Double Dip Not Creating the wheel?

Stuart had a mention of what he called the Double Dip. I call it repeating the same process. Either way, this is key is sales and business.

What does this mean? When you sell, sell the same solution over and over. Sure you can customize, make if fit the client better. However do not try (Every time) to do something completely different. You will not know how to sell it. The installation technicians will not be good at installing it and you probably do not know what the issues will be that can arise out of something new.

In sales we tend to want to sell everything. That is good. But we have to realize what is good for the company. Selling a solution that can be repetitive is good for clients, install and the business.

Walking the walk & The college update

Lenovo continues to impress. Lets face it, we hear lots of talk but actually getting it done is where lots of partners fail. Yesterday we had a pricing issue with a distributor. There was some confusion on discount. I sent a quick email to Jameson (Our inside rep). Within 5 minutes the distributor called letting us know they made a mistake! That is taking it one step further. He could have replied back to me saying that the distributor made a mistake and call them back. No, he took the initiative and called the distributor, found the error and had the distributor call us. Then Jameson called to verify we had the issue resolved. We expect that this additional discount will win the business for us. This seems like a small deal, but think about it. If we had to make two or three more calls to resolve this problem,

1. We may have just gone with standard discount and could have lost the deal
2. Lost another half an hour of productive selling time. More selling time, more sales!
3. My experience tells me that other partners would not have taken the steps to help us.

This is just one example of how Lenovo has stepped up. I can think of two other YESTERDAY!

The College Update

Had lunch with Cody and Grant yesterday. Well, half and half. Cody seems to get it. Grant, not so much. I will keep up the pressure. Hopefully their family and friends will do the same. Peer pressure wont hurt either.

Sales Meetings

I have a sales meeting this month. I look forward to these. It is great to get the entire team in one room. That face to face time with everyone is always productive. The team feeds off each others energy. There are two types of meeting that are held. One that is held one on one weekly that is about updates, technical issues or helping move sales forward. The other is a monthly meeting. I have been ask what do I do in a monthly sales meeting

1. Training. Both technical, product, process and sales.

2. Company updates. It is important that everyone know the direction of the department and the company.

3. Industry trends. Where is technology and sales going. What new things may be seen in the field.

4. Successes. Both to give credit where credit is due and to show other where they may be missing out.

5. The numbers. The group is a competitive group. Everyone wants to be number 1.

6. Team building and socialization. '

7. Have technical supervisors update the team on installs, technology and processes.



This by no means is a comprehensive list. It is a good start. I know that some have weekly meetings. This is great as long as they are productive. We have ours monthly due to the mileage between our offices. It is important to send a quick agenda, stay on task and end on time.

A bad golf outing?

I never really thought there was such a thing. I was wrong. Last Friday four of us played the annual fund raiser tournament for USD 428 Great Bend. Thursday it was 75 and a bit breezy. Friday? 50, cloudy with sprinkles and oh yea, 50 plus MPH winds.

I didn't know that it could get so windy that you couldn't stand still to putt! I sure missed those four office walls. We didn't finish last so I felt it was a success. Not sure what this has to do with sales or business other than sometimes you have to take one for the team.

On a different note to follow up to my meetings blog last week, (That posting received lots of email in support), commitments. If you make a commitment to someone, you have to do your best to keep those. Sure, things come up and things change. Yet if you are the one that is always bailing at the last minute, over booking or changing your appointments not only do the people at the other end feel that they are not important to you, but soon you will find your self not invited to events.

PS Happy Birthday to my DAD!

The Psychaitrist?

I spent a couple of evenings with my good neighbors the Bainters. I really enjoy their company. In some way, neighbors are like peer groups. They are psychiatrists. You can tell them your problems, bounce ideas off them and sometimes hear how your problems are not as bad as you thought.

I am a week away from seeing the peers in HTG3. I look forward to these meetings more and more. I know I will come away recharged with new ideas and be held accountable for my actions. Who knows, maybe I will figure out why I salivate when I hear a bell?

Taking time off

Wow are we busy at work. Lots of projects, many sales, installs and service going full blast. What a great thing. I have been in the field quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. I really enjoy this part of my job. It seems like everything is going great!

With that said, it is getting warmer out, grass is growing and trees are buding. I cant wait for vacation. Couple of more weeks and my family, parents and sister are going to Seaside Flordia http://www.seasidefl.com/. For a week of NOTHING! This is a great time to relax and come back recharged.

I have worked with many that do not take vacations or lose vacation time because they are too busy or are married to their work. In my opinion, this sets a bad example and lets face it, you are not impressing anyone. Some of my best ideas for work come to me during vacation. I have time to work on problems away from distraction, and when I come back, I usually have a new perspective. You can only burn the candle at both ends for a while, adventually you burn out.

Comfortable? Too Comfortable?

A piece of advice I heard somewhere was to do one thing that scares you every day. It is really easy to get in a groove. I see people every day that get comfortable doing the same things and not trying to improve they way they do anything. From the most simple of tasks to the most complex.

Change is hard. Some of the most successful people I have known were not afraid to change the way things were traditionally done. Of course there is a balance. Don't jump ship every time that things do not go your way. You have to stay on a consistent ath. You can find new routes to the same destination. This can be very difficult.

I am continually challenging myself to do things that scare me. From going to places I have never been, to doing things that will make me more knowledgeable but I don't want to do. Everyone around me helps me do these things.