Relationship Selling: Nine Tips & Strategies on Handling Incoming Sales Calls
Guest writer Floyd Jerkins closes his series on relationship selling with today’s blog post on nine tips and strategies on handling incoming sales calls.
The radio newspaper was invented in 1939. The idea was that a radio transmission would transfer the newspaper to the device in your home, which would then print it out on a nine-foot role of paper, which could then be cut or folded. Each page would take 15 minutes to transmit, which seems slow in our age of instant news access, but in those days was probably considered revolutionary. It didn’t ever really catch on, but it probably had a bearing on later inventions, such as the fax machine.
The telephone has proven to be one of the greatest inventions ever made but I guess it is a lot like the radio newspaper, if it’s not used right, it is just another device. We are in the “let your fingers do the talking” generation. Customers want to save time and money, so they start making calls seeking information before the make a purchase. Salespeople many times don’t handle these incoming calls as true lead. This misjudgment costs the business thousands of dollars every year. They can be as valuable as a walk-in customer if you handle it right.
Common questions customers ask when calling in:
- What do you have?
- How much do you want for it?
- What is your best price?
- How much is mine worth?
A salesperson can quickly gather information as well as give it on the call. Many calls I’ve heard had the salesperson answering every question the customer asks without gathering information to help them understand the customers buying patterns. The salesperson can control the call by just asking qualifying questions.
The goal is to give and get information.
It’s important to be of service to the customer, but also to yourself. Giving out your entire inventory list with pricing doesn’t build value, especially if we are talking about used products because there is no way to compare apples to apples. Find out why they called your business, when are they thinking of buying and other qualifying questions. Asking for the customer’s name and contact number is a fundamental goal. It’s all when and how you ask that makes a difference in the customer’s perception of whether you are helping them buy or if you are trying to sell something.
Nine Tips & Strategies on Handling Incoming Sales Call
1.) Take the Customer Out of the Market and Into Your Business
The overall goal of the call is to schedule an appointment with the customer. You want to take the customer out of the market and into your business. That’s where the money is.
In some instances, the customer may be calling from outside your trade territory. That does not mean they aren’t a buyer. And I get it, there are some sales made over the phone. I am more referring to what happens most of the time.
By planning ahead for your response to each of the common customer requests, you can improve your effectiveness and make more money.
2.) Answer With a Warm Friendly Greeting
Ok, I know that sounds so cliché, but have you called into a business and the person answering the phone just woke up? Or you called, and it sounded like you intruded on someone’s day? The tone and inflections you use create impressions about your business to the customer.
A warm, friendly greeting starts a positive impression of you and your business. When it happens, it is noticeable and can stand out among the prospects other calls where they experienced much less. When it’s positive, it’s the best way to engage a customer on the phone. Think back to the last few places you called. What did it sound like? How did the sound of their voice make you feel about wanting to spend your money with that business? Make no mistake about it; it does make a difference.
3.) Thank Them and Introduce Yourself
In today’s market, customers can buy the same product from five different places or, in some cases, order it and have it delivered to their front doorstep. The key is to make yourself and your business indispensable. Be the resource your customer wants to seek out.
Make a professional introduction of yourself to build rapport. Speak slower than you might in person. Over the phone, there are distractions. Use your full name vs. just your first name.
4.) Get the Customer Excited
Now, this doesn’t mean you pull a Tom Cruise on Opera’s chair. It means that you sound like you interested because you are, right? You want to make more money. You want to create more customer goodwill for your business.
Treat this call just like the customer was in front of you.
Thank them for calling and do that with a positive expression. Listen carefully to what they are saying.
If you are distracted for any reason, don’t take the call. Customers can tell when you are not listening to them. Don’t answer the phone when preoccupied with other thoughts or activities. If you can’t concentrate on giving the customer your full attention, let someone else handle it.
5.) Take the Incoming Call Seriously
Take notes, be a professional, and show the type of consideration you would like to have when you call a place of business searching for a product.
Eliminate distractions and noises so the caller can hear you. If you have loud background noise, recognize that to the customer. You know they can hear it, so recognize it.
6.) Qualify- Take Control by Asking Questions
Don’t let the prospect maintain control with constant questions. I can’t express this enough but learn to ask good questions. I’ve witnessed many salespeople taking these incoming calls only to serve the customer but never win themselves. The goal is to give and get information. If you give out your price list or tell them everything you know, what reason do they have to come to see you in person?
Can you seriously appraise their trade-in without looking at it? I know it’s being done, but I also know it’s a stop-gap measure that can easily spiral into more time and energy to make the deal work when you look at the trade-in real life. I’m talking about high valued trades, not a throwaway product.
Use questions and phrases such as: “What’s that worth?” “Anything wrong with it?” “This equipment will sell for…” “What budget or payment range are you looking to stay in?” Use “availability” rather than “inventory.”
Don’t ask questions like what do you want for it, or what do you need for it? It opens you up for negative questions. Every customer will tell you how great their trade-in is even when it’s not.
7.) Take the Customer Out of the Market and Into Your Business
The goal is to take the customer out of the market and into your business. Schedule an appointment so that you can be of service to them. Imagine if you looked ahead on your calendar for the week, and each day you had 3-5 appointments? Sure, not all of them will show up, but if 80% do, you will have a higher closing ratio of appointments vs. just guessing when they will come in.
8.) Get the Name and Phone Number of Every Prospect
What is the “sales goal” of the call? Is it to give the customer all the information they want and make the customer happy, only to get off the phone and not know who you were talking to?
If you ask, you will get, if you don’t, you won’t. The first rule here is to always ask, but know it is how and when you ask, they determine your success.
You may encounter the customer who won’t give you, their name. Now, think for a minute. If you were the customer under these circumstances, why would you not give them your phone number? I realize there are exceptions to this statement, but more times than not, it is because you didn’t earn the right to get their name.
Can you show enough value, “over the phone” to achieve a higher margin because your business demands it? Yea, some sales are made over the phone but more are not.
Maximize every opportunity! Ask for referrals. I’ll talk about this in a future article.
9.) Use Professional Sales Language and Approaches
Be careful about using industry jargon. What are customary descriptions to you may not be to your customer. You also don’t want to “low-ball” a customer. It’s simply another word for lying just spelled differently. Never lie just to get them in the door, but don’t tell them all the truth to keep them out, either. You won’t win a lot of poker hands when you show people your cards!
