Wayne Gretzky and Customer Service

"Don't think, React!" That was the daily advice of my Junior High School basketball coach, Mr. Korwin. He believed that if we spent too long pondering the next move on the court, we would be prone to mistakes, indecisiveness, and poor judgment. For us, gangly eighth graders, it may well have been excellent advice.

Better advice might have been to learn to be proactive rather than reactive. Being proactive means we're taking charge of our situation, trying to be a bit in front of the wave, so to speak. Proactive people are taking control of today.

But what if we could anticipate the next occurrence on the court: the next pass, the next cut, the next shot? Wouldn't we be better players and make better decisions? Hockey great, Wayne Gretzky, once explained that the greatest players didn't go to the puck, they went to where the puck will be. Anticipation. Proactive playing? No, Gretzky showed us something new. Gretzky gave us PREactive. Maybe a little too much for an eighth grader.

Customer Service is like basketball and hockey. While it is better to react than to do nothing, it is much better to be proactive than to simply react. Being proactive was a great idea when it rose to prominence in the 90's. In today's fast paced world, however, being proactive isn't enough. We need to be preactive. We need to carefully anticipate what is coming down the line and take definitive action to insure success and prevent upcoming problems.

Conceptually speaking, this is great. True pre-activeness, however. has some foundation beneath it. In order to be preactive you must do four things:

1) Know your stuff. It's difficult to know what's coming when you don't know what's happening. The lesson is to be knowledgeable about your product or service - your stuff. As your customer, I'm not sure you can help me, or anyone else if you are not familiar with your product, tools, systems or resources. Mastery of subject material is the base upon which you build preactive customer service (or even halfway decent pro and reactive service).

2) Know your customer(s). This "customer(s)" thing is written in both the singular and the plural so that you understand that you not only need to know your individual customer, but also customers (people) in general. Our primary focus should be on what our people want and/or need. Our ability to preact is completely dependent on us having a firm handle on what we do and for whom we do it. While this knowledge aids us in serving our customers, the only real way to provide the best service to an individual is...

3) Ask, Probe, Clarify, then begin to Anticipate. It's not possible to give someone what they want/need without actually knowing what they want/need. We can't even be REactive without this knowledge. To be PREactive, however, an in- depth examination of our individual customer is needed. If we know our business completely and know our customer thoroughly, we have the ability to anticipate what we can do to provide the best service possible. Routine service is just that: routine. The best customer service is individual, focused and unique. Soon, it becomes anticipatory.

4) As Daniel Burrus says, in his book Flash Foresight, being PREactive is both anticipatory and opportunity based. It is working from the inside-out, as opposed to being ruled by the things that happen from the rest of the world. It is creating change rather than having to change.

We live in a world of Crisis Managers. For some it is almost a badge of honor. Being preactive lets us be Opportunity Managers. That would make a great customer service model.

Anyone (well, most anyone who tries) can give reactive customer service. While reactive service is okay and proactive service is better, I think most of us prefer someone who isn't making us ask for help, or beg for service. I'm more satisfied when my service provider actually looks at my needs - my best interest and anticipates how they can help.

The greatest service providers, places like Nordstroms and the Ritz Carlton, understand that this phenomenon does not just happen without effort. That's why they work at it daily. We could do the same.

John Ruskin, English author, poet and artist once said, "Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of an intelligent effort." So let's work on our service, let's skate to where the puck is going, let's be preactive. 

I'm sure Mr. Korwin would have liked that better anyway.

My Favorite Movies of 2012

Picture is a spoiler Alert

Can't say I saw every movie produced in 2012, but I saw quite a few (Thanks, for discount theaters). I'm sure that some that I didn't see will score high with the "experts" and many will win awards. But, a man can only rate what he has seen, so here is my top ten (ranked by enjoyability - a very SUBjective ranking).....

10. Trouble With The Curve. Clint Eastwood was awesome, Amy Adams was adorable and I'm a sucker for a baseball movie.

9. Ruby Sparks. An excellent quirky movie written by Zoe Kazan (she played the youngest daughter in It's Complicated) and starring with her real life boyfriend Paul Dano. It was just fun.

