So, here we are, enjoying the holidays: the fine meals, drinks and laughs we are sharing with our friends and family, but it seems that there will be a little (or a lot) of work in the mix.

Xobni has released their 2nd annual survey results on email behavior around the holidays… and it ain’t pretty if you’re a believer in disconnecting over the holidays.  Overall, the percentage of people checking and receiving email was shockingly similar to last year’s results, leading us to believe this is a very valid representation of email behavior over the holidays.

The highlights of the survey are as follows:

79% of U.S. working adults say they receive work email on traditional holidays like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, etc.; and 68% with email admitted to checking it.

19% of people said that they are actually “thankful for the distraction” or “relieved” to receive work email on holidays.

37% of people surveyed admitted to feeling annoyed, frustrated or resentful after receiving work-related emails on holidays. This number dropped slightly from 41% last year, leading to more evidence that people are accepting (and for some, embracing) work on the holidays.

41% of people that admitted to checking email because they believe doing so would ease the work load once they return from the “break.”

Funny bone stat: 6% say they use work email as a way to avoid awkward family/holiday commitments and “crazy” friends and/or relatives.

But, there’s good news for the holiday purists.  According to the survey, men are checking email LESS.

That’s right – in 2010, 67% of men admitted to checking email in 2010, and that number fell to 58% in 2011.  And women are checking slightly more… meaning we’re closing the gender gap on who checks email while spending time with friends and family over the holidays.

If you are one of those who is on your email over the holiday, get Xobni and Smartr - It makes managing all your contacts and email a million times easier.  Treat yourself!

If you’re intrigued and want to learn more, here’s a link to the full data released today (and here are the results from last year).

Full Disclosure: I am posting this on December 23rd, and I have no intention of opening any emails until January 9th!! – Happy holidays everyone ….

I find it quite extraordinary that the original Top Sales Experts team was formed almost six years ago, and I think that is ample evidence – if we needed any – that time really does fly when you are having fun!

In 2011 over at Top Sales World, we discontinued the monthly roundtables and also the weekly Masterclasses, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot resurrect them if and when the time is right.

We added a number of new resources, including the daily tips, monthly white-papers, twice-weekly interviews and of course the monthly magazine, which has proved to be so popular.

We also welcomed Colleen Stanley, Andrea Waltz, Anthony Iannarino, John Doerr and Mike Schultz, who are all already making valuable contributions.

Our policy of admitting just four new team members every year will continue and I can confirm that we already have our first “newbie” of 2012 – Trish Bertuzzi of The Bridge Group Inc., joins us in January.

The three initiatives which come under the “Top Sales” brand – Top Sales World, Top Sales Management and Top Sales Awards - are now well established, and my thinking at the moment is that we will simply consolidate in 2012, and look to increase “market share”

Rather than seek to continually add new resources, we will work on upgrading what we already have: For example, my “co-editor” of the magazine, Linda Richardson, has a number of exciting ideas to improve both content and design, and we will be implementing these from January.

Our ongoing success relies on three primary factors:
● The generosity and support of our sponsors, who have been absolutely brilliant to work with.
● The co-operation of our strategic partners, who have also been magnificent.
● The loyalty of our visitors, who return regularly in ever-increasing numbers.

Finally, let me re-confirm the key objective of all three of our projects, and that is to offer free resources – of the highest quality – in order to continually raise the bar within this wonderful industry of ours.

Top Sales World, is a venue for time-strapped frontline sales professionals, eager to become the best they possibly can be. At a time when training spend is being cut remorselessly by shareholders who only see it as a cost on the balance sheet, we offer the opportunity for ongoing self-development and improvement.

Top Sales Management aims to address the requirements of a section of our community that is badly in need of support, coaching and mentoring. This vital function is pivotal in determining the success or failure of every sales team, and we aim to provide the resources necessary to increase both the quality and the excellence of sales leaders everywhere.

Top Sales & Marketing Awards is now established as an annual event, which recognizes the “best of the best.” It is our opportunity to reward excellence, whilst providing some much needed end of year excitement, and dare I say light relief.

