“The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”
-Peter Drucker

Let it Rain
Visitors to Hawaii often become depressed when it rains, yet they love to see the rainbows.

Mahalo Bill Wyland
I was reminded of this earlier post today when Bill Wyland posted the rainbow above on Facebook.

It’s important to remember that with no rain there would be no rainbows.
Life is much like that. When things seem to be coming down on you, look for the rainbow in the shower. There is always one there; somewhere!

Totally Addicted!
Coffee is my last remaining vice, and I can (and do) drink it day and night. When my long time coffee maker died a while back I hustled right over to the mall to get a new one. I was actually excited about seeing the latest innovations in coffee makers.

Fancy
When I arrived at the houseware section in Macy’s I saw coffee makers as far as the eye could see. I didn’t see any salespeople however, which (sadly) has become pretty much the norm there. I reached for my iPhone to take a photo of this vast unattened area, imagining a sarcastic blog post, and no coffee maker. To my suprise I heard my name and saw Char, who has worked for at least two of my clients in the past. I asked her if she works here, and was thrilled when she said that she does. Not only did I have a salesperson all to myself, but a good one too. Char showed me the options, gave me the information needed and in less than 10 minutes I was out the door with my new $100 coffee maker. I then remembered that Cuisinart is one of the brands that Steve Jobs admired. That and some great service was all I needed to make my decision. This was about four years ago, and when remodeling the kitchen this month, this is the one appliance that was not up for replacement.

Agony
While there’s no good place to lose your wallet, downtown Honolulu just might be the one of worst. That’s exactly what I did Thursday afternoon on my way to the gym. I cancelled my planned workout, back-tracked my steps through downtown and finally walked to the Mauna Kea Police Sub-Station across the street from the homeless cafe.

HELP!
I was already making a mental list of things in my wallet; credit cards, drivers license and Social Security card. The guy in front of me was detailing the fight he was just in when my cell phone rang. An unfamiliar voice said, “Is this Ron Martin?” I excitedly said, “Yes.” My excitement rose even further when the voice said, “This is the security desk at 1000 Bishop, and I have this wallet with your business cards in it.”

Ecstasy
My feeling of agony turned instantly into one of ecstasy when I arrived at the security desk, met Kalyn Castro, inspected the inside of my wallet and found everything in tact. I reached into my pocket to give Kalyn a reward, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I said, “How about a signed book?” and he lit up like a Christmas tree. I walked right home, got him a book and took it back to him. We talked for a long time about honesty and success. I have made a new friend. His parting comment was, “Just think Mr. Martin, if you hadn’t have lost your wallet I probably never would have met you.” Pretty Cool Ending!

I’m Mad as Hell and…

I am often reminded of my father’s two rules of business:

1. “The customer is always right.”
2. “When that is not the case, refer to rule number 1.”

I was reminded of these rules recently when reading an article in Advertising Age. The publication reported findings from a recent report by the research firm Yankelovich titled “Consumers in Control.”

Some of the interesting stats were:

82% of those interviewed said it was important to speak with a live person, with more than one in four (27%) indicating they’d even be willing to pay extra to have one.

75% believe businesses care more about selling existing products than coming up with what they want, up from 58% in 2004.

62% feel that service people don’t care much about their needs, up from 52% since 2004.

71% said they would walk out of a store even if it offered exactly what they were seeking if treated badly.

People are not only taking their business elsewhere, but also lashing out online. Blogs and YouTube have enabled more consumers to voice their distaste.

The article ended with this sobering comment; “If you get stained by bad customer service, it’s really hard to turn that around.” 

Keep that stain off of your business!

Tell Me!!!
How important is the price when deciding if to buy or not to buy?
Obviously people need to know the price before deciding, BUT how important is the price compared to other information that effects the buying decision? NOT VERY MUCH!
Retailers that assume that the price is all customers need to know, miss a lot of sales by posting the price and offering nothing else.
Retailers that hide prices assuming that customers will have to ask are wrong; they don’t have to ask. They can guess, decide and walk.
What A dilemma! Should you post prices or shouldn’t you?
While the answer may vary somewhat from business to business, my suggestion is to show the prices (clearly), but be pro-active with other information before or immediately upon the customer looking at the price tag.
Your customers will like you for that, and as we all know, “The customer is always right; right?” RIGHT!

