For as long as anyone could remember, the current owner and previous generations of owners were extremely positive happy people.

Most folk assumed it was because they ran a successful business.

In fact it was the other way around…

A tradition in the business was that the owner always wore a big lapel badge, saying Business Is Great!

The business was indeed generally great, although it went through tough times like any other. What never changed however was the owner’s attitude, and the badge saying Business Is Great!

Everyone who saw the badge for the first time invariably asked, “What’s so great about business?” Sometimes people would also comment that their own business was miserable, or even that they personally were miserable or stressed.

Anyhow, the Business Is Great! badge always tended to start a conversation, which typically involved the owner talking about lots of positive aspects of business and work, for example:

• the pleasure of meeting and talking with different people every day
• the reward that comes from helping staff take on new challenges and experiences
• the fun and laughter in a relaxed and healthy work environment
• the fascination in the work itself, and in the other people’s work and businesses
• the great feeling when you finish a job and do it to the best of your capabilities
• the new things you learn every day – even without looking to do so
• and the thought that everyone in business is blessed – because there are many millions of people who would swap their own situation to have the same opportunities of doing a productive meaningful job, in a civilized well-fed country, where we have no real worries.

And so the list went on. And no matter how miserable a person was, they’d usually end up feeling a lot happier after just a couple of minutes listening to all this infectious enthusiasm and positivity.

It is impossible to quantify or measure attitude like this, but to one extent or another it’s probably a self-fulfilling prophecy, on which point, if asked about the badge in a quiet moment, the business owner would confide:

“The badge came first. The great business followed.”

The initital euphoria of your new idea may wear off or you realise that actually your goal is going to take much longer to attain than you initially thought. At some point you need to take stock of where you are at & start to put pen to paper, or at the very least the bank manager will need to see a plan. Formalising your goal & how you are going to get there will help to identify the  actions you need to take.  Without a plan, with targets or KPIs linked to it,  you run the risk of wandering around for quite some time, trying desperately (like our squirrel friend) but never quite attaining what it is that you want.

Here’s a simple tool that I have used that helps me to focus:

1. Write down your stretch goal , 5 or 10 year goal. Ask yourself  – What is it, what does it look like, what does it feel like when you are there, what does it taste & feel like (this will help you visualise your goal). How will you know when you have got there? What will you have achieved?

2. Break down this goal into a 3 year goal - this is where you need to start putting down some specifics. How much? How many? How far? Set specific targets or KPIs for you & your business.

3. Break down 3 year goal into 1 year goals. These are very specific & should be tangible. Against these you need to set yourself more specific targets , KPIs.

4. From these 1 year goals should come your day to day actions that you need to be doing to achieve the 1 year goal. This is your action plan going forward.

Make sure your goals & actions are realistic & achievable.   Follow the SMART rules,  Specific,  Measurable,  Achievable, Realistic, Time oriented.

If actions are big or difficult for you, break them down into mangeable pieces. Take it one step at a time & build on the success of each achievement. Each success should motivate you to next one.

Chasing the elusive acorn is also captured in the hilarious clips in Ice Age.

The squirrel (Scrat) makes me laugh every time but I also empathise with him. As I know that squirrel feeling!

You are nearly there towards achievement of  your goal.  Its just within your grasp. You feel you have done all the right things on the way. But then you get there & its not what you expected , its’ changed , this is not what you were chasing OR it just slips out of your grasp at the last minute. Maybe you hesitated for just one minute too long, got distracted along the way, or did not make that phone call or do the follow up as you should have done.

Whats that awful feeling you are left with …..disappointment with yourself, all that wasted energy for an opportunity missed and potentially all the other opportunities that would have come from that one opportunity!

But the one positive edge on this story is that squirrel has sure as hell got some energy.  And he keeps going , trying sometimes against all the odds. There has to be a better , easier way. If you were to give that squirrel some advice on how to get those acorns without expending so much energy, what would that be? Love to hear your thoughts.

Invigorating as it lead me to think about all of those enterprising people who are trying to tame the wind & waves, using it to produce energy, leading one of our greatest natural resources into the future.

In the face of our customers or potential customers, isn’t this what we should be doing also. Leading our customers , not just responding to their needs. By showing our customers that you will go 200% for them  & more, they will come back for more. Customers don’t just want a standard product or service anymore they want to know how you can help them drive their business forward, save costs, take them to new markets, help them to be a leader to their customers.

