Are you looking to buy, or looking to look?

"Are you looking to buy, or looking to look?"

This was the amazing questions a car salesman asked me a few weeks ago.

He didn't looks as bad as the photo but not far at all.

What possible good could come from such a question?  

All I heard was:

Are you here to waste my time, or are you ready to rumble?

I don't like face-to-face haggling.  I knew exactly what I wanted, asked for a trade valuation, and a quote by email.

Suffice to say I bought elsewhere.

Here's why I bought from Tynans Sutherland.

• They gave a good price up front.
• They were professional and courteous - suits still work in some work environments.
• They followed up.
• They gave me confidence they could deliver on my specific requirements (towing and delivery date).
• They sent the quote exactly when promised.
• They had two other salesman briefed on my purchase (to cover Christmas absenses).

The other dealers discounted after they smelled a lost deal. You know the line "Oh I just twisted my managers arm and I can get you a better trade-in afterall price blah blah"

During delivery they took a photo of me and my son taking delivery.  Since delivery, there have been numerous folow-up calls.  All good, but they could have done even more.

Here're something else they could do.  Take the delivery photo, post it on their facebook page, create a facebook page of all people who bought the same vehicle (to share their stories), and recommend some other facebook pages/websites of people with the same car, with the same interests (uses of the car).  Now that would buy Brand loyalty.

By the way the car is a Mitsubishi Pajero used for towing a caravan, hauling mountian bikes and canoes into the bush, and 4WD exploring.  Perhaps you can suggest me some sites?

Dear Frustrated Manager - Here's the 1st step to fix sagging sales.

Dear Steven,

We're doing everything right, but our sales are still down from last year.  We've tried discounts, we've tried extra training, and we've even increased advertising.  What else can we do?

Signed: Frustrated store manager.

---------------------------------------------

Dear Frustrated,

There are so many places to start fixing your problem, but you probably don't know where to start.  I'd start at the beginning; the beginning of your sales process.

One of the most underused statistics in business is the most important.  I'll ask you a question and then answer it as if you replied 'No'.

Question: Do you know how many people walk in your store every day?

If the answer if No, let me explain why you should count.

Why you should count.

It's the only way to see if the problem is in store, or getting people to the store.  

If your foot traffic is the steady, the problem is inside the store and you need to go one step further by measuring conversion rates.  Are they entering and simply not buying? (eg boring overpriced stock?).

If traffic counts have dropped, the problem is outside the store.  The problem could by truly economic, but it could be other factores.  It could mean you need more local morketing or some new competitive force has developed.  It could be something as simple (and complex) as a changed bus line or signage.

By measuring foot traffic, now you know where to focus your attention.

A previous blog post "How to double your revenue in three years" used customer counts as a critical input number.  You might want to read it later.

What you should count

Count people - obviously.  But see if you can get deeper and count Males and Females, and/or Young V Old. Again it narrows your problem. 

If possible, also decide whether to count groups of people or individuals.  For example, does a family of 5 people shop in store a one person (eg mum buying female clothing), or do they shop individually? (e.g. fast food chain).

How often you should count

In this case, less is less.

The more you can measure, the more you can use the data.  Here are some options:

• Count a sample for a single day and count for the same day the next week or month.
• Count a sample of people entering the store over the same 4 hour period (peak) ever day of the week for one week, and the same week the next month/quarter.
• Count every person entering the store every day.

How you should count

You can start old-school or get technological. Here are some options.

• Sit someone in a corner of the store and have them do nothing else but simply count people (no distractions).
• Buy a cheap infra-red people counter to go at the door.  Most stores use them to alert staff when someone is entering, but not to count customers.
• Get fully electronic and install a video counter.  It's the most automated and accurate method which can also provide full reporting with trends.  Ask me if you want to find out more.

So leave the scatter gun in the cupboard, and get focused on the beginning of the process.

Steven Di Pietro 

Forget year end reflection and goals

Now the year has ended, everyone seems to be talking about reflection and goal setting.  I'm not buying it.

Reflection is not singular, but continual. It is something you should do all the time.  I force myself into constant reflection by doing things like:

• meeting my advisory Board (sometimes reluctantly)
• having trusted peers who expand and challenge my thinking
• forced unplugged time with nothing but a pen and paper (think conference or air travel).

Don't reflect at year end, reflect year round.

As for goals - well I am not a great goal setter, but I love action lists.  Next year I'll be doing lots of exciting things:

• expanding my company internationally (underway)
• running client workshops (booked)
• revving up my speaking business (starting with a revamped showreel)
• launching my online training program (a Big to-do)
• focus on networking - even if it's at the expense of 'direct' marketing (underway)
• launching a new Brand (finalised development)

Here's the thing.  If I do all these things, the results will follow.

As for personal development.  Again, it's as obvious and inhaling and exhaling.  It has to happen all the time. On that thought I'll leave you with a comment from a great friend Rowdy McLean.

"Being your best is bulldust. You can't be your best because you have NO IDEA what your best is. Just be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you are today. That my friends is achievement. Simple huh?"

 Related reading - I hate goal setting - here's how to get around it

What I learnt from 70 orphans

On December 2004, a massive Tsunami devastated parts of SE Asia.  Seven years later, I got the opportunity to visit an orphanage in Khao Lak Thailand, just north of Phuket.

I had a conference in Phuket and decided to spend a day at the orphanage to see if I could offer some assistance. It turns out, the day I visited coincided with a planned day trip for the kids.  Throught he generosity of others, they were going swimming at a 5 star hotel in the region.  My job was to teach the kids to swim.

Here's a fraction of what I learnt:

No one is hopeless

No matter the state of the children when they arrive, they all have hope.   In business, we too often simply discard people as being useless or beyond hope.

Anyone can be taught

The children are going to school and even learning English.  Education knows no bounds except the ones we create.  One of the children is now working in a 5 star hotel, and another is studying in university.  We have all the resources in the world, and yet de-emphasise education.

You CAN teach attitude

It is often said that you should hire attitude, and that the skills can be taught.  These kids were 'taught' an attitude of respect and humility.  Their environment and teachers have taught attitude.  Do we consider how much our environment can affect attitude?

You can be an individual in a system

The kids are amazingly well behaved and disciplined.  At the same time the kids personalities were allowed to shine.  We often worry about stifling creativity and personality with rules and regulations.  Perhaps process and personality can coexist?

You don't need all the tools

The orphanage doesn't have all the tools it needs, but staff and kids just get on with it.  They do what is necessary to do what's required.  How often do we delay a project because we don't have 'everything' lined up and perfectly resources.  Are we really getting that soft?

One person can have an impact

If Peter Baines, an Australian (now ex) policeman can create an orphanage for 70 kids 5,000 miles from his home, then surely we can do more at home?  This one person changed the world another world away.  What's our excuse for not changing our organisation, our department, or our own job?  The excuses run dry quickly.

Please visit the orphanage website http://www.handsacrossthewater.com.au/ to find out more.

Building an Internal Customer Culture

Building an internal customer culture sounds easy.

You've probably heard the saying "If your not serving the customer, your probably serving someone who is".

Easy said, but how do you do it?  Here are seven things you need to consider.

1. Responsibility – To ones self and to others
2. Understanding – Defining the Internal Customer Culture
3. Awareness – Understanding their customer’s environment
4. Connection – Adjusting for different personalities
5. Empathy – Walk in their customer’s shoes
6. Predictability – How to make their service predictable
7. Care – How to be keen to genuinely help.

Just telling internal staff they need to serve servers is not enough.  They too need to be led by their managers. 

There's a lot to consider.