I hope all Dads and non-Dads have a great day!  It’s not necessary to recount our pandemic disruption.  However, having us all recognize a good holiday FATHER’S DAY has to be uplifting.

My kids and grandkids have been checking in all morning. 

The DFW area is having some much-needed rain.  We still look forward to a great outdoor dinner later this afternoon.

I received my worst joke of the day:  “Why don't you see elephants hiding in trees? Because they're very good at it.”

And here is a quote for the day: “My father didn't do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do—be there. ” – Max Lucado

Happy Father’s Day!

Now we all need to invest more time, energy and imagination for the success and growth of our businesses.  We are beginning to see light at the end of this pandemic.  At least I hope we are.

Businesses are being allowed to reopen.  We will most likely never be back to the “WAY IT WAS”. 

We will be redefining our methods.  We will have to redefine what success looks like.  Our goals and end results will remain the same.  However, new methods and means of getting there will need be thought out and implemented.

In selling, I use a cookbook of behaviors that must be done every day.  My particular cookbook provides a point system for daily behaviors. I absolutely know, that if I don’t do the daily behaviors, I can’t meet my goals. 

Now with everything shut down and businesses trying to get work done differently, many people will continue to work from home.  This will require new ways of doing business.

Our entire sales process will be changing.  Getting in to see people has been a challenge and already was getting harder and harder to do.  Now I believe it will be impossible.

So how do we sell?

I am redoubling my online efforts.  I am building a marketing newsletter discussing what we are doing and that we are staying strong and are open for business.

Now is the time to put a lot of thought in how to stay in contact with current customers and begin rethinking how we acquire new customers.

Basics for success will not change.  Success in goal setting and completing goals is in the measurement and doing.  Reset your specific goals, focus and measure everything. 

My personal plan is to think about and implement ways of doing business with us easier and easier and relentlessly stay in touch without being overbearing.  That will be a challenge.

Let me know what new actions you are beginning.  What is and is not working.

Good selling and stay safe!

As a salesperson –

When is the best time to stay in contact?

When is the best time to follow-up with a customer?

When is the best time to follow-up on a recent quote?

A lot of people are trying to figure out how to work from home.  Many are trying to reconfigure the daily routine and keep workflow moving forward. Many people are not sure what is next.

“However, as Jim Rohn, a great business philosopher, would say, “What's simple to do is also simple not to do.” The magic is not in the complexity of the task; the magic is in the doing of simple things repeatedly and long enough to ignite the miracle of the Compound Effect.”

We need not sit around and make the world more complex.  I am staying in contact with current customers and reaching out to prospective customers. 

Here is what I am doing:

Write a one-page short info-letter that I send to customers and my potential customer list regularly. 

The Info-Letter is not a big sales pitch, it includes:

1. A short note about how our company is doing with this pandemic.
2. How we are figuring out how to keep moving forward. 
3. Provide a “Quotation, Inspirational saying or motivational quip”.
4. Provide a short summary of our capabilities,
5. Thank them and ask that our company is kept in mind.  Tell them we are here and plan to be here after some form of normalcy comes back.

I have received many complimentary responses; “Thanks”, “Good to hear from you”, stories of how they are surviving, and best of all – New quote requests and purchase orders.

Put this to work in your daily sales routine and you will see great results.

Good sales and selling!

Stay calm, stay on course, stay safe!

Hope you're doing well and staying away from others (as much as possible) during this CoronaVirus outbreak. I try to watch just enough news to stay informed. 

In my last article I wrote about my wife and I in Cancun, Mexico during 9/11, stuck there for several days, no airplanes.  We watched news 24/7, later we decided it provided more anxiety than we really needed.  Life did come back to something called normal.