Oren Harari discusses widely this concept of entrepreneurship in his book “Break from the Pack”. If you can get your hands on a copy its very interesting reading.

To enjoy the western seaboard at Easter be prepared. Bring your wetsuit, fleece, wet gear, gloves & most importantly a hat! To enjoy your customers be prepared with how you can help them to achieve what you want to achieve – success & survival into the distant future.

Our discussion led to developing partnerships with companies,  people who have a similar view to quality, how they sell themselves , how they treat their customers.  Should you compromise yourself  & your product/service to get it to market as quickly as possible or to get that extra margin?.  What are your values as a salesperson, manager, company owner? How do you like to do business?   Will having a clear defined set of values reap you business in the future? Here is an article from an entrepreneur who has something to say on this subject.

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/15684/

For me one of the first indicators of someone really listening & interested in finding out what are your needs , is whether they ask you questions.  I wasn’t asked one question of what I was looking for, did I have children,  a dog, or why did I need a large booth? He did ask me one question about my current mileage.  I am interested in a diesel car (as my travelling is increasing) but he tried to persuade me that I didn’t need a diesel car.  I am actively searching & open to other models but the sales person did not take advantage of that at all.  He focused on the one car that I enquired about on walking into forecourt. He assumed alot.

For me, listening is actively engaging with the customer to hear what s/he is saying & asking relevant questions to find out what they are not saying. Next time you think you are listening, check if you really are listening to what the other person is saying  or are you just waiting for your turn to talk.

I came across this clip in relation to this subject & thought it was worthwhile sharing with you. Magic of storytelling in business.

So the path I normally walk up,  I had to come back down. For a moment I thought I had wandered onto a different route (as my mind was busy with thoughts of what to write for my next post here!!)  The path looked totally different.  I am a great believer of enjoying the moment we are in, especially when out in nature.  On my normal path the trees seem straight & unattractive really. But on this path, the trees seemed to be leaning back & inviting me back down the way. It struck me that I had never walked down this path & my perspective from this angle was completely different.

Just by observing something from a different angle can give you a whole new look & feeling for a situation. Sometimes it may seem difficult to get this perspective but if you can, it can help you to get unstuck & start going again.

We need to figure out this path when dealing with our customers or engaging with someone whom we are trying to influence. To ask the customer outright for the order without having done some form of warming up or relationship building is very likely to lead to failure for now & for the future. Don’t know about you, but when someones asks me for my order , straight out, without having checked with me what it is that I  really need, I get all annoyed with them.

Think about what are your tactics to find paths of least resistance with your customers or your boss? How do you find their path of least resistance?

Oh how our world has changed. Back then , we sat in our nice cars, picked up the phone every now & then & waited for the orders to come in.  Good customer service was not in fashion, we didn’t need to be nice to them.  Sales were good so there was no need to make a ‘real effort’ to get our product out the door.  Now the customer is not spending so we need to change our tactics.  Or our costs have to to be shaved (again) & we are being asked, those of us that are in contact in any shape or form with customers to start ‘selling’ .  Its the time of ‘lean’ selling – selling as much as you can at minimal cost.

A big change for most of us. A big learning experience for most of us if we can embrace the change.

We’ve got to talk to customers, win them over, influence them, sell to them!! Convince them that they need our product vs the competition. And we need to find their least path of resistance whilst doing all of that. Well that’s what the experts say.

This type of selling I am used to & I like. I am not an aggressive seller, never was. I was never the gal who would kill for the sale . I was the one who was building the pipeline , the leads for the future by building the relationships, getting to know my customers. Then , yes , if there was a big push for the year end or some attractive incentive for that quarter, then I had the relationship to be able to say  ‘Hey, John, any chance we could get that order signed by end of next month. Why? Well that big trip is on (or my manager is pushing us to get all orders in before year end) & I would love to have your order in, it will help me.”  Sometimes it worked , sometimes it didn’t.  But trying is important  & for me , honesty is the best policy & usually works. Whats your policies for reaching those targets or getting what you want from your customer?

This type of selling for me has always enabled me to meet my targets & make it more enjoyable. Isn’t that what we all want , the seller & the customer. In particular for the customer, obviously. As we want them to come back again & again or we will need them in the future to sell the updated version, new product or complimentary products.