Free Advice

Be focused and driven to serve your customers

I just returned from Las Vegas (December 2001) where I spoke at the National Autobody Craftsman Exposition, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Here’s a few observations I’d like to share with you.

Learn from cab drivers

First, the cab drivers in Las Vegas only pay peripheral attention to stop signs and even less attention to pedestrians. They are focused to not let anything get in the way of getting their passengers to the destination and picking up a new fare. Far be it for an octangular red sign or some walkers to slow them down.

I thought about how many distractions we have in our lives, especially our business lives. How often we have the opportunity to get sidetracked, often not even realizing it. This could be phone calls, paperwork (administrivia, as a friend calls it), people walking in our offices or bureaucracy. (For those who work out of their homes, this list also includes the refrigerator, the dog, the cat and household chores.)

We could all take a lesson from these cab drivers and focus more on what’s important. Set a designated time every week to deal with the administrivia, close your door, turn the phone off, etc. For most of us, finding and securing new customers is job number two. Number one is keeping existing customers ecstatic. Whatever your number one job is, anything that gets in the way of this can and should be dealt with later.

Nothing slows you down if the goal is strong

Second, it seemed as if the older or more hobbled (limp, using a cane, etc.) someone was the greater the chance they would cross against the light, dodging traffic and putting out maximum effort to reach the island before the car or truck (or in the worst case scenario, a taxi) got to the crosswalk.

Those of us who have been around awhile have heard every excuse and objection (and probably given most of them). This includes prospects who don’t buy, clients who don’t act and salespeople who don’t sell. Within a few months of starting my first real sales position, the company hired a couple other salespeople. Both supposedly had experience. I remember one guy “complaining” about being cooped up in his cubicle making afternoon telephone calls. He said he would do much better if he was at home, on his deck with a lemonade, in a relaxed atmosphere. He was gone within three months.

If the old and hobbled can risk life and limb by darting around moving vehicles in order to get to the next casino before the nickel slots pay off big, we can do what it takes to get to our goals. That may mean more phone calls, teaching the new employee how to do it right or firing your troublesome customer, even though they buy a lot from you.  

© Copyright John Martinka 2001-02. All rights reserved.