Simple Steps to Big Results

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In our Industry, what is it that we DO?  What is the action that is involved in creating employee and customer satisfaction?  There are simple steps we can take to gain big results.

Employee satisfaction requires knowing what to do – if an employee can measure their own job performance, there is a sense of a job well done.  It may seem obvious, but it is worth mentioning: we all have to know what our job entails.  We need to know what it is that we DO!

This spills over into creating customer satisfaction, because the simple steps each of our heroes will take every day will be what sets us apart to our customers.  We become their partners in business, instead of a vendor or supplier.

There are simple steps to take, to gain those big results.

The time is now.

Making Sense of the Numbers

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When we look at our businesses, our numbers need to add up.  But how do we calculate the potential represented within a sales territory?

It begins with the potential business we can earn from each of our customers.

Upcoming Events: All About Webinars

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It’s that time again, here at Learning Without Scars.  It is time for a new post on our upcoming events and this week it is all about webinars.

Next week, beginning on Monday, June 8, 2015, we are continuing our Product Support Selling and Parts & Service Marketing Program.

We will be hosting webinars on Monday through Thursday, at 9:00 a.m. PST and 11:00 a.m. PST.  All Product Support Selling webinars are at 9:00 a.m. PST, while the Parts & Service Marketing are at 11:00 a.m. PST.

In Product Support, we will have a one hour webinar on each of the following: Presentation, Overcoming Objections, Customer Retention, and Territory Potential.

In Parts & Service Marketing, we will offer a one hour webinar on each of the following: Market Coverage, Customer Retention, Compensation Programs, and Territory Management.

This will wrap up the spring webinar series in its entirety.  We will return in the fall of 2015.

Don’t miss your opportunity to finish your coursework with us!

The time is now.

Product Support Selling – Preparation

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Product Support Selling – Preparation

Everyone everywhere sells. That is a truth that is little understood. We sell ideas at work and we sell manners at home. There are many things that we sell over the course of our lives. Sales personnel sell for a living, and the skills that they have as individuals are enhanced when they know the proper tools and methods involved in being a professional salesman.

All of the various steps in selling are discussed in this webinar which is the first of two parts. This part deals with the set-up of the selling process: the research, the objectives, and the questions that need to be asked. There is a lot of work that goes into being a professional salesman and it starts with research. This is not dramatic or exciting work, but it is necessary. What the research needs to cover is discussed in detail. With each and every customer there needs to be objectives. These goals and objectives will take on many forms: from calls to parts business, to service business, to profitability. Finally, in selling everyone knows about the “talking” aspect of selling but more important is the “listening” part of it. In order to get the customer talking, the professional salesman must know what type of question to ask and how to ask it.

Selling is much more a science than an art and this first part covers the first three elements necessary in becoming a professional salesman.

The time is now.

Product Support Selling

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Our seminar on Product Support Selling – The New Frontier is coming up in Dallas, Texas on April 15 and 16, 2015.  This 2 day seminar encompasses 4 elements:

  • The fundamentals of selling
  • The foundation of territory management
  • Managing Customer Relationships
  • Customer Service Fundamentals

This program is geared towards Product Support Sales, Customer Service, Instore Sales, Supervisors,  and Managers.

This course covers all the theories and applications necessary for Product Support Selling in the 21st Century.

The time is now.

Membership

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American Express coined the phrase “Membership has its privileges.”  This is entirely true.  Most of us have professional memberships to various organizations: the Associated Equipment Distributors, the National Trailer Distributor’s Association, the National Groundwater Association, the National Trailer Equipment Association, just to name a few.

We are inviting you to become members of our own group, Learning Without Scars, because we want to recognize individuals and businesses that want to participate in their personal and professional growth.  We discussed doing this by means of special promotions and loyalty programs, amongst many difference alternatives.

 

We settled on the membership approach.

By joining Learning Without Scars at the nominal cost of $35,00 per year, we have found that we can offer more to you for less.

All members receive a price reduction of 30% on all LWS learning products.  That means that all webinars, self study programs, and classroom programs will be offered at a 30% price reduction to our members.  For those of you who know me, please note that this is NOT a discount!  I still hate discounts.

