'Hand me ups'

         

Edition 178 Monday March 18th 2013

Hi,it is kind of cool having adult children,mainly because in most cases they don’t live with you and there are some other fringe benefits. I have found our four boys in their twenties and thirties to be a constant supply of good quality work and casual clothing, in fact I havent bought a stitch of clobber for years!! It was all going swimmingly until the recent ‘do’ at our place when they all recognised bits of their ‘pre loved garb on the old man and spent some time ribbing poor old ‘steptoe’ Jones J

I guess in our situation being ‘older’ parents it is also very cool to be able to hand up and hand down baby/kids clothes to our siblings young families as well. We are pleased our kids recognise the value of recycling stuff including clothing not that they have much choice with the Green Gorilla around !

From the Fletcher file; we can confirm last week was a big one on the business/finance front for our little man opening his ‘kiwi saver’ account with $1000 ‘free money’ contribution from John Key and to cap it off he won $20 in the latest bonus bonds draw! Yes FJJ is a winner, now how about those Mighty River shares Dad?? A visit to Plunket last week confirmed the rumours that this kid qualifies in the heavyweight class for his tender age cruising along at 98% growth weight and height!

We had fun this weekend getting caught in the rain for a change, seemed silly to waste the chance to get soaked given we havent seen any moisture for so long. Paul the VW spent the weekend under his flash new cover and the Blues retained their existing record with the bye this weekend Yay !

I hope you had a good weekend mixing some fun with rest, relaxation, family and friends.

Have a great week ahead, cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons love Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain !!Scooby Doo !

 “Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think”. A. A. Milne

The humble Green Gorilla continues to fly under the radar but it is getting increasingly difficult as we come to the attention of more customers and more of our competitors!

We recently acquired another business and their customer base that we have ‘tucked’ into our existing business to give us a more economical and profitable ‘critical mass’ of business in a particular service division. As part of the customer base we have several companies in our industry that we provide this collection service to as part of a range of waste and recycling services they offer.

The companies we are ‘subcontracting to have their own sales teams out selling their services who are now also adding the service we provide to their own range. This has given us an opportunity to work smarter by getting together with these other sales teams to provide training on our own unique points of difference. By doing this we have effectively quintupled our own sales team and we now have an extra nine sales people on the road selling our services……hold on to your hats folks this could be bigger than Texas, Topsy, Green Gorillas and sliced bread put together!!

Here we were wracking our brains about how to increase our market share , do we hire more people and wear more shoe leather knocking on doors or do we get smarter and use a resource that is already out there calling on the customer base we want to penetrate further?? Sure the answer came from the acquisition but it didn’t have to. The companies we are partnering with were there anyway and open to the combined approach to growing business and profit. This is a good example of the value to be gained from ‘thinking smarter and outside the square/box’  We all get radical ideas from time to time but not many of us have the confidence to pursue them,back yourself,its worth a crack!

“Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.” Russell Simmons

"Better never Stops "

Edition 177 Monday March 11th 2013

Hi, the newest addition to our family (‘Paul’ our Vee dubbie) couldn’t have got a better reception. He got a thorough clean inside and out, a naming ceremony(‘Paul’after ‘beetle’ Paul McCarthyJ) and his very own car cover (top of the line ex Repco!!).As with most impulse buys it all seems to have turned out ok in the end……except for the fact that the new ownership model doesn’t appear to have a clause in the terms and conditions that allows for the purchaser (muggins) to have driving rights!L

Christine correction;…Paul is the same age but they were both born in 1967 not 65 as reported in ‘Upbeat’ 176!!! No wonder I am not allowed to drive ……beetle off Jonesey Boy !!!

Fletcher file; Our little boy was 7 months old on Saturday and we celebrated with a couple of glasses of sparkling pinot in the brilliant sunshine amongst the vines at the Matua Estate. Paul was our special guest having done his bit by transporting us there in classic style.Fletcher also had his first visit to Play Group last week and immediately took control of the black sandpit,yum sand(photo).

Noticed last week; The Auckland Blues rugby slogan for this season is “Better never stops” not entirely unlike my own multi goal this year…..”Be Better.” Also, saw a guy walking along the road with a “Bring back Buck” shirt on…….good onya mate !!

