“They say that Maui…”
I have always loved the words to that song. Personally it’s hard for me to say which island is the best, for they each have their own intrinsic beauty. I love the wide open spaces on the Big Island, the variety of Oahu, the mystery of Molokai, the fun of Maui, and I have often said, “I could spend the rest of my life as a rock if you planted me in Hanalei Bay on Kauai.”
I continue to see evidence of success is on Maui; but not for everyone. Here are some examples:

Full flight to West Maui
I snapped this photo on my Island Air flight to West Maui.

93% Booked
I asked the rental car shuttle bus driver about business. He said, “Were real busy; 28 of 30 cars are going out every day.”

Check In Line
Generally I hate lines, but I was pleased to see them lining up to check in at the high end Westin Maui hotel. In case you do not know how high, I got a special Kamaaina rate; $255 plus “resort fees.” I asked the front desk clerk how many rooms there are in the hotel and what visitors are paying. He said, “780 rooms at about $400 a night, some much higher.” I did some quick arithmatic, at 80% that’s about $250,000 bucks a night. The  evidence that people are spending money is pretty clear.

Lahaina Town
I checked in, caught up on my e-mail and headed into Lahaina Town at about 4 PM. That’s a pretty dead time as a lot of people are in their rooms resting up or dressing up for a night on the town. In spite of that, I saw plenty of “evidence” of people on the sidewalks.

Red Lights
I also looked into the stores and galleries, and as always it was feast or famine. In Retail Selling Made Easy I talk about “Red Light - Green Light” referring to the physical positioning of salespeople, and whether they are attracting customers or not. Unfortunately I saw more red lights than I to see:

For some, working to attract business was just too much!

Green Lights
In those cases where people were staying busy the green lights were drawing people into their businesses. People stop outside to decide if to go inside. What they see in there makes the decision. To be busy; get busy!

Almost Dinner Time
It was now getting close to dinner time so I peeked into a few Lahaina bars to see how they were doing. I was pleased to see a lot of people having a good time eating and drinking before dinner.

There was a waiting line already at Bubba Gumps on Front Street.

Show Time
I decided to head back to Kaanapali before dark to see how things looked at Whalers Village. As I was passing by Lahaina Cannery Mall I saw a lot of people gathering across the street, so I parked to check it out.

Old Lahaina Luau
People were lining up in large numbers to see the Old Lahaina Luau. I asked someone at the reservation desk how many people they have tonight, and she said, “280 so far, but there will be more walk-ins.” I aked the price and she said, “$93 per person.” Again I did the arithmatic; $26,040!

Hyatt Luau
On my way to Whalers Village I dropped by the Maui Hyatt Regency to see if they have a luau happening as well. They did; 480 people at $99 each. Added up that’s another $47,520! Are you keeping track? Are you feeling good about the opportunity yet? If not, there’s more.

Leilani’s on the Beach
As I arrived at Whalers Village I peered into Leilani’s on the Beach and saw a packed house having dinner. I looked across the sidewalk at Hula Grill and saw another packed house.

The Sunset
I looked around the other way and saw more people snapping memerable photos of the West Maui Sunset.

And as I headed into Whalers Village I was confronted by even more people on their way to the restaurants.
I really hope that these photos and stories will serve to boost your confidence in our Hawaiian opportunity. No doubt that there are still some people on the mainland who are depressed over this so called poor economy, but I must say they are not the ones making the trip to Maui. The people traveling to Hawaii are not the affected by high airfares and or gas prices. Those people are staying home. We are blessed to have a clientelle that is still coming to Hawaii and spending a lot of money to have a good time. Do NOT let anyone bring you down by talking about what is NOT here. Stay focused on what IS here. Help these visitors enjoy their vacation and they will reward you with their business.
Remember this Proverb:
“When the wind doesn’t blow; row!”
I hope you like my positive spin on things; it’s for you.
Happy New Year. Let’s make 2012 the best ever!!!

Talk Less; Listen More
The two hardest things to teach salespeople are to speak up and to shut up. The bad ones don’t speak up and the good ones (too many times) don’t shut up. When good salespeople learn the art and timing of shutting up they become great salespeople. Selling comes down to a verbal exchange between two people. The single most important exchange of information takes place between the salesperson and the customer. This is where the decisions are made that have the greatest impact on your income and company’s cash flow. It’s pretty simple actually; it all comes down to talking and listening. Too many times the salesperson thinks that the talking part is most important. It makes no difference how smooth your delivery is if the customer isn’t listening.