So, my thanks to the Top Sales Experts team for their tremendous support for my “crusade” Thanks also to everyone involved with the Top Sales & Marketing event this year; to our sponsors; to my brilliant team – and yes, I should say that more often! – and finally to you, our visitors, we really do appreciate you.

Next year, my main focus will be on the launch and development of JFA – Jonathan Farrington & Associates - a global consultancy – but more about that in January.

Please look out for my New Year message on January 1st. In the meantime …..

Onwards, and always upwards!

I am very much a “Running Towards” personality – I always have been - and I am certainly running towards 2012, in fact I cannot wait for it to begin– let me explain …

The “Running Away” Personality:

The “running away” salesperson is awoken by his alarm clock and he immediately hits the “snooze” button. Ten minutes later, the buzzer goes off again. “Just ten more minutes” he says to himself, “I won’t go for a run today” and he again activates his friend, Mr Snooze. This happens three more times and each time he determines that he will skip a vital activity in order to enjoy a few more minutes slumber – he has already decided to skip breakfast and he will shave in the car on the way to the office. Finally, a full hour after his first alarm call, he leaps out of bed, the image of his boss standing outside his office door, purple with rage at his continual poor time keeping, is just too horrible to contemplate and it acts as his spur.

So what actually happened here? Well, if we apply Pareto’s Principle, we identify that approximately 80% of the world’s population fall into the “running away” category including professional salespeople. That is to say that they do things not because they planned to do them or that they want to do them but rather that they fear the consequences of not doing them. They drift through life, as I have said often enough before, like “rudderless boats” completely at the mercy of the currents. They never go beyond the first few stages of Maslow’s “Hierarchy Of Needs” and certainly “self-fulfilment” is completely out of reach for them because they either lack the courage, or the commitment required, or quite simply they lack the energy. After all, it is nice and cosy in the comfort zone isn’t it?

As someone famously once said: “Some people make things happen whilst others just stand and watch what happens” My take on that is: “A few people make things happen, others just watch what happens, but the vast majority wonder what the heck happened!” The “running away” mindset falls into the last category.

Let’s look at the other side of the coin, let’s see how a “running towards” personality handles their relationship with their alarm clock.

The “Running Towards” Personality:

To begin with, our “running towards” salesperson has invested some of their time the previous evening preparing for the next day: The suit has been pressed, shoes cleaned, notes prepared for those important meetings, in fact all of the next day’s objectives have been thoroughly rehearsed mentally and planned for.

When the alarm clock goes off, our “running towards” typically awakes refreshed and completes their final preparations for the day. They have plenty of time for exercising, for bathing, and to eat a proper breakfast with their family – they are in control.

They arrive at the office before most of their colleagues,(80% of whom arrive at 8.55 am – just in time, because they fear the consequences of being late!) so that they can respond to e-mails and attend to essential administrative tasks which would otherwise take up valuable “business time”

Life for these people appears effortless, relatively stress free, because they have made it that way; they are busy working at self-fulfilment as they have no need to worry about shelter, security and the like.

These people are”Winners” The “Winners In Life”
“Winners in life constantly think in terms of I can, I will and I am. Losers on the other hand concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have done or what they don’t do” – Dennis Waitley

Can we all become “Winners?” Yes, of course we can. We cannot have everything we want in life but we can have anything that we really want, because if we want it badly enough we will find the means to bring about its happening – this is called “fulfilled expectation”

Unfortunately, most people when asked don’t really know what they want from life. Some talk vaguely about success without being able to articulate precisely what success means for them. I have heard many interpretations of the word but the one I still like the best comes from Earl Nightingale: “Success is the achievement of a worthwhile goal or set of goals”

Therein lies the secret – in order to be successful, to become a “Winner in life” we must have goals.