8. Dark Knight Rises. After the Aurora shootings, it took me seven months to see this finale to the three Christian Bale Batman movies. Not the best of the three, but a good Batman flick gets points just for being a good Batman flick. And Anne Hathaway as Catwoman...... meow!

7. Seeking A Friend for the End of the World. This, for romantic old me, was one of the feel good movies of the year. Steve Carell being Steve Carell, a cute twist to the "end of the world" movie, with some Father issues thrown in for good measure.
 Also excellent, as always, Martin Sheen.

6. Safety Not Guaranteed. This was just a flat out fun movie. Kind of quirky, which I like, and some very good writing. Left it feeling like it should have lasted longer. If you haven't seen this movie or heard about it, rent it. You won't regret it.

5. Hunger Games. I never read the books (still haven't), but thoroughly enjoyed the story as well as the action. LOVED Jennifer Lawrence (she'll turn up again in my rankings, very soon, in fact), Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and Stanley Tucci. A great production.

4. Silver Linings Playbook. Jennifer strikes again! She was awesome as the goofy and (here's that word again) quirky, Tiffany. Bradley Cooper did a great job playing the "mildly" disturbed Pat, and Robert De Nero and Jacki Weaver were fantastic as Pat's parents. This was another one I didn't want to end.

3. Argo. Ben Affleck was outstanding in this semi-documentary of a lesser known part of the Iran hostage crisis. Even knowing how it would end didn't take away from the suspense. The directing (Affleck) was great and John Goodman and Alan Arkin gave needed comic relief.

2. Skyfall. Just saw Skyfall for the second time and enjoyed it as much as the first. Daniel Craig has BECOME James Bond. The action was crisp and fast without being gratuitous. The women were Bond-gorgeous and while the death of M (sorry, spoiler alert after the fact) was depressing, they adequately set us up for more Bond. Just hope they don't lose Craig.

1. Lincoln. I was spellbound during most of this movie, despite my peripheral observation up of my wife's boredom . Granted, I am an ex-US History teacher, but Daniel Day Lewis made me believe I was watching Abe Lincoln in action (well, he wasn't actually IN that much action). Nicely documenting the final months of the 16th President's life, the photography was incredible and the acting superb. Standout performances by Tommy Lee Jones and David Strathairn (and yes, even Sally Field, the Flying Nun).

So there you have it. As I said, I might have missed a few in my top ten that are not coming to mind and there were many movies that will be granted acclaim during the awards weeks that I just didn't see, most notably Les Miserables (sorry, never been a big fan and the movie is likely to make me MORE Miserables), Django Unchained, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Sessions, and Life of Pi.

2013 looks to be a full year - full of extra added sequels to the sequel to the sequel, like Scary Movie 5, Fast and Furious 6, Ironman 3, more Tyler Perry, another Hangover, one more chance to Die Hard like an old man, a whole new Superman series and even, yes, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Part 2.

But hidden in the remakes are some that might be interesting: The Counselor with Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender; The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp; A Martin Scorsese film on the life of Frank Sinatra; The Incredible Burt Wonderstone with Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Olivia Wilde and James Gandolfini and what will be my personal favorite, Cleopatra with Angelina Jolie.

So, pass the popcorn and please do not text or talk or laugh or cry during the movie. It's rude.

Technology vs. Old School People Skills and The Pallet

Technology is moving at a break neck speed. New gadgets, designed to save mankind from the discomforts of life, are developed daily (maybe hourly). Some things, however, remain as they have for years, decades, even centuries. 

One such example of an old idea that technology has yet to improve is the common pallet. Pallets have been around and been pretty much unchanged since the peak of the second industrial revolution, leading into World War II. Large scale production was creating a need for better handling of goods. The pallet solved some of that problem. While the actual inventor of the pallet is a bit of a mystery, we do know this: it was patented by George Raymond and Bill House. Interestingly, George and Bill had patents accepted on the forklift the same day theirs was accepted on the pallet. Those two things sure went together, but I digress. By the way, my first summer job, in fact, was moving pallets at Argon Industries in downriver Detroit.

The inventor of sales is a mystery as well. Some might say the original salesman was Adam as he was able to "sell" Eve on the benefits of eating the apple, but I digress again. While we are unsure of the origin of sales, the key components to sales remains unchanged: people and people skills. 

Technology has offered a plethora of tools, systems and resources for the advancement and ease of the process and act of selling. But success as a salesperson revolves around the ability to take care of PEOPLE. Peter Drucker said, "The purpose of a business is to create a customer." Since customers are people, the core and purpose of a business then, is people.

Don't get me wrong, technology is fantastic! I love my iPad. I have an exuberant love/hate relationship with Facebook and other forms of Social Media. I'm aghast when anything takes more than seconds to happen on my computer or elsewhere. And while I make a nice living instructing salespeople in the effective use of technology, maybe, just maybe, salespeople could flourish if they focused on skills directed at working with real live people. 

Listening, understanding, presenting, negotiating, empathy are all wonderful skills that are incredibly useful in sales. I believe they are the core of great sales, much as they were years ago (and maybe Adam, in retrospect, wasn't actually that good at most of them, he simply used the guilt approach with the whole rib thing....). A salesperson with an awesome iPad presentation who has little or no skill when it comes to determining the wants and needs of their customer or conveying the benefit of their product or service will often meet with frustration and failure. Technology, without people skills, seldom rule the sales day. People skills, unfortunately, are not taught as often as they could/should be. 

So, what to do? As a student in a sales oriented course, look for the direct relation of whatever technology you are learning with how it might make you more effective with your customers (people). As instructors, let's do a better job of drawing the link between a technology and it's use as a people tool. The high tech/low touch description of "today's" generations is more a loss of focus on what is most important. We've gotten so focused on the equipment that we're forgetting the real game. We can change that if that's what we want.

Sales is about people. People skills are the core of sales success. And like the pallet, people skills have yet to be replaced by anything better.

GPS: Blueprint for Planning Success

With us well into the month of December, I have to assume that most hard working folks have completed their business plan for the upcoming year. Knowing that the coming year will be an incredible improvement over the one we’re in (card carrying optimists believe that every year) should have been the impetus for a hard look at 2013 and your business. It was that most famous quotster , unknown, who said, “Planning without action is futile, action without planning is fatal.” If you’re still on the planning sidelines, let’s get you into the game by using a wonderful acronym/metaphor, GPS.

Ah, the GPS system, a wonderful system of satellites populating the skies so that the government and other entities can spy on us. Sorry, I mean, a wonderful system of satellites populating the skies enabling us to find our way if lost, slightly confused, or simply desire some guidance along our way. While many utilize GPS as a system for guidance while driving, I use GPS as the guiding driver in creating my business plan. GPS stands for Goals, Planning, Systems: the three steps to creating a well guided business in the coming year (and thereafter). So, let’s get started.

Goals. Goals are the foundation behind the plan and its implementation. Without goals, we travel through our businesses without direction. This point is best illustrated in the conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:

Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
`I don't much care where--' said Alice.
`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.”

As a big believer in balance, I set goals for all facets of my life. If something is important, be it family, spirituality, fitness, or whatever, it needs to be a priority. To be a priority, it must first be a goal. My trek into the world of goal setting is outlined in the following blog post:

http://richyacks.blogspot.com/2011/11/word-on-setting-goals-first-then-make.html. Feel free to use it as your own GPS goal guiding system.

Planning. Once armed with a worthy goal, we need a plan to achieve it. Planning for a business can be a lengthy, tedious process. It is that plan, however, that is the catalyst around which your business will operate throughout the year and into the future. So, you will find it time well spent.

Begin by defining your vision. In a vision statement you say where it is you want to go. It’s kind of a big picture look ahead thing. The vision at Nike, for example, is ” To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” Sound a little out there? It should. Your vision is where you see where you want to be.

Once completed, take that vision and turn it into a Mission Statement. A mission statement will describe 1) Who you are 2) What you want to do and 3) How you are going to do it. Mission Statements help provide direction and guidance for businesses. To quote the outline in CRS 200, the business planning & marketing course, “The Mission Statement flows directly from the vision statement. It is the implementation of the vision and it outlines what must happen to realize the vision. It’s a ‘how-we-will-get-there’ guide that contains action words and adjectives that modify them.” 

The mission at Nike is “To carry on his legacy of innovative thinking, whether to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential, or to create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the competition and provide value for our shareholders.” That's a bit more practical.

The next step in planning is the budget. I like to do expenses first, so that I know what I am up against. My goal, like yours, is PROFIT. Having a firm grasp on my expenses, allows me to plan a year that brings in ample money beyond my expense, thus landing me in the arena of PROFIT.

Diligence is required in this step as it is essential that you dig up everything you spend your hard earned money on in your life. The key expense categories for a real estate practitioner are Personal, Business Operating, and Marketing. Don’t forget to budget in for taxes as the government wants its share as well. Remember, we're talking about planning your income and expenses for you to have the kind of LIFE you desire. Examine what has to be done to get where you want to go.

Systems. Having your business firmly rooted on paper is one thing. Putting the plan into action creates success. In order to accomplish action, people in a complicated business need systems. Systems set the tone, pace, and rhythm of a business. A good system creates efficiency and makes taking action a measurable, effective, even easier thing.

Systems should be in place, describing what you do and when throughout your business. Some areas of focus could be; Marketing (the implementation of your plan), Contact Management, Transaction Management, Listing, Sales, and Time/Energy Management, among others. An agent driven by systems stays on focus easier and with a greater level of efficiency.

GPS: Goals, Planning, Systems: Your Blueprint for Success! Sounds like a good name for a class. Well, it is. So if you need a helping hand or just a little guidance look for one of my GPS courses in a location near you OR better yet, grad the whole enchilada and take CRS 200, Business Planning and Marketing.

Here’s to a well planned, well executed 2013.

Buyers Aren't Liars, They Need Help!

Many markets around this land of ours are undergoing severe changes as 2012 slowly comes to its conclusion. Some have become full blown sellers markets, others are recovering much more gradually. We knew all along, that we would come out of the slump, we’d get through the tough times. What we didn’t know was when it would happen. As most of the country rebounds, you must ask yourself this question: As my market emerges, how will I adapt? How will I EMERGE?

Many agents will gravitate towards listings. Hopefully, they will use this opportunity to sharpen their listing tools including, but not limited to; their presentation, counseling and interviewing, handling objections and especially, pricing. Competition for listings will escalate and putting your best foot forward will create a tremendous advantage for the seller-ready agent.

And then, there are the buyers.....

While this market is turning, one thing will remain as sure as the planet is here (apologies to the Mayan calendar enthusiasts), buyers will still be half of all presentations. But, as many markets move toward becoming more seller oriented, getting and having the listings is essential. As supplies shrink. Agents with inventory will control the marketplace. So, where does that leave the buyers?

Because of that inevitable occurrence, agents who work effectively with buyers will be in short supply and high demand. Working with buyers in this emerging market will require several skills: 

• First and foremost, the best agents giving the best buyer service will be awesome at determining what their people want, finding it quickly and creating an urgency in the process.
• Mobility and technology will come into even greater importance as time will be of the essence when working with your buyers. 
• Maybe most important, will be the agents ability to help their buyer see the reality of the big picture, keep them on task and get them excited about their home purchase.

Buyers will cling to the past. The best of today’s emerging agent can handle that and focus them on the opportunities of today.

So, what is the best way for agents to hone the skills needed for tomorrow's buyers? I suggest CRS 202, Sales Strategies for the Residential Specialist.