We enjoyed watching the Black Sox NZ Softball team instead of ruggers this weekend YAY !!!

Life is good and we are lucky to be able to enjoy it by doing heaps of stuff together close to home. I hope you are also focused on enjoying your lives by taking time for you and those that mean the most to you and your family. Have a great week ahead, cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons also love eating and spreading black sand everywhere especially in the grumpy mans bed!!, he may as well sleep on sand paper or at the beach!!!grrrrruff

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”  Aristotle,

I attend a Toastmasters meeting fortnightly on a Tuesday. On that day for the rest of the day I am on a roll and always have an amazing day. I feel in control,unbeatable,bullet proof and confident.

In effect Toastmasters is a training session where all the communication skills I am going to need are practiced before I need to use them. If you take the sporting analogy it is no different to practicing a sport before playing a game. It is the practice and the quality/regularity of that practice that ultimately determines how well we perform both individually and as part of a team.

Golfers practice their swing, their drive, their putting constantly so they can improve their game. As employees we need to practice the skills we use at work on a regular basis so we too can improve.As a sales person I need to practice presenting and listening so I can be a more effective communicator with my customers and my staff. The only way in the two weeks between Toastmasters meetings I can do this is to seize any opportunity I can to practice my skills. This involves presenting solutions to customers and accepting invitations from others to present to any one who wants to listenJ.

With most things in life if you don’t “use it you will lose it” , this definitely applies to sportsmen and women (ask Tiger Woods!) and it applies to us as well no matter what we are in to.

One of the things we talked about at last weeks meeting was ‘never saying no’ and how we could avoid saying no to requests we get from people be they customers, staff or friends. One of the things we came up with was challenging ourselves not to say no in the coming weeks but to look for alternatives like, “I cant do that but what I can do is” so in essence always looking for a positive alternative to saying no. I have had fun putting this in to practice but where I have managed to do so the outcome has been positive and mutually beneficial. Why not do some training and join me !!

“The way anything is developed is through practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice and more practice.”  Joyce Meyer

'Beetle' off !!!

Edition 176 Monday March 4th 2013

Hi, my Dad is an impulsive buyer,when he sees something he likes he buys it without too much thought for any implications thereafter.I remember times I came home to find his latest impulse buy sitting in the driveway. A lot of the time they turned into ongoing ‘fixit’ projects but became treasured family possessions. They were mostly random vehicles or boats and quite often a bit unusual looking but that was my Dad.Well I am certainly my Fathers son because I definitely have the impulsive buy gene. A classic example last week was my impulse purchase of a VW Beetle classic car. Born in 1965 (same year as Christine so on a winner there!!) she is a honey and totally irresistable. Hidden down a lonely little industrial street in Pukekohe I was drawn like a magnet to it for some strange reason and the rest is history! It was so impulse that I didn’t even open the door or start the engine! That didn’t really worry me until the seller offered to deliver the car to us on a transporter! (crikey I hope it has got a motor !!) See attached photos, I am sure you will agree she is a little cracker!(with a motor J).

As Muriwai residents we found our bit of coast and our village the centre of national and international attention for all the wrong reasons when one of our locals (known to us) was tragically attacked and killed by a shark last week! Certainly every swimmers worst fear and nightmare and something that has stunned us all. Life is so unpredictable sometimes it is scary,who knows what is going to happen when and why?, best to make the most of every day because none of us know how long we are here for. Seize the day and make every minute you are here count, never miss an opportunity to make a difference to yours or someone elses life

I hope you had a great weekend in the sun yet again, have an awesome week, cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons continue to love those Blues! = a happy ‘Rugbyboy’ Dad!

“It's never crowded along the extra mile.” Napoleon Hill

Going the ‘extra mile’ is something that has created a lot of opportunities for our business during our short history.Whilst mostly new opportunities,doing extra last week helped me to retain customers!

I took valuable time out of my day to rectify situations that threatened to cause business loss through cancellation! You see no matter how crash hot your service is (or you think it is) there is always the potential lurking to let down customers.

