you. If you procrastinate sure you will have more leave but it wont be any good to you or your family if you end up injuried or in hospital or worse case scenario you have the misfortune to die from over working/stressing! So if you have not planned your next break then you need to do something about it now! It doesent have to be weeks away,it could be an extra long weekend…..just do it. School holidays start next week, if you have school age children then you need to make sure you are taking some leave to spend quality time with them….you havent got long to organise that so make the effort now. Don’t be regretful like me, make some positive changes. If I am preaching to some converted leave takers out there then congratulations, well done you are on to it and obviously better organised than I was. Speaking of leave,I hope you all had a cool weekend with family and friends,what about those All Blacks! I hope you all have have a happy and safe week…Cheers Jonesey

Harry and the Hendersons love it when Uncle John house sits. All the rules go out the window and they have the life of Riley. Takes us forever to reclaim the bed and the remote!

“Simply stated, many buyers don’t trust salespeople…for as long as I can remember, salespeople and customers have been pitted against each other in an adversarial relationship, one where someone wins and someone loses! Traditionally salespeople have been taught that selling is something that you do to someone , not for or with someone. No wonder some people don’t trust salespeople!” From the introduction to ‘Integrity Selling’

One of the books I read on my recent holiday Integrity Selling by Ron Willingham.

Some of you will have heard of ‘Integrity Selling’ and some like me will have spent time studying and practising the principles of this selling process.

Integrity Selling is a simple process and there is a detailed program available if you want to embark on the necessary training required to live and breathe the steps daily.

The program is expensive and whilst the information is excellent like most training programs it is dependent on who delivers the program and how regular the follow up is or how committed the trainee’s are to implementing the program in their day to day selling activity.

I am one who went through the program but didnt follow through and implement part or all of the simple six step process and therefore wasted the investment made in the training. You definitely get out of any training what you commit to putting in to it and I have always felt disappointed for not making the effort to put more in to enable myself to benefit more from it.

So , hence my reading the book to revisit the principles of this selling process. One of the things that stands out for me is the insistence by the author throughout the book to reread chapters and make  lists and key notes to ensure each step is filed in the readers subconscious memory banks for use.

I hope to recount some of the key points and steps of the process complete with real life examples over the coming weeks , but in the meantime you need to get a copy of this book and start reading!!

“Integrity and high ethics are accepted as the basics for long term selling success.”

Dont serve me....dazzle me

Hi,hail Selleys ‘no more gaps’ the part time home decorators best friend. Long gone it seems are the days of putty and plaster paris and thank goodness I say! I never realised there were so many cracks and holes in the ceiling and walls until the Jonesey DIY machine rolled into the old study/new babies room. Stopping gaps has come a long way since those memorable stints helping Dad in his painting business in the school holidays. The cruel irony being that he contracted to the then Education Board painting schools inside and out pretty much all the time ! So I never got to actually leave school in the holidays I found myself back there painting one!! My dad had two good pieces of advice;

1)    Think of the money son!!!

2)    If you don’t do well at school you will be back with me painting them forever !!

Both motivational pearls of wisdom in their own right !!!

Anyway back to things baby,I can report the room is slowly taking shape and after many attempts a cot, push chair, changing table and various other pieces of new born paraphenalia were assembled.To all you blokes who think you know better out there please be advised of the following;

     1)Refer to the instructions and read them first!!

     2)If all else fails refer back to the instructions!!

Enough said,crikey there has to be a business opportunity there somewhere!?

It was great to settle down in front of the fire and the telly on Saturday night with the chilly Sou wester howling outside and watch the mighty All Blacks take Ireland apart at the garden of Eden ! 

The World Champions have started the season in fine style, long may it continue.

We are taking our own advice and having an extra long weekend for some time out so ‘Upbeat’ will also take a break and be back to you Monday 25^th June,until then, be ‘upbeat’and take plenty of care.

I hope you all had a great weekend with family and friends,…….have a happy week…Cheers Jonesey

Harry and the Hendersons thought better of offering DIY and assembly advice to the grumpy man.They danced a couple of Irish jigs during the footy in front of the fire! Scooby!