This extract from “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” accurately illustrates my point.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cheshire Cat
“I don’t much care where” said Alice
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat
“- So long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation
“Oh, you’re sure to do that” said the Cat “If you only walk long enough.”
- Lewis Carroll

So. in summary…….
Each of us has the choice, we can choose to be successful – however we measure success – or we can choose not to be. But if we really do want a more fulfilling and satisfying life – more happiness, greater security, improved health, the means to help others - then we have to accept full responsibility for ensuring we have a rudder on our boat and work to the maxim: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”

News: Tomorrow will be my penultimate post of 2011: I am taking an extended break to “renew the saw” I will be posting a New Year message on January 1st, which is already in the bag, but  apart from that, I will be out of circulation until January 9th.

Do join me tomorrow for the “JF Review of the Year”

I have never contemplated the fact that I might be even slightly voyeuristic, but now I am not so sure.

You see, for the past month, from the comfort of my study, I have sporadically been witnessing the exploits of a very resilient pigeon, who I have affectionately named “Percy” – and yes, my choice of name may have a deeper Freudian meaning, after all wasn’t it Freud who said “Anatomy is destiny?“ but let’s not go there for now.

Percy the pigeon, and his flighty female companion Prudence – yet again, a name chosen after careful observation – first came to my attention after what I perceived to be a minor high-wire altercation - at least that was my first somewhat naive perception.

Pru was clearly making her feelings known, and Percy made a pretty swift exit – well as swift an exit as a pigeon can make, which actually, is not really very swift at all.

Ten minutes later he was back. Obviously he had made a quick flight around the block, summoned up his courage once more, and was ready for another tilt at this finely feathered girl of his dreams.

Again he was rebuffed, and once more he circled the neighborhood, only to return minutes later.

By now it had dawned on me that I was not witnessing an aggressive contest of wills, but rather an intense passage of ornithological foreplay. As a consequence, I became even more intrigued as to how this would all pan out for poor Percy - and prudent Pru.

Gradually, I observed Pru appeared to becoming more responsive to our heroes’ overtures, and for a while, they seemed to be cuddling up. Perce would nudge her with his wing, and I chuckled imagining what he might be whispering: “Come on love, you know you want to” At which point she would move away a little: “In your dreams bird brain” she may have been responding.

Well, to cut a slightly long story somewhat shorter, after about another hour of this frankly hilarious performance, dear Pru’s resistance was worn down. At that point, I averted my eyes to allow them as much privacy as they might reasonably expect whilst indulging in some ardent “rumpy-pumpy” twenty feet above the ground, clinging to the most thinnest of telephone wires.

So, what is the moral of this story? What on earth could this possibly have to do with professional frontline selling?

Isn’t that obvious?

It’s persistence!

Percy demonstrated amazing patience and persistence – he never once thought about giving up. He simply would not accept that “No means never”

A recent survey carried out by The Results Corporation PLC discovered:
* 22% of prospects buy after the second “No”
* 14% after a third “No”
* 60% after FIVE “No’s”

Yet 44% of salespeople give up after the first rejection!

That is almost one in two?

If Percy and his chums adopted the same mentality, pigeons would soon be an endangered species.

A well-known oil company whose name I cannot mention, (but let’s just say that their senior executives will not be vacationing on a certain US gulf coast for a while) discovered that it took their best salespeople an average of three visits and five follow-up calls to convert a prospect into a client. Yet their average sales performers only visited prospects twice and then gave up, costing the company millions of pounds in wasted sales effort and even more in lost potential sales opportunities.

Make no mistake, persistence pays – just ask Percy!

Leadership was once about hard skills such as planning, finance and business analysis. When command and control ruled the corporate world, the leaders were heroic rationalists who moved people around like pawns and fought like stags. When they spoke, the company employees jumped.

Now, if the gurus and experts are right, leadership is increasingly concerned with soft skills – teamwork, communication and motivation. The trouble is that for many executives, the soft skills remain the hardest to understand, let alone master. After all, hard skills have traditionally been the ones which enabled you to climb to the top of the corporate ladder, aren’t they?

The entire career system in some organizations is based on using hard functional skills to progress. But when executives reach the top of the organization, many different skills are required – I speak from personal experience here.

Corporate leaders may find that although they can do the financial analysis and the strategic planning, they are poor at communicating ideas to employees or colleagues, or have little insight into how to motivate people. The modern CEO requires an array of skills.

