by Leslie Raney on July 26, 2010
K.I.S.S.
No – it’s not a piece of chocolate candy or something that arouses your libido – I’m talking about K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple Silly (or Stupid). This is a fundamental concept in sales. You give specific and concise information that will engage your customer, gain their trust and meet a need. Top sales people are incredibly concise when presenting. They make it seem so easy and too simplistic. TMI – too much information can actually kill a sale.
Let me give you an example of too much information that almost killed a sale. My mom recently bought a mop that had a DVD included. A mop!!!!! How much instruction do you need to work a mop? We laughed over this in the store where we were considering which mop to purchase. The DVD almost stopped us from buying the item. We felt that if something as simple as a mop required and instructional DVD, it might be subject to misuse or too many parts that can cause it to break down easier. We were not sure but we definitely felt the DVD was a bit too much. We bought the mop had which had be put together and it was not easy to do. I never did watch the DVD but figured out after 15 minutes how to put the thing together. Mom’s housekeeper did not complain when she first used it last Friday so I suppose it worked.
When I first started in the business, my boss told me that the person who speaks the most in a sales call loses. The idea was that you ask questions and listen and as the customer talks you will uncover needs, gaps and opportunities to sell your product to that person. Two ears and one mouth – listen more and talk less – keep it simple silly.
by Leslie Raney on March 28, 2010
Going through mergers, acquisitions, changes in business models and products portfolios create the opportunity for demonstrating your success, flexibility and adaptability in the midst of uncertainty. On the other hand, the uncertainty creates fear like going to the dentist or to summer camp. Remember the first time your parents backed you off to camp? That weird sadistic smile on their faces subconsciously warned you they were secretly glad to get rid of you for two weeks.
My camp was Union Carbide’s camp for girls called Carlisle and the boys’ version was called Camelot. All the campers for those two weeks met at the Carbide Technical Center, hopped on buses which drove us 30 minutes north of Charleston. The bus ride seemed to take 2 days. The fear was palpable because very few of the kids spoke except those few who knew each other. What was I afraid of? …… EVERYTHING! Bugs, snakes, the usual spook stories around the campfire on horseback overnight trips in the middle of the forest, or drowning during the swimming placement test held annually in the bottomless, icky, brown creek, Perhaps I was afraid of that bully who shaving creamed me last year while I was sleeping. The fear I felt was real and natural. It was part of the transition process from the known to the unknown. My experiences at camp wer both good and bad. On the positive side, I won a couple big awards only given to one person. On the negative, I got shaving creamed, I was sat on while sleeping and nearly suffocated, bit by a turtle in the creek, nearly stepped on a snake, nearly dislocated my shoulder learning how (but never learning) to shoot a rifle.
My favorite part of summer camp were the friends I made, the counselors I got to know, the new skills and songs I learned. I always got teary when camp was over and wished I could stay all summer.
If I compared unemployment and my job search to summer camp, I would say that I am still in the first week of camp, getting the hang of the routine but not yet to the point of enjoying the process. But I am getting more familiar with living “in the now” and planning for a future that seems to be more in my control than I thought. I started two new business ventures that could also be worked on weekends should I procure a full-time job and that’s the exciting part. Being able to use my sales and management skills in more than one industry.
Not sure what the future holds but I’m not as scared of the unknown. This has become more of an adventure. How do you feel about being unemployed or starting a new job/career?
