The Power of Options
The concept of giving your customers a variety of options of how to buy your products and services is not new, but it still remains a powerful sales tool. Let’s take a look at Disney World’s version of Option Selling. When you buy your park passes, you have several choices. First, you decide how many days you want the pass to be valid for. You even have the option of choosing calendar days (meaning the next three days) or “anytime”...
Maurice Bendahan Entrepreneur/Philanthropist
"You have to exhaust yourself in practicing youth. No one understands life because they forget to live it" Maurice Bendahan Entrepreneur/Philanthropist Translation: Staying young and vibrant is crucial to one’s ability to live up to their full potential. The things that get in the way of us doing this are our limiting thoughts and a lack of discipline & commitment. When one is motivated, there is a charge in one’s life similar to the attitude of a hard charging young...
Tightrope Leadership
Organizations and individuals often have to make difficult decisions while walking the tightrope of success, decisions that can easily throw them off that path. For example, Dell Computer and ExxonMobil have successfully built overseas call centers in India to handle many of their support calls. The reason is quite simple. The significant savings in labor costs and the ability to maintain a seamless operation that does not interfere with customer service adds up to a profitable decision. But at what...
Joel N. Greenberg
Joel N. Greenberg Financial Representative- Guardian jngguardian@aol.com If you look at Joel Greenberg’s title above, it is simply understated in terms of what he really does for a living. Joel is a master at networking and being an invaluable resource to his clients. His version of cold calling is going out in the winter to meet with a client. Joel gets all of his clients through referrals, but recognizes that the business opportunities may not develop overnight. He may meet...
Forget New Years Resolutions
So, we are entering a new year. You figure now is the time to stop smoking, lose weight, sell more, save more, smile more, be more positive, etc. Do us all a favor and stop this nonsense. The beginning of a new year is a convenient opportunity for all of us to take stock of our lives and verbally commit to doing something different. Thus we shout out our New Years Resolution. Now, be honest. How many New Year’s Resolutions...
Joe Torre- Manager NY Yankees
"I don’t want to have anybody telling me I did a good job. Any time you start thinking you’ve got this thing licked, something happens to you." Joe Torre- Manager NY Yankees Translation: Titans don’t stop for praise. By the time they hear the praise, they are already working on moving up the ladder to the next rung of success. The moment you take things for granted, you stop pushing the envelope and your competition catches up..
Recently I was sitting on a plane when…
Recently I was sitting on a plane when a guy sitting right behind me says on his cell phone: “Listen, I shouldn’t really be saying this to you since this is really confidential and nobody is supposed to know this, so please keep it to yourself”. Hey buddy, if this is so confidential, why did you just tell the whole plane about it? It amazes me the kinds of conversations people have on cell phones in public places. Public conversations...
4 Keys to Effective Leadership
When former NY Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy worked for Pat Riley as an assistant coach, he learned a valuable lesson from Pat. Pat told him in a performance review that you need to have 4 things to get respect and results from players; sincerity, reliability, commitment and being trustworthy. Sincerity- In order for people to take your lead and follow you down the path to success, they must believe you are sincere and that your motives are based on...
And the Survey Says…
Stop trying to guess what your customers want and just ask them. Surveys are the best means available to gain a true picture of your customer's needs, wants and expectations. Caution: Be sure your questions are clear and you truly understand your customer's answers. Case Study: When Hertz surveyed their customers, they heard the message loud and clear that their customers wanted to speed up the time it takes to go from the return counter to the departure gate at...