Edition145 Monday 2nd July 2012
Hi, a man doesn’t mind giving up his indoor ‘bloke cave’(man study!)complete with ruggers memorabillia and bookcases full of bloke annuals, war comics and Tin Tin epics but…. Crikey at the very least wouldn’t you have thought Dan, Ritchie,Fitzy or Zinny would have survived to provide future inspiration to a growing lad?? Alas I am afraid all four missed the cut and were sadly voted off the new baby room island! To be fair it is probably a bit early to be influencing young Fletcher into the oval code that obviously. There is plenty of time to get the boys involved with his upbringing, who knows I may even be able to sneak Uncle Grizz in holding the world cup full of iced steinies from the 1987 celebrations!!!....maybe not, I wont push too hard. Well,as you have probably guessed the DIY team finished the refurb of the old study and it is now the superb new babies room complete with all the gear awaiting the arrival of the new occupant at 48….not long now !!
Apart from making a major effort to launch the comeback of the sock and jandel look the weekend revolved around baby central with the final push to complete the room and the ‘to do’ list. It is an exciting time for us both as we think we know what to expect but wouldn’t have a clue really !! You see it has been a long time between celebratory drinks and nappies for us both . Our sons are 24 and 29 respectively and whilst there are still regular Al Bundy type cash investments in their futures they are pretty much living their own lives.So back to square one and looking forward to becoming new parents all over again complete with the challenges and excitement we are sure that will behold. Into the home straight, finish line in site, and we cant wait…….bring it on…………..watch this space.
I hope you had an awesome weekend and managed to stay warm somewhere with friends and family. Have a successful and satisfying week ahead , take care……..…Cheers Jonesey
Harry and the Hendersons throw more mud around the car after their walk than a team full of rugby players.Crikey,not good when the boss or a customer jumps in your car!!!
“We have two ears and only one tongue in order that we may hear more and speak less.” Diogenes
I talked last week about the ‘Integrity selling’ process. It is a six step approach to selling contained in the anogram A.I.D.I.N.C. The letters in the anogram stand for Approach, Interview,Demonstrate, Validate,Negotiate,Close.I know the Validate step is represented by an I but you will have to wait !!
I want to talk about the first two steps related to an experience last week. The approach and interview steps are linked closely to our quote above as they represent two steps where the customer not the salesperson should do 70-80% of the talking. Unfortunately this is not something many salespeople are any good at! My example was a classic ‘how not to’ approach and interview!!
I was called on by a calendar salesman who had asked for 15 minutes of my time when booking the appointment.To follow the integrity selling model he should have planned to listen for at least 12 minutes of the 15….yeah right. After speaking continuously for the first 20 minutes where I calculated he said the word ‘ok’ nearly 50 times he eventually stopped for air at which time I seized the opportunity to say “you asked for 15 minutes, clearly you need more time , can you please let me know how much more so I can allow for it?” He responded by saying “ you want fast, I can do fast” and proceeded to race through the rest of what could only be described as a combination of all the integrity steps rolled into one and in no particular order ! It was ugly and unpleasant and I couldn’t wait to get rid of him….not what he or I was hoping for that’s for sure.
Why do so many sales people think it is all about them?, this was a huge wake up call for me and a graphic example of what not to do. My caller didn’t even ask if I was the decision maker or try to find out anything about me or our business (questions and listening). So the lesson for all of us is step 1 and 2 is about establishing a connection and a need and involves listening more than talking…simple?
“Talking is sharing, but listening is caring.” Zig Ziglar
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