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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Sales Tweet #43

by Rick Baker
On Sep 15, 2010
Sales Tweet #43 What's the best compliment a Client has paid to you during the last year? What, exactly, caused it?
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Take the time to re-live your successes and your brightest-light moments. Work to understand the exact things you did to cause others to compliment you. Don't assume you know. Ask enough questions to make sure you know.

Tags:

Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Sales | Thought Tweets

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You probably suffer from Knowledge Overconfidence

by Rick Baker
On Sep 14, 2010
According to experts most people suffer from Knowledge Overconfidence.
 
That is, most people think they are more knowledgeable than they really are.
 
As individuals we think we are smarter than we really are.
 
As members of groups we think we are smarter than we really are.
 
Put another way – in general, when it comes to knowledge most people have an inflated self-image.
 
One often-cited example of proof goes like this:
  • Experts [psychologists etc.] pick a random group of people
  • A problem is presented to the group of people and they are asked to come up with solutions
  • The people are split into groups and the groups brainstorm to come up with as many viable solutions as possible
  • The solutions from all the groups are compiled
  • All the people get to see all the solutions and they select the best solutions
  • Then the group of people are asked to assess how well it did creating viable solutions to the problem…for example, rating its solutions on a scale of 1-to-10
  • Typically, the group of people scores its solutions high, say 8-out-of-10
In a separate process people who are considered to be experts in the problem area are asked to create solutions to the same problem.
 
Then the experts’ solutions are compared against the solutions created by the random group.
 
And, it is confirmed the experts’ solutions are much better than the solutions created by the random group. The experts have a broader range of solutions and the experts have better quality solutions.
 
These sorts of experiments are interpreted as proof people have knowledge overconfidence.
 
I don’t believe everything I read. However, when things I read catch my attention as this knowledge overconfidence concept did I find myself thinking…
 
So, I have been thinking about knowledge overconfidence.
 
How might knowledge overconfidence show up in day-to-day life?
 
To the extent people suffer from knowledge overconfidence, they probably tend to:
  • Be intolerant toward other people’s ideas
  • Listen poorly
  • Stop seeking solutions too early
  • Bulldoze over other people
  • Have a win-lose attitude in competitive situations
  • Under-estimate the value of expert advice
Now, I don’t think I suffer from any of these things. On the other hand, isn’t that exactly what we would expect a person with knowledge overconfidence to believe?

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Put Your Best Brain Forward | Solutions & Opportunities

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Sales Tweet #42

by Rick Baker
On Sep 14, 2010
Sales Tweet #42 Ernest Seller asked a Client what it would take to close the sale. His Client said, "A new sales rep".
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Ernest is always asking questions like that. He thinks the Client ought to make his sales life a whole lot easier. Just tell me what you want and I will get it done. Just tell me how to close this sale and I will wrap it up quickly and get on to my next call. The problem is: Ernest's Clients, in general, do not react well to these sorts of questions.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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Sales Tweet #41

by Rick Baker
On Sep 13, 2010
Sales Tweet #41 Your Top 10 Clients: what are their proudest achievements? If you don't know then start asking today.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
If you understand the things that cause your Clients to feel positive emotions like personal pride then you will probably find some common ground for building a relationship. Often, the Client's office provides signals: pictures of family, pictures of pets, pictures of boats or cars, diplomas and awards, etc. Some Clients are not so 'public' and do not display things. They still may enjoy the opportunity to share stories of proudest moments with you.

Tags:

Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Sales | Thought Tweets

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Sales Tweet #40

by Rick Baker
On Sep 10, 2010
Sales Tweet #40 Ernest Seller tied a string around his ear. When asked - Why? - he said, "It reminds me to listen".
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
You guessed it. The string around the ear didn’t work. Ernest was so thrilled with his innovative idea for better-listening he spent 80% of every sales call explaining how clever he was.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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4 Good Samaritans at Waterloo

by Rick Baker
On Sep 9, 2010
Late on Friday afternoon, with all of us heading into the last long-weekend of summer… what are the odds of witnessing the work of a Good Samaritan?
 
Much higher than one might expect…if one is fortunate enough to live in our community.
 
I had finished a meeting on the afternoon of September 3rd and my watch said 4 o’clock. I thought about calling it a week and heading home but decided to clean up some paperwork at the office. I turned off King Street on to Weber Street, in Waterloo. In front of the Faith Life building, my lane was partially blocked by a woman trying to push her car to the side of the road. I squeezed past her, almost touching the curb because there wasn’t much room. I could see a couple of people running from the Faith Life laneway…it looked like they were coming to help the lady out. I decided to go past and do a U-turn so I could come up behind the lady…to block traffic so no one would accidentally hit her or the people who were helping her.
 
By the time I had driven up behind to block traffic the lady was inside steering and 4 people were pushing her car to a safe spot.
 
I pulled out my BlackBerry and took the following picture:

The 4 Good Samaritans
The 4 Good Samaritans
 
We traded business cards and I exchanged email with 2 of these Good Samaritans.
 
Here is a picture of those two Good Samaritans, the Ackermans, taken while they were on vacation in New Zealand.
 
Dan and Bethany Ackerman
Dan and Bethany Ackerman
 
If you know Dan or Bethany…give them a pat on the back for the nice thing they did for a lady in distress on a busy Friday afternoon.

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Community

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