Empty It!
I conducted a role playing session recently with a major customer. We focused on “clienteling” and the importance of calling back past customers to be sure that all is well. One of the salespeople said, “What if I call them and it opens up a can of worms?” Obviously she was referring to customers with a problem or concerns.

Better Than Before
A broken bone properly repaired becomes stronger than it was before the break.

Fixed!
The same is true with a customer that has a problem you take care of. An executive at this meeting commented that it’s the quiet customers he fears losing. They just get mad and go away without giving you the opportunity to fix the problem. When customers share their problem they give you the opportunity to cement your relationship even stronger than it was before the problem. Not only were you interested in making the sale, but to assure their satisfaction after the sale. And those without a problem are equally glad that you cared enough to follow up. That’s when the door opens up to make additional sales and get referrals.

It Worked
I visited our new Loewe’s Store for the first time today to shop for new microwave and toaster ovens for our newly re-designed kitchen. I had already been to Home Depot and Best Buy and was unable to find the ones I wanted. This shopping excursion was my first opportunity to test out the new T-Shirt that came to me in a dream recently. I had the shirt made, while unsure what I was going to do with it. In fact, I had 10 of them made. They feature the words, “I’m Just Looking” on the front and “I’ll be back” on the back; the two most dreaded things we as salespeople hear. I thought this would he a potentially cool way for a salesperson to engage with me.

“I’m just looking.”
The front of the shirt appeared to work too well, as I was not approached by anyone, in any of the three stores I visited. This in spite of trying real hard to look like I needed some help.

“I’ll be back.”
The back of the shirt seemed to be just effective as I was able to depart all three stores without saying a word or having anything said to me either. The down side to this otherwise fun experiment is that I didn’t get my microwave or toaster oven, since I won’t give my money to people that don’t approach me when I am looking for information. I took several photos of the potential appliances I might buy, and will come back (maybe) without this shirt to get them when the kitchen is finished.

Down to Earth
Before going home I went to grab dinner at Down to Earth, and a guy (a fellow customer) walked right up to me and said, “You must be a salesman. Your shirt is great. Salespeople hate hearing those two phrases.” I told him where I got the shirt and that he could buy one. He said that he would “Think about it.” I may have made my first t-shirt sale. If so, I have eight left; let me know if you want one.

Questions Put You in Control
In every conversation, someone is in control. When selling that should be the salesperson.
Questions can be used to open a conversation, discover customer needs and even close the sale.
The rule when asking questions is; “NEVER ask a question that MIGHT get you an answer you DON’T want to hear.” Ask SAFE to answer questions.
When customers come into a store they have a purpose, and that is to “discover” more about the store and what it has to offer. Ask questions that launch that discovery. After greeting ask, “Do you live here in (your city)” followed by, “Is this your first time in the store?” or “When were you in last?” Those questions set you up to tell the customer about your store and merchandise. Questions like, “May I help you?” or “What can I show you?” are quite likely to get you answers you DON’T want to hear.
Asking, “How are you today?” is lame and insincere. It leads to small talk, not sales. Customers do not come into your store to tell you how they are doing today. This insincere question is likely to get an insincere reply like, “Fine” which doesn’t take you anywhere.
PDR – Practice, Drill and Rehearse. Get your questions down pat. Practice out loud to yourself, drill them into your head and rehearse them with co-workers.

“I Read That”
People tend to read a book, put it on the bookshelf, and then say, “I read that.”
While that may be okay for a novel, a self help book requires more. Maybe a second read, or some highlighted sections, or some notes in the white space.
When I first got this e-mail below from Rod Newbound in Mount Vernon, Washington, I was deeply touched and asked his permission to share parts of it on this blog. He gladly provided that permission, so I did. I looked at it again recently and was moved to post it again, so here it is:

Dear Ron,

A friend of mine suggested I get your book, Success Made Easy, so I managed to find it in Hawaii and have read almost half. Your approach is so different from all the mumbo-jumbo out there. I really appreciate it. In front of me on my desk, I have the words, “What can I do right now, this minute, to create more success?” Yesterday, after writing it down on a red note card, I began applying it.
Frankly, I was quite amazed at how my subconscious took over and directed me all day. The ideas just kept flooding out. I could hardly work fast enough to keep up!
I have taken a look at your website, and will be ordering your other books very soon. When you asked what I do, I had no idea our interests were so similar.
Kind regards,

Rod Newbound
Direct Marketing Consultant
Mount Vernon, WA