You are a professional, so talk and act like one. Prepare questions ahead of time, so you know how to navigate a call like this vs. winging it. Good questions lead to a close.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Your Customer Retention Rate Is Your Future Growth
Your Customer Retention Rate Is Your Future Growth
Guest writer Debbie Frakes tackles the all-important topic of customer retention in her blog post this week, “Your Customer Retention Rate Is Your Future Growth.” We are often encouraged to attract new customers and can overlook the value of keeping customers for life. At Learning Without Scars, we can’t emphasize this enough. It’s so important to us, we have an entire class on the subject!
Finding new customers is great for business—they help you boost your sales and generate more revenue. However, retaining existing customers is even more important. Machinery dealers know that it is far more expensive to locate new customers than it is to keep the ones they already have. Although we all understand the concept, not all dealers actually use programs designed specifically to keep and develop their customers.
In this post we’re going to cover the six key retention drivers for growing your business:
What is a customer retention rate?
Customer retention refers to the rate at which customers stay with your company for a specific period. The average customer retention of an equipment dealer business is 95.5% per month. Although that may sound very high, what that number actually means is that you are losing 4.5% of your customers each month. Over the entire year, you lose 54% of your customers!
On average, equipment dealers lose 51% of their customers each year. Only 29% of customers are retained for 3 or more years. Even though it looks like you are retaining most of your customers each month, you’re actually losing more than half of them throughout the entire year. And that pattern just makes business more difficult long term.
On the other hand, an improvement in your customer retention rate of just 1% each month represents a 12% increase in annual growth. The question is, how can you make that improvement?
How to boost your customer retention rate: a customer satisfaction survey
One of the best ways to improve your customer retention rate is to conduct customer satisfaction surveys. When they are conducted by a third party, these surveys allow you to learn about your customers and determine any issues before they turn into big problems. It’s important to have them completed by a third party, because customers tend to be more honest about a company if they’re not talking to someone from the company.
A customer satisfaction survey will help you understand your customers’ perspectives, why unhappy ones are unhappy, and how to serve them better. Plus, you’ll impress them by showing how proactive you are.
Using Winsby’s customer satisfaction survey program, our clients have seen 20% higher retention, 49% more customers, and 123% greater revenue growth over 5 years compared to those who are not using the program.
Customer internal referrals
Focusing on customer referrals means making sure your customers are buying everything from you—parts, service, rentals and equipment. Equipment dealers have multiple departments that are almost like different businesses. The good part about that, though, is that a customer can come in for a part, and then they become a potential customer for the service or equipment. The more they purchase from you, the better your customer retention rate will be.
How can you increase internal referrals?
Ensure you have a consistent lead flow
Another critical piece of improving your customer retention rate is properly managing your lead flow. Your sales reps need to identify customers at risk consistently, then contact and engage them. At risk customers are current customers that you’re in danger of losing. These are people who start purchasing less and less from you, and eventually they could go to one of your competitors. Customers that are at risk typically haven’t purchased from you in over eight weeks. By reaching out to them, you can encourage them to come back to you to fulfill their needs.
Engage your customers and convert prospects
You should also be regularly sending out emails to your customers and prospects. In our experience, customers on an email list buy two to three times more often than those who are not receiving marketing emails. By putting your brand, products, and services in front of customers, you’ll stay top of mind and your retention rate will increase.
First, call customers and prospects to confirm decision makers’ emails to expand your list and keep it current. Then, send emails at least twice a month and show all your capabilities: parts, service, rentals, new and used equipment. It’s also important to identify your website visitors. Distribute leads who engage with your emails or website to your sales reps automatically to reach out to and determine what they need.
Plus, when you engage with customers, always answer your phone and always say “YES!”.
Measure and forecast
It’s important to look at your past to predict your future. When it comes to improving your customer retention rate and achieving consistent growth, you have to have an idea of where you’re at and where you’re headed. At Winsby, we forecast the growth of Active Accounts for the next 12 months, based on patterns during the past 36+ months, by branch and by department. You’ll learn:
You can then use the forecast to develop a plan of the action to take to improve your customer retention rate.
Conclusion
Retaining your existing customers is just as important (if not more important) than gaining new ones. Use all the tools at your disposal: customer satisfaction surveys, internal referrals, email marketing, consistent lead follow up, and always trying to say “yes” to your customers.
If you want to increase your customer retention rate and take advantage of all your possible tools, then contact Winsby today! We’ll help you implement a plan quickly. Contact Winsby Today.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Friday Filosophy v.06.10.2022
Friday Filosophy v.06.10.2022
A Brief History of the Hawaiian Islands
The Story of King Kamehameha I
A great warrior, diplomat and leader, King Kamehameha I united the Hawaiian Islands into one royal kingdom in 1810 after years of conflict. Kamehameha I was destined for greatness from birth. Hawaiian legend prophesized that a light in the sky with feathers like a bird would signal the birth of a great chief. Historians believe Kamehameha was born in 1758, the year Halley’s comet passed over Hawaii.
Given the birth name Paiea, the future king was hidden from warring clans in secluded Waipio Valley after birth. After the death threat passed, Paiea came out of hiding and was renamed Kamehameha (The Lonely One). Kamehameha was trained as a warrior and his legendary strength was proven when he overturned the Naha Stone, which reportedly weighed between 2.5 and 3.5 tons. You can still see the Naha Stone today in Hilo.
During this time, warfare between chiefs throughout the islands was widespread. In 1778, Captain James Cook arrived in Hawaii, dovetailing with Kamehameha’s ambitions. With the help of western weapons and advisors, Kamehameha won fierce battles at lao Valley in Maui and the Nuuanu Pali on Oahu. The fortress-like Puukohola Heiau on the island of Hawaii was built in 1790 prophesizing Kamehameha’s conquest of the islands. In 1810, when King Kaumualii of Kauai agreed to become a tributary kingdom under Kamehameha, that prophecy was finally fulfilled.
Kamehameha’s unification of Hawaii was significant not only because it was an incredible feat, but also because under separate rule, the Islands may have been torn apart by competing western interests. Today, four commissioned statues stand to honor King Kamehameha’s memory. Every June 11th, on Kamehameha Day, each of these statues are ceremoniously draped with flower lei to celebrate Hawaii’s greatest king.
Downtown Honolulu, Oahu
The most recognized Kamehameha statue stands in front of Aliiolani Hale (the judiciary building) across from lolani Palace and a short walk from the eclectic art galleries and restaurants of Chinatown. Dedicated in 1883, this was actually the second statue created after the ship delivering the original statue from Europe was lost at sea.
