Colin Pearce's Blog

Here are some of my favourite gems from one of my Twitter accounts: Gr8PhoneSkills  You're welcome to follow and get a regular dose of it.

Have u noticed? Most people who answer the phone treat it like an interruption. 

Before you pick up the phone at work say, “Goodie! I’m still employed.” 

Don’t say, “This is (name) speaking.” We can tell that sound you’re making is speech.  

Just say, Good Morning (Organisation), this is (yr Name), Say it with gusto & a smile. 

When U can’t take a call, say, Can U help me by holding a moment? in a desperate tone. 

When some1 is out, say when they will be back. We don’t care that they’re out.  

When some1’s in a meetng, say when they’ll B available. Wot do I care they’re in a meeting? 

Don’t ask stupid questions like, “Can someone else help you?” Who would I pick?  

If the person I want isn’t there, tell me the name of the next best person to help me. 

People are not born with good phone skills. They have to learn them. 

 

But you think you and your people were born with great phone skills and already do all of this don't you? I can pretty much guarantee that's poppycock!

But you don't have to do anything about it to serve your customers. The e-Lancers and O-deskers and ebay-ers will serve your customers, so no-one will miss out, except – 

ummm – 

oh yeah! – 

You and yours!

My Kick in the Pants for you: Get the phone right – and do it in a hurry, before 2012's cold clammy hand of starvation drapes itself around your neck.

A touch of Gratitude on USA Thanksgiving Day.

Last Sunday I told the story in the children's segment in church. Seems everyone had a good time seeing a grown man laying eggs and blowing up his face like a frog. The kids were gorgeous. After I "laid" an egg, one little girl looked under my chair to see if I'd really done it. Then she announced to everyone that I wasn't a real chicken. 

Priceless.

Anyway. It was my poem about Gratitude and I thought you'd like to reflect on it on America's big day of Thanks Giving. It's a crazy old world but there is a lot to be thankful for and to be motivated to wear the attitude on our faces. Interesting footnote to me is how I noted that I finished it off one snowy day when we lived for a time in Worthington, Ohio, so I left the original © on it.

THE GARDENER'S PETS
 
Most gardens begin with the planting of things
But this one began with stars and with rings
With sparks in the air and with flashes of light
A beautiful garden appeared in the night
 
There were roses and daisies and pansies and phlox
There were pebbles and sand and moss on the rocks
And a gurgling stream made its way through the grass
As it splashed and refreshed everything that it passed.
 
And the gardener who made it all felt very glad
But with no one to share it, he felt a bit sad.
So he said to himself, "I will make a friend
And we can be happy for days without end",
 
So with a wave of his hands and a sprinkle of light
He created a cat with fur black and white
With gorgeous big eyes and thick fluffy fur
His heart filled with joy when he looked down at her.
 
But she was so busy cleaning her coat
That never a thankful word passed from her throat.
And although he loved her, she didn't love him
I'm surprised that his patience didn't wear thin.
 
Instead of a grumble, a gripe or a growl
He waived in the air and created a fowl
A beautiful white leghorn chicken was she
As clucky and busy as chickens can be.
 
What with pecking for worms and with dusting for lice
You'd think that she'd settle, be still, once or twice
And look up and say with a cluck and a sigh
"I'm so glad you made me, I think I could cry."

But she was not grateful - just busy instead
So with a waive of his hands and some words that he said
The gardener created a large crocodile
I will tell you what he did and I think that you'll smile.
 
He shouted a lot and he growled and he grizzled
His bath was too cold and his food was too sizzled
He hated his bedtime and wouldn't get up
He wanted drink from a straw, not a cup.
 
Such a baby, you'd think would have time just to say
'I'm grumpy I know but I'm grateful today
For bringing me here and making me big.'
But he didn't! Each day he got worse and behaved like a pig.
 
So again the good gardener waved with his hands
And a frog seemed to be in one of his plans
But he sat there and blew up his face
And he wasn't thankful.  What a disgrace.
 
He made wallabies, kangaroos, emus, and quail
He made parrots and lyre birds - even a snail.
But love them as much as he could day by day
Not one of them thanked him.  They all turned away.
 
But when he made a small puppy his heart was delighted
For the puppy stayed closed and he seemed quite excited.
For wherever the gardener went so did the pup
And he stayed just like that, until he grew up.
 
I saw them together once, the dog and the man
And they were so happy, as if it were planned
They played and they ran and they worked close together
And the dog loved the gardener for ever and ever.
 
And I sometimes wonder in this world of ours
Where God made the creatures, the trees and the flowers
Why God's special creatures - people like me and you
Can't sit and be quiet and worship God too.
 
Those animals seem to be just like some folks
Too buzy or lazy or too full of jokes
To give God a thank you, or love Him and say
"I love you my Father, I'm thankful today."

© 1989 - Colin Pearce
140 Caren Ave Worthington OH 43085 
 

My Kick in the Pants for you: Just for today, tell 5 people why you appreciate them – and while you're at it give the Good Gardener more than a passing nod for a change.

