Customer service around the world is getting worse. How can it? But it is, isn’t it? How about those pain in the neck supermarket self-checkouts? How about that whenever you approach somebody at Best Buy or Home Depot they are never the right person. The right person is on break. Is it too easy to […]
You Gotta Risk It For The Biscuit!
In working with so many companies over the years, one of the more surprising things I have learned is that not taking a risk can be more dangerous than taking one. Most of the time the companies I have worked with who are not willing to even consider taking a risk are the ones who […]
Training Like An Olympian: A Guide For Salespeople
I had a friend who was at the University of Wisconsin with Eric Heiden, the great Olympian speed skater. He said it was nothing for Eric and his pals to set out on eighty or a hundred-mile bike rides every weekend morning. It was just what they did. Another Wisconsin based speed skating champion, Bonnie […]
Innovative Sales Strategies For Success
A Girl Scout wanted to sell a lot of cookies. In fact, she wanted to sell more than any other girl scout that year. She was smart enough to know that she could not do it by going door to door. She knew that a lot of the other Girl Scouts planted themselves in front […]
Thar She Blows! Going After That Elusive Whale Account
We’ve all been there. You are targeting a very large customer. A customer that could make your yearly forecast, in fact one that could blow it out of the water. You know that they would be a perfect customer for you. They need what you have, and you are just yearning to find a way […]
Saving A Great Customer When Things Go Wrong
Handling a serious problem with a long-time customer, especially when both parties share some blame, requires a delicate balance of diplomacy, accountability, and strategic thinking. The goal is to resolve the disagreement without sacrificing the valuable relationship. The last thing you want to do is win the battle and lose the war. You have to […]
Great Innovations From The Greatest Innovator Of Our Time
Continuing my series on people who influenced the world I want to talk about Steve Jobs. We all know who he is, and we all know what he did. How he impacted the world, or made a dent in the universe as he was fond of saying. Most of the time when I write about […]
Loving Your Customers
Great customer care goes far beyond great service. It means truly caring for your customers to the point of loving them like your own family and friends. Consider what that means. Loving your customers is not just a lofty ideal but a fundamental principle for achieving sustained business success. When companies genuinely care for their […]
Don Draper On Business And Marketing
I have always said that I am weary of people who don’t eat meat and claim they don’t watch TV. As readers of this column know, I am always amazed by what we can learn from television, especially good television like the AMC Original Program “Madmen.” This series presented a virtual treasure trove of sayings, […]
The Times They Are A Changing
The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is rapidly fadin’ And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin’ – Robert Zimmerman And how they are! I have […]