CRS 202 will help agents develop tools, techniques systems and attitudes that will bring buyers into the emerging market confidently, honestly and successfully. The 202 course will:

• Show how to identify qualified buyers
• Teach interpersonal skills to gain buyer loyalty
• Help Overcome predictable objectionS
• Give ideas for youR buyer packet that you will want to use
• Help you become a better NEGOTIATOR
• Show TECHNOLOGY TOOLS for a more effective, mobile business

The Denver Metro Association of Realtors is holding CRS 202 on December 13 & 14, 2012 at their North training center at 13648 Orchard Parkway Ste 900 Westminster, CO 80023 (essentially I-25 and 136th). The fee, considerably less than most CRS courses is $179 for the two days. The link to registration is http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/Calendar?id=108361&view=Detail  .

The new market is here. Help the buyers adjust.

Text Without Context is Forgettable: What Bogart and Gable Teach Us About the One Liner

As I was watching The Maltese Falcon for the umpteenth time Sunday, I anxiously awaited the "showdown" scene between Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) and Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor). After a rough and rocky relationship (both business AND personal), Spade let's her know that he's turning her in for murder, even though he loves her. Spade's wonderful dialogue, both mildly loving and extremely sarcastic goes like this:  "I hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck. Yes, angel, I'm gonna send you over. The chances are you'll get off with life. That means if you're a good girl, you'll be out in 20 years. I'll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I'll always remember you."

To me the line is outstanding and it's delivery by Spade, seals the deal. It's almost as great, and not nearly as popular, as the famous, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," finally delivered to Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler (Vivien Leigh) by Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) in Gone With The Wind.  "Frankly, my dear...." is, in fact, so memorable that it is considered the greatest movie quote of all time by the American Film Institute. For me, the less remembered, but perhaps more crushing line occurs moments earlier when Scarlett says, "But I love you." and Rhett returns with, "That's your misfortune." 

"Frankly, my dear", even though it contained the shock value of being followed by a curse word (unheard of at the time in a movie), would fall short if it were not for the experiences the movie goer faces with/for Rhett Butler and the dialogue which precedes it. Same thing with Bogart's dialogue. The great one liner, or three liner in Bogart's case, like the awesome punchline, is not so great if poorly set up. Text without context is forgettable.

Like politicians, salespeople are great at the one liner, the soundbite, the quip. A few get remembered, most don't. The ones we remember have substance and are sticky because they work within the context of what is being discussed. Others, not so much.

I remember sitting in a class once and the instructor was discussing overcoming commission objections. He told us, he recalled a Seller telling him that another agent would handle his listing for a considerably lower fee. His immediate response was, "Well, I guess some people know what they're worth."

Maybe for the non customer oriented or ego driven salesperson, this "works." For someone bent on building relationships, the cornerstone of effective sales, it comes off mean spirited, defensive, or just plain nasty. Why, you ask? Okay, let's talk about this:

Let's look at three reasons the quip or one liner may not be any salesperson's best option.

1) These are real live people on the other end of the conversation. In many cases, real live people that are struggling in today's economy. If you're a consumer, every penny counts. Consumers are scrimping, They're trying to do our best to get by, They are genuinely questioning whether the fee an agent is charging is worth what we are getting. And they get a quip? And often it's delivered in either condescension, sarcasm or both. Empathy, your ability to understand life in their shoes, would be a better sales tool.

2) Given the circumstances outlined above, the quip is disrespectful, rigid and clearly illustrates the agent is concerned only with their own world and not the world occupied by the consumer. A key step in sales is the interview: getting to know the potential client's motivation and needs. Once known, the salesperson is better equipped to serve. Disrespect, shortness and rigidity does not lend itself to an open, honest, sharing relationship. Rhett KNEW Scarlett well. He had been through hell and high water with her. His line was not delivered spur of the moment by any means.

3) There is a better way. Sales is a relationship business and to practice the art of the quipster is to damage the relationship. Fee dialogues should be welcomed as an opportunity to validate value. The consumer's question should be clarified and their motivation further explored. Mostly, consumers should be listened to with the utmost of care (we're not in Congress, for cryin' out loud). Only after careful listening, clarifying and validating should a decision be made.

