sales surfing !!

         

 

 

Edition 189 Monday June 10th 2013

 

Hi, no matter how hard you try to brace yourself for bad news it always knocks you around. Sometimes you get advanced warning sometimes it comes out of leftfield, both suck although I guess as they say “ as long as neither kill you they will always definitely make you stronger!!”

On this occasion we received some advanced warning when there was no heartbeat at our first baby scan recently. We were hopeful that it was just a case of being a week or two too early but the prognosis wasn’t good and a week later we were saddened to have our miscarriage confirmed L. This is one of lifes experiences or moments of truth and we accept that it certainly goes with the territory especially at our tender age!. Production and design are eager to have another crack however they recognise that the Project Manager has the final say and respect that it will be a week or two before a decision is made on project 2!!

On the happy positive side Christine will make a quick and full recovery, Project 1 continues to thrive clocking up 10 months on Sunday, Dad is alive and recovering strongly at home, yes as always we have a lot to be thankful for!

Following hard on the heels of Dads recent near death experience we have had a roller coaster ride in the last few weeks testing our inner strength and reinforcing our belief in family. I know I say it all the time but there can be nothing more important or central to our existence, embrace it always.

Be kind to family and friends and have a great week , Cheers Jonesey!!!!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons can do no wrong , ever, no matter how hard the grumpy man tries to frame them for wrong doing. Their message,if you cant beat us ,joing us old boy grrrr.

 

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” Michael Korda

 

Good sales people are like good surfers, they feel the momentum and go with it.

I am not a good surfer but I am a good salesman and last week I caught a wave with huge momentum that I was able to use to carry me into and through the whole of last week.

You see I identified an initial opportunity to recycle some materials out of a large office building and the wave of materials to recycle grew from there to the point that we are looking at recycling nearly 90 % of the materials from 23 floors of an office tower and it doesn’t stop there…..theres more !!!

The 23 floors are then going to be refurbished and the company doing that work also want to recycle as much of their waste materials as possible !!! who do you call?,……us because they were referred by all the other contractors who are using us on the project.

 

But wait theres even more…..the organisation moving in to the new refurbished building needs a recycling and waste system for their new building and employees, guess who they are talking to….yep us !!!

 

Why did all this happen???, good luck?, fate?,prayer,good looks, good management, all or none of these??.....no it all happened because the momentum was gained with an initial cold call query and through a series of additional questions and heaps of initiative turned into a cascade of one off and permanent business opportunities that have been turned into profitable revenue. Want to know the best thing?.....not a competitor in sight because of the trust engendered by coming up with a different approach and innovative solutions. It didn’t seem that hard to do this once on a roll , I think the hardest thing to do is to think up a different solution, once you have that you are on the wave!

“Commitment is the ignitor of momentum.” Peg Wood

They called him Ernie!!

         

 

 

Edition 188 Tuesday June 4th 2013

 

Hi, thankyou for the feedback last week regarding my Father. I am pleased to be able to report that after staring death in the eye on several occasions he miraculously lived to tell the tale. He is getting stronger by the day and has even talked the hospital staff into letting him go home mid this week !

We are so grateful for the care and attention he has received and indebted to the staff of Auckland Hospital for their amazing skill and professionalism. We are lucky to live in New Zealand for sure!!

The North Shore Rugby Football Club foundered in 1873!! celebrated its 140^th year in existence last weekend. We took Fletcher to his first live senior club footy game to witness the mighty green and whites win in the dying minutes against the old foe Takapuna in a fitting local derby clash. It was a return to the womb for me as an ex senior player and coach as we joined hundreds of past and present members, players and supporters to recount our favorite memories from the years past of the clubs proud history.The stories became more embellished and courageous as the night went on, it was great to catch up with so many people who had played such an important and large part in my life. As  is quite often the case I was reluctant to make the effort to attend but was yet again left thanking Christine for motivating me to get there, who knows when I might see a lot of those people again? Crikey talk about a West Coast hermit……need to get out more!!!:)

I hope you also made the effort to catch up with family and friends this Queens Birthday weekend, I am sure you will agree,like I did,that it is more than worth it.

Have a great week , Cheers Jonesey!!!!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon pole position in front of the log burner is their right!!!  

 

 

“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary”.Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart

 

They called him Ernie and he drove the fastest milk cart in the west!!!

Remember that song about Ernie the milkman?, it was a classic, a bit like the “my old mans a dustman” …..well we also have an Ernie on the Green Gorilla team and he drives a rubbish truck !!

 I imagine Ernie the milkman was probably a character just like our Ernie and both people who are quite unique.

You see ‘our’ Ernie is 74 and as fit as fiddle , he is on the road most mornings at 2am picking up rubbish and recyclables and goes hard out till the job is done, normally by about 10am. He also owns a commercial cleaning business and breeds and rides quarter horses in his “spare” time !!!

Ernie lives and breathes his driving role for us and always goes the extra mile on behalf of our customers.

In a classic example last week Ernies truck broke down and was off the road while being repaired. Ernie got frustrated about the time the repair was taking so he used his personal car and towed his horse trailer around to our customers picking up their stuff so they didn’t experience any delays to their service!!! The effect this had on our customers was amazing, they couldn’t believe Ernie had done this off his own initiative. Our company was also appreciative for the commitment Ernie displayed to making sure we continued to service our customers. What a guy, he is a key point of differentiation between us and our competition and a major reason our customers pay extra for a quality service. Wow , I hope I am as committed and as energetic when I am in my mid seventies.

 

 Thanks Ernie you are a legend and an inspiration to us all. Every business needs a team of Ernies!!!

 

“A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” Chinese Proverb

Theatre seats anyone????

         

 

 

Edition 187 Monday May 27th 2013

 

Hi, “The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.” Carl Sagan.

 

My Dad was involved in a car accident during the week and left fighting for his life in hospital!!

As much as you prepare yourself for the worst and stay positive you never think it will be you!!

I am pleased to report that after a tough weekend Dads condition has stabilized and continues to improve, phew that was one shave too close for comfort. It is times like these that I realize all the stuff that should not,but would remain unsaid between my Father and I if we were to lose him. A time also to reflect on all those memories through childhood, teens and adulthood where my Father has always been the words of wisdom I have sort, the shoulder to lean on to cry on and then in return to support as needed. A time to thank and appreciate him for shaping my life and influencing significantly the character and personality of the man and Father I have become today. Those moments of truth and happiness we have shared together as our lives have become inseperably woven together in a rich fabric of life experiences that only a Father can impart on a son.

My favorite memories of my Dad will always feature the times we spent exploring the Hauraki Gulf in our remarkable fleet of family boats catching snapper or the countless hours we spent in Dad’s ‘shed’ fixing stuff (mainly mine) and talking about ‘guy stuff’ that had this Jones boy wide eyed with pride and excitement about the exploits of his Dad…….Crikey Dad, get well and don’t do that again mate !!

If you haven’t talked to those people close to you in your lives for some reason for a while or told them how much you love them for a while….Do it now !!! Have a great week , Cheers Jonesey!!!!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons have dug up some special bones for Jimmy J when he gets well!

 

“The only freedom you truly have is in your mind, so use it”. MT Dismuke

 

What would you do with 890 cinema seats??? a customer asked last week

As you know apart from terrorising my fellow motorists in my Green Gorilla car I am out there daily saving the planet so it was important to me to find a good use for these cinema seats.

I did think about selling them on Trademe and to gauge interest I surveyed my colleagues for interest levels……hmmm sold 4 so only 886 to go….probably not,plus storage at 48 for baby gear only !!!

Time to think smarter so I approached furniture resellers but was greeted with the same interest levels ….zilch. There was no way I was going to throw these chairs away…..oh the stories they could tell about the movies they had all seen and the antics of those who had enjoyed their comfort to view those movies…..I digress, just trying to think of an innovative marketing plan…..but alas zilch !!

Then one morning in the shower it hit me !!!! why not try to recycle the chairs for their scrap steel value. I know that car bodies go into giant steel shredders including car seats and car seats are similar to theatre seats so why wouldn’t they yield the same scrap steel return……Bingo !!!

Yes folks not only has my idea worked to recycle the seats but the recycler is going to pay me and my customer for the privelege …..Win, win and win some more….what is the lesson here??

