The question that most of you thought of when during the afternoon discussion between the supervisor and the technician the technician says he is not going to finish all the work that you gave him to do today is “why not.” That is not the right question. You are all thinking like production managers from the old school.
The question that I believe is right is “how much longer will it take to complete the work?”
Once we have the length of time required we can ask the next most important question “can you stay.”
We have established that the technician will miss the standard time for the job – that might be #1 (remember) now if they can’t or won’t stay to make it right – that might be #2 all in one event.
If they can’t stay then the labor efficiency will drop precipitously as the following morning when he starts up on that job again he will have to take between thirty minutes and an hour to get to the point where he was when he left last night. That is either a 6.25% drop in labor efficiency or a 12.5% drop. Neither one is good.
If the technician can stay you will eat a little overtime but your schedule is intact and the completion date for the work is still in line. The time is now.
Words of Wisdom #8
What would you do if no one was looking?
That is morality, that is character, that is ethics.
Friday Filosophy #7
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.
Jackie Robinson
At one point in your life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you don’t.
Andy Roddick
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
Helen Keller
Thoughts on Selling
Selling is as old as the hills. It probably started with Adam and Eve, and I am not sure who was selling to whom. People who are not involved in the sales profession are somewhat intimidated by the thought of selling. There is still a negative connotation to being a salesman for many people. Imagine what the world would be like if there were no salesmen. What a thought that is isn’t it? So to better understand selling let me list the six fundamental steps in the sales process.
Within each of these six elements there are several important steps – more on that later. As in life selling is pretty simple it is people that screw it up. The time is now…..
The 2nd weekend of April
Spring is here and although it is still early it looks like the heat is back in the desert. That makes me happy.
Last week I was in Canada for a couple of days (greeted with snow and 32 degrees) and had the opportunity to read about the new Canadian budget. They are changing a few things such as corporate tax and they have raised the age qualification for old age security to 67 but the startling thing was the goal of government spending at 12.2% of GDP form 14%. Contrast that to the Obama administration taking US spending to over 24% from 20%. One is going the right way and the other is going the wrong way. Will and Ariel Durant the noted historians observed in “The Lessons of History” (1968) that “freedom and equality are sworn enemies, and when one prevails the other dies. To check the growth of inequality, liberty must be sacrificed.” I wonder how many people realize that?
One last point there is an election in France this year and to listen to the politicians their spending is nowhere in sight. Their government takes 56% of the GDP to operate their country. I wonder how long it will take for investors to start raising the interest rates the French have to pay on Sovereign Debt. Have a great weekend. The time is now.
Words of Wisdom #7
Never forget
People want to do a good job…..
People can always do more than they think they can…..
People are fundamentally lazy….
Frdiay Filosophy #6
Women who strive to be equal to men lack ambition.
Anonymous
True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.
Socrates
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.
Erica Jong
Selling Skills Part Two
Presentations in the world of parts and service sales are truly a lost art. Rarely does a Parts and Service Salesman go to a customer and make a presentation on a product or service that they are offering. Yet this is a skill and call type that needs to be developed if we are to obtain the proper capture rate for the authorized equipment dealers.
The first problem that I encounter is that there is a serious deficiency in features and benefits knowledge on what we are selling. How did this happen? I submit to you it is because we are in the order processing business more than we are in the sales business. We will deal with this matter in more depth later.
The second is that we don’t know how to deal with objections. An objection is a huge signal indicating what it is that you as a salesman have to overcome in this discussion with your customer. They are telling you that there is something here that they don’t understand very well. You need to become adept at communications and show all your feature and benefits knowledge. One thing to remember is that the features are for you. It is the benefits that are for the customer so don’t spend a lot of time bamboozling them on fancy mumbo jumbo on fantastic features.
Finally is closing the sale. This reminds me of the high school dance at the gym. The guys lined up on one wall and the girls on the opposite wall. A boy walks across the floor to ask a girl to dance and returns in front of everyone having been turned down. Many salesmen have that image imprinted on their brain and they are afraid to ask for the order. Imagine.
Selling is pretty simple it is people that screw it up. The time is now…..
Education Version 3.1
Last week I met a wonderful enlightened man. (I don’t mean to sound arrogant with that start but he was a breath of fresh air) He is running a store for a construction equipment dealership. We were talking about books and learning and he gave me two wonderful gifts.
The first was TED.com. Please check out this site. It is a terrific blend of thinkers and topics put together in a way that should stimulate some introspection and thinking.
The second was the Kahn Academy. Now please understand I am not promoting this group or product just bringing it to your attention. Have a look you will understand my excitement. Thanks Tim.
The time is now.
The answer to the question is….
The question that most of you thought of when during the afternoon discussion between the supervisor and the technician the technician says he is not going to finish all the work that you gave him to do today is “why not.” That is not the right question. You are all thinking like production managers from the old school.
The question that I believe is right is “how much longer will it take to complete the work?”
Once we have the length of time required we can ask the next most important question “can you stay.”
We have established that the technician will miss the standard time for the job – that might be #1 (remember) now if they can’t or won’t stay to make it right – that might be #2 all in one event.
If they can’t stay then the labor efficiency will drop precipitously as the following morning when he starts up on that job again he will have to take between thirty minutes and an hour to get to the point where he was when he left last night. That is either a 6.25% drop in labor efficiency or a 12.5% drop. Neither one is good.
If the technician can stay you will eat a little overtime but your schedule is intact and the completion date for the work is still in line. The time is now.
Labor Efficiency Anew
Many ask the question “how can I get technicians to be more efficient with their labor hours”. I suggest that having proper supervision is the best way to get each and every technician to be more efficient. Imagine if you will that you had one good supervisor for every eight shop technicians. (I know that many of you don’t have that many – in which case you are in what I call no man’s land. You are too small to have the proper levels of supervision and that leaves you with too little time to increase the labor sales revenues.) I want to have a supervisor in the middle of the eight technicians. I want the workstation for the supervision on the floor with the technicians. They can see the supervisor all day long as the supervisor can see them all day long.
Let me ask a simple question. Will the men be more efficient with the boss in their midst? Will they be more efficient with the boss watching them all day long? I also want the supervisor to spend at least fifteen minutes with each technician every morning and again every afternoon another fifteen minutes.
Will labor be more efficient? You bet.
The afternoon discussion will have another question. Will you finish the eight hours of labor I gave you to do today before you go home? If they say “yes” everything is good.
If they say “no” what is the first question that you ask? I thought you would say that. That is not the right answer. More on that later. The time is now.