So, what are you waiting for?  Spend $35.00 and start saving.

The time is now…

Capital Goods Webinars – The New Dynamic

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I began my career as an educator.  There was nothing I enjoyed more than seeing the light go on for a student – unless, of course, it was shocking them with my unorthodox methods.

Today, the landscape of education has shifted.  We have moved from the traditional classroom to the world wide web.  Webinars have become one of the most convenient and cost-effective learning tools for continuing education, and even mainstream university programs.

A webinar is typically a static process.

We are throwing that idea out the window.

We use a projector at a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a high definition camera.  Instead of our students watching Power Point slides go by, we present information, and then switch to conference format.  I move in front of the camera, and our webinar turns into a classroom discussion.

There is no better way for you to receive the training you need to advance personally, and advance your company, than to try one of our webinars.

I have pooled the knowledge of the past 45 years of my experience, as well as incorporating the latest, cutting edge theory and practice across the industry, to help the light go on for all of you.

Move forward in this New Year.

The time is now…

Content is King…Capital Goods Training

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What sets you apart?

It is all too easy to recognize the similarities among service departments, parts departments, and product support salespeople.  In order to stand out amongst the crowd, your training helps you make your mark.  Your training teaches you what your work looks like when it is right.

I have been working in the capital goods industry for 45 years.  I have implemented new systems, and worked in nearly every product support position within the dealership.  With this knowledge under my belt, I have moved into the newest teaching module: the webinar.

Webinars enable students to take a course in a brief format, from the comfort of their own office or home.  By and large, webinars are becoming the preferred method for training across industries.  The trick is in finding the right program, with the right instructor.

Without any exaggeration, I can tell you that there is no one in our industry doing what we do.  There is no other place for you to learn WHAT we can teach you, in the WAY we teach it.

That is what sets us apart.

At Learning Without Scars, we don’t want you to passively receive information.

We’ve ramped up the webinar into a truly interactive, multi-media event.  Our webinars take not only my 45 years of background and knowledge, but present the material in an “internet conference.”  As a student, you will see, hear, and be able to actively participate in each webinar.

In 2015, why don’t you join us?  Set yourself apart, professionally, and start one of our series of webinars.

For more information on the 40 different webinars we will be offering, please visit https://learningwithoutscars.org/webinars/

The time is now…

Training for the Capital Goods Industry

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Training has long been a problem for many businesses.

Management and Leadership have conflicting views on personnel. Edward Gordon, in his book “Future Jobs,” points out the threats posed by under-skilled employees. He goes on to challenge the education providers to deliver more on their promise of providing a skilled individual.

One side of the conflict for leaders is traditional thinking:

  • The employees should come to the job trained and ready to work.
  • The employees should continue their schooling on their own time.
  • Why should I train people? They just leave me and go work for the competition.

On the other hand, there is a growing number of leaders who are changing their views:

  • I don’t want to have under skilled people ever.
  • I will support learning in any form.
  • I expect my employees to be curious and hungry learners.

In the years since 2008 – which I will label “BBS” – “Before Bear Stearns” businesses have reduced their expenditures on employee training dramatically. That results in under-skilled personnel. So the result is that we are choosing to reduce training costs, and therefore providing customers with under-skilled personnel. I am sure you don’t think that this is a sustainable position to take.

We have been offering management training since the early 1990’s. We have done this in combination with Industry associations, as well as directly with manufacturers and dealers. We have provided learning opportunities for Parts Management, Service Management, Parts & Service Marketing and Product Support Selling. Today we do this via a new Company called Learning Without Scars. You can visit our website at www.learningwithoutscars.org to learn more about training and creating an environment of skilled personnel.

Data Mining – the last time we spoke

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One of the advantages you have is your data and your information. It is a shame not to use it. With a good VoIP  and good data one of the first things I would show on the screen, as the phone rings, is the purchase history of the customer. What is the business volume this year, this year to date, last year, last year to date, transaction size this year, transaction size last year, number of contacts by you to the customer, number of contacts from the customer to you. Date of last sales transaction by category and date of last contact with you. Do you think you could do something if you had that type of information each and every time that either the customer called you or you called the customer? The time is now…