Think smarter, there is always another way, challenges are opportunities, there is money in muck, Clinton is a legend and deserves a knighthood for saving the planet,don’t take the easy option, use your scone. Crikey it is satisfying to come up with something no one else thought of…you can do it!

 

 

I'm lazy! I hate work! Hate hard work in all its forms! Clever shortcuts, that's all I'm about!” ― Eliezer Yudkowsky

Happy Jennifers!!

         

 

 

Edition 186 Monday May 20th 2013

 

Hi,it’s a hard road but after battling man fever (worse than man flu!!) I am pleased to say I got through with generous helpings of Sara Lee’s finest apple crumble, Mr Movenpicks legendary Maple Walnut icecream and a significant investment in medication ($38 bucks for Codral tablets, strewth !!)

I have said it before and I will say it again, I take my hat off to all the parents out there who have raised or are raising kids, good onya, it is full on !! Crowd control at 48 has taken on a new dimension with Fletchers recent mobilisation, even eyes in the back of your head are not enough to prevent the inevitable crashing and burning.After supervising the daily crawl to walk training sessions I find myself hanging out for sleep time and head straight to my bed at the same time he does !! To say I am the lucky one heading back to work for a rest on Mondays is an understatement!!,and we are having another angel from heaven??...what are we thinking or taking?

Thank you for all the feedback on our recent news, we appreciate your support and good wishes.

Quite scary on one hand but also cool to think about the exciting and fun times ahead raising our West Coast nuclear family. I hope you are also appreciating the importance of your family and friends in any time you have to spend with them. Have a great week ahead, cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon this quote by Roger Caras is Scooby Doo “If you don't own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life.”  Woof woof!!

 

“Quitting is not an option no matter what your excuse” Kings College Rowing Club motto.

 

There I was cruising along a bit more than I should have been last week, letting a few obstacles and challenges phase me and feeling a bit sorry for myself!!

It was late one day and I was tired and grumpy thinking life was a bit unfair and treating my efforts to succeed with contempt when I had the good fortune to run in to Jennifer the cleaner of the office I was working from.

I see her quite often and she is always cheerful and takes time to talk to me, listen to me and offer a word or two of encouragement and good luck.

Last week she shared a story with me that stopped me in my sorry little tracks and made me feel grateful that my problems were not really problems at all.

Seems her and her grand Daughter had their car stolen with all their possessions in it while they were shifting house. Her grand daughter is a struggling solo Mum of a three year old daughter herself and has precious little to begin with.

As the story of their terrible misfortune unfolded I couldn’t help but think about what an ungrateful wretch I truly was to be feeling so sorry for myself when there are obviously people like Jennifer and her family who are a lot worse off.

It is times like this that I need to remind myself of how lucky I truly am to have the life I have, with my current good health, my growing family including both parents, and some good friends.

Yes, we all need happy Jennifers in our life because they are what we should aspire to be like, people who don’t quit or get down on themselves or others no matter what happens !!!! J

To reinforce this message I coincidentally found the attached article from 1959 about the Kings College Rowing eight who won the prestigous Maadi Cup even after breaking a seat in the boat!! I hope you are also inspired by this especially if you have ever attempted rowing as a sport..enjoy!!

 

“Survival can be summed up in three words - never give up. That's the heart of it really. Just keep trying.” Bear Grylls

shooting stars

         

 

 

Edition 185 Monday May 13th 2013

 

Hi,it is said, if you see a shooting star it is good luck or a sign of good things to come so what say you see six on one morning like me? Well, I cant remember a crazier week full of events. Firstly I attempted to run in the storm on Monday morning and was nearly fried when a lightening strike took out the power transformer in our street while I was running past it!The ensuing power cut was interesting as we had to rely on candle power for light,LPG for cooking and the log burner for heat for the next 18 hours! I am no hero in an emergency,losing interest in roughing it by candlelight in no time, help Vector,lineman,help!!

Then Harry the hound turned 10 years old (70 in human years!!) and Fletcher turned 9 months as we celebrated both milestones in the week.

As chaotic as these events were they didn’t hold a candle(excuse the pun) to the one that turned our week upside down just as you would expect a positive pregnancy test to do I guess !!!!Crikey !!!!!!!!