‘Customer service, oxymoron, expectation or entitlement?” good  question

Last week I called in to ‘Just Water’ to pick up a 15 litre Vitablast bottle I buy regularly from them. I am always greeted by office staff with a smile and prompt friendly service, last week was no exception.Once I had paid for the product I was directed to the warehouse to pick up the bottle.At the warehouse I was greeted by a staff member who proceeded to ‘run’ over to serve me!. I didn’t expect that to happen but was impressed with the effort all the same. He smiled and organised things promptly,loaded them in my car and said thank you with a huge smile…..WOW, I was dazzled by the entire experience.I tell as many people about Just Water as I can because their service like their product is refreshingly different.Not many companies or customer experiences make me feel like that. I know I talk about it a lot in this section but to me this is what selling the SIZZLE is all about. Think about the bbq sausage sizzle outside your local supermarket or hardware store every weekend,what gets you interested?,its not the greasy sausage, it’s the smell and sizzling sound of it cooking that gets us excited and motivates us to buy one!

It’s the same no matter what we are selling,its about providing an easy environment, a set of circumstances leading up to the sale that make it easy for our customers to buy. The term ‘customer service ‘ is an oxymoron in many businesses because there is no commitment or focus on delivering quality service. This can be turned around simply through strong effective ‘leadership by example’ and an individual and collective desire by staff to create and sell the Sizzle. When I was in a national  role the best branches in the network were those where the branch manager led by example from the front spending time at the coal face with ‘sweat on his or her brow’!! ..my advice, Just do it!!!

“Customer Service isnt about satisfaction. Its about dazzlement.”

Happy 3rd Birthday Upbeat

Edition142 Tuesday 5^th June  2012

Hi,welcome to the three year anniversary edition of the ‘Upbeat’, 36 months and 142 editions on I am proud to bring you yet another rendition of my ramblings. It was something I decided I needed to do for me as much as for those of you who I am grateful to for taking the time to read or follow my ‘Upbeat’ blog each week. From something that started as the ‘inhouse’ Hirequip Triple M (Monday Morning Motivator) five years ago the ‘Upbeat’ has religiously been compiled each week and sent to coincide with the beginning of each new week ever since. No I am not always ‘upbeat’ and yes it is hard to discipline yourself to producing something different and in time on a regular basis. The truth is none of us are ‘upbeat’ all the time, however, wanting to be is the important factor that motivates me to produce this note week in and week out. I hope you are still enjoying the read and the ride and thank you for your ongoing support and your regular feedback that provides me with the inspiration to continue. ‘Upbeat’ is a combination of everyday things that happen to me that provide insight and direction in my life. It is my hope that you relate to these in your personal and/or work lives and are then able to improve/reflect or benefit as a result.Please feel free to continue contributing anytime.

Wow I love long weekends, don’t you ?, this weekend I fulfilled a basic primal cave man dude urge to provide heat and warmth by securing a load of native timber framing from an old house demo which I promptly hauled home in a trailer and proceeded to cut up into firewood! Such a good feeling to be the ‘provider’ even if the time and energy cost more than letting my fingers do the walking instead!! Nothing beats the DIY kiwi spirit, you cant put a price on the satisfaction that produces bro…..totally recommended, especially on a holiday weekend……long live the Queen!!! and the Blues !!!!

I hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend with family and friends,…….Cheers Jonesey

Harry and the Hendersons continue to thrive in the winter sunshine and fire warmth such is a dogs life,happy with a brief glimpse of Blues form and a special treat lamb roast bone!!

“Communication is to (sales) relationships what breathing is to life.”Virginia Satir

I cant help myself, everytime the topic of communication comes up in conversation no matter where I am I will start talking about Toastmasters.

I personally dont think the name of the organisation does what it can achieve for individuals justice.

Started in 1924 by Ralph Smedley a good mate of Dale Carnegie(“How to win friends and influence people”) the objectives were the same as they are today, to develop and enhance peoples ability to communicate more effectively. I have always believed that our success in life is directly attributed to how effectively we communicate with our fellow beings both in a work and personal environment.

So for this reason I have always been a keen advocate of the organisation and what I know it can achieve for those who fully commit to membership. Toastmasters is like any other training or personal improvement organisation… what you get out is directly related to what you put in. As we all know you will wait for a long time for self improvement to drop in your lap with little or no personal effort. If self improvement was instant then everyone would be lining up. Nothing comes to those who wait, you must relentlessly pursue advancement or you will continue to mark time with the masses. Toastmasters provides a launch pad, a vehicle for you to achieve communication goals and continual development in this important life skill area.

I consider myself to be a fulltime salesperson for the benefits of Toastmasters membership and I find myself regularly selling and recommending the organisation to whoever I am with at the time. To me this is a good example of selling something you believe in and something you passionately and fervently believe will benefit all others. Good lesson on selling, life, and believing in general really !!

So go to it team, www.toastmasters.org.nz for your nearest club, see you at a meeting soon !!!!

“My father gave me these hints on public speaking, “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.”

James Roosevelt