Pacific Business News
Since I have been so harsh on Pacific Business News in this blog the past year for their negative spin on the economy, I feel obliged to praise them for the above headline in this week’s issue. 
Citing the Honolulu Marathon, North Shore surfing contests and Jehovah’s Witness conventions as the reasons, they said, “Compared with the first half of the year, the last three months have been downright prosperous.”
This is the kind of press that we need more of to build the spirits of business people working hard to make the best of a tough year.

PLEASE!
One of the hardest things to teach salespeople is when to shut up.
The bad salesperson doesn’t know when to speak up, the good salesperson too many times fails to shut up.
When the good salesperson learns the art of shutting up, he or she becomes a great salesperson.
When you shut up, it becomes the customer’s time to react. This reaction does a lot more for you than your ongoing words would. Reading the customer’s body language when you shut up will tell you if to continue, back up, or stay quiet.
When you shut up you give your customers the opportunity to ask a question, show interest or dis-interest, present an objection or to buy.
The secret to great selling is; “Speak Up, Shut Up, Observe and Mirror”. Say something, read the reaction and then act as the customer does. It’s Easy!

Make Up Your Mind!

“To change a habit, make a conscious decision, and then act out the new behavior.”
-Maxwell Maltz

I read once that successful people make decisions quickly, and then change them (if at all) very slowly. Less successful people tend to do the opposite; they agonize over making the decision, and once they do, they change it quickly and easily. They think, “Should I or shouldn’t I”… and then shortly after deciding, they think, “Maybe I shouldn’t have…”

It is more about making your decisions right than making the right decisions. Decide what’s best, and then get behind that decision. Do what it takes to make it the right decision. Be determined to succeed; the answers to all other questions along the way will come to you.

Don’t wonder about it; Do It!

But Don’t Count On It!
I arrived at a Waikiki restaurant yesterday that I go to frequently, as in a few times a week. The other two people that were to join me were close behind. I got there right at opening time (5 PM) and said, “There will be three us.” The host commented, “We cannot seat you until the majority of your party is present.” I said, “Then make it only two people and I will text one of them to go elsewhere.” Are you ready for this? He said, “Okay” and sent me to a table for two.
I’m all for rules, but sometimes a rule should be “overruled” with common sense. I wonder what they thought I was going to do with this photo I took. What would you call his behavior?

Clerking Isn’t Selling
Clerks “ring up sales”; salespeople “sell”. “Selling is “giving the customer sufficient information to make an intelligent buying decision, be it yes or no”. This definition from Retail Selling Made Easy must be at the core of all your behavior, and must be done in a pro-active, yet no-pressure manner. Customers will not always ask you for help or agree to take it if you ask them for it. Give It!

Understanding
There’s always a reason for anything. Take the time to understand the “Why” behind the “What” when asked to do something. There’s a good reason that talking to customers is more important than sweeping the floor or stocking the shelves. Those are things to do when you don’t have a customer. Do you know WHY?

Happy Birthday
Hildgund Jewelry is celebrating 136 years in business in a very unique way. 136 gift wrapped jewelry boxes are being  placed around town in different locations throughout the month of December. Each one contains a valuable piece of  jewelry. The deal is simple; finders keepers!

Bruce Bucky - Owner
I had coffee today with Bruce Bucky to congratulate him on this promotion. He shared some of the experiences to date  placing these boxes, and watching people actually walk right by them. Even though there’s a card on the box saying what  it is, many people didn’t read it, and turned it in as lost. To prove this, he handed me a gift box and told me to put it somewhere.

Never Walk by Opportunity
I first placed it on a table and sure enough people walked right by without seeing it. Next I moved it over to the table where the cream and sugar are. Again, it was overlooked, except by an employee who looked at it and commented, “Oh, somebody left this.” She did not pick it up or read it. Finally I put it on the floor, and it was amazing to see people walk by without noticing it.

Winner
Finally Isaac spotted it and told the receptionist to go pick it up. She didn’t, so he did. Now he has something nice to take home this evening. The gifts vary in value, but total $50,000.

What to Do?
As we left, Bruce gave me another gift box, told me to put it somewhere and let him know what happens. Stand by, this one is  valued at $200. I feel like Santa Claus.

It’s like Shorthand Information
I became enticed into joining Twitter about a year ago. I have elected to “follow” people that post things I can benefit from. I rarely hear anything on the news that I haven’t already seen on Twitter. I’m more up to date on the world’s happenings than ever before. I peek at “Trending Topics” to see what people are talking about, and if it’s something interesting to me, I click on it to see what they are saying.

Celebrity Attention
Unfortunately there are more people talking about Tiger Woods and his wife today than the war, economy, the holidays or health care. Tomorrow (or later today) it will be something (or someone) else. Of course the same is true of TV News.

Followers
Somehow several hundred people have found me on Twitter and decided to “follow me” meaning that they presumably read my short “Tweets.” I don’t know who the vast majority of these people are, and really don’t care if they follow me or not; I’m just tossing out my thoughts in less than 140 characters, which can be challenging at times.
I know that they don’t care what time I went to bed or what I had for breakfast, so I attempt to say things that are either informative, interesting or funny; we all need a laugh now and then.

No More Please!
When Mr. Obama announced “his” decision to send another 30,000 troops into harm’s way I couldn’t hold back. I have a hard time understanding the sanity of it all. We have had close to 40,000 Americans die in our efforts to retaliate for the loss of 3,000 people 9/11. To me there’s something wrong with this picture. Apparently not everyone agrees with my assessment here. I have posted 2,499 “Tweets” to date, and my list of follwers has grown considerably. But when I expressed my thoughts about our president (who I supported) deciding to “step the war up,” I saw follower drop out like never before. I really don’t care if anyone follows me on Twitter or not, but I do care about American lives; any lives for that matter.

It’s Easy!
This is the time of year that smart business people reach out to their customers and thank them for their business. There are many ways to do this, and if money is an issue, just a sincere letter or e-mail will suffice.
I just received an e-mail from one of my customers today, Carsten Pedersen of BoConcept in Denmark, asking me to to acknowledge another customer of mine for the outstanding service he provides. Carsten received the e-mail below and sent it on to me asking me to share it on this blog. I am happy to do so.
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Greetings to you and your family this holiday season!
At this time of year, we like to reach out to our extended ‘Ohana and reflect on all that we are thankful for.
We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you again soon.
Please visit our e-newsletter to see what is going on at Lahaina Grill.
We have shared some fun holiday recipes for you to try this month!

CLICK HERE TO READ E-NEWS:

Aloha and Happy Holidays!
Jurg Munch and the Lahaina Grill ‘Ohana

Lahaina Grill is located at:
127 Lahainaluna Road
Lahaina, HI 96761
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Jurg Munch
Lahaina Grill owner Jurg Munch always goes out of his way to give special service to anyone I recommend his restaurant to. He always remembers to send me a thank you note, a gift card or a Lahaina Grill baseball cap.

Kevin in the Kitchen
When I took my son and his family to Lahaina Grill recently, my grandson, Kevin got a royal tour of the kitchen from Jurg, where he met the head chef and saw the magic that goes on in there. The next time you are on Maui, be sure to visit Lahaina Grill. Ask for Jurg and tell him that Ron sent you.