Does Anyone Care?
Remember when you called up a vendor's customer service hot line to relay a complaint and was left with the impression that nobody really cared. The most frustrating thing is to call for service and feel like your comments are falling on deaf ears. Think about it. Your future success depends on feedback from customers on what they like and don't like. Hertz claims that some of their best service innovations evolved out of service complaints. If this is the...
Honor Thy Buyer
Richard Burley comes through again. If you recall, Richard was highlighted in our Titan Profile last month. Recently, I spoke with Richard on the phone and he was telling me of his plans to invite 100 of his clients to a roundtable discussion in April with the theme being "Honor Thy Buyer". What a powerful concept! How often do we take the time to sit back and really appreciate all that we have? If it weren't for our customer's business,...
Pat Bald
Pat Bald,Contract Administrator, Agfa Medical Imaging During a recent tour, I heard sales executives of Agfa Medical Imaging in every city refer to Pat Bald as "Saint Pat". So, who is Pat Bald? Pat is an invaluable resource who works tirelessly and unselfishly to support the needs and requirements of the U.S. Sales Teams. She gives them fast turnaround on requests for film agreements that results in customers committing to Agfa as quickly and expeditiously as possible. In doing her...
Are There Any Dissenters in The House?
In any presentation, but especially in those given to groups and committees, there is a strong possibility that there will be at least one person sitting at the table whose life revolves around finding a reason to question or criticize something you're saying. When this happens, you will most likely be dealing with a person in the organization who is looking for a chance to show off his or her technical expertise. So how do you handle this situation? The...
RICHARD BURLEY, Business Coach
Richard Burley, a highly successful Canadian Business Coach, decided to try a new way of selling his services utilizing The Titan Principle®. Of the initial 13 calls he made using The Titan Principle®, he initiated 11 new client interviews. Two of the 13 were already using or had just begun new programs with Richard. Of those 11, Richard only "closed" 4. The strange thing was that within a week he had the other seven sales managers calling him back to...
Weiss 1% Rule
A very successful colleague of mine, Alan Weiss, talks about his 1% Productivity Rule: If you increase your productivity one percent per day, you will double your productivity in 70 days. Some of you probably recognize this rule is based on the same formula used for compounded interested. Can you imagine doubling your productivity in just 70 short days? It is certainly doable if you commit yourself to this path of action. Imagine what your total productivity gains can be...
A ship in the harbor is safe
"RISK- A ship in the harbor is safe----but that's not what ships were made for." Unknown Source Translation: What risks are you willing to take to get out of your comfort zone and achieve greater results in 2001?
Can I Please Have Your Undivided Attention?
In a world where everything is rosy for a sales person, there would not be any unhappy customers and complaints to deal with. Actually, that might not be as good a situation as one thinks. I am not saying having unhappy customers is good. Obviously we all want customers who love what we do and continuously come back for more. What I am talking about is the level of attention one gets when a customer with a complaint is on...
Where Have All The Pay Phones Gone?
BellSouth recently announced that it will pull all of its 143,000 pay phones out of service by the end of 2002 according to the New York Times. Reason: Cell phones. Who would have thought that cell phones would one day replace the corner phone booth? In your world, what is becoming obsolete and are you prepared to replace it with solutions worthy of the 21st century? Titans know that change is the cornerstone for future success. If you don't believe...