by Kirby Hasseman
When people ask me if they should “go for” something, my answer is almost always “yes.” Let me explain. Should I meet with that person? Should I take that call? Should I listen to that sales pitch? Should I hear them out? Yes. Why? Because I like to put myself in a position to say “no.” What? Let me explain again. So many times we make a pre-judgement on whether we will like something, or whether it will be a good fit. We make that judgement before we really learn anything about it. By doing so, we literally keep ourself from learning whether it makes sense or not. We take ourselves out of the equation. And we do it without any information. By contrast, if you listen to the pitch, take the meeting, take the call, you get to hear for yourself. You get to really listen. You get to ask questions. You get to consider if it makes sense. You get to choose. Then, if it doesn’t make sense, you can still say no. But you do it based on actual facts…not assumptions. And who knows? By opening yourself up the possibility, you might find something really awesome. Maybe not. But as Wayne Gretzky says “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” I think sometimes we are afraid to “take the meeting” because we “might be sold” to do something we don’t want to do. It’s possible. It’s happened to me. But most of the time, I am glad I took the opportunity to learn. Then I get to say “no” or “yes” with an informed mind and a clean conscience. Want to make sure you never miss an update? Sign up for our VIP newsletter. We send out a weekly email recap of all of the content…just for you. You can do that with a clear conscience here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Some people just don’t like me. I am not for everybody.
I was having this conversation yesterday with Josh in my office. It’s a reality that everyone faces. No matter how hard I try to be a good person, or how much I want everyone to like me, it’s not going to work.
Some people have good reason not to like me. I might have done them wrong. I am not perfect. Some people have have heard something about me that they don’t like. Maybe from the group above. Some people just don’t like my face.
For whatever the reason, not everyone will like me. And that’s ok. I am not for everyone.
The same is true of your organization. No matter how hard you work to take care of each and every customer, some people will not like you. Because despite of your best efforts, there will be times when things go wrong. You (or your organization) might mess up and frustrate a customer. You won’t mean to…but it will happen. Those people might tell a few friends…so they won’t like you either. And some people will decide they don’t like your logo (your face).
But here’s the good news. You don’t need everyone to like you. Because if you are working hard and showing up every day, you will find people that LOVE you. You will uncover people that are fired up about your services (and you) and are excited to tell others about them! They will have a great experience. They will tell their friends. And they will love your face!
This is the group you (and I) need to focus on. We need to spend all of our time, money and energy on this set of people. They are the ones that we can build a business (and a happy life) on. This is also the group we can best serve.
This sentence can either frustrate you or set you free. I am not for everyone.
This content is not for everyone either. But if it’s for you, sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We will make sure you never miss an update. Oh…and if you want to shop online, click here to get started.
by Kirby Hasseman
I was being a jerk, but I didn’t mean too. It happened this past weekend at my house. My wife had planned a neighborhood party and we had a driveway full of friends from the street. We had grills lined up on the street for people to cook their own meat. Our garage was full of tables filled with all kinds of covered dishes and the front yard had games for the kids. People were smiling, eating, drinking and having a great time. All of the ages of the neighborhood were represented…young and old. It was great. And the guests were all were complimenting the event and giving me credit. However, since my wife did all the work on the party (I mean it…literally everything…I did nothing), I did not want to take credit for her work. I talk about my concern about that here. Here’s the problem. Sometimes we need to just say “thank you” and accept the compliment. When you don’t, you take away the good feeling the person praises you intends. Jeff Haden talks about that here. You see, when you give someone a compliment, you don’t only make the other person feel good. You make yourself feel good too. You feel good about giving someone else praise. You feel good…by making someone else feel good. When we don’t accept compliments gracefully, we make the other person feel bad. And that’s exactly what I was doing when I was deferring credit at the neighborhood party. The guests were graciously letting me know that they were enjoying themselves and they appreciated the effort. I just needed to accept it. So the next time you get a compliment, accept it. You don’t need to justify. You don’t need to qualify. And remember it’s not for you…it’s for them. It’s simple. When you receive praise, just follow these simple steps. 1. Look the person in the eye.2. Smile.3. Say “thank you.” Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. Oh…and if you want to say thank you to your customers or team, shop online here.
by Kirby Hasseman
When I was younger, and I thought tennis was my entire life, I played with the mantra of “just one more.” I was not the strongest or fastest or most skilled player. But I thought if I could get “just one more” ball back over the net, good things would happen.
It turned out I was right.
When I was able to get that “just one more” ball back into play, often the opponent would be surprised or annoyed (or whatever) and miss their next shot.
I won a lot of points on “just one more.”
Now, it turns out, this is a great mantra to reach success in other areas of your life too. You can get a lot done by implementing “just one more.”
Just one more sales call.
Just one more run through.
Just one more phone call.
Just one more blog post.
Just one more video.
Just one more thank you note.
Just one more mile.
Just one more hug.
Just one more minute with an employee that needs you.
Just one more word of encouragement.
So when you are tired, frustrated, impatient and at your wit’s end. Do “just one more.”
Then do that again.
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by Kirby Hasseman
When this guy asks you to be on his podcast…answer the call! I had a blast recently when Roger Burnett asked me to be on his podcast! Roger is a long time sales guru and is the VP of Sales for Branded Logistics. He is also a Co-Founder of an organization called Promo Cares. The goal of the organization is to get Promo Super Heros to “put on the cape” and use their power for social good. When Roger asked me to be on his podcast he promised not to ask me the “easy and standard” questions. Though that is a little intimidating, it was really fun to cover some new ground here. So feel free to listen in as we cover a range of topics including: * Why the skills that make a sales person and a sales manager are different…* How and why to justify the time and budget for content…* How content marketing is very much like fitness…* And quite a bit more! It was an honor and it was fun. Listen in now…and let me (or Roger) know what you think! Sign up for our VIP Newsletter here.