Both instances of going the extra mile involved doing stuff outside of my normal daily routine and job description. Have you ever read that sentence in your PD that says something like…..”these are your duties and anything else you are asked to do from time to time”. So many of us overlook the need to extend ourselves outside our PD no matter what, in the interests of customer satisfaction!

Last week saw me jump inside a bin to hand unload it in my work clothes, an interesting situation that’s for sure especially when the local cats had been there first!! My car smelled like a litter tray for a couple of hours afterward, but hey I am hopeful this display of commitment will mean enough to our customer to retain our services. If it doesn’t I will be after those cats!!!

The other situation saw me dodging a 20 tonne loader at a transfer station to pull some plastic pallets out of the rubbish to deliver to another customer to protect the surface under our bins on his housing subdivision! I didn’t have to but I did because I cared enough to make a difference to the overall service we are providing. I ended up getting covered in dust and dirt for my trouble but figure it will be worth it in the long run as we continue to be the exclusive provider of services to this huge site.

So there you have it, the Green Gorilla leading by example and saving the customer and the planet along the way. New business is cool but hanging on to existing customers is equally as important !

Edition 176 Monday March 4th 2013

 

Go the Blues

         

Edition 175 Monday February 25th 2013

Hi,just in case you don’t notice you are getting older time has a way of reminding you in an often not so subtle way! I got two such reality checks this weekend when my son Mark turned 30 on Sunday (Congratulations by the way son!)born 1983!!sobering thought for this Jones boy!Then I was found badly short of a gallop at step son Stephens stag do! You would think after a life time of training in pubs, clubs and Razzas the length and width of NZ I would have put up a better showing ,alas, not the case for this old fella. I was home tucked up in bed as my fellow stags amped it up to another level in the city !.....never mind Fletcher Jones will keep us young I am sure !

I was unlucky enough to watch some of the one day cricket decider on Saturday live at Eden Park, I was hoping NZ would make a better show of it but left disappointed well before the half way mark. My beloved Blues under new coach Sir John Kirwan salvaged the sporting day with a gutsy win away against the Hurricanes in Wellington. After the awesome match between the Chiefs and the Highlanders on Friday night this Jones household is looking forward to the coming ruggers season.

Busy family times continue at 48, long may it and the endless Summer continue.

I hope you are also making the most of your lives with family and friends. “Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.” Socrates

Have a great week, cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons are loving Sir John and Sir Graham’s influence at the Blues!

“Every great business is built on friendship.”JC Penney

We have a favourite Indian restaurant in the city that we would visit at least once a month when we both worked close by.

The owners staffed the restaurant with family and friends and they in turn treated their customers like part of the family. They took a personal interest in us, knew us by name and always asked questions and showed genuine interest in the answers. We knew it was geniuine interest because they could always recount what we had talked about the last time they saw us. It was noticeably different and motivated us to return on a regular basis (The Butter Chicken is to die for as well).

We called in again on Saturday night, the restaurant was full and there were people waiting. They recognized us and made a huge fuss over Fletcher and Christine (I didn’t mindL).They made us instantly feel welcome like we were visiting them at their home and being hosted by them.

This approach to running a business is built around delivering a personalized customer service that creates friends and as a result drives a fierce loyalty to their restaurant, hence they are booked heavily most nights and always have a line of people waiting Thursday through to Sunday nights.

What an awesome recipe for making money,winning and maintaining friendships not just customers. Making those friends genuinely feel like part of the family and in turn being rewarded with a loyal and regular restaurant full of happy campers.

The other good thing about this approach to customers and service is that the happy campers are so happy they tell all the other campers about their positive experience and your business grows more.

A simple business model you may think but more than a paradigm shift needed in most businesses to achieve this mind set.

We can all influence this change in our businesses by taking this approach to our own relationships with customers. Treating them like friends, the way we would like to be treated, building the friendship genuinely and engendering fierce loyalty to our brand,product or service…….good luck!!

“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.” Chip Bell Founder The Chip Bell Company

Dont mention the V word!!