Some suggest that we expect too much of leaders. Indeed, “renaissance” men and women are rare. Leadership in a modern organization is highly complex and it is increasingly difficult – sometimes impossible – to find all the necessary traits in a single person. Among the most crucial skills is the ability to capture your audience – you will be competing with lots of other people for their attention.

Leaders of the future will also have to be emotionally efficient. They will promote variation rather than promoting people in their own likeness. They will encourage experimentation and enable people to learn from failure. They will build and develop people.

Is it too much to expect of one person? I think it probably is.

In the future we will see leadership groups, rather than individual leaders. This change in emphasis from individuals towards groups has been charted by the leadership guru Warren Bennis. His work “Organizing Genius” concentrates on famous ground-breaking groups rather than individual leaders. It focuses for example, on the achievements of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Centre, the group behind the Clinton campaigns, and the Manhattan Project which delivered the atomic bomb. “None of us is as smart as all of us” says Professor Bennis. “The Lone Ranger is dead. Instead of the individual problem-solver, we have a new model for creative achievement. People like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney headed groups and found their own greatness in them.”

Professor Bennis provides a blueprint for the new model leader. “He or she is a pragmatic dreamer, a person with an original but attainable vision. Inevitably, the leader has to invent a style that suits the group. The standard models, especially command and control, simply don’t work. The heads of groups have to act decisively, but never arbitrarily. They have to make decisions without limiting the perceived autonomy of the other participants. Devising an atmosphere, in which others can put a dent in the universe, is the leader’s creative act.”

However, the role of the new model leader is ridden with contradictions. Robert Sharrock of YSC, psychologists who cater to senior business personnel, says: “Paradox and uncertainty are increasingly at the heart of leading organizations. A lot of leaders don’t like ambiguity, so they try to shape the environment to resolve the ambiguity. This might involve collecting more data or narrowing things down. These may not be the best things to do. The most effective leaders are flexible, responsive to new situations. If they are adept at hard skills, they surround themselves with people who are proficient with soft skills. They strike a balance.”

While flexibility is important in this new leadership model, it should not be interpreted as weakness. Two of the most lauded corporate chiefs of the past decade, Percy Barnevik of Asea Brown Boveri, and Jack Welch of General Electric, dismantled bureaucratic structures using both soft and hard skills. They coach and cajole, as well as command and control.

The “leader as coach” is yet another phrase more often seen in business books than in the real world. Acting as a coach to a colleague is not something that comes easily to many executives. It is increasingly common for executives to need mentoring. They need to talk through decisions and to think through the impact of their behavior on others in the organization.

In the macho era, support was for failures, but now there is a growing realization that leaders are human after all, and that leadership is as much a human art as a rational science.

Today’s leaders don’t follow rigid role models, but prefer to nurture their own leadership style. They do not do people’s jobs for them, or put their faith in developing a personality cult.

They regard leadership as drawing people and disparate parts of the organization together in ways that makes individuals and the organization more effective.

How does your leader stack up? Have you thought about it?

News: Yesterday, I forgot to mention that there is a FREE Ebook download called “In Praise of Appraisals” over at Top Sales Management, so if you are planning to review your team’s performance in the very near future, you may find this very useful – it is based on thirty years experience! HERE

Oh, and a message from “me learned colleague” Jill Konrath …

“If you ever wanted to call me for sales advice, now’s your chance. Join me on December 20th for my Sales Coaching Marathon. It’s my holiday gift to you!” Read More

In days gone by, whenever anyone mentioned “knowledge,” there would be an immediate assumption that they were going to discuss “product knowledge” That is understandable; even today, 80 percent of all training budgets are spent (invested?) on teaching sales teams all there is to know about the “product range.”

The reality is that product knowledge is no longer a differentiator. It is a very basic requirement of all successful frontline sales professionals. In other words, it’s part of the entrance exam — not a higher qualification.