Kohala, Island of Hawaii
The original statue was miraculously recovered and in 1912, the restored statue was installed near Kamehameha’s birthplace at Kapaau on the island of Hawaii. Visit North Kohala to see some of Hawaii’s most sacred places like Puukohola Heiau
National Statuary Hall, Washington D.C
In 1969, the third Kamehameha statue was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall where statues of historic figures from all 50 states are on display. A statue of Molokai’s Saint Damien joins the Kamehameha I statue in this amazing collection of art.
Hilo, Island of Hawaii
Hilo was Kamehameha’s first seat of government and the statue of Kamehameha, dedicated in 1997 at Wailoa State Park, is the tallest of the four statues at fourteen feet. Hilo is also home to the Naha Stone, which a young Kamehameha was said to have overturned in a feat of incredible strength. Legend said that whoever had the strength to move the Naha Stone would rule the Hawaiian Islands. Today, the Naha Stone is located in front of the Hilo Public Library.
The Time is Now.
Construction Equipment Used Parts
Construction Equipment Used Parts
Guest writer Alex Weaver writes this blog post tonight on the topic of Construction Equipment Used Parts.
Construction Equipment Used Parts is similar, in some ways, to the automobile or on-highway truck salvage business. A core is purchased for salvage, disassembled, parts are evaluated for inventory, and some parts and components are repaired or rebuilt and sold. The business was created out of a need or demand for additional price points in the construction equipment replacement parts business.
A successful Used Parts business contributes to overall company goals. Assume, a company has the following high-level goals: Financial Performance, Market Share, Customer Satisfaction, Employee Satisfaction. Used Parts impacts these goals in the following order. Customer Satisfaction first, Financial Performance second and Market Share third.
Used Parts increases Customer Satisfaction by providing additional price points, and in some cases parts availability. Today, parts availability is not as certain as years past. In fact, some very large consumers of parts have created their own internal used parts operation to support parts availability needs. To insure they have the parts they need when they need them. Customer Satisfaction or loyalty positively impacts market share. Used Parts can impact financial performance by adding a revenue and profit stream for the seller. Used Parts can increase customer loyalty. Used Parts, also, contributes to harvesting a greater share of a customer’s wallet.
History
The Construction Equipment Used Parts business got its start in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Enterprising entrepreneurs purchased U. S. government surplus war material from World War II Primarily half–tracks. An armored truck, mated with a rugged bogie and track suspension system in the rear, allowed foot soldiers to quickly move with modern, mechanized attack forces. In civilian life, many found homes in large farms and ranches as a way to deliver feed and hay bales to herds scattered across many acres. Some 12,499 M3 half-tracks were built by White, Autocar, and Diamond T during World War II. The track bogie’s required replacement parts and cannibalizing other units became the best, easiest source. The companies that started here, gravitated toward other track type units. And, thus, an industry was born.
As the construction equipment product lines expanded, so did the demand for used parts and components. Product improvements obsoleted older technologies. From Mechanical systems to oil lubrication, hydraulics, electrical, and electronic. Dry clutch to oil clutch, Gasoline Starting Engine to Direct Electric start, Manual transmission to PowerShift, Cable lift system for dozer to hydraulic. Operator Environment – from no operator protection to Air Conditioned, Enclosed Roll Over Protection. Every step of the way, used parts provided opportunity. And, that opportunity continues today.
Growth & Change – Scope and Scale
The transition from Half-Tracks continues. The number of construction equipment manufacturers has increased. The numbers of product lines and models has increased.
Heavier, bigger machine products as well as compact construction equipment. Many smaller models, and as a result many more customers. The construction equipment market now includes global manufacturers and distribution.
Some products are now obsolete or out of production. But the original products/machines are still operating. Elevating Tractor – Scrapers, like Caterpillar, 613/615. The used parts business helps keep these machines running.
It all adds up to used parts opportunity.
Operations
Used Parts can take a lot of real estate. Or not. Some combination of Core (a machine to tear down) storage, warehouse storage and physical space dedicated to core disassembly and parts inspection. Plus, space for counter sales. Some customers want to “kick the tires” or look at what they are purchasing before they purchase. Which means public access to the used parts operations.
In today’s world, there are environmental considerations. How do you wash/clean a core before dis-assembly? How do you capture the waste fluids from a core?
Environmental Impact
In 1976, Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to increase recycling and conservation efforts as waste became a bigger problem. It is estimated that the slogan “reduce, reuse, recycle” was born at this time. The used parts business is a positive contributor to environmental opportunity. Used Parts maximizes the use of original material. Reduce/Reuse/Recycle and now Repurpose are all in the used parts “wheelhouse”.
Accounting
Many used parts operations, assign or breakdown the purchase cost of a parts machine, to some larger, higher demand parts or components and value the “by-products “at estimated scrap value. Slower moving inventory is not overvalued. In some cases, the cash accounting model is more suited to the used parts business than the accrual method. Your accountant will have the answer as it applies. Proactive, managed scraping of unneeded material is an ongoing process.
Products
Condition
Used Parts products can be in prepared and sold in various conditions
Future
Our industry has grown and prospered by providing customer solutions. Used Parts, starting with Half – Tracks, has provided, and will continue to provide customer solutions. The details, models, applications, horsepower, reach, lift, capacity, may change, but the demand and the supply our industry provides will continue. Used Parts has been a part of every product/market change.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Developing a Value Based Training Culture
Developing a Value Based Training Culture
Tonight, we are happy to introduce a new guest writer, Mick Vaught. In his first blog for us, Developing a Value Based Training Culture, Mick emphasize the incredible importance of employee development.
Mick was born and raised in the small town of Williamsburg, Virginia, located in the South East region of the United States. While earning a degree in business administration as well as two degrees in Theology he has used this education as a foundation for educating corporate and distribution employees at all levels all over the world. Mick married his wife of 43 years, Carole and together have raised three married children and 8 grandchildren. After graduating from college Mick joined the Liebherr America group. While serving as Sales Manager he gained experience working with their distribution network in the United States and Canada. After 20 years of service, Mick joined Komatsu America as a product manager. Mick has worked as Vice President (Articulated Hauler Division) Of Volvo Construction Equipment Company, where he oversaw the development of sales, parts, service and the dealer pipeline with their launch of their new haulers. Mick has also worked as a training consultant for a large Caterpillar dealer, and was challenged with creating and launching their LMS system.Upon retiring from corporate America after 35 years, Mick also established his own leadership development Consulting Company. Here he worked with fortune five hundred companies around the country. The company (L3Learning Academy) also offered a wide variety of consulting services for small business owners designed to address everything from major strategic issues to more basic problems affecting everyday business practices. Mick sold the company, and currently teaches at the Charlotte Motor Speedway STEAM program, focusing on developing young minds with an aptitude towards science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
Development and Execution of a well-conceived Training Plan.
