Less is Best

                                                      

Edition 152  Monday 20^th August 2012

Hi, ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ would not have been hard last week because we were not moving very fast at all. Sleep deprivation tends to have that effect on you amongst other things! Having a new baby in the house also fine tunes your time management skills as you make the most of the short bursts of time you have when baby is sleeping to attempt to get stuff done……other revelations;

• No more family motorbike riding to local cafes, pubs and vineyards !!
• Pack half the house into bags and car for simple family outing.
• Showers and baths will never be the same….dont drop the kid !!
• Hours of darkness will never be the same…goodbye sleep
• Disposable nappies….mans best friend.
• Breast feeding….mans best friend.
• Falling asleep during an All Black test is ok.
• Its has never been and will never be about me !!

I cant believe how fast our first week of new parenthood has screamed (excuse the pun) by. No matter how tired we are or how different we have found adjusting we both agree we wouldn’t have it any other way.

I hope you all had an excellent weekend making time and having fun with family and friends.

 Have a great week,……..cheers Jonesey

Harry and the Hendersons love their new brother but does he have to make so much noise?

“All things being equal, people will buy from a friend. All things not being so equal people will still buy from a friend.” Mark McCormack CEO International Management Group

An amazing thing happened to me last week….

I had recently called on a large prospective customer who was happy using one of our competitors. I established contact with the key decision maker (Arnold) and started to form a relationship….in fact I made a point of making it more than that. Through establishing what was important to Arnold in and outside of work I was able to start forming a friendship with him.

He ended up staying with his existing suppliers because he liked their representatives and was loyal to them. I accepted and admired that and withdrew gracefully but kept in touch with him. This surprised and pleased him and as a result our friendship grew.

Recently the representative working for our competitor left the company and handed over to another employee who doesn’t make Arnold feel important or wanted…….enter Mr Jones !! As a result of the friendship we have formed and my persistence we now have an opportunity to secure the business.

Lessons;

• Never give up on a customer even if you don’t get their business straight away.
• Build business  relationships into friendships through areas of common interest.
• Stay in touch with all your existing and prospective customers, rank and prioritise visits.
• Refer to quotes above and below…..they are true
• Selling is all about people and how well you can build friendships with them.

Business doesn’t have to be complicated, what is more simple than making heaps of friends?

What matters is working with friends,people you respect, knowing that if times turn bad these people would hold together.” Richard Branson founder and Chairman of Virgin Group