In the end, the instructor may not have cut his fee (he never really told us and it isn't written anywhere that he has to, right?). In the end, he may have prevailed by illustrating value commensurate with what he charged not bad mouthing the competition. In the end, maybe he did not make the sale (or want it for that matter). Hopefully, in the end, he learned to avoid being the quipster and engage in serious conversation with the consumer maintaining the opportunity to develop a better relationship with them. Maybe not. Maybe he just didn't give a damn.

Is there a place for the great line in the sales world? Maybe. The jury is out on that one as far as I can tell. What I know is this: both Sam Spade and Rhett Butler worked hard at salvaging their relationship. They didn't give up until it was clear that no other suitable result was available. So despite the fact that both are great lines (quips, even), "Frankly, my dear," and "I'll always remember you," are in the end, their final play; the walk away line; the parting gift, the last resort.

We don't know if Brigid was hung or if Sam was there for her prison release. We don't know if Margaret Mitchell would have brought Rhett and Scarlett together if sequels had been the norm in the 30's and 40's. Personally, I don't think so. Relationships damaged and sent to their last straw are seldom repaired.

But they make for great movie lines.

Go Visual With Haiku Deck!

A few weeks ago I was teaching a tablet mobility course in Pensacola, Florida and an agent approached me and asked, "Do you use Haiku Deck?" "No, never heard of it," I replied. 

Well.... I have now.

As you know, for several years I have been on the soapbox preaching the gospel of fewer words and more visuals as a more effective way to present. Evidence shows the visual to be a far superior method when it comes to delivering a message and having it received at the other end. PowerPoint and Keynote have long been the venue for most presentations and have both been maligned as the evil behind boring, terrible presentations. This criticism, by the way, is not valid. The user, not the program, is at fault. It is the user that bypasses the clean visual slide in favor of the bullet-ridden yellow on blue template version. It is the user who upon discovering fancy animations and transitions creates a special effects marvel that fails to deliver the message. And it is the user who chooses to deliver their presentation by reading the overloaded content on the slide.

Remember what they say, Bullets don't kill people, presenters with bullets kill people. PowerPoint and Keynote have subtly endorsed the use of bullets points since their inception. Maybe this is, then, guilt by association. Haiku Deck may be a step in the right direction and a catalyst for simpler, more visual presentations.

Presently, Haiku Deck is an iPad only application and is free. The concept is pure and simple. You create individual slides using text and a picture. Each slide, by design, is limited in the amount of text that can be utilized. No bullet points allowed. The exact placing text on the slide can be varied by the numerous design templates available. Once text is inserted, you have the option to click on the picture icon and select a visual that the Deck recommends. There is also an option to retrieve your personal pictures from a multitude of sources. Once satisfied with a slide, move on to the next.

Upon completion of your creation, it can be delivered (as intended) on your iPad. It's mobile presenting in its simplest form! Other options, however, are available. Your Deck can be "shared" via email, Facebook, Twitter, even imported into PowerPoint (if you would ever do such a despicable thing).

Another thing, images...... Haiku Deck, to quote their website, "finds images from across the Internet that photographers have licensed under the Creative Commons license. Some Creative Commons images carry a 'not for commercial use' restriction. If you're making a Haiku Deck for commercial use, please be sure to turn on the 'commercial use only' filter." As always, it is best to use your own pictures for visuals to avoid copyright issues.

A huge part of any salesperson's repertoire is the presentation. Haiku Deck has made it easier to design and deliver outstanding visual presentations. Haiku Deck can be downloaded at the Apple App store or visit www.haikudeck.com. 

For other presentation information, click on the links below.

Thanks,

Rich Sands

http://richyacks.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-importance-of-visual-contentagain.html

http://richyacks.blogspot.com/2012/04/hey-this-stuff-actually-works.html

http://richyacks.blogspot.com/2011/08/death-by-powerpoint.html

http://www.presentationzen.com