When I said we were trying for another child we were hoping against hope and didn’t really think lightening would strike in the same place twice(again excuse the pun). To those who say shooting stars herald luck and good times I concur as we have been truly blessed with the gift of another child.

We enjoyed a sunny Mothers Day lunch with Mum on the Beach at Devonport.The tide was full and the day was picture perfect as our family were lucky enough to share that time with Mum. I hope you either got to do the same or were able to take some time out to remember your Mum if you were not able to be with her. I know we all know that we don’t do that enough so it is good to take time to remember because no one can ever love you more than or replace your Mum, cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons don’t quite know what to make of it as they have only just got used to Fletcher and now there is another one on the way!! Happy Birthday Houdini !!

 

“When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.”  Confucius

 

Last week we were on a site visit with a number of competitors. We were all submitting a proposal for the same job and had all been invited to inspect the new building together.

There was a representative from one of our competitors that I overheard running down all the other companies there on the day to the customer. I know this guy and had always thought he was a bit dodgey but never said anything just chosen to focus on what I was doing rather than get too fixated with him. I have always found this to be the best way when dealing with the opposition. I think it is healthy to have respect for a competitor and their products but not to be worried about them to the point where it distracts you from focusing on what you want to achieve.

Anyway turns out the dodgey guy didn’t stop at verbally bad mouthing his competitors he actually committed that criticism to writing about several including us! This served to put the customer off him. On top of that one of the dodgey guys colleagues is so disillusioned he is seeking to leave this competitor and join us !!

Wow, I have always believed in karma and this was a classic example, this guy is bad mouthing his competitors, he loses the big project and then loses a staff member because of his antics. Things sure have a funny way of back firing on you if you are critical, blame others or deny you have issues!!! Lessons; don’t bad mouth competitors or customers verbally or in writing. Always look for the good and go out of your way to help others. Don’t be fixated or distracted by the competition, good luck!!

 

“Karma comes after everyone eventually. You can't get away with screwing people over your whole life, I don't care who you are. What goes around comes around. That's how it works. Sooner or later the universe will serve you the revenge that you deserve.”  J Brody,

Bad habits 101

         

 

 

Edition 184 Monday May 6th 2013

 

Hi,we love wet and windy weekends at home hunkered down braving the elements totally fortified by cupboards full of comfort food!!! Add to that a never ending supply of sport and movies on the telly and the outside world may as well not exist! The secret is to have enough of everything to not have to venture out!! Any break in the weather has to be reserved for dog walking and golf ball hunting!! Its times like these  that you don’t mind your wheelie bin going out more than you do !!

From the Fletcher file; Mr Jones junior joined a local Play centre last week taking the intro to the locals in his stride as well as everything they had in the fridge to eat !! To say him and his Mum enjoy the time out is an understatement. That toothy smile is infectious on the local girls that’s for sure!

I am a little disturbed by Christines enrolment at a local gym in their boxing class although they say the punch that gets you is the one you wont see!??, I guess I will have deserved it if it does happen!

As my Global Exploring son Mark prepares to set off on the European leg of his never ending OE I find myself reflecting on how much I am going to miss him and regretting not doing more with him. Crikey being a parent is tough on the emotions and the top two inches no matter what age kids areL.

The lesson here my friends is to always make quality time to spend with the people most important to you. There are no medals or thanks for being the last to leave the office.On that note I hope you have managed to spend the weekend with the people closest to you and found the time to tell them you love them. Have an awesome week ahead and don’t forget Mothers Day Sunday,Cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon dogs are the only thing on earth that loves you more than they love themselves! ,they certainly seem to be the Grumpy mans only friends!! :)

 

“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out” Warren Buffett

 

I wasn’t caught swimming naked by the tide but I felt just as exposed when two Directors of our company asked to ride in my car to an appointment we were all attending last week.

 

For one reason or other I had not cleaned my car for some time and it was in a shocking state.

As someone who prides thereself in the appearance of self and vehicle I was mortified at this request.

 

I quickly tried to shake the carpets and brush the dog hair off the seats whilst emptying the previous weeks worth of accumulated business and private crap out of every parcel and door tray!!!

