Whats On Your Bookshelve?

Harvard Business Review says that 10% of the population has the "learning mindset". What was the last book you read on your profession. Have you enrolled in automobile University? Thats listening to teachers on cds in your automobile.

What are you doing to make yourself better at your profession? If you were to ask some of the greatest teachers how many books a month they read and how many teaching cds they listen to every month, chances are the numbers would be staggering. Thats what makes the Jeffrey Gitomers, Zig Ziglar, Chris Lytles, Jom Rohns, Dennis Waitley, Harvey Mackays the best at what they do. They make up the 10%.

Start with a book a month, teaching cds in your car and begin to learn like the pros. Want to make more money and be successful in your work, relationships and families? The 10% seems like a good place to be. Do you think you'll find your competition there?

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How Much Is Your Hiring Costing You

I wear glasses and have for many years. And like most, I tend to need an arm straightened or a screw tightened about every 6 months. The glasses I bought 2 years ago need adjustments every 3 months and I the place I have been shopping at for 15 years has always provided that service free of charge. About a year ago this company was bought by Pearle Vision and as per the norm they had some staff turnover.

Last visit, the chap helping me told me he would fix them at my own risk because my glasses were at least a year old. Okay, new company and maybe new policies. It took all of 6 seconds for him to adjust the arm and still a free service.

Driving home I thought about my experience and what if he would have done the following:

Ask my name and he would have seen that I have spent a fair amount of money for both my wife and I over the years for glasses, contacts and sunglasses.

Told me my last eye visit was three years ago and have I noticed if my vision has changed.

How is my supply of disposable contact lenses that I bought about a year ago.

Am I still wearing the same sunglasses I had bought a couple of years ago.

Would I like to see some new frames that came in recently.

There is a good chance this employee won’t be there the next time I need my glasses adjusted. Then again it’s very unlikely I will be returning. Now how much is that going to cost Pearle Vision? The money they invested in that employee, my future purchases and how many more customers did this employee turn off who won’t be returning?

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The Zappos Quit Your Job Offer

I found out after a recent call to the bank our customer service rep had taken a promotion at another branch and was no longer working on the retail side.

We had to break in a new one and after the first call it was evident we would never get the same service. Personality zero and it was like we were bothering him. Record profits for Canadian banks and they can’t hire worth a lick.

Here is free tip with no service charges. Google Zappos and read their story. In a nutshell, Nevada based Zappos sells shoes over the internet. They have 4 million pairs of shoes (they also have handbags and apparel) in a warehouse in Kentucky. Five years ago their sales were $70 million. And by the way, the shoes they sell, name brands.

How do they do this when you can’t try them on? Well for starters, they offer free delivery and free returns. If they don’t fit, you send them back period free of charge. They tell you to expect your order in four days and it’s usually delivered the next day. Their warehouse is next to a UPS hub.

Zappos call centre is not your usual call centre. No scripts, no robotic sell and the telemarketing team is empowered to take as long as needed to please the customer. To work for Zappos, you are put through a rigorous 4 week training period and at the end of that time, you are asked one question. “Will you take $1000 to quit right now”. The Zappos method of madness here is that if you take the money, you wouldn’t work out in the long run. A small percentage take the offer. Did I mention Zappos employs 1600 people.

Zappos has the AHA! They are fanatics on great service and are on pace to do one billion dollars this year. It’s all about the training and buying into the Zappos culture.

“But if we train them they might leave”. What happens if you don’t and they stay?

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Give Me One Of Those Discount Loyalty Cards You Hole Punch For Every Visit

I use one of those fast lane oil and lube places. I am there every 3 months like clockwork because my extended warranty calls for it. 8 visits in the last two years. The service is okay and they pretend to do this 24 point safety inspection. I know this is bogus because a few visits back they replaced my air filter. (More about this in a moment) It was a 45 minute experience by a company whose sell message is, "the universes' best 10 minute oil change". I guess it would have been 10 minutes if my technician wasn't interrupted every 5 minutes by his cell phone.

I complained to the owner who said he would look into it but never did call me back. And even though I was snubbed I have been back three more times. For me its convenient because they appear to be on every corner.

But after my most recent visit which took an 65 minutes (there were two cars in front of me and even with their 10 minute guarantee I shouldn’t have been longer than 35-40 minutes) and more poor workmanship, they don't deserve my business. The technician noticed that my air filter unit was not working properly. He asked when it was changed last and I told him his company had done it and to check his computer. He found no record and I told him it was about a year earlier at their so and so location. It was then he told me that their computer systems were not networked to the other locations.

