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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Sales Tweet #17

by Rick Baker
On Aug 10, 2010
Sales Tweet #17 When Ernest Seller asked for some leads his boss transferred him to the dog-walking department.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
As mentioned at Sales Tweet #14, some folks think Ernest's boss is a mean guy. He's not so mean. Take this situation. He gave Ernest the directions to the dog-walking department. When Ernest arrived at the office number his boss had provided, everyone at that office was smiling ear to ear. And many were laughing so hard they had tears on their cheeks. Ernest found them to be a very jovial group. After all of them had finished their chuckling they told Ernest his boss had changed his mind and wanted Ernest to return to his sales job. While it seemed like a wasted afternoon, Ernest felt it sure beat having to work.

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Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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Sales Tweet #16

by Rick Baker
On Aug 9, 2010
Sales Tweet #16 The tea leaves say a Client will call today to ask why you haven't delivered yet. Don't wait. Call first.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Over-promise and under-deliver. That raises stress levels for all involved. If you are the recipient of the problem then you feel let down and perhaps cheated. If you are the cause of the problem then you feel at least a little guilty and obligated to recover ...or, you feel the need to hide. Since Murphy's Law does apply from time to time, problems do arise and sometimes we can not fulfill our commitments. When that happens we should make sure we call our Clients before they call us. Better still we should call them and outline a clear plan for the delivery of the thing we promised.

Tags:

Sales | Solutions & Opportunities | Thought Tweets

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Sales Tweet #15

by Rick Baker
On Aug 6, 2010
Sales Tweet #15 Ernest Seller gets no respect. When he was a boy his parents hid his lemonade stand.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Ernest Seller is a natural born salesman. He believes sales people are born - not taught. But, we won't dwell on that now. Now, Ernest is a first-born child and we know the direction that takes us. Yes, Ernest's parents suffered long. Nothing had prepared them for a little human being of the likes of Ernest, a natural-born salesman. So, when, just after he had learned to walk and talk, Ernest set up a lemonade stand and took on the role of producer, barker, pourer, and cashier his poor parents were tested to the limit. It started with little things like neighbours claiming the lemonade had been watered down. In fairness to Ernest, that is just an allegation - it was never proven. But, when Ernest put up detour signs and had the neighbours' cars doing the drive-thru thing over their front yard...well Ernest's parents had to draw a line.

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Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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How to Give a Damn Good Speech

by Rick Baker
On Aug 5, 2010
‘How to Give a Damn Good Speech’…that’s the name of a book written by Philip R. Theibert.
 
When I find books like this, I like to create summaries so I can look at them when I am preparing a presentation. I find it helpful to look at different perspectives.
 
Here is a summary of some of the points made by the author
 
The Basics of a Good Speech
  1. Identify your topic and goal
  2. Write your opening line
  3. Identify a few key points
  4. Support your key thoughts
  5. Wrap it up with a summarizing conclusion
Beyond Basic – To a Damn Good Speech!
  1. Acknowledge your audience
  2. Take a moment to define your terms!
  3. Clarify your qualifications
  4. Address audience biases
  5. Tell them what you are going to talk about!
  6. Tell the audience why they should care
  7. Back up your points with stories
  8. Back up your points with facts
  9. Back up your points with history
  10. Build strong transitions
  11. Wrap it up
  12. Include a call to action
  13. Conclude with the beginning
A couple of thoughts..
 
Take a moment to define your terms! and Address audience biases: these are interesting facets. Under Take a moment to define your terms! we need to avoid industry jargon and keep our words simpler/straightforward. We can not assume others understand ‘our world’ or our train of thought. On the other hand we can excel if we are able to accurately discover and understand then Address audience biases.
 
We need to understand the audience…that takes preparation.
 
We need to do what we can to make sure the audience understands us…that takes preparation.
 
More on speeches and presentations in future blogs…

Tags:

Communication: Improving Communication | Influencing | Leaders' Thoughts

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Sales Tweet #14

by Rick Baker
On Aug 5, 2010
Sales Tweet #14 Ernest Seller gets no respect. He asked his boss for a raise and his boss placed him on a filing cabinet.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Some people think Ernest's boss is a mean guy. But, Ernest doesn't see it that way. Ernest thinks his boss isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Ernest was raised to believe people who are all muscles and look like football linebackers often are not gifted with the huge brainpower bestowed upon all those in the Seller family. So, when his boss does strange things like placing Ernest on top of filing cabinets Ernest cuts his boss some slack. The same applies when Ernest's boss gets angry...and that happens a lot when Ernest is in the room so... [more about Ernest's boss in future Sales Tweets]

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Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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How a leader can help to change people's attitudes and behaviour

by Rick Baker
On Aug 4, 2010
 
…the following set of suggestions caught my attention:
  
How a leader can help to change people's attitudes and behaviour
  1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
  2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
  3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
  4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
  5. Let the other person save face.
  6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
  7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
  8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
  9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
Point 6 includes a recommendation Dale Carnegie repeats frequently:
 
Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
 
Now, well into the 21st Century, numerous folks teach this sort of advice. So, sets of suggestions such as those above probably do not stand out as particularly innovative or novel. However, when we consider Dale Carnegie was adventuring into this territory during the first quarter of the 20th Century…it is interesting to wonder how this sort of advice was received when he first provided it.
 
Carnegie’s 1937 classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” was a major success, a bestseller.
 
So, we don’t have to wonder if people bought the book…but, how readily did those who bought the book practice what Carnegie recommended?

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change

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