by Rick Baker
On Dec 22, 2010
Sales Tweet #113 Ernest Seller froze his hands last night, putting up the Christmas lights.
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Frozen hands…well that’s a heck of an improvement over December 22nd last year. Last year, December 22nd, when Ernest Seller was out there in the howling wind and blinding snow putting up the lights he noticed his canoe had escaped its moorings and found its way to the neighbour’s front garden. Ernest snuck over to check it out and discovered his canoe was full of ice and snow…weighing about a thousand pounds. But, as you know, Ernest is no quitter. He hacked at ice and snow. He tugged and pulled at the canoe until, finally, it became free from its garden snowdrift. Unfortunately, when Ernest tried to turn the canoe over to empty it he slid underneath it and trapped one of his legs. It truly was a near-death experience. Ernest’s feeble moans and screams went unheard as he lay trapped in his neighbour’s garden, craning his neck so he could peer through their front window and watch them sipping cups of holiday cheer, by their cosy fireplace, enjoying all that wonderful Christmas music. When Ernest finally freed himself…well…let’s just sum it up by saying the Seller family went without Christmas lights last year.
by Rick Baker
On Dec 21, 2010
Business is about People, Process, & Situations.
Since People create the Process and the vast majority of the Situations…
…business is about People.
That sounds too basic to be of much value.
That last point would be true if the People aspects of business received due consideration all, or at least most, of the time.
That is not the case.
Frequently, people feel they are caught up in the hectic pace of business. They feel so caught up they forget to give enough consideration to the People aspects of business. Many businesses, particularly smaller businesses, have no Human Resource Dept. Considering the large number of smaller businesses; the majority of businesses have no skilled Human Resource personnel.
So - many businesses handle their Human Resource issues in an unplanned, reactive way.
Simple Human Resource steps can be taken to cover the People aspects of your business.
Those steps should be taken at the strategic level:
- Vision
- Mission
- Values/Culture
- Communication
- Overall Goals
- Etc.
Those steps should also be taken at the operational/tactical level:
- Dept. Goals
- Individual Goals
- Role Descriptions
- Performance Reviews
- Etc.
Those steps should also be taken at the business-function level:
- Marketing
- Sales
- Purchasing
- Etc.
by Rick Baker
On Dec 21, 2010
Sales Tweet #112 Ernest Seller spends 15 minutes every day, standing on his head, reading upside-down.
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Ernest Seller tells anyone who will listen - a good sales person can read upside down. A good sales person can sit across the desk from the Client and read pretty much every document on the Client’s desk. Ernest mastered this skill as a young man. His first major coup happened about 20 years ago at the office of Mr. Kaye, Ernest’s best Client. During a meeting, Mr. Kaye stepped out of his office, leaving Ernest alone. In no time at all, Ernest had found and memorized the supplier list Mr. Kaye had been inattentive enough to leave right there on his desk. Ernest rushed back to his office to share his coup with his office mates. “What a leg up on the competition!” Little did Ernest know, nor did Mr. Kaye or his office mates ever tell him, Mr. Kaye had faked the document.