He believed me as the unit was their brand and sheepishly hooked the unit up right, apologized and would take it up with the owner. I wasn’t holding my breath and on my way out I told him while he was at it to tell his owner that they should implement a customer loyalty program. “We have one”, the technician said, “but it kicks in after the 4^th visit”. This was only my third visit to this particular location. Had their computers been networked to all the other stores, he would have seen my previous 7 visits.

I wonder what its going to take for this company to have a "AHA" moment! You would think that 8 oil changes in two years would send up some sort of "who is this regular customer" flag.

I just hope the new place I find will give me one of those discount cards they punch holes in for every visit.

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Your call is important to us...NOT!

I am a big fan of Seth Godin. One of his latest blogs is entitled, "Should you fire the voice mail guy". Check it out at this link. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/06/should-you-fire.html

Seth's blog got me thinking. I'd like to kick the person who invented voice mail in the groin. I hate it. Voice mail is an excuse to be rude. Forget all the voice mail gurus who say that you have not left a compelling reason to get a call back. Your voice mail wouldn't be full if you returned calls especially to the same person who has called you 3 times in a week. Call them back and say, "no thank you." How hard is that? Voice mail has made us lazy.

And for goodness sake, if you are going to have voice mail, I don't want to hear that you are out of the office for the Christmas season returning January 2nd. Hey knucklehead, its the summer. How lazy is that?

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What's My Name? Denny Crane

Let’s face it that today much of staff training consists shadowing a co worker. Most of the time management is reacting to business rather than being proactive. If you aren’t getting the training you need you can find it yourself. And it’s just the click of a mouse away. Maybe your company will pay for some on line training. If not find your own and there is some outstanding stuff. And the good news is it’s free.

If you spent 30 minutes a day, five days a week learning at your own pace you will have 130 hours of training over the course of the year. And you can’t use the excuse of not having any time. Eliminate the news and Dancing with Stars once a week and there is your 2 ½ hours. Make it your goal to eventually stop watching the schlock on TV that is useless drivel and limit yourself to the amount of TV you watch. If you are going to watch drivel at least pick some of the better drivel, like Boston Legal.

I love Boston Legal. William Shatner is hilarious and was born for comedy. Shatner plays lawyer Denny Crane, a rich loud mouth republican who is politically incorrect (fired a co worker on one episode because she was fat) believes in the right to bear arms and whose persona has all thinking he has lost his marbles and has mad cow disease.

Most of the show Crane is doing something very bizarre, like putting fish in his aquarium and then fishing for them. He hits on all women and will sleep with whoever will have him. He is particular about the cases he takes on even though his colleagues dissuade him to go into a court room. Yet Crane reminds them that in all the years he has never lost a case. And yes it is TV but its always great to see Crane win the cases he takes despite looking like he is going to have his hat handed to him.

Alan Shore (played by James Spader) is the go to lawyer in the firm who loves to take on the establishment. He is a thing of beauty in the court room and his summations are usually the highlight of the show. The two have this father-son relationship (with sleepovers and you have to watch the show to get the sleepover thing) and at the end of the show you find them on a balcony of the law office sipping scotch and smoking a cigar contemplating life. And it’s usually Crane the teacher and Shore the pupil. But I digress.

Here is a list of great websites that you can start with:

www.salesopedia.com

www.gitomer.com

www.engageselling.com

www.sellingpower.com

www.successmagazine.com

www.deniswaitley.com

Download all the free stuff you can. Join the email newsletters and remember to click on links these sites recommend and you will find other like websites. 30 minutes a day and it will change your life and your income.

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Why Isn't My Newspaper Ad Working?

Most of my Saturday mornings is a carbon copy of the last one. I sit with my cup of coffee and flip through the paper. It usually takes about 15 minutes until I get to the last section that has the crossword puzzle where the rest of my morning is spent.

I am not one to sit and read every page because its not like there is anything of interest. Any real newsworthy stuff, I already know about. Maybe the odd entertainment tidbit and for the most part, I am checking out who is advertising in the paper for possible leads.

This week I noticed a change in an ad for laser eye surgery place. The ad is different and I took notice because I pass the clinic every day. I am also familiar with the clinic because I have placed some advertising with one of the doctors who has a separate office offering a different type of surgery at another location.

Their ad has changed from the usual who we are what we do and how long we have been doing this schlock, to an offer. The offer is, “no payments until 2009 for laser eye surgery”. Pardon the pun but the ad caught my eye. I have been considering the surgery and liked the offer. So I picked up the phone and called. All I heard was voice mail that they were open Monday to Friday, closed on the weekends and please leave a message.

This clinic has been a regular advertiser in the paper for the better part of two years and always had an ad in the paper on Saturdays. I wonder how many missed opportunities for the people who did like I, picked up the phone and instead of speaking to a live person just hung up on the voice mail message.

Does newspaper advertising work? Wrong question. How well is your newspaper advertising rep working for you?

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