Today, knowledge really is power, and that means …..
• Industry knowledge
• Sector knowledge
• Competitive knowledge
• Company knowledge
• Business knowledge (acumen)

As the discussions and debates continue regarding the future of professional selling, one fact is very clear. The relevance of a salesperson in the “buying process” — yes, we have moved away from the “sales process” — is becoming increasingly diminished. This is quite simply because buyers, who are more self-educated than ever, are entering the cycle so much later.

Do You Speak the Customer’s Language?
The realization that buyers are already “super-busy and frazzled” — as illustrated by Jill Konrath in her last book SNAP Selling – is obvious. But it is not the main reason why buyers will not entertain us as readily as they once did.

The fact is they simply don’t need to deal with us. That’s why Konrath argues that our interactions with buyers need to be wholly relevant.

“Wholly relevant” means using our knowledge — our complete knowledge — to justify our right to be part of a customer’s purchasing process.

As we move up the food chain, our ability to use different “languages” becomes increasingly important. We have to become “commercially multi-lingual” because C-level executives, for example, rarely use the same language as members of an information technology team. And both groups naturally have different sets of buying criteria.

In the very near future, having the right attitude, a broad range of sales skills, and familiarity with internal consultative sales processes will not guarantee our survival. The key will be the extent of our “commercial bandwidth” — and that means our knowledge.

News: I think we can say this week is the last trading week of the year? Can’t imagine too much happening between Christmas and New Year, well certainly not in the US or Europe. I am going to use the time wisely and “renew the saw” so I’ll be offline from Saturday 24th until Monday January 9th – but still a few posts left in me this week!

Today’s tip over at Top Sales World comes from Kendra Lee, who suggests we integrate follow up calls with social media, and today’s Top Sales Hardtalk interview features Paul McCord, who asks ”Are Sales Managers Being Neutered?” You can find all of that HERE

Meanwhile, over at Top Sales Management, today, you’ll find out how to conduct a successful performance appraisal and how to inoculate yourself against the “excuse virus” HERE

So, that’s it; the bunting is being taken down as I speak; the streamers are being swept up, and the champagne glasses are being packed away for another year.

It’s time to reflect on another successful event, which brought much deserved recognition to so many individuals and companies, who have made such a valuable contribution to the way we sell and market ourselves – and this has always been the primary objective of the initiative.

Not content to rest on our laurels, we will spend a few days conducting our customary post-mortem, and examine everything in the smallest detail, to determine what can be improved next time round – always better to do this whilst everything is fresh in the mind.

I suppose my most nagging doubt, is the validity and relevance of the public vote, which it could be argued, turns at least part of the event into a popularity contest: But then on the other hand, if we simply relied on the opinions – often purely subjective – of a judging panel, would we be operating a “closed shop”

The public polls are what bring people back every day. They create the excitement and the buzz, and also from a purely commercial perspective, our sponsors need exposure, so they are attracted by the high visitor numbers.

Did I agree with all the judge’s selections? No, of course not. But they had a tough job, and as I alluded to earlier in this post, subjectivity is a major factor.

My personal highlights? Well, it was good to see Rain Group pick up a lot of medals, because they made a huge contribution to the sales space in 2011, and they also worked hard to get the vote out. Dave Kurlan and Objective Management Group also did extremely well – justifiably - and it was pleasing to have iSell and Landscape back on the podium for a second year, because they are both highly professional organizations, who have world-class solutions.

And let’s not forget companies like Yesware, Cloud9, DiscoverOrg, One Page CRM (Congratulations on the new baby, Michael!) and so many others that stood out this year.

Also interesting to see that some of the “big-guns” like Salesforce and Data.com decided to come and play with us – adding yet more credibility to what we are trying to achieve.

My biggest personal disappointment? Has to be the fact that Guy Kawasaki’s “Enchantment” didn’t medal. It is the best book I have read in a very long time, written by a very nice guy. Considering everything he has achieved, and the standing that he has in this community, he remains one of the most genuine and accessible people I know.