The cornerstone upon which a successful training program rest.
This training plan exists on two levels:
Training Plan Elements
Background
The Training Plan will begin with a background section, which describes the following:
The background section will be predominantly narrative in structure with a table or charts to assist in framing the context of our plan.
Current Status
The purpose of this section is to describe what sort of training has been completed to date. This section of the corporate plan will be updated each year, and referenced against the previous year for comparative purposes.
This section will be greatly assisted by including a table to indicate current readiness against total numbers within targeted employee groups.
Mission Statement
The Mission Statement will address what it is we want to achieve in a corporate sense with the training plan. For example, our overall goal may be:
“AS AN EXAMPLE.”
To ensure all employees have those skills required to meet all competencies needed for their job descriptions and to add value to our Human Capital Management while also driving initiatives to focus on Business Knowledge Impact.
The overall goal differs from course goals and objectives because it is much broader and all-encompassing than course goals and objectives which tend to be more specific to the training and more limited in scope. It would be very challenging to reach the above overall goal in one or even 5 years. A number of different types of training would have to be implemented in order to reach the overall goal. Course goals and objectives are also much more measurable than the overall goal because course participants can help us assess whether or not we have met them.
Methodology
The methodology drives the approaches to training delivery that will be employed. For example, our training plan may cover 2 years, 5 years with a number of prescribed courses, or perhaps a phased approach that would be more appropriate for our mission. We may begin with general training one year and include more advanced training the following year. We may also want to offer one or two courses a year on specific topics. The options for this portion of the training plan are limitless.
Training Methodology should also be updated each year in the corporate plan as different training delivery methods are evaluated.
Description of Training
We will be doing more than one type of training, to include Service, Parts, Sales, Employee “Human Capital” and eventually a “Company Academy” to develop potential managers and leaders for future growth opportunities (this is where our training plan becomes more specific both in terms of deliverable and time frames). We will also be implementing quick vignettes such as “Lunch & Learns” to communicate common knowledge and information at a quick rate.
Time Frames
Training will be scheduled and delivered in a “time sensitive manner” working in collaboration with division and department managers to ensure optimum time management. Certain seasons in an industry dictate when time is most appropriate. Other elements to consider will be approximate time we expect to have new product or other documentation complete. Will the documentation be updated each year? When do we expect to have our Web Page up and running? Etc.
Goals
Identify Clients: First we will identify which group segment will benefit from the training: Customer support (service and parts) would be the first recommendation followed by sales and employee administration. Another goal to target is upper and middle management making available those disciplines needed for their position.
Objectives: Once we have identified the group segment that requires training, then we will identify what we hope the participants walk away with: This may include; to provide a comprehensive base-level of expertise to support the groups compliance with their core competencies and skill levels or, to ensure all ASC managers participate in training that specifically focuses on their area impact as it pertains to their specific strategies.
Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives are specific and measurable. Learning objectives identify specifically what the participants will do/learn/understand/identify/recognize etc…
Some examples of objectives would include any of the following:
The participant will show competence in the following:
Communication
Time Management
Organization
What will we need to be able to accomplish the training objectives?
Coordination of Training Delivery: (Based on our Training Resource Audit)
Materials:
Once we have identified how we will deliver the training, the next question will be what materials do we need to deliver the training:
Training Schedule and Budget
Finally, the Training Schedule and Budget specifically identifies the date, method, cost and approximate number of participants to be trained.
It would be useful to identify the approximate number of participants to be trained and identify the following:
Reporting
Finally, when the annual round of training is complete, we should consider the type of reporting we want to do. A summary of the above information is a good place to start and you can flesh out this report with the actual cost and number of participants trained. This information will be helpful in forming part of our overall evaluation of the training program.
Reports required must include the following:
Executive Summary:
The critical key for the success of a Learning culture depends on the following:
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: HAVE FUN!
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Le Leader, le changement, et l’être humain
Le Leader, le changement, et l’être humain
Je suis née au Québec et j’ai été élevée aux Etats-Unis. Je eu la chance de travailler à travers le Québec, le Canada et les États-Unis. Conseillère stratégique, gestionnaire de projet, gestionnaire de l’amélioration continue, directrice des opérations, et directrice des ventes pour plusieurs organisations internationales. Mon expérience d’adjointe à coordonnatrice, de chargée de projets à gestionnaire de projets, de directrice du marketing à directrice des ventes, de directrice des opérations au service-conseil, j’ai eu la chance d’œuvrer dans un monde d’affaires professionnelles et diversifiées. Première femme à faire partie d’un regroupement nord-américain composé d’hommes d’affaires canadiens et américains pour une entreprise spécialiste en groupe motopropulseur de Québec. Instigatrice et collaboratrice à la mise en œuvre de plusieurs projets marketing et de ventes nationaux. Personne-ressource et lien d’affaires auprès de manufacturiers de grandes renommées internationales. Mes domaines d’expertise : Gestion de projets • gestion du changement • gestion d’amélioration des processus industriels, dans le transport routier, en technologies d’informations et des soins de la santé • gestion des ventes et marketing • restructuration organisationnelle • plan de communication • plan de formation • développement d’outils de gestion.
Le Leader, le changement, et l’être humain
Le changement semble perpétuel tout autour de nous. La vie, comme le travail, évolue rapidement en raison des nouvelles technologies et la facilité d’accès aux informations. Nous sommes dans une ère de questionnement continuel, de renouvellement et d’amélioration. Je crois avoir appris à vivre assez bien avec le changement. Je suis motivée par le changement parce que j’y ai, jusqu’à présent, trouvé ma force. Je suis une personne qui s’adapte facilement à un nouvel environnement. Que ce soit un déménagement, un voyage en pays étranger ou un changement de plan de route; je digère, je réfléchis et puis je réajuste mon tir pour mieux m’adapter à la situation.
Il y a déjà plusieurs années, on m’avait proposé le poste de gestionnaire de projets pour une entreprise spécialiste en groupe motopropulseur. Imaginez-vous une femme blonde, sans formation adéquate, sans connaissance technique, plongée dans un monde d’hommes, qui vit tout un changement et qui doit vendre le changement ; soit d’implanter de nouvelles façons de faire en gestion de réparation et pour le service à la clientèle. J’ai fait beaucoup d’erreurs, mais j’ai réussi à mener le projet à terme en m’adaptant à chaque obstacle. J’ai dû implanter le projet dans une succursale là où j’étais peu connue, afin de réduire les réticences concernant mon manque d’expérience.