But first a cute story.

My grandchildren are the funniest things on two little fat leggies and like all kids they come out with some bursters. The three year old's Mummy was telling Daddy something over the meal table and right in the middle of it she touched his arm and said, "Daddy. I've got an idea. How about you and me play a little game of 'I spy with my little eye' while Mummy finishes talking to herself?"

Now the kicker. Are you talking to yourself? Is anyone listening? And do you respond in English?

A bizarre tale

I was driving home the other night and heard an advertisement on the radio at prime time. It grabbed my attention because I had been thinking about gas conversion for the car and these guys said they were 'it and a bit' at it. The ad. gave the phone number and told me to ring. I did.

You're busting to hear what happened aren't you? 

"Your call is being diverted" Ring Ring. "The mobile phone you are calling is either disconnected or out of range."

I rang again in case I had misdialled. Same story.

I called 1234 for assistance and yep, you guessed it, their name and number were not listed under the general listings nor under their category – Motor Vehicle Gas Conversions.

I will be playing I spy and finding someone else while they finish talking to themselves.

Altogether now. Duh-uh!

See? They spent the money because they believed the radio salesperson but they didn't work out what to do next and no-one told them.

What can you do? 5 more tips.

1. If you're going to advertise when you are closed use an answering service and give them a script.

2. If you're going to divert the calls have the phones turned on.

3. Tell your people you're going to be running ads and tell them what callers are likely to ask.

4. Tell them that callers can only ask one of about three main questions – How much? When can I get it? and How good is it? Write out the answers and hand them out. Then train them what to say. Make them practise.

5. If people won't learn the script, take their phone off them and tell them to go work where they can make someone else miserable instead of you – or at least sit them in a room for 10 minutes at a time every day to listen to a bit of Great  Phone Skills until they get it.

I mean to say, if you are carelessly chasing away 50% to 80% of your callers, you could definitely cover the cost of  Great  Phone Skills  by just getting one or two more calls right – on the first day? Yes! I know it to be true. 

I also know this to be true: the people who need most it will read this and not move a muscle.

It's not an investment. It's a rescue package. Grab the lifeline. You will not lose.

Two big e-releases today.

After 30 years of talking about it and teaching it I can say without fear of contradiction that 99% of business people's telephone skills need work. And I just made it easier for you to fix with Great Phone Skills in e-format.

There are three ways to lose money

There used to be two ways to lose money in business: Advertising and advertising. There are actually three and the third is to let your people answer the telephone how they like – or how you like! It's 2011 and it ain't good enough. You would cry if you knew how much money incompetent telephone users kiss off every day. 

I tried to buy a Sleep Apnea machine. I was a prospect.  I have the ailment or I wouldn't have rung. I had the $2,000 or I wouldn't have rung. The first four I called were so stupid, so lethargic, so unskilled,  I hung up on them. The fifth won me because she used interest, manners and closing skills without being aggressive.

If you go to Great Phone Skillls you will see we've completely digitised the program. Now can play the CDs (now MP3s) on your iPhone or Android and read the eBook on the same device.

The results show up in one day.

There are less people buying, so sell up!

And when you get people on the phone or in your store, sell them something more. There are less people buying so you have to sell all the stuff that the non spenders AREN'T buying to the people who ARE buying, I know for a fact that most retail salespeople do NOT know how to do this and don't even like doing it. That's why you need the latest release of Make More Money From Every Sale now in e-reader format so they can learn to do it with love. Now in e-reader format it is only $9.99 inserted of the hard copy price of $25.

It also takes effect in one day.

Treasurer Wayne Swan tries to reassure the Auatralian markets.

There's a lot of that going on all over the place and I suppose we had better get used to it.

The way of the world and the USA in particular  has met itself coming around the corner from the opposite direction.

How does the old saying go? If you're out-go exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall. It's the same for every government and every household and every family in the entire world. 

We shouldn't overextend ourselves.
We should live within our means and keep something for a rainy day.

My mother kept herself and me on a widow's pension, with money left over for small investments, little holidays, a regular tithe for church,  warm clothes and all the food we could eat.  She paid her bills on the day they fell due and never clocked up credit with the grocer, the butcher or the gas company. 

How come countries can't do that?

Direct quote from Alan Weiss's Monday Morning Memo yesterday:

"As this appears, the U.S. faces defaulting on its debts and a downgrading of its credit unless legislators and the President can act collaboratively in the next 24 hours.

How do affairs arrive at such dire junctures?

It may just be because we have politicians, but not statesmen; celebrities, but not exemplars; athletes, but not sportsmen and women; lawyers but not jurists; pop idols but not talent; executives but not leaders. Compromise, collaboration, and consensus require (ironically) strength and empathy, not weakness and antipathy; the selfless, not the selfish. We need to be willing and able to stand out in a crowd and say, "This way!" without demanding it be only our way."

You can follow Alan's heavy hitting wisdom at http://summitconsulting.com/databack/index.php

CEOs ought to be using Twitter and Facebook and now Google+ to communicate with their teams.

