Archives for Sales

When the Buyers is Saying Bad Things . . . it is a Good Thing . . . for YOU

When the Buyers is Saying Bad Things . . . it is a Good Thing . . . for YOU by Kordell Norton Your buyer calls in a panic.  They were about commit to huge amounts of business, but are now asking for last minute concessions, extra conditions, better pricing . . . or else. What  was a solid sale, now looks shaky.  What happened? As sales people become more conversant in consultative selling, an advanced selling skill that is often helpful is to understand the psychological processes that the buyer is going through. Several years ago, Xerox did research
Continue Reading

What YOUR Competition Does NOT Want YOU To Know About

It is called Sub Rosa.  You need to be aware of this term.  It could sneak up on you.  Consider some recent news stories.    ·         The recruiting of Sales and Marketing Executives has found new levels of attention and activity by Executive Head Hunters (Wall Street Journal) ·         Restaurant Sales are way up over last year (USA Today) ·         Victoria Secret’s new Miraculous Bra is expected to show great sales in 2010 signaling a time when women are ready to spend on themselves again. (NY Times) The economy is coming back (no surprise) and when that happens the focus
Continue Reading

Stupid is as Wal-Mart does

Don’t get me wrong.  I think Wal-Mart provides a great service for America. Today I needed to pick up some prescriptions at my local Wal-Mart.  When I called to inquire on availability they informed me that the price was higher than I had been buying down the street at a K-Mart store. “Why don’t you match the price” I asked? “Because it is farther than 5 miles away.” “But if you don’t, I will just go back to K-Mart.” “Sorry” they said. So called the Wal-Mart that is a couple of miles further away but just down the street from
Continue Reading

Hugging a Wind Gust – How Smart Business People Do IT.

Like any hang glider knows, it is hard to control the wind.  What about Reed Hastings and Netflix?  A decade ago he was embarrassed to tell his wife about late fees on a video rental he forgot to return.  A trip to the gym had him thinking, “why can’t I make renting a DVD video like my membership at the gym?  You pay a flat rate per month and use it all you want.”   Does Blockbuster wish they could turn back the clock and not charge this one guy a late fee?  Here comes a wind gust.   Now Mister Hastings
Continue Reading

I Almost Ran Over Mister Incredible – an incredible customer experience

I was just finishing a meeting at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Columbus when pulling out of the hotel breezeway, I was brought to a screaming stop by Mr. Incredible. Actually in the world of Customer Experiences, there is not many that measure up to The Arnold Classic.  Each year 150,000 atheletes and visitors converge on the Columbus, Ohio Convention Center for this yearly event. What started as a body building expo for steroid and testerone overdosed Herculian types has now morphed into competition for fencing, archery, karate, and a dozen other sports. Now the interesting thing to note is
Continue Reading

"It's a Funny World". . . .everybody says that . . .but no one is laughing

We think of the Customer Experience as those moments when something is being bought or sold. “Not so Kemo Sabe” Since employees give their support to management by continued work and contribution, savvy organizations understand that employee surveys and 360 performance reviews are a must. In the middle of all of this comes some recent research by Fabio Sala on boss/employee laughter. He found that the top performing leaders elicited three times more laughter from their subordinates than the average leaders did. What does this say.   When people are having fun, can laugh at themselves and their environment; where
Continue Reading

Welcome to the Customer Experience

Ah . . .the Customer Experience.The wedding, the graduation, the poor customer service, the stage play, the buying of that new appliance, the relationship with the visiting salesman, or the relationship you have with your doctor.  Done right, they create experiences and events that change and mold our lives. They create drastic change in direction, are the fodder of sweet memories, and staging points for a return to “do it again.” They cause us to marvel and look in awe at the organizations who produce them. Done wrong, they are the core of anger, frustration, lost productivity, evaporated profits and
Continue Reading