What Are You Selling (And We All Sell)

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What Are You Selling (And We All Sell)

In one of my favorite idea books – Make Your Ideas Matter by Bernadette Jiwa, I’ve read this story a few times now.  It’s important.  I’ll abridge.

Once upon a time, a hair salon opened its doors.  They hired a stylist named Carmel.  She quickly became the most asked-for stylist in the shop. 

One Saturday, Bernadette, (author), arrived one hour before the shop opened.  She had heard of Carmel’s reputation.  Fifteen minutes later, another lady showed up to wait.  Then a grandmother with her two grand-daughters.  Before the shop opened, six people were waiting for Carmel, only Carmel. 

By 9:05, there was a 3-hour wait for Carmel. 

Why?

Was there no other stylist?  Did she have the market on how to do hair styling?  Was her price lower than the others?

No.  The other employees were just a trained, just as talented as Carmel.  And they all charged $20 bucks.  What Carmel offered was four ingredients.

   Care

      Connection

        Belonging

            Love

She cared about each customer and it showed.

She connected, because she asked personal questions, remembered significant events about each customer’s family, birthdays, holidays, illnesses, and life events.

Her following was loyal to her because they all belonged to a secret club – the Carmel Club. 

And Carmel loved her clients.  Oh, not in a gushy, oey-gooey way.  She loved because she cared, and she cared because she loved.

What an incredible way to develop a following.

The, my friends, is called “Service” with a capital “S”.

Good, old-fashioned personal service still works.

This is what is on

my mind today.

P Michael Biggs

It's All About People Blog Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

Remember Their Name

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Remember Their Name

I’ve written on this subject no less than five times, yet it is worth remembering.  Always and forever.

People, all people, love the sound of their own name, and when we remember their name, we earn points.  We cause a smile.  We win and so does the person whose name we remembered.

One tip for remembering names:  Use the association method.  If you meet Charlie, associate his name with someone from your past whose name was Charlie. 

One simple tip and one great reminder for one of the most important human relationship skills ever.

This is what is on

my mind today.

P Michael Biggs

It's All About People Blog Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

Basic People Skills

Basic People Skills

We are in the market to buy a new car (new to us).  We ventured out on Saturday.

The first man – who happened to own the business, was the consummate professional.  He knew his stuff, he knew his people skills that mattered, and he didn’t attempt to pull anything over on us.

We wanted to do due diligence and had two more places to check out, so we left.

At the second place, we called ahead.  The auto we were asking about was sold yet they had two others of the same model.  The salesman had an edge to his voice, and it seemed we had interrupted his day.  Nevertheless, we drove another 30 minutes to his lot. 

When we asked for him, he was out.  Hmm.  The nice young lady we first greeted then showed us the autos we were seeking, but were unimpressed.  While waiting for her to return with the keys, another salesman approached us.  No name offered, no sense of greeting, no sense of ‘glad you stopped by’.  We left that lot quickly.

We have been prequalified, we ARE going to buy an auto.  Guess where we plan to go today? 

This is, to me, a great reminder of those every day, every moment people skills that we must, MUST keep in play, all the time.

I’m talking the basics.

Name

Handshake/proper greeting

Eye contact

Know your business

Every person you will ever meet is wearing an invisible sign around their neck, and it says, “MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT!” (Mary Kay Ash)

P Michael Biggs

It's All About People Blog Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration