The Salesby5 Blog

Yesterday we talked about how smart phones are going to hurt the un-sellers! We get remarks all the time about the term un-selling. Today we had a unique project that required selling the decision makers in our office building to attend a grand opening of a tenant conference room/lounge. The rudeness we encountered and the negative faces were beyond belief. It was actually a positive experience for us to be exposed to this, as it reinforced a common problem. Gatekeepers think the guy that walks in selling copier supplies is the enemy! Get real! These are humans. They may annoy you, but they are still people. Keep in mind, if you have gate keepers, they may often be rude or extreme un-sellers! Those people walking in the door might be influential one day. Those sales people talk, and if they are good, they influence others to do or not do business with you!

photo by neonbubble

Yesterday I visited a restaurant at 11am with my family, and we were the first to enter. Seven employees were at a table having a meeting and quickly dispersed. A few minutes later I realized that no one had said “hello”, “welcome”, or even made eye contact with me.  Ten minutes later, I attempted to talk to a few of them, and again, no feeling from them that we should talk. Fifteen minutes into my visit, I emailed the owner of the restaurant and told him about my visit. This was not one of the SalesBy5 secret shops we do on all of our clients and their competitors.  It was not for hire, but because I care. Today, employees and less than great customer service cannot hide. The owner of this business is warm and lights up every room he enters! He wants the same out of his team.  Our smart phones are putting pressure on the slackers! For you business owners that care: put your email on the door or on your menus. My prediction is that in a few years, a guy or girl at table 22 will complain to a manager in seconds, and perhaps to corporate.  It is time to get your acts together, as technology is not on the un-sellers side!

photo by Sean Dreilinger

1. Come to work with a less than positive attitude or state of mind.

2. Do what you do to get the next job or for your resume vs. Do what you love and love what you do.

3. Return calls or emails in days versus minutes.

4. Have a phone service versus a human answer the phone.

5. Use 1998 communication tools, like dumb phones and check email weekly.

Do you have any of these issues? How fast can you fix them?

photo - Gizmodo

Saturday I went to get a hair cut. If you are following me on twitter, you already know the story.  Halfway through, an employee walks in (late, I was told) and she had an angry look on her face. She walked past all of the people and her co-workers and said nothing. I remarked “it looks like someone is in a bad mood”. Moments later, she looked more angry as she motioned for the next person to come sit down for a cut. She said nothing, and as I left, the scowl on her face was making its mark on the mother of the child who was getting his hair cut. Everyone else who could see her face in all the mirrors. Moments later, I called her boss to let him know he had an employee un-selling his customers. This has never been acceptable, but today, it is harder to get away with it. Cell phones, BlackBerry e-mail, texting, twitter, and blogs make it harder for the de-motivators to do their job. Get your game on this week and remember, you are on the new Candid Camera!

Thanks for the pic henrik_s

I wanted take my family on an RV trip, and hoped they would like it, if not; it had no chance of happening again.  My options were to sell them or let them sell themselves. Step one; show the RV, a 39 foot diesel pusher that was new, cool, and loaded. The RV was the focus, and the RV Park was not. We had never done this before but had seen scary RV parks next to busy highways!

I have learned a few lessons in my life, and one is selling an experience that I cannot promise/guarantee is a great way to un-sell anything in the future. I then showed the ride (my only promise) and let them sell the rest to themselves!

The outcome…it was a giant hit! Expectations were met, the RV was over the top cool and we ended up river front on the Frio River with the best campsite in the park.

Next time you need to sell something you can only partially promise, focus on that.  Let the rest take care of itself.  You never know when you might stumble on a winner.