 

Unfortunately the notice was too short and the trip commenced badly with our principal shareholder finding a half eaten baby rusk embedded in the seat of his newly pressed trousers. As if this wasn’t bad enough the windscreen and passenger windows were so badly smudged with dog saliva and west coast sea spray that he and his fellow Director had trouble seeing out of the vehicle !

 

As if the physical appearance of the car wasn’t bad enough the Director sitting in the passenger seat in front with me felt threatened enough to grab the steering wheel as we moved off from the lights with two lanes going in to one as I finished a text I had started whilst stationary at the lights!!

 

Crikey what a bad experience, enough said, lessons learnt; Always have car clean enough to take Directors and Customers on tour. Sweep for baby food and dog hair post weekend, don’t text or email whilst driving. Bad habits 101,simple to do hard to rectify but something to always be “better” at !!

 

“Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.” Warren Buffett

 

(This weeks quotes have nothing to do with the story bit I thought they were cool anyway enjoy!!!)

Smile :)

 

 

Edition 183 Monday April 29th 2013

 

 

Hi ,a good friend of ‘Upbeat’ ,John, (not his real name) was our guest at the weekly Friday ‘pizza and pinot’ session at 48 last week and after a pinot or 5 asked when the ‘Upbeat’ format was going to change?? We were instantly reminded of our new, improved and ‘shorter ‘ format announcement some time ago now!!! It is true shorter is better and I am accutely aware how little time we have to read the multitude of stuff that comes our way via the electronic air waves daily…there just seems to be so much to share with you on a weekly basis I guess I cant help myself! Hope you still find time.

I promise to try to keep it a bit briefer whenever possible!....WOW, further to the story last week about Jan the new owner of Paul the VW…well him and his partner Lucy took ownership at Auckland airport after flying up from Christchurch. To our surprise (horror?!) they didn’t head south they headed north to Cape Reinga no less on a 10 day North Island tour before heading back to the mainland and home !! 600km later with Paul going strong they stayed with us at Muriwai before heading to the BOP, Taupo, National Park, Palmy and on to Wellywood!!! Crikey good luck Paul. We reckon they will have covered nearly 2000km in Sir Paul by the time they get home (what a buy!!).

With the heavens opening up the night before we decided to give the Anzac dawn parade a miss but ended up having an ‘inhouse’ version at 6am with Fletcher wide awake screaming, heralding the arrival of more teeth to complete a real smile complete with top and bottom rows!! Lest we forget!!

We discovered another jewel in the Auckland crown on Sunday when we took Fletcher for a walk in Western Springs Park, what a gem it is complete with a plethora (this weeks word) of animal/bird life.Special highlight for us was undoubtedly the eels under the bridge we crossed and the sheer quality of the surroundings, hats off to the Auckland City Parks team, best part is it is free! Go soon !!

I hope you had a cool weekend with family and friends, enjoy your week……Cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersonsn thank you for the fan mail, they will attempt to respond in person to each of you . Afterall ‘Upbeat’ is ALL about them !!!!

 

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Bill Gates

I love coffee, and I make a point of treating myself to a designer coffee every morning from my favourite café close to work. I know I could have hundreds of coffees for the price I pay for my designer coffee per month but it is about more than the coffee for me.

It is the customer experience, the ambience the feeling of home and belonging I get from the cafe I refer to as ‘my place’. The reality is their coffee is not the best in town but their service and their hospitality is…….or was until recently……….grrrrrrrrr I was upset and no longer go there!!!!

How did this happen???

Simply because my café staff took me for granted and got complacent about my loyalty to them. They wrongly thought my commitment to them would endure bad service and arrogance. It takes a lot to upset me and most people I have found when it comes to customer service however once you do upset us we will vote with our feet and we wont come back. Worse still we will probably tell anyone else that will listen about how badly we feel treated….hmm not good.

We all need to remember we cant afford to take our customers or other people for granted, relationships are a work in progress and we need to be constantly working on them. Complacency, arrogance and familiarity have been the downfall of many a business and a relationship.

Customers are not forever unconditionally and my experience with my café was a good wake up call for me personally with my own customers and how I must strive to treat them at all times. There are no guarantees but there are plenty of competitors eager to take our place as providers to our customers. I have found another café that I am pleased to say has welcomed me with open arms!

 

“Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless.”Jeffrey Gitomer