How to Be the Good ‘Bad Guy’
Shooting down ideas and projects won’t make you popular, but it’s a necessary evil. As one of the guardians for how we do things and who we are, I’ve learned that there’s a right way and a wrong way for keeping on track.
If You Were the Customer, What Would You Do?
Your choices, like the average consumer, boil down to basically two: You can have it fixed in one of several ways, or you can decide that the vehicle has outlived its usefulness to you and sell, junk or trade it for something new or newer. Your decision will depend upon several factors.
Failure’s Place in Goal Logic
These people work their collective tails off and are not afraid to set the bar high. However, with lofty goals comes an increased chance of falling short.
Real Data, Real Dollars
Data analytics. Sounds scary (or boring), right? Spotting trends isn’t as tricky as you might think and you’re probably already using insights from the numbers you look at every day.
They Held My Seat Hostage
It’s been awhile since I did a rant about the airlines. I thought I would leave them alone if they didn’t bother me, but as usual they started another war with their amazing lack of business sense and their worse customer relations techniques.
What’s Your Business Philosophy?
Do you have a basic philosophy for your business? If you went to a banker to borrow money for expansion or new equipment and were asked to describe the basic philosophy of your business, how would you answer? How would you convince this lender to loan you money based on the way you do business and what you see in your future and that of the industry? What could you tell him or her that would show there’s a high probability you will be able to repay the loan?
Behind-the-Scenes Branding
Branding can function just like traditional marketing. Take a print ad, for example. Ultimately, a customer will go to your website or pick up the phone because what was on paper was compelling, interesting, memorable, or just a really great deal. When you approach branding a B2B business the same way, your customers think of you and the feeling and/or service you give them when their customer is right in front of them. Branding contributes to the actions of a sale.
Power to the Peon
The project he is working on is behind schedule. He believes that there is nothing he can do about his team running behind. Leadership in the organization won’t support him trying out some new things to get his project headed in the right direction, he believes. “I’m just a peon and can’t do anything to change how things are done,” he said.
Choose Your Words Carefully
Whether doing business with strangers or longtime customers, the same rules of etiquette need to be applied. We never want to take liberties and feel that we can talk to customers the way we do our golf buddies. People can be easily offended, and it would be a shame to lose sales because our sense of humor doesn’t match our customers’ or because we don’t control the use of inappropriate language. Even if the customer is using off-color words or phrases, we cannot take that as a cue that it’s OK to join in.
Hold on to What You’ve Got
Most of the time I teach people in our industry how to run profitable businesses by using proper sales and management techniques. Many of you have learned your lessons well and have gone on to build very successful businesses. Your reward for all of your hard work comes in the form of a sense of accomplishment and, of course, money. As good citizens, you’ve paid taxes on the money you’ve made and hopefully put the rest to work to make you more of it. Many of you have invested in real estate, either land, buildings, or both. Others have tried the stock market, bonds, annuities and other business ventures, hopefully all lucrative. Some of you have put your money in banks feeling that even though there wasn’t much to be made, it was safe.
Forrest Gump Was Right
Sometimes, bad things happen. Anyone who has not lived in a climate-controlled bubble knows this. Your reaction to an unfortunate series of events is what changes the entire experience.
Why Your Customers Aren’t Buying What You’re Selling
The language you use while making a sale is critical. If what you are presenting comes across as being a negative, your customer is going to look elsewhere. Most businesses are not buying used DVDs, but it’s the same basic principle no matter what you are selling.
