Greg's Right FIT #423

Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week. 

In this issue: 

- Thoughts on Shortcuts
- Being Human
- Random Stuff

Thoughts on Shortcuts

• For sales managers, time with salespeople is a precious commodity. Here's a shortcut for learning about their new prospects: Ask "what does the prospect need 'more of' or 'less of?'" If the answer isn't clear, go get clarification.
• Another shortcut, this one for identifying decision makers: "Is the prospect able to prioritize dollars inside the budget or are they stuck implementing what's been assigned?" A true buyer can move the budget around based on priorities. 
• I have some shortcuts for customer service too. It's worth remembering, excellent customer service isn't about removing obstacles as much as not adding to them. First rule, don't make more work for your customers.  
• Last service shortcut. When dealing with a customer service problem, offer options. For the last option, say, "If none of these work, what do you suggest?" Something about options gets brains working and creates better solutions. 

Being Human - Selling books

“. . .a hit song is not a sound it's an element of a marketing campaign that costs a certain amount of money. So when people are when I hear, 'I got my new single coming out,' I'm like, no, you don't have any money. You're putting a song out. A single has a budget behind it. That's what a single is." – James Fauntleroy

I listened to an interview with perennial hit maker James Fauntleroy. He has worked with musicians like Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Drake, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake. In the interview, he is asked about making a hit single, and he tries describing what differentiates a single from a song.

In a nutshell, it's the marketing budget. 

It brought to mind a talk from best-selling author and consultant Marshall Goldsmith. He was addressing a crowd of independent consultants. I was in the audience next to someone who asked Mr. Goldsmith, "what goes into writing a bestseller?" to which he replied, what's your budget? 

What followed was a peek into the sausage making of a NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and even Amazon #1 best-selling non-fiction book. It sounded a lot like how Mr. Fauntleroy described the big music world. 

Like most of my peers in the room with Mr. Goldsmith, I don't have a big marketing budgets for my books. Instead, the book is used as a marketing tool, a way to open a new door. In practice, a book comes a close second to a peer referral for effective business generation. Some of my friends on the speaking circuit claim a book is equal to peer referrals. 

If this sounds to you like an excuse to justify my lackluster effort at self-promoting "The Sales Momentum Mindset," a book that has been called "great stuff," "imminently readable," and "excellent," you may be right. But hey, there's no better time to start than now, right? 

If you have a team or belong to a group that needs a speaker, let me know. I'll be there with bells on, carrying a stack of books. 

Random Stuff

"Poncho: You're hit, man. You're bleedin'.
Blain: I ain't got time to bleed." – "Predator"

I am thinking about Carl Weathers. So many movies from days gone by. Like Predator. I love that movie. Some of it may have to do with it coming out my senior year in high school. Testosterone and action movies make memories. 

My lovely bride told me about a speaker she listened to at an event for SmartGen Society, a group focused on helping kids with digital wellness in a 24/7 connected world. She was recapping the talk about the way our kids experience the world right now. Their noses are in their devices, and face-to-face communication is rarer than when we were kids. 

In those days we were happy to do nothing but drive around in my friend's beat-up old Suburban, the one with the stuck passenger  door that required us all to enter from the back and climb into our seats. It held 8 or 9 of us comfortably, and we'd drive from here to there, looking for things to do. 

One night, a friend was on a date. We knew that he was probably going to be looking for some "alone time" with her and there weren't a lot of places to hide. Through the grapevine we knew of a few dark spots in parks, and one place nicknamed "The End of The World." It was in a posh neighborhood at the end of a dirt path. The house that used to sit there was burned down. All that was left was a chimney. It was dark. Kind of romantic. The perfect place for a little "scrumping" as we called it.

Our friend's date became a thing for the rest of us to do too. We went on a hunt for him. Checking a few park spots, eventually finding his car at The End of The World. We creep in, Predator commando style. No sound. No lights. We roll up right behind his little car, and hit the headlights. Since w're in a big truck the headlights flood his car with blinding light, catching him necking with his girl. 

This is big fun. Big laughs. 

Word spread, and it became something to do on the weekend. Go out looking for people on dates. Scare them with floodlights. Give them minor heart attacks. Drive off laughing. 

One night, with the car full, we pull up behind a car we recognize, hit the lights, and laugh. The guy isn't who we thought it was. His reaction is different too. He jumps out, starts yelling, and runs up to the truck, ripping open the passenger door. The broken one we'd been living with all year. The man is ready to fight. 

With the door open, the truck's interior light comes on. His girlfriend sees the car packed with 8 or 9 eighteen-year-olds. She runs up and grabs her boyfriend as he stares at my friends in the front seat. My friend in the passenger seat said, "thanks for fixing that," shuts the door, and we roll away. Legend.

Looking back, it's a wonder we didn't get shot or meet with some other terrible fate. What were we thinking? 

Maybe it's best today's kids have their noses in devices.