         

Edition 174 Monday February 18th 2013

Hi, ok I admit it hasn’t been front of mind but I guess that is no excuse for forgetting completely about my upcoming vasectomy operation! It seemed noble and honourable at the time however it hasnt been hard to forget about really ! The other thing that tends to have more than a major bearing on proceedings is the fact that we have sort of decided it would be nice for Fletcher to have a little brother or sister !!!!Crikey a lot can happen in the Jones camp in a week that’s for sure…..you heard it here first, watch this space!!

Speaking of things happening in the Jones camp congratulations to Mum and Dad on celebrating their 54^th wedding anniversary last week and welcome home to son Mark who celebrates his 30^th birthday next week. Mark is home catching his breath before heading off on a new adventure to Europe!!

Busy times as we count down to birthdays, stag doo’s,hens parties with an Easter family wedding approaching. Fletcher is loving being part of all the excitement surrounded by family which is cool. Again for me now is a time to reflect on just how important family is in the greater scheme of things. It is not hard to always draw the same conclusion time and again….”there is and will never be anything more important!!” We must never lose sight of this fact no matter how difficult it may seem maintaining contact and ties at times.

I hope you had a great weekend relaxing,hopefully touching base with your family and friends too!!

Have a great week, cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons reckon the grumpy man should harden up about getting the ‘chop’ and reckon Harry looks Scooby Doo after his second #1 shave this summer,cool bro!

“The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity.” -Keith Ferrazzi

The best way to find out about what is happening in your industry, market sector, or business is to use as many other people to help you find out as possible.

I meet with a number of network groups on a regular basis to share information and contacts in an effort to provide leads and opportunities for others but to also expand my own knowledge about what is happeing in ours and other market sectors.

The beauty about us is our industry touches all others as there are very few if any businesses that don’t generate waste products and who are not interested in reducing that volume by introducing sustainable solutions….listen to me…..call me now !!!

Well as the quote above says networking is often  more about giving than receiving however always beneficial to all who participate. It is important that everyone contributes and that there is an atmosphere of generosity rather than greed.

Do you have a network group?, if not, how do you start one? A good idea is to think about other industry sectors that supply the same customers as you do and to introduce yourself to sales people from their business. Also talk to your customers about what is happening in their industries eg; new developments, innovations, new entrants to the sector etc, it is important to leave no stone unturned.

Or….get on www.linkedin.co.nz you will be amazed how many of your friends and colleagues are!!!

 It is amazing when you drop on to a new opportunity through a network contact and like a news reporter on to a hot story the excitement and the adrenalin flows as you close in on the ultimate prize, in the case of the reporter the scoop or the breaking news and in our case as sales people……the sale !!! Yeehaaa, what are you waiting for, set up that network now and get cracking!!

  “I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.”  -J. Paul Getty, American Industrialist

Growing pains

         

Edition 173 Monday February 11th 2013

Hi, Wow and I thought I was competitive,that was before I became a new parent again(six months ago Saturday!!!) Crikey we were over the moon to see Fletchers first teeth come through just before he clicked over the six month milestone. Well we were met with a barrage of parents telling us their kid got ten teeth at two months etc etc, then there were the ones whose kid didn’t have teeth still at nine  months….jeepers it could do your head in if you let it!!! We decided early on in that we were not going to freak out or get unnecessarily stressed if our kid was ahead or behind others older, younger or the same age! Although I must say out of the kids in our neighbourhood our son is definitely the best looking, has the most teeth and is the hottest on his skateboard!!! Ok, he isnt quite on the skateboard yet but he did mutter the magic word the other day (Dada) so he is a winner!(see photo).

DIY update…….progressing well with a third coat required to cover but hey while your there right, what is one more coat !!!...almost the difference between life and death for this weary old painter!!

We had a cool weekend continuing to make the most of the amazing weather to catch up with family and friends. I hope you got the opportunity to do the same, lets face it there is nothing more important or precious in the world. Have a great week Cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons reckon white walls will never work with a  boy child about to crawl and walk and three dogs with a passion for creeks and the beach…watch this space !

Rarely do we find people who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our little private enterprise business continues to astound me as it grows like Topsy.

Whilst that is awesome and we are all over the moon it is also something that comes with more than its fair share of growing pains.

These are pains that threaten to affect the points of differentiation the business was foundered on the main one being prompt,quality,personalised service.

There is a fine line between saying yes to every service request and actually delivering on that requirement as promised every time.There is also a fine line between having enough staff to deliver on that promise or not enough people where the ones you do have are working overtime to keep up.

At present we are in the no mans land between , some days we keep up and other days we get blown out of the water and struggle to deliver on the promise. We are in a building mode and must take time to recruit the right people yet in the meantime have the existing staff step up and make sure we continue to deliver and grow as a result……a tricky balancing act.

The secret is to make sure the team continue to function as just that and make sure that everyone works hard but is recognised and valued for doing so.

The other key ingredient in amongst all the drama and pressure is to ensure we continue to have fun and feel pride in what we have created and continue to grow.

That is the challenge for us all no matter what business we work in and that is an important part of business, accepting that challenge and overcoming it but realising that change and growth are a constant and it is the businesses that cope with it the best that are the most likely to be around the longest and experience the most success……..your mission should you decide to accept it!

Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon. Winston Churchill

DIY in our DNA yeah right!!

         

Edition 172 Monday February 4th 2013

Hi, “DIY its in our DNA” yeah right…not if this last weekend is anything to go by! I spent most of it on the other end of a long handle roller painting ceilings. Things were going well while I could see where I was going until the second coat when I had no idea. Add to this arms, neck and general body fatigue and the DIY dream was well and truly a nightmare. In true Jones fashion and on the back of all that training I did as a painter in the school holidays with Dad I got there in the end…not without some heartache……..dont quit your day job Jonesey because a professional painter you are not mate !

You guessed it the test colour on the test wall didn’t last a week so we are back to billy basic white ceilings and now white walls…..hmm something to look forward to attacking on Waitangi Day !!!

On things to look forward to we are counting down the days to the return of my son Mark from his latest overseas jaunt that has taken him to some exciting places in South America and the US over that last two years. He is back for a couple of months for his 30^th birthday and his brothers wedding at Easter before heading off again for Europe on the next leg of his never ending OE, go for it mate!

Fletcher is looking forward to seeing another of his big brothers and we are looking forward to hosting three generations of the Jones clan at home in early March which will be so cool.

I cant wait to catch up with members of our family we havent seen for far too long, there is nothing more important to us so this will be the best time. I hope you feel the same way and have the opportunity to spend regular time with your friends and family too,have a good week Cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons reckon DIY Jonesey sucks, harden up or hire someone they say!

“Opportunities come from knocking on doors until they open” Maxwell Smart

I know I could never be a professional commercial/house painter, why?, because it is not what I am passionate about or love doing. I know selling is what I love doing , that is my passion and whilst it is no bed of roses it is something that gives me more satisfaction than painting J.

Knocking on doors is tough going, getting nine ‘no’s’ before a ‘yes’ can be soul destructive and depressing however that one ‘yes’ is the legal high we pursue and embrace when we make the sale.

The sales journey is a roller coaster , it can almost stall then reach amazing heights and hair raising adrenaline pumping speed before the deal is done.

A good example came for me last week when pursuing sales with several business divisions of one of New Zealands largest companies appeared to be going nowhere then from one question I was landed with an opportunity to speak to these two divisions plus a dozen more at their annual supplier conference WOW, imagine if I had given up on this opportunity and all my competitors were at this conference not me.

The secret is to never give in no matter how long the sale is taking or how impossible doing a deal is looking you must motivate yourself to come up with different angles or ask the questions that turn up the answers that lead you to the next stage toward what you are pursuing.

The highway to the sale is littered with the abandoned old car wrecks of the many sales people who gave up along the way…..make sure you are not one of them, I bet like me you could tell a story or two of the time you either gave up and wished you didn’t or maybe hung in there a little while longer and were glad you did. Our mission is to make a habit of hanging in there and being there when the deal is done to tell the story not regretting we didn’t….. not simple,but satisfying…..good luck !!

‘People are not remembered by how few times they fail but by how often they succeed. Every wrong step is another step forward.” Thomas Edison