Fast Talker
A fast talking salesperson out to get your money is an instant turn-off. If you are talking at a faster rate than your customers are listening, they may fail to hear some very important information. Salespeople, intent on making the sale sometimes start thinking about their responses before the customer finishes talking. Give the customer a chance to talk. Missing one key point from your customer could easily cost you a sale. You will enjoy more selling success by concentrating more on what your customer is saying than what you want to say back. Listening when you want to talk can be difficult if it is not your habit. Developing good listening skills is like establishing any other habit. Practice; but you need to be certain that you are practicing the right way, not the wrong way. Practice this at home and in your social activities so that when you find yourself with a customer it will come more natural. Keep your ego in your back pocket and listen to your customer. Your time will come, and when it does, your presentation will more likely be on target than if you jump in assuming that you know what the customer is about to say.

Body Language
Remember also that non verbal communication is revealing as well. Watch as you listen to pick up on small body language messages that can keep you in synch with your customer’s thinking. And always remember that selling is for the customer more than you. Your customers are most likely to have what they buy from you much longer than you will have the money they give you.

Bring On 2012

Another Christmas has passed and another new year is in front of us. To make 2012 a great year, plan it that way. Start with reflection, followed by contemplation. Reflect back on 2011 and identify the things you did that resulted in success. Reflect also on the things you did that resulted in failure. Past failures can lead to future successes when seen in the proper light. Take responsibility, don’t accept any excuses. Do something different.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
-Albert Einstein

Whatever you did last year got you whatever you got last year. If you truly want more next year you must do something differently. Decide the changes that you would like to bring about and then think about the behavior that will lead to those changes. Always focus on things within your control. You can control what you do, and when you do what works best, you will get the best results.

New Year’s Resolutions
Make New Year’s Resolutions and then stick to them. Most people break them when it gets a little tough to live up to them. Sticking to your resolutions and making changes can be difficult but it’s not impossible.

You Don’t?
This was the patriotic response to the anti-establishment campaigns in the 60’s. That same phrase is applicable to your job.

Look Familiar?
Some people drag themselves into the office in the morning looking like cattle going to slaughter, and then running to their cars at the end of the day to be the first ones out of the parking lot. I used to wonder, “Where are they going that’s so exciting?”
I can think of very few things worse than devoting 40 hours a week; more, or even less to a job you don’t enjoy doing. The reality is that life is just too short to spend it any other way than happy. The phrase, “Thank God it’s Friday” is about getting off work the last day of the week. Then there’s “Hump Day” on Wednesday meaning the week is half over. There are two ways to get out of a job you don’t love; quit or get fired. The biggest difference is how it looks on your resume. If you love your company but not your current position, then strive to excel at it and you will get promoted or recruited out of it.

Do YOU?
I’ve heard it said many ways that when you find a job you love, you will never work a day of your life. I find myself looking over my shoulder every day to see if anyone notices that I am not working. By most definitions, I “work” 70 to 80 hours every week, never take days off and have never taken a vacation. If someone were to offer me paid vacation to anywhere in the world, I would ask, “Can I stay right here?” While living in Hawaii makes that attitude a bit easier than elsewhere, I have felt that way no mater where I lived or what I was doing, and yes, I have done my share of menial tasks.
Here’s a list of things you can do and tell yourself that will help you love your job.

-Think back to the day you were looking for a job and landed the one you have. Remember how happy you were to get it?
-Never say, “I have to go to work” because you don’t. Every city has it’s share of homeless and unemployed people, and you are free to join them if you wish. Unless you are serving a prison sentence, you don’t HAVE TO go to work.
-Say, “I GET TO go to work.” Having a job is a privilege and it’s something you decided you wanted, so keep saying that.
-If there is an unpleasant aspect of your job, get it out of the way early while you are still fresh. Keep saying to yourself, “Do It Now!”
-Keep Smiling. You will feel good when you do.

“No” “Stop” “You Can’t”
There are several others of course, but too many times we hear these words and the person saying them is insensitive to their impact.
I went into a fancy coffee shop in an exclusive department store the other day to meet with a client. Upon our arrival I saw that half of the tables were full and the other half empty. As we approached one of the empty tables an employee barked out, “You cannot sit there.” I stood there a bit stunned and as I was calculating my response she said, “We had a leak in the ceiling and needed to close that section.” What’s wrong with this scenario?

Reason First
The fact that we couldn’t use those tables was reasonable; her approach was not. It was only after my initial reaction (negative) to her first words that I knew why we couldn’t sit there. It would have been better if she originally had said, (in a polite tone) “I’m sorry, but we have a water leak from above and had to close off this section.” Not only would I have understood, but I wouldn’t want to sit there. Your first words set the stage; think first, speak later.

Are YOU Hip?
QR Coding has been around for a while, especially in Japan. Anyone with a smart phone can aim it at a QR Code and be sent to a website, YouTube or other presentation. It’s easy to create your own QR Code to add to your print ads, window displays or just about anything. You will soon be seeing QR Codes everywhere. In the size of a postage stamp you can present anything and everything that is web based. I envision QR Codes on coffee cups which will show a tour of the farm and roasting process; on price tags in retail stores with a video telling you more about the product than the salesperson is likely to. The list of possibilities is endless.
To see an example of how QR Codes can aid a business; CLICK HERE:

To create your own QR Codes; CLICH HERE:

And, best of all; it’s all FREE! Give it a shot.

Surf’s Up!
Every year Hawaii features its Triple Crown of Surfing and everyone is hoping for the biggest waves possible.

“And the Winner Is…”
It’s quite an honor to win any of these events and historically the top surfers in the world are there hoping to get this year’s trophy.

Congratulations Joe Green
Joe Green is the owner of Surf-n-Sea, a 15 year client of ours. Joe has many talents. Besides building an enormously successful surf shop in Haleiwa, he is an accomplished surfer himself as well as being a talented musician and song writer. Something that started out as a hobby has become a new venture for Joe; making custom ukuleles. This year the Triple Crown of Surfing commissioned Joe to make custom ukuleles to be given out as trophies.

To see them CLICK HERE:

A few months ago I dropped in on Joe at his North Shore home to see his ukulele workshop. I was amazed to learn how much work goes into this craft, so I made this brief YouTube of the process.

To see it, CLICK HERE: I think you will be amazed too.

It’s in the Fine Print
Headlines (and too many people) will continue to look for problems and in doing so be blind to the opportunities. To name a few:
-This Year’s Black Friday weekend (I hate that name) hit a record $10 Billion in spending.
-Cyber Monday crossed over the $1 Billion mark for the first time.
-This years Honolulu Marathon (next Sunday) will bring in $107,000,000, which is a good million more than last year.
-In Hawaii, November had a 2.3% increase in visitor arrivals and a 15.6% gain in spending over October.
-Bank profits increased to $35.3 Billion in the 3rd quarter; for the 9th consecutive time compared to last year.
-Home sales continue to rise at tens of millions of dollars each.
-Personally, I have many retail clients setting all time records in sales.
And lastly, Men’s Health Magazine named Honolulu as the best place in the country to be happy.

Turn it Around!
Those who are not happy with the state of affairs might be looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

WIIFM?
Whenever asked to do something, most people filter the request through “WIIFM” which stands for “What’s in it For Me?” Unless there’s good answer to that question it many times will not be done. This is true both in parenting as in managing salespeople.

Do it For the Customer
Too often salespeople that want to sell more are thinking more of themselves than their customers. The customer will benefit more from the sale than anyone else. When a sale is made, there are a lot of people who benefit; the salesperson, the store or company, the vendor, the landlord, plus the state and country. All of these benefits are monetary. What the customer gets out of the deal will last longer than the money will last for any of the others.

“Mine, No Mine!”
One of the worst things that can happen in sales is salespeople arguing over whose sale it is. Whenever I am asked to referee one of those arguments, I ask, “Who did the customer give the money to?” When you get good service in a restaurant you don’t drop your tip on any old table on your way out.

Teamwork Works!
Those that work together get more done. Here’s a good rule to keep in mind; “The commission on any one sale is never more important than your relationship with your co-worker.” If you make this and the “Customer First” a part of your being, you will succeed more than the selfish people who get it turned backwards.

4.6 Million Visitors a Minute

“Cyber Monday” is a new phenomenon going hand in hand with Black Friday. Last year at this time more than 300 retailing Web sites tracked by Internet monitoring firm Akamai were drawing 4.6 million visitors per minute. Major retailers said that Internet traffic was up more than 80 percent compared to a normal Monday.

Why Monday?

The irony here is that Monday is when a lot of people return to “work” after a four-day Thanksgiving food fest. One might think that a lot of work might be waiting to be done on that Monday, and it is an appalling thought that so many people “shop” while supposedly working. It was estimated that 72 million people would shop sometime during that day.

“Web Surfing” during work hours has become far too commonplace. Have you ever noticed that most workplace computers cannot be seen by passers by? I say, “Turn things around” so that managers can see what their employees are doing on line while “working”, or would that be “micro-managing?”