Aujourd’hui, avec le recul, je pourrais l’implanter beaucoup plus rapidement. J’ai appris à mieux planifier et implanter le changement en tenant compte d’un facteur majeur, soit la culture organisationnelle en place et la résistance prévisible à laquelle il faut faire face au cours du processus de changement. La réussite d’un projet dépend non seulement des livrables, du budget, de l’échéancier et de l’équipe, mais également de notre capacité à gérer le changement dans l’entreprise.
On peut tout planifier sur papier : l’équipement, les ressources, les résultats voulus, cependant il ne faut jamais oublier les êtres humains directement impliqués et non impliqués. Il ne faut pas sous-estimer les défis du changement. Il faut être à l’affut des réactions de toutes personnes de près ou de loin qui devront faire face au changement. N’hésitez pas à consulter tous les groupes de l’entreprise afin d’obtenir leurs avis concernant les projets de changements prévus dans l’entreprise.
Le changement demande du temps. L’individualité à maintenir les conditions existantes pourra être forte. On peut se sentir à l’abri par la familiarité. Nous trouvons du réconfort dans ce que nous savons déjà. Il n’est pas nécessaire de s’adapter à des choses que nous connaissons. Selon Jennifer L. Kunst, PhD. « C’est pourquoi il est si difficile de briser une habitude, même si nous savons que ce n’est pas bon pour nous. Nous pensons que nous avons besoin de ce que nous essayons d’abandonner ».
Il ne faut jamais sauter des étapes ou introduire le changement de force. Michel Crozier, sociologue français, citait – « on ne peut pas faire changer les individus de façons autoritaires et coercitives ». En tant que leader du changement, il est particulièrement important de comprendre les émotions que les changements peuvent générer chez les personnes concernées. Nous devons faire passer l’être humain avant l’objectif ou le résultat à atteindre, car ce dernier peut parfois sembler plus important que ce que les individus vivent pendant le changement.
Avant d’amorcer un projet de changement, assurez-vous d’inclure une planification pour des périodes de consultation en entreprise avec non seulement la direction, mais aussi avec tous les employés qu’ils soient impliqués de près ou de loin. Vous seriez surpris d’avoir de la rétroaction importante d’employés qui sont loin d’être atteints par ce changement et qui peuvent être favorables au succès du projet.
Selon Daryl Conner, auteur du livre Managing at the Speed of Change, il faut également déterminer si ce changement est mineur ou majeur. C’est-à-dire « cartographier le portrait humain et examiner les cinq domaines clés : le parrainage, la résistance, la culture (croyances, hypothèses, comportement), l’architecture (soutien en place), et la capacité (ressources intellectuelles, émotionnelles, physiques ou financières) afin de bien planifier et gérer le changement ». Daryl Conner mentionne : « Aujourd’hui, nous constatons de plus en plus que le leadership a mûri dans sa compréhension de la gestion du changement. Les dirigeants reconnaissent que, au moins pour un changement majeur, ils ont besoin de conseils sur la façon de gérer le paysage humain. Ce soutien n’est pas autour de « ce qui » est en train d’être changé autant que « comment » exécuter le changement afin d’atteindre la pleine réalisation du projet.
En lisant de nombreux articles de Conner, je crois aussi qu’en tant que chefs de projet, nous devons faire plus d’introspection. Nous comprenons tous les processus, mais nous devons également comprendre qui sont les personnes qui traversent le changement et les valeurs déjà intégrées dans l’organisation.
Selon John Kotter, professeur de leadership à la Harvard Business School, il soutient que de nombreux projets de changement échouent parce que la victoire est déclarée trop tôt. Le vrai changement est profond. Les gains rapides ne sont que le début de ce qui doit être fait pour réaliser un changement à long terme. Dans le modèle de changement en 8 étapes de Kotter, un plan de communication peut nous guider à mieux adresser la résistance au changement. L’élaboration d’un plan de communication tout au long du processus de changement est considéré comme un atout majeur pour aider à comprendre et partager la motivation de l’entreprise à changer et valider la pertinence de nos actions. Il ne faut surtout pas oublier l’une des phases les plus importantes : un programme de formation pour s’assurer que nos employés se familiarisent avec les changements.
Lorsque nous avons un manque de connaissance relié au projet de changement, nous devons axer nos efforts sur la consultation et la concertation. Il faut faire la même chose lorsque nous croyons maitriser la matière. Car pour qu’un projet fonctionne il faut tisser des liens, réunir les différents groupes d’intervenants, valider si nos connaissances sont encore à jour, s’assurer d’avoir cerné qui sont les personnes qui auront à traverser ces changements et comment leurs résistances peuvent impacter le projet ?
Ne jamais oublier que l’être humain fait partie du succès dans tous les aspects de notre vie et de notre travail. Ils doivent toujours être pris en compte à tous les niveaux de la mise en œuvre du changement et être considérés comme la priorité dans tout ce que nous faisons. Soyez à l’affût, avant, pendant et après, des réactions des gens au changement. N’ayez pas d’idée préconçue pour en tirer vos propres conclusions.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
The Leader, The Change, and the Human Being
The Leader, the Change, and the Human Being
Today we introduce our new guest writer, Louise Duranleau. Her introductory post tonight is on change management with “The Leader, the Change, and the Human Being.” We are pleased to present this brief bio in Louise’s own words: I was born in Quebec and raised in the United States. I have had the opportunity to work throughout Quebec, Canada, and the United States. Strategic advisor, project manager, continuous improvement manager, operations manager, and sales manager for several international organizations. My experience from assistant to coordinator, from project coordinator to project manager, from marketing director to sales director, from operations director to consultant, I had the chance to work in a professional and diversified business world. First woman to be part of a North American group of Canadian and American businessmen for a powertrain specialized company in Quebec City. Instigator and collaborator in the implementation of several national marketing and sales projects. Resource person and business link with internationally renowned manufacturers. My areas of expertise: Project Management • Change Management • Process Improvement Management in the Industrial, Transportation, Information Technology and Health Care fields • Sales and Marketing Management • Organizational Restructuring • Communication Plan • Training programs • Development of Management Tools.
The Leader, the Change, and the Human Being
Change seems perpetual all around us. Life, like work, is changing rapidly due to new technologies and easy access to information. We are in an era of continuous questioning, renewal, and improvement. I have learnt to live with change quite well. I am motivated by change because I have, so far, found my strength in it. I am a person who adapts easily to a new environment. Whether it’s a move, a trip to a foreign country or a change in the route plan; I digest, reflect, and then readjust my aim to better adapt to the situation.