By all means double up with an office memo, notes on the back of the toilet doors, an email, but one thing they ALL look at is their smart phone. 

A witty CEO or team leader will find ways to
compliment the team,
announce incentives,
herald successes and
highlight individual performances
using the one input device most team members have had surgically attached to their bodies.

Facebook and Twitter are just the beginning in Social Media but I am surprised at how many franchise companies have no conscientious presence. By conscientious I mean having a genuine section in their marketing plan dedicated to their social media – use of Linked In, You Tube, Blogs and more. It can't be adopted as one of the whims of someone in the administration department. It has to be a serious management decision to add Soc Med to the budget (even though the resources are free, the time and effort are not) and the plan.

1 in 13 people have a Facebook account.

48% of 18 - 34 year olds check Facebook before they get out of bed.

You Tube is the third biggest search engine in the world.

So why would anyone with a message, a product or a desire to be influential, not want to use it?

Am I the only one going nuts or are you a bit out of it too?

The Federal Government, some notable actors, some retired pollies and Professor Ross (I-couldn't-possibly-be-wrong-because-I am-a-professor-after-all-and-all-the-scientiosts-in-the-entire-universe-say-the-same-thing) Wotsisname are telling us the solution to global warming will be a carbon tax.

Yeah, right!
I think I get it, but I might be wrong. From what I understand, the government proposes to collect tax from the carbon emitters who will pass the cost of the tax onto us, so it really won't cost the emitters anything. Then the Government will compensate we dumb huddled masses with a tax rebate paid with the money they collect from the emitters, so it won't cost us anything either. So no-one will be out of pocket, there will be no change in the amount of carbon emitted but at least a whole bunch of otherwise unemployable public servants and political party comrads will be employed to supervise the transfer of the money between the accounts. It's just like moving a dead body to a new coffin, hoping it will come back to life.

I think I've got it but you might feel you need to correct me. However you might as well save your energy in case someone puts a tax on it.  

Selling is...
If they were serious they'd maybe ask a better question and come up with a better plan. There's always a better plan. 

Meanwhile I have to say it's a great example of what sales is about. Selling is a transference of feeling and there is enough "feeling" going around this issue to make a cat meow. Just bring it up at Friday night drinks and watch the fur and feathers fly.

My Kick in the Pants for you: Get some emotion into your sales presentations, your brochures and your advertisements  and transfer some feeling. Then stand back and watch the buy-in.

Success in business seems simple enough. You need a larger than life personality – or seeing that most people have had their personality surgically extracted – you need a sales system.

A larger than life personality works
Take the Angeletti brothers for instance. Ric is the Hotel Ambassador at the Hindley Hotel Grand Chancellor and Marco is the Hotel Ambassador at the Sebel Playford around the corner. They are given that title instead of "concierge" because they are much more than concierges. The are as mad as meat axes. 

Attracting attention is easy if you're Ric or Marco
I dropped into the Sebel yesterday and there's Marco with the fire extinguisher putting out an engine fire in a taxi. He's shouting at the top of his voice, "Whoo-eee! Been here 8 years and this is the first time I get to use the fire extinguisher. Look at 'er go." He then sprays the office block next door. "Look how high up  she goes. I feel like a 10 year old boy in the school toilet. Might as well wash the neighbour's windows while I'm here." Then he turns to the crowd that has gathered to admire his performance. "Anyone get that on camera?" That's a larger than life personality but that's probably not you, so you need a sales system.

A sales system works
You will agree that most people in sales have the personality of a back door knob and can't think for themselves so you have to give them a system. They need a phone system for example, exactly the right things to say on the phone when a sales enquiry comes in. And don't tell me you haven't told them exactly what to say. Please don't. I like you too much to find out you're that stupid. OK I'm sorry. That was mean. You can tell me and I'll welcome you with loving open arms because that's MY system.

Sending customers away is easy if you don't have a system
If you're ever diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea (like I was this month) may the Lord have mercy on your soul while you try to get someone to sell you a machine to manage it. I rang five companies to get someone to look after me and four of the phone answerers needed to be on the machine themselves.Talk about being asleep at the wheel. Now these machines are in the range of $2000 each so it's not like selling hot dogs at the footy where you can be as dopey as you like and people will still buy because they are up for a treat regardless.

Gruff. Arrogant. Dismissive. Uncaring. Self Seeking. No love, no manners, no charm, no arousing in me the desire to buy. 

And yet they'll be at a Barbecue tomorrow complaining that the government and the foreigners and the American banks and the terrorists are ruining the economy and it will not dawn on one of them that they are causing their own recession.

Stephanie Whelan at Respironics won me in one second though and today her company is $2000 better off. Why? She used a system that talked about me: the nicest guy in the world the centre of the universe, the only person I think about from dawn till dusk - just like all of your callers – we're the blokes and blokesses  who pay the wages.

If you don't have a sales system for phone and interview, call me. That's what I have done for a living for 30 years and I'm very good at it – and you're probably very good at something else.

My Kick in the Pants for you: Be larger than life or get a system that works.