Your Resolution to Succeed a Principle to Share

Sphere: Related Content MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY"Always bear in mind, that your own resolution to succeed is more importantthan any other thing."—Abraham Lincoln

Enthusiasm?

Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm." --Samuel Taylor Coleridge,English poet, critic and philosopher

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The Difference The other day, I ran across this quote: “The difference between genius and stupidity, is that genius has its limits……” I loved the quote, as all of us have experienced limitless acts of stupidity. In fact, I can remember a time or two where I have stretched the boundaries “where no man has gone before” to quote Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame, and the results were not pretty. How does stupidity apply to sales? Certainly Jack%&#, the movie(s) and television series, has proven there are few limits to a willingness to go the extra mile in the name of stupidity, but in sales, we all have that governor that creates boundaries. Unfortunately, many of us as individuals or our companies as organizations, have touched the edge of the abyss of stupidity and plunged headfirst into it. Inside our Corporate Lore, there are shining examples of poor decision making that could have been avoided but are spoken about in hushed tones. So how do these things, that everyone knows in the sanest moments should never occur, OCCUR? There are a few answers: company policies and culture, emotion and loss of focus on the big picture, and lastly, the inability to separate emotion from logic. Bear witness to a recent example that just came across my radar (names, measures and product have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty): a customer calls to report a problem with a shipment; it seems the order was for about 100 tons and 1000 tons showed up. The customer, while liking the idea of extra inventory, really does not have room for an extra 900 tons. Respectfully, he calls the customer service representative who is not authorized to accept returns, and who quickly reports to the customer the computer and says to the customer, “You ordered 1000 tons, so it must be a mistake on your end.” The customer respectfully says, “Well there must be some kind of mistake, because our Purchase Order clearly says 100 tons not 1000, so if you could just correct the system and pick up the extra 900 tons, we will all be very happy.” The Customer Service Representative replies, &l! dquo;We would be happy to pick up the 900 tons for a 10% restocking fee and the freight cost to return to the factory.” The customer figures restocking and freight might actually be as much as the original order and asks to transfer to a Sales Representative, and the story goes on, on and on. Three days, 10 phone calls, and sales management involvement later, the problem is finally resolved by losing entire order and the customer. At this point you might be saying, “How can these things happen? No one in his or her right mind would ever do something like this!” Well friends, it happens every day. These little “snafu’s” are there, and the major cause is best captured by Will Rodgers: “The thing about common sense is that it is Not Common.” An organization’s decisions, rules, and approvals are generally put in place to control costs, NOT potential customer issues, and the bottom line is sometimes, you have to just put a governor on rules that provide limitless stupidity. One of the ways to prevent such disasters is to have an understanding with the leadership that if the decision is obvious, you have the approval in advance to make the call in favor of the customer. In today’s world of 10 to 15 sales professionals with one sales manager, it is a no-win situation for anybody (customer, sales professional, leader and company). Many times, we get caught in the moment with no escape route; we are being challenged by the customer, and everybody has high emotion. Having an escape route helps make the situation controllable and helps maintain the composure of all parties. An effective tool is in the next meeting with your sales manager. Role play a difficult situation and see how he or she responds as you make decisions that may not be following the exact corporate policy. This will help each person to understand the emergency ground rules and give you a sense as to how each should react during and after the crisis and will help set boundaries on stupidity. Discussing difficult situations in advance and role playing them out to conclusion provides confidence to step in and save the account where necessary. More importantly, during one of these inevitable crises, your customers will see your real genius and value what ! timely and relevant decision-making accomplishes. Customer relationships are fortified in these situations and both the customer and your manager both know you have the customer’s and company’s best interests at the front of your decision-making.

The Job of Motivation Before Us...

"I have been walking onto ballfields for 16 years, and I've never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. I have had the great honor to have played with these great veteran ballplayers on my left -- Murderers Row, our championship team of 1927. I have had the further honor living and playing with these men on my right-- the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees of today. I have been given fame and undeserved praise by the boys up there behind the wire, my friends, the sports writers. I have worked under the two greatest managers of all time, Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy. I have a mother and father who fought to give me health and a solid background in my youth. I have a wife, a companion for life, who has shown me more courage than I ever knew. People all say that I've had a bad break. But today --today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Lou Gehrig Delivers "Farewell to Baseball Address" at Yankee Stadium "The Pride of the Yankees"

Students of today feel that they have so many things against them that they can not see the positive as Lou Gehrig did in the above farewell speech! When they have no hope and feel like they are at the bottom of the mountain that might be the mountain of poverty, the mountain of a poor school, the mountain of having failed a grade or two, the mountain of having a Learning Disability or numerous other mountains. As adults we must take time to encourage and motivate the students of today to climb the mountains of their life ! Instead of some pep talk we must also offer to give them the assistance they need and to be there with them as they conquer any mountain that might come in their life! If you look for the people that have been great successes it has been because somewhere or some time in their life their was someone that came along side them and said "you can do it...I believe in you!"

Remember:"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Albert Einstein

Remember this site can not work without you! What can we do to help the youth of today up the mountains that they are facing?