Several years ago, I was offered the position of Project Manager for a powertrain company. Imagine a blonde woman, without adequate training, without technical knowledge, immersed in a man’s world, who is going through a whole new change and who must sell the change; that is, to implement new ways of doing things in repair management and customer service. I made a lot of mistakes, but I managed to complete the project by adapting to each obstacle. I had to set up the project in a branch where I was not well known, to reduce the resistance concerning my lack of experience.
Today, with hindsight, I could reproduce the implementation much quicker. I learned to better plan and implement the change by considering major factors: organizational culture and foreseeable resistance that must be faced during the process of change. The success of a project depends not only on the deliverables, the budget, the schedule, and the team, but also on our ability to manage change within the company.
We can plan everything on paper: the equipment, the resources, the desired results, but we must never forget the human beings directly involved and not involved. The challenges of change should not be underestimated. We must be alert to the reactions of all those who will have to deal with the change, from near and far. Do not hesitate to consult with all groups in the company to get their input on changes that are planned in the company.
Change takes time. The individuality to maintain existing conditions may be strong. One can feel more comfortable with familiarity. There is no need to adapt to things we already know. According to Jennifer L. Kunst, Ph.D. “This is why it is so hard to break a habit, even if we know it is not good for us. We believe that we need the very thing we are trying to give up.”
Never skip steps or introduce change with force. Michel Crozier, French sociologist, quoted “one cannot make individuals change in authoritarian and coercive ways”. As a leader of change, it is especially important to understand what emotions the changes may generate in the individuals concerned. We must put the human being before the objective or result to be achieved, because the latter can sometimes seem more important than what the individuals are experiencing during the change.
Before embarking on a project, be sure to include consultation periods with not only management, but also with all employees involved in any way. You would be surprised to get important feedback from employees who are far from being affected by this change and yet can be supportive of the success of the project.
According to Daryl Conner, author of Managing at the Speed of Change, we must also determine whether the change is minor or major. That is, “mapping the human picture and examining the five key areas: sponsorship, resistance, culture (beliefs, assumptions, behavior), architecture (support in place), and capacity (intellectual, emotional, physical, or financial resources) in order to properly plan and manage change.” “Today, we’re seeing more and more that leadership has matured in its understanding of change management. Leaders are recognizing that, at least for major change, they need a lot of guidance around to deal with the human landscape. This support is not around ‘what’ is being changed as much as ‘how’ to execute change so full realization can be achieved”.
In reading many Conner articles, I also believe that as project managers, we need to do more introspection. We understand all the processes, but we also need to understand who are the people going through the changes and remember the values already embedded in the organization.
According to John Kotter, Professor of Leadership at the Harvard Business School, he argues that many projects fail because victory is declared too early. In one of Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model; Communication Buy-in guides us to better address resistance to change. Elaborating a communication plan throughout the process of change is considered a major asset to help understand and share the business motivation to change and validate the relevance of our actions. We certainly must not forget one of the most important phases; a training program to ensure that our employees become familiar with our changes.
When we have a lack of knowledge related to the project, we must focus our efforts on consultation and dialogue. We must do the same when we believe we have mastered the subject. For a project to work, you must build relationships and bring the different stakeholder groups together and validate that our knowledge is still current. We need to have a good portrait and understanding of who the people are.
Never forget that the human being is part of the success in every aspect of our life and our work. They should always be considered at every level during the change implementation and be considered the priority in everything we do. Be on the lookout, prior, during, and after, for people’s reactions to change. Please do not have a preconception and make your own conclusions.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Friday Filosophy v.06.03.2022
Friday Filosophy v.06.03.2022
Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake(c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.[
Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw many soldiers, “as thick as grasshoppers,” falling upside down into the Lakota camp, which his people took as a foreshadowing of a major victory in which many soldiers would be killed. About three weeks later, the confederated Lakota tribes with the Northern Cheyenne defeated the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer on June 25, 1876, annihilating Custer’s battalion and seeming to bear out Sitting Bull’s prophetic vision. Sitting Bull’s leadership inspired his people to a major victory. In response, the U.S. government sent thousands more soldiers to the area, forcing many of the Lakota to surrender over the next year. Sitting Bull refused to surrender, and in May 1877, he led his band north to Wood Mountain, North-Western Territory (now Saskatchewan). He remained there until 1881, at which time he and most of his band returned to U.S. territory and surrendered to U.S. forces.
After working as a performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Due to fears that he would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, Indian Service agent James McLaughlin at Fort Yates ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull’s followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was shot in the side and head by Standing Rock policemen Lieutenant Bull Head (Tatankapah, Lakota) and Red Tomahawk (Marcelus Chankpidutah, Lakota: Čhaŋȟpí Dúta), after the police were fired upon by Sitting Bull’s supporters. His body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial. In 1953, his Lakota family exhumed what were believed to be his remains, reburying them near Mobridge, South Dakota, near his birthplace.
The Time is Now.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Relationship Selling: Nine Tips & Strategies on Handling Incoming Sales Calls
Relationship Selling: Nine Tips & Strategies on Handling Incoming Sales Calls
Guest writer Floyd Jerkins closes his series on relationship selling with today’s blog post on nine tips and strategies on handling incoming sales calls.
The radio newspaper was invented in 1939. The idea was that a radio transmission would transfer the newspaper to the device in your home, which would then print it out on a nine-foot role of paper, which could then be cut or folded. Each page would take 15 minutes to transmit, which seems slow in our age of instant news access, but in those days was probably considered revolutionary. It didn’t ever really catch on, but it probably had a bearing on later inventions, such as the fax machine.
The telephone has proven to be one of the greatest inventions ever made but I guess it is a lot like the radio newspaper, if it’s not used right, it is just another device. We are in the “let your fingers do the talking” generation. Customers want to save time and money, so they start making calls seeking information before the make a purchase. Salespeople many times don’t handle these incoming calls as true lead. This misjudgment costs the business thousands of dollars every year. They can be as valuable as a walk-in customer if you handle it right.
Common questions customers ask when calling in:
A salesperson can quickly gather information as well as give it on the call. Many calls I’ve heard had the salesperson answering every question the customer asks without gathering information to help them understand the customers buying patterns. The salesperson can control the call by just asking qualifying questions.
The goal is to give and get information.
It’s important to be of service to the customer, but also to yourself. Giving out your entire inventory list with pricing doesn’t build value, especially if we are talking about used products because there is no way to compare apples to apples. Find out why they called your business, when are they thinking of buying and other qualifying questions. Asking for the customer’s name and contact number is a fundamental goal. It’s all when and how you ask that makes a difference in the customer’s perception of whether you are helping them buy or if you are trying to sell something.
Nine Tips & Strategies on Handling Incoming Sales Call
1.) Take the Customer Out of the Market and Into Your Business
The overall goal of the call is to schedule an appointment with the customer. You want to take the customer out of the market and into your business. That’s where the money is.
In some instances, the customer may be calling from outside your trade territory. That does not mean they aren’t a buyer. And I get it, there are some sales made over the phone. I am more referring to what happens most of the time.
By planning ahead for your response to each of the common customer requests, you can improve your effectiveness and make more money.
2.) Answer With a Warm Friendly Greeting
Ok, I know that sounds so cliché, but have you called into a business and the person answering the phone just woke up? Or you called, and it sounded like you intruded on someone’s day? The tone and inflections you use create impressions about your business to the customer.
A warm, friendly greeting starts a positive impression of you and your business. When it happens, it is noticeable and can stand out among the prospects other calls where they experienced much less. When it’s positive, it’s the best way to engage a customer on the phone. Think back to the last few places you called. What did it sound like? How did the sound of their voice make you feel about wanting to spend your money with that business? Make no mistake about it; it does make a difference.
3.) Thank Them and Introduce Yourself
In today’s market, customers can buy the same product from five different places or, in some cases, order it and have it delivered to their front doorstep. The key is to make yourself and your business indispensable. Be the resource your customer wants to seek out.
Make a professional introduction of yourself to build rapport. Speak slower than you might in person. Over the phone, there are distractions. Use your full name vs. just your first name.
4.) Get the Customer Excited
Now, this doesn’t mean you pull a Tom Cruise on Opera’s chair. It means that you sound like you interested because you are, right? You want to make more money. You want to create more customer goodwill for your business.
Treat this call just like the customer was in front of you.
Thank them for calling and do that with a positive expression. Listen carefully to what they are saying.
If you are distracted for any reason, don’t take the call. Customers can tell when you are not listening to them. Don’t answer the phone when preoccupied with other thoughts or activities. If you can’t concentrate on giving the customer your full attention, let someone else handle it.
5.) Take the Incoming Call Seriously
Take notes, be a professional, and show the type of consideration you would like to have when you call a place of business searching for a product.
Eliminate distractions and noises so the caller can hear you. If you have loud background noise, recognize that to the customer. You know they can hear it, so recognize it.
6.) Qualify- Take Control by Asking Questions
Don’t let the prospect maintain control with constant questions. I can’t express this enough but learn to ask good questions. I’ve witnessed many salespeople taking these incoming calls only to serve the customer but never win themselves. The goal is to give and get information. If you give out your price list or tell them everything you know, what reason do they have to come to see you in person?
Can you seriously appraise their trade-in without looking at it? I know it’s being done, but I also know it’s a stop-gap measure that can easily spiral into more time and energy to make the deal work when you look at the trade-in real life. I’m talking about high valued trades, not a throwaway product.
Use questions and phrases such as: “What’s that worth?” “Anything wrong with it?” “This equipment will sell for…” “What budget or payment range are you looking to stay in?” Use “availability” rather than “inventory.”
Don’t ask questions like what do you want for it, or what do you need for it? It opens you up for negative questions. Every customer will tell you how great their trade-in is even when it’s not.
7.) Take the Customer Out of the Market and Into Your Business
The goal is to take the customer out of the market and into your business. Schedule an appointment so that you can be of service to them. Imagine if you looked ahead on your calendar for the week, and each day you had 3-5 appointments? Sure, not all of them will show up, but if 80% do, you will have a higher closing ratio of appointments vs. just guessing when they will come in.
8.) Get the Name and Phone Number of Every Prospect
What is the “sales goal” of the call? Is it to give the customer all the information they want and make the customer happy, only to get off the phone and not know who you were talking to?
If you ask, you will get, if you don’t, you won’t. The first rule here is to always ask, but know it is how and when you ask, they determine your success.
You may encounter the customer who won’t give you, their name. Now, think for a minute. If you were the customer under these circumstances, why would you not give them your phone number? I realize there are exceptions to this statement, but more times than not, it is because you didn’t earn the right to get their name.
Can you show enough value, “over the phone” to achieve a higher margin because your business demands it? Yea, some sales are made over the phone but more are not.
Maximize every opportunity! Ask for referrals. I’ll talk about this in a future article.
9.) Use Professional Sales Language and Approaches
Be careful about using industry jargon. What are customary descriptions to you may not be to your customer. You also don’t want to “low-ball” a customer. It’s simply another word for lying just spelled differently. Never lie just to get them in the door, but don’t tell them all the truth to keep them out, either. You won’t win a lot of poker hands when you show people your cards!
You are a professional, so talk and act like one. Prepare questions ahead of time, so you know how to navigate a call like this vs. winging it. Good questions lead to a close.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Positioning: Who Are You For?
Positioning: Who Are You For?
Guest blogger Alex Kraft discusses positioning in today’s blog, with the important question of who you are positioning yourself for? Who is your message meant to target? Are you a partner to your customers?
When you work for an established company, there are certain things that get taken for granted. Customers in the market know your brand and they’ve experienced your products. Opinions are formed based on experience. For young companies, the art of positioning becomes incredibly important.
Wikipedia defines ‘positioning’ as ‘the place that a brand occupies in the minds of the customers and how it is distinguished from the products of the competitors”. How do potential customers perceive your product when they haven’t experienced it and it’s not established? What I’ve learned over the past 18 months is: words matter. It’s remarkable how certain words trigger different responses and can create opportunities or worse, close doors in your face.
One of the major challenges with positioning is that everyone seems to use the same words, regardless of whether they are accurate or not. As I’ve written before on this site, Heave in its simplest form allows dealers/sales reps to quote contractors equipment (for rent or sale) easily on their mobile device. I’m very proud of what we’ve built so far and couldn’t wait to tell the industry….so terms like ‘platform’, ‘marketplace’, ‘e-commerce’, found their way into our positioning. The problem is that every tech company says that they are a platform/marketplace/e-commerce solution. The result is that you get drowned out amongst the crowd and no one remembers anything. Even worse, a customer will just assume your product is the same as one that they’ve maybe had a poor experience with, because of that similar description (without even trying it!).
For equipment dealers, it’s similar. Pick a dealer, any dealer. Don’t tell me who they are, let me guess: do they have the ’best’ or ‘quality equipment’, with ‘THE BEST SERVICE’? Are they ‘customer first’?
Are they a ‘partner’? I remember when I started as a Volvo salesman and attended a factory training session. Naturally I wanted to learn the areas where we had a competitive advantage, something tangible. One thing that I left armed with was Volvo’s superior fuel economy compared to the competition. Unfortunately for me, I was flipping through a Construction Equipment Guide the next week and I see ads for Case promising the ‘best fuel economy in the industry’, same as CAT, Deere, and Komatsu. Now Volvo is just another brand promising the same thing as everyone else. I had to go back to telling customers we just had the ‘best service’….
With Heave, we created something new and started with a blank slate. I became frustrated early on as we met people in the industry. ‘Why don’t they get it?’, I would ask one of my partners. It seemed so simple to me, but I lived it every waking moment. The more I read and researched other companies, the more I came to understand how important positioning is, and how it can set companies apart. I didn’t realize the skill involved in articulating an idea concisely with an economy of words. Once I had an appreciation for the nuance involved, we began tweaking our positioning. As we met with clients you could tell that it was resonating more, and we were getting closer. The final ‘aha’ moment for me was something that I believe every dealer/OEM can also learn from.
Positioning goes together with identifying a target market. A mistake that I know well is not recognizing your ideal customer. In the early days of Heave, I was afraid that if there were 100 potential customers, we needed to appeal to all 100. We couldn’t afford to have a smaller potential pool of customers I thought. Thankfully, I came across a sales trainer named Josh Braun. Josh’s content opened my eyes to how successful salespeople don’t try to sell or pitch to everyone; they focus their efforts on those who fit the solution. It finally clicked for me. Heave is not for the 15-20- year veteran salesperson who has the same 15 accounts for the past 10 years. Heave is for the younger, inexperienced, hungry sales reps who are new(er) to a territory and building their book of business. Have you ever noticed that those who say that “it’s a relationship business” are the ones who’ve had the relationships for 20 years? That saying is code for “this is MY customer, go find someone else!” This exercise was incredibly liberating for our team because it brought clarity to our mission and removed a ton of pressure. Now we weren’t wasting time talking to those who weren’t a good fit for our product. Do I believe that Heave could help that 15-year veteran salesperson? Of course, but why push a boulder uphill? Go talk to the 50,000 equipment salespeople in the US who are tired of cold calling offices and jobsites, that keep showing up and never get past the gatekeeper. Their manager offers solace by telling them, “Don’t worry, it’s just part of it. It took me 24 months to get my first crack at quoting Contracting. Now they buy 5 machines per year from us.” That is our ideal user and our positioning followed. Now we were speaking directly to them.
While equipment dealers aren’t starting with a blank slate, there is opportunity to stand out since everyone has been using the same terms since the 1960s. Don’t make the mistake of just copying the competition. You don’t have the same resources as the competition, and you don’t get credit for the ideas if you just are copying what someone else does. Who are the customers that your competition doesn’t serve? Maybe this fresh positioning could be tied to embracing the technology driven changes occurring in the industry? Maybe your positioning can be focused more on certain products or customer segments? On second thought, consistency is your friend, and you can’t go wrong with ‘We take customers to lunch, sign paper contracts, and we stock a lot of parts.”
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
It Is Time to Fail Faster
It Is Time to Fail Faster
Founder and Managing Member Ron Slee shares words of wisdom he heard recently in today’s blog post: It Is Time to Fail Faster.
I never thought that I would call for “failing faster” in my life. Imagine failure? Of course, if we think about this, a moment’s failure is important to anyone who is interested in getting better at how they do things.
I was given this “line” by Stephanie Smith, Vice President of Marketing from Newman Tractor on a recent Podcast with Mets Kramer. We were talking about Marketing and the Digital Dealership and how fast change was happening. Stephanie calmly stated that we have to learn how to fail faster. I stopped her and asked her to repeat it. I found it to be so profound. Days later, to me it is still a very profound observation.
I was in school in the 1950s and the 1960s. It was a very basic education. Nothing particularly fancy. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. My Mother was a teacher, she was the Vice Principal at the grade school I attended. She chose all my teachers. I couldn’t get away with anything. My Grandmother was a teacher in the proverbial one room schoolhouse. She got a Master’s degree from the University of Manitoba in the early 1900s. One year I was doing miserably in Geometry and Latin. I hated studying so I refused to memorize. I either understood it or I felt it was not that important. My Grandmother took over my schooling on the weekends. I spent several months with her every weekend. The first semester I got 38% in both Geometry and Latin. That was unacceptable to Granny. By the final report card, I averaged 78% for the year. I had no choice but to stop failing. I was “taught” a very important lesson that year. It wasn’t “don’t mess with Granny.” No, it was “apply yourself or there will be a consequence.” Did I ever learn! That, plus my experiences in the swimming pool as a competitive swimmer, made me who I became.
That led me to my favorite question: “Why?” It seems from a very young age I was always asking why. Perhaps every child does. But that meant I would try things. That was when I started experiencing failure. I remember one instance when I was doing some work in the warehouse at the Caterpillar dealership in Montreal. I think we were moving parts around trying to make more space. Bob Hewitt, the dealer principal, came out to the warehouse and put his arm around my shoulders. I was surprised. Here I was in a sweat shirt and jeans working and dirty in the warehouse. He was in a three-piece suit looking very elegant. He looks me in the eye and says “I am really disappointed in you.” Even in those early years I was rarely at a loss for words. I quickly responded “me too. Why are you disappointed?” I looked up at him and I could see his face start to twitch. He said “when you are finished come see me in my office.” The thing he was disappointed in was that the roads to a remote branch were closed for the winter and I had placed a stock order that wasn’t going to get there. I hadn’t planned for an early snowfall. I told him if I would have known that snowfall was coming, could have predicted that, I would be working somewhere else. True story.
I have made an unbelievable number of mistakes over the course of my lifetime. They continue even today. The trick with mistakes from my perspective is very simple. You are going to make mistakes, that is clear, identify the mistakes as quickly as you can and make adjustments, corrections, fix it. Fast. Today with the rate of change in society, in technology, in telecommunications, in fact in nearly every aspect of our lives is dramatic. Change is coming at us so fast it is impossible to keep up. At least that is true for me.
When Stephanie made the comment, we have to “fail faster” I was amazed. It was so appropriate. It was profound to me. It was an “aha” moment. It forced me to think about things again in a new way. I needed to pick up my pace and make more changes more quickly. Don’t worry about making mistakes. Don’t worry about failure. That is going to be a consequence of doing more things. Mistakes and failures are also a part of the process of learning. You just have to recognize when things don’t work and make adjustments. Make corrections. Everything will continue to be alright. No one is going to shoot me. At least, not for making a mistake.
Thank you, Stephanie.
The Time is Now.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.