“You know if you take off your glasses you will do better.” “What?” Mario, my good friend and I had picked up ping pong paddles in the clubhouse of the Hilton Head resort we were staying at. After missing several returns, he suggested that I take OFF my glasses, that they were hindering my perceptions. Off they came and whamo, I started to connect with every volley. Aren”t glasses supposed to help? But what if your learned basics are different than your altered world (with glasses)? The first element in creating Business Charisma is to reconsider your Mission. Oh sure,
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Posts by Kordell Norton
Making a Dent In the Universe . . . Putting a Dent in Your Membership Growth
He smiled. “If they had not done it already . . . they had it on their bucket list of to-do”s. EVERYONE of them.” A consultant friend was doing training for a large national oil industry client. The client had hired several hundred engineers of various sorts and flavors (chemical, electrical, mechanical) and they were going through a twelve week on-boarding class. The “getting to know you” session was in full swing when the consultant experienced the Making-A-Dent-In-The-Universe observation. “Every one of this group of one hundred plus engineers had taken a year out of their career pursuits to contribute
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Charisma is Going Past Customer Wow . . . Birthdays for 102 year olds at Wendy'' Hamburgers . . . and a Banjo Too
This particular chain of Wendy”s Hamburger restaurants are consistently the most profitable, and productive in the country (actually they are the top . . .but for confidentiality I need to keep their identity secret.) In a few weeks I will be working with a group of their key managers. In preparation I take a provided lunch coupon to one of their locations for some “research”. I mean . . . this is a Wendy”s. How can you make French fries special.As I pull into the parking lot, every space is full. Finally, w-a-y in the back I find an empty
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Exits and Enters – What do you do when you have a 88% chance of failure
Two days left in the year. Time to look back, learn from success and set-backs and make plans for climbing that next big challenge. New Years resolutions have a 88% failure rate. So why even make them? The problem is not with the resolutions, but putting enough meat into them to make them work. “I am going to lose weight” becomes a fight against will power. If I just have enough tenacity, drive, and motivation . . .then I can white knuckle it . . . to the new me. But willpower is not enough. Especially with the speed and
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When the customer asks you if THAT is your best price . . . then you know what you did wrong in the sales call.
Dr. E.K. Strong wrote the book Psychology of Selling in 1927. In his ground breaking tome he educated on: Closing Techniques Overcoming Objections The most common objection sales people get is, “can you do something about your price?” For decades a plethora of alternatives, techniques and manipulative steps were taught to sales people across the land. Not only do these technique drive the customer crazy, but they also speak to the outmoded selling practices of the consultant, or executive. You see, if you connect with the customer at a deep, visceral level and discover their pain, passions, problems and priorities
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How to Change Association Leadership Focus and Get Short and Long Term Growth – The Recruiting Reality of Two Different Targets
Most associations have a ticking bomb and they don”t really know it. Their core membership is going to start (don”t say it) r e t i r i n g. All those Baby Boomer members are going to drop out of membership and then what. Not only do you need to recruit more of these ideal customers (boomers) but you also need to focus on the “young, new blood” in both your marketing, programs and leadership. Marketing to Baby Boomers is fairly easy. The Association recruiting efforts of the past (with a dose of Kordell ideas) will do very well.
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When your back is up against the wall . . . you think, "Maybe I ought to fix the wall."
It was 1972 and Southwest Airlines was in dire straits. Financial requirements were forcing them to “downsize” their equipment inventory. They had to sell one of their four planes. Reading the writing on the wall their employees jumped into the challenge of creating instead of “woe is me . . . I am about to be laid off.” Their idea, “lets continue to operate with three airplanes like we had four.” To do this required an unheard of goal of turning about the plane in 10 minutes. Incredible. Impossible. Pilots helped load/unload luggage. Flight attendants picked up trash and crossed
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Do you have power . . . or just power based on a temporary appointment?
Power . . . does it come from position or from person? Position power comes from controlling resources. The CEO, the mother, the head of the committee. It brings with it the ability wield “what I can do to others.” It compels, commands and pushes. Personal power on the other hand controls ourselves. It”s strength is found in “what can I do to/for myself.” It inspires, it draws like a magnet. It shines and persuades with the possible. Optimism and faith rolled up in one. When change is the call of the day (and we live a huge change oriented
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Charisma . . . Is it learned or are you born with it?
JFK, Eva Peron, Marilyn Monroe had it. That charisma that attracts others. In the case of Monroe, she seemed to be able to turn it on or off at will. There is evidence that companies too have “charisma”. Is it the difference between Sam””””s Club and Costco? Of In & Out Burger and McDonalds? So is it something that is learned or are you born with it? I personally believe you can learn it. Just like an employee of Disney, who is taught how to respond to others. There are things you (and your business) can do to get this
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If you are a hotel and providing fresh cookes . . . is that enough? In Pursuit of Hotel "Je Ne Sais Quoi" (the special something that guests are looking for)
I pulled into the Ritz Carlton only to have my car descended upon by a crack team of Bell Captains. By the time I was walking down the hall to my room I had been accosted by at least 8 trained professionals who all had the mad plot of making my customer experience “needle” pin against the “wow” part of the scale. It took me the rest of my three day stay to figure out how they provided an off the chart guest experience. I thought I would discover some secret technology that allowed them to communicate between themselves about
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