Today I believe we all need some positivity quotes:

“The only place where your dreams become impossible is in your own thinking,”– Robert H Schuller

“Cultivate an optimistic mind, use your imagination, always consider alternatives, and dare to believe that you can make possible what others think is impossible.”– Rodolfo Costa

“Beliefs that are good promote your potential and enhance your unique special qualities.”– Deborah Day

“When you are joyful, when you say yes to life and have fun and project positivity all around you, you become a sun in the center of every constellation, and people want to be near you.”– Shannon L. Alder

“It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”– Germany Kent

“Happiness is a quality of the soul…not a function of one’s material circumstances.”– Aristotle

 “It’s most important that you surround yourself with positivity always, and have it in your mind at all times.”– Tyler Perry

I hope one or more of these quotes help your day!

Stay safe!  Stay calm!  Things will get better!

I posted the following quote earlier today and have been thinking about how to expand on it.

“Tough times never last, but tough people do. ” – Sr. Robert Schuller

We like many people are cocooned in for the duration and end of the coronavirus.  Now is the time to reflect on the good in this world, stay calm and stay safe!  This is easy to say.  However, I have been around for a while.  I’ve seen and experienced many changes in the world.  Admittedly nothing like this, but things always come around.

My wife and I were out of country in Cancun Mexico when 9/11 happened.  Paradise – Right?  Wrong – we were stuck there several days, no planes flying, and we watched the developing news 24/7.  All of our time was consumed watching the events unfold.

From a personal and especially business perspective now is a critical time to stay in touch with your network.  Make sure all your contacts know you are around.  Make sure they know that when this situation stops, you will be ready to get on board and help restart and meet customer goals for the year.

I always have future projects that I intend to organize and update — someday.  (Contacting more new customers, staying in contact with current customers, and staying in touch with family and my extended family of friends, etc., etc.)

Take some time off now from the NEWS.  Prioritize some projects personal and business.  Get working and keep moving forward — you will see rewarding results.

Good Luck!  Stay Safe!

The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason

I have talked about this book for many years.  I have read it several times and I keep it close on my bookshelf for continuous reference.

The book was originally written in 1926, by George S. Clason.   – Timeless advice.

Easy read, written in parables.  The fictional Babylonian character Arkad gets advice and becomes the “richest man in Babylon”.

In his advice are the seven rules of money and wealth:

1. Start fattening the purse – Save.
2. Control expenditures.
3. Make money multiply.
4. Guard your money from loss.
5. Make your home a profitable investment.
6. Insure a future income.
7. Constantly increase your ability to earn.

Get the book, it’s a great read with really good advice!

Put this to work and build a lifestyle to last forever.

If working on continuous improvement in your work life and/or home life, review the following concept, and try to apply it daily.

I don't have the name of the originator of this acronym. However. I use it at work and at home.

Why Is This Here? – WITH.

Part of the process of applying Lean Manufacturing uses the 5s+1 methodology for reviewing the workplace (1. Sort 2. Straighten 3. Sweep/Shine 4. Standardize 5. Sustain and +1 = Safety). This is not as easy as it sounds. Touring a manufacturing facility, office environment or even your own home often shows items not in place, and in many cases not even where they should be. 

To get a feel for the process, start with your current area and surroundings. In my home office I see piles of “Gonna-Do” projects forming. Seems like they start and stall. Look at just one item/project for a few minutes. Review what is in the pile, folder or box and throw away the truly non-essential items. Decide if it is really a goal contributing project, a nice to have project, or maybe a wishful non-critical project. Why Is This Here? – WITH. You will be amazed just sitting at your own desk, home or office and look at what is out and waiting or not needed. 

I realize this thinking is not for everyone, but you will find out of place clutter in the oddest places.

Walking around with this attitude and thought process helps keep momentum going, especially if you are trying to 5s + 1 a manufacturing facility, or your own home.  Start, doing and sustaining the 5s + 1 attitude: 

1. Sort 2. Straighten 3. Sweep/Shine 4. Standardize 5. Sustain and +1 = Safety. 

Remember to ask:  Why Is This Here? – WITH.

Good Luck on your Lean Journey — Once started you will find applications everywhere.