“It only takes one bug in the potato salad to ruin a picnic,” according to one of the little old ladies I went to church with as a child.  As I move further away from a precocious child and closer to being a sweet little old lady, I am realizing that she was not registering a complaint about church picnics but planting a seed of wisdom that would develop as I grew older.  One little bug can ruin the…

If I wanted someone to just take my order and deliver, I would go to a fast food drive thru.  When I go to have my car serviced, I want service.  I believe that service advisors are more than just order takers or the message delivery system between a consumer and a technician.  Think about it?  An advisor according to …

“Spread right, Trips Z-pass 90, X-36, 99 Max protections, Z-option…on two.”

Imagine the complexity of sitting in one of the huddles with of one of the top Quarterbacks in the country.  Imagine trying to decipher the pass route, protection and coverage for an option route.  Now, imagine doing all that without reading the playbook?

Sounds…

I was once the bride of an enlisted sailor, who during the course of our marriage made the transition from enlisted to officer by finishing his college education.  Once he had become an officer; he tackled the challenge of completing flight school to become a Naval Aviator.  When he graduated from flight school and to represent his accomplishments, I had a pewter tankard engraved with these words,…

During a department head meeting in which processes where being discussed, it became evident there was an information gap for our clients.  Our recruiting team was reporting a break down in information regarding who we are, what we do and what we have to offer.  The team shared how they answer certain questions over and over again.  They reported the funny misconceptions that they often hear.  I sat…

In a previous blog, I told a story about my father being deaf and how this becomes a superpower for him in business.  (To read more on this back story, please visit “Seeing What People Say”)  I had no idea what a gift my father had given me during my childhood until I became a working adult in a hearing…

The subject of body language keeps popping up in my life of late.  As a result, I have spent some time dwelling on the connection between body language and the work place.  Personally and professionally, we often hear the words, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”  This statement has more to do with quick judgments made on physical appearances than body language.  Reading someone’s body language goes…

I've been known to buy things that I don't need. 

I'm not a hoarder. You won't see me on A&E, at least not yet.  I prefer to call myself a "Supporter of a Good Salesman."

That being said, I'm a tough girl to sell. I have years and years of bad relationships and mommy/daddy issues that can attest to this. Also a monthly visit to a therapist who will state in a court of law, that I don't buy it…

The first step to Social Networking suicide is to use this media as a place to make the sale.  Social Networking is a relationship building network and not the shopping network.  A network when used as a verb is defined as: to cultivate people who can be helpful to one professionally, especially in finding employment or moving to a higher position.  With this in mind, a Social Network is a place for…

Marketers are experimenting with using the Social Networking sites for proactive marketing through building targeted niche networks and business development communities.  As a result, Social Networking has become as much a part of your corporate brand as your website.  Not sure Social Networking is right for your organization? …

During a sales meeting, the question of why the company no longer has a stock pile of tri-fold brochures to hand out to potential clients came up.  I scratched my head and looked puzzled, since we have not used a single tri-fold brochure in over a year.  As a company, we moved away from outdated marketing tools and adopted high tech and interactive tools to meet the requests of our clients.  It was then…

To build your personal brand that attract prospects and referrals, gain customers by beating out the competition and ultimately increase yours sales; you must differentiate and stand out.  Here are three focus areas that will help you build your own personal brand: 



Under Promise, Over Deliver.  Many sales people will do less than they promise while chasing a sale.  Their…

Sales letters are important tools for effective interactive marketing, lead generation and sales opportunities.  Often, the first impression made upon a customer is from a sales letter.  Selling is like dating.  Imagine you are on a first date, would you present your best one-size-fits-all-everyone-is-the-same-generalize-for-the-masses romance package?  The only impression you would leave on that date…

This year, I made a trip to Japan, which was a year long adventure in coordinating and planning with a group of college buddies.  Despite a tragic earthquake and tsunami followed by a real nuclear threat, we continued to plot and chart our big adventure.  It was during all this adjusting, forecasting and…

Below is one of my favorite tales of two dealerships. It is a favorite story because I believe both dealerships had the best of intentions, just one made a positive impact and the other a not so positive impact on how one woman in a vast world of consumers experienced buying her first brand new car.

The ink on the divorce decree was nearly dry and I was out to make some big changes in my…

I never question the freshness of a candy bar when I buy it.  If the candy bar is not up to my standard, I toss it.  It would “cost” me more in effort than what I spent on the candy bar to report my dissatisfaction.  When it comes to big ticket items, there is a lot more at “risk” and customer satisfaction becomes a turning point in the decision making process.  So how can a salesperson narrow the gap…

While enjoying the warmer weather with my buddies this weekend, I made a new car enthusiast friend out of a complete stranger.  The conversation got started when he asked me if I had ever heard of the Nissan GTR.  I looked at him and exclaimed, “Of course!  I have a near meltdown every time I see one.”  We both go on and on about where we…