I have said it before, and I will say it again; I realize that some of the so-called “grandees” within the sales space look down their noses at the Awards, and consider that what we are doing is rather frivolous. Whereas, the real “heavy-hitters” the people who make things happen in the sales space like Jeffrey Gitomer, Neil Rackham, Linda Richardson, Jill Konrath, Dr. Tony Alessandra, Keith Rosen, Guy Kawasaki, Gerhard Gschwandtner, Dave Kurlan, Doerr/Schultz to name but a few (and the list is a very long one!) really get what we are trying to do, and are incredibly supportive.

It’s FUN!!!

We will continue to stage it, and we will continue to provide totally free resources via Top Sales World and Top Sales Management, to satisfy the voracious appetite of so many sales and marketing professionals, who are enjoying what we are doing.

Finally, congratulations to all the finalists – not just the medalists – you continue to raise the bar, and for that, we are so grateful.

To the judging panels – a massive debt of gratitude for giving up so much of your time in order to make this happen.

To my small team, who worked round the clock to bring in the bacon on time – you are priceless, and I am very proud of you!

If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to see all the results, you can do so HERE

Have a great w/e, wherever you are - JF

Over the next couple of weeks, like many other people, I am going to be forecasting out and predicting ahead to 2012.

Most people will no doubt discuss what changes they think will take place in the sales space in the coming year, and in fact I have some very definite views myself – which may surprise, if not shock many of you, after all I do apparently have a reputation as being controversial, which I need to live up to! But I am saving all of that for next week.

What I want to do today is to take a more “global” view, and share with you why I think sales in most sectors next year are going to flatline.

Most observers from across the Pond in North America are probably viewing the financial debacle - which the Eurozone is fast becoming - as a “not in my back yard, so not my problem” situation. This is extremely short-sighted, because the probable demise of the existing European financial community will most definitely have a knock-on effect next year.

No other economic relationship in the world is as integrated as the transatlantic economy.

The EU and the US economies account together for about half the entire world GDP and for nearly a third of world trade flows.

The transatlantic relationship also defines the shape of the global economy as a whole, as either the EU or the US is also the largest trade and investment partner for almost all other countries in the global economy.

“Europe’s debt crisis will take a bite out of U.S. exports but the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region could make up the gap” U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson said recently. But he also later qualified that statement: “With respect to trade with many of these Asian countries, mostly they’re sending goods one way and not very much back the other way; it’s not a balanced flow.”

So just how bad is it going to get?

“The Eurozone is facing a “bleak” year” said audit firm Ernst & Young. A “mild” recession is likely in the first half of next year, leading to economic growth of just 0.1% for the whole of 2012, it predicted.

Ernst & Young also said unemployment in the Eurozone was unlikely to fall below 10% until 2015.

Meanwhile, Greece – Europe’s most indebted country – said that it was on course to have its worst recession ever in 2011.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned on Wednesday that his country’s contraction would be greater than the 5.5% currently forecast.

Greece’s economy shrank by 4.5% in 2010, when it received its first bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund.

‘Uncertainties’

Last week, 26 of the 27 members of the European Union backed new fiscal rules to keep budgets in line, with only the UK abstaining. But many fear that the budget pact will still not be enough to prevent more countries from seeking a bailout.

On Wednesday, the euro fell below $1.30 for the first time since January.

“Investors remain very concerned about the commitment and ability of Eurozone governments to implement reforms quickly.” according to Ernst & Young.

My personal view is that a complete break-up of the European Community is inevitable: Eventually, tax-payers in the north European countries will grow tired of standing by and watching their governments continue to prop up the economies of the southern European countries, who they perceive to be lazy and incompetent.

They will adopt a far more “selfish” and “independent” stance, which will put money back into their own economies, increasing investment in their own infrastructure.

This in turn will cast countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy adrift, leading to potential bankruptcy – and considerable exposure for both American and European banks, who have been lending them money – albeit at extortionate interest rates!

So, before you go believing all that the “chronic optimists” may tell you, 2012 is going to be tough – very tough – in most industry sectors.

But we’ll work through it – we always do.

Personally, I can’t wait for 2012 to get started. We have so many exciting plans.

We also have the Olympics to look forward to in London – and over the Pond, you have that twelve month drama (soap-opera?) to look forward to .. the Presidential elections!!

News: All the 2011 Top