THE MOVE FROM HELL
Moving is never easy, especially when it’s half way across the country to a place you’ve only visited a couple of times. Uprooting your family and changing your lifestyle from one that you’ve known for most or all of your life can be traumatizing. I’ve always prided myself in being adaptable and I’m sure I’ll get used to my new surroundings quickly but that wasn’t nearly my biggest problem with this move.
What We Want and What We Need
As much as we get used to what we are doing on a daily basis, sometimes the way we do it needs to change as conditions around us do or when we realize that what we’ve been doing just doesn’t get the job done anymore.
Marketing is one area in which this might hold true above all others. It’s just too easy to fall into the trap that “the way we’re doing it must be alright because it’s the way we’ve always done it.” Look around you. Nothing is the way it used to be–especially not the way you receive or convey information–and isn’t that what marketing and advertising are all about? Your message may not have changed very much because you still want to offer your excellent services to the public, but the way you deliver the message certainly has, and the types of offerings you put out need to make sense to your potential customers. Customers have to see your offer and immediately say to themselves, “I need that.”–not “I want it”, but “I need it.”
Wasted Marketing Dollars
Transmission shop owners throw away thousands of dollars every year on advertising that does not work. Why ? I have been a shop owner and visited with a lot of transmission shop owners over the years and I am convinced that they just don’t have time (or haven’t taken the time) to figure out exactly how they should be spending their marketing dollars.
Elevate Yourself from Order-Taker to Salesperson
Every time you answer the phone, you have an opportunity and a choice.
The opportunity: Somebody is calling you because they need or want something.
The choice: You can give them information or you can give them a reason to buy from you.
Before you answer that next call, think “What’s my goal?” Hint: If your goal is to give them prompt, courteous information, you’re only a fraction of the way there.
Training at Hotel Hell
Training at Hotel Hell
A Little Help
Author: Art Little
Subject Matter: Management
Issue: Sales Training
“What Do I Do When the Phone is Ringing Off the Hook?”
This is article is part of a series of reader submissions, questions, and topic suggestions. I like answering your emails because they are real world and they may relate to your job, your life and your sales efforts. If you have more questions, my inbox is open.
Is Your Shop in a “Bad Mood”?
When your whole shop has somehow worked itself into a bad mood it affects everyone. Customers, suppliers and employees are uncomfortable, and as a result, you lose productivity and sales. The spiral effect just continues downward until it reaches critical stage. Then, if something isn’t done to turn it around, all could be lost. So once the symptoms are recognized, changes need to be made quickly.
Achieving Work-Family Balance
I recently flew from Milwaukee to Minneapolis and then on to Fargo, ND. Each time I landed, I felt my iPhone vibrating in my pocket, indicating that I had received a new voicemail, email or text message. When I pulled out my phone in Minneapolis, I had 17 new emails, 2 voicemails and 3 text messages. That flight was only about 90 minutes. I had a 45-minute layover, so I did my best to return calls and emails, but I didn’t get to them all.
14 Things Your Employees Are Dying to Hear from You
What were your last 10 or 15 employee exchanges like? Chances are they included phrases like “I need you to finish that job by the end of the day” or “How much longer do you think it’ll take to do that?” After all, you can’t run a business without addressing these types of issues. And chances are, unless they were delivered in a – shall we say – forceful tone of voice, your employees don’t mind hearing pertinent instructions and questions. So why does their morale seem to be drooping?
The problem might not be what you’re saying, but what you’re not saying. The good news is, with a few well-chosen words you can nurture employee relationships and help to enhance their engagement in your purpose.
Christmas Vacations
Merry Christmas. It’s that time of year again. There are things to do. You need to buy your wife a present, put up the lights on the house, go see some old friends and get ready for family to come over. It’s the best time of the year. Wouldn’t it be great to have a little time off? Maybe shut the shop down and go home for about nine or 10 days? Well, maybe you can.
Financial Planning for Those Who Hate To
Many “hands-on” employees and small-business owners are way more into the production, sales and distribution of their products or services than they are into the financial end of the business. They leave the tasks of managing money and paying bills to others; hopefully those who are honest and won’t get them in trouble.
Small Talk Is for Small Sales
Small talk is meaningless yapping about nothing at all. Small talk is safe, but it accomplishes nothing of value. It’s a restatement of the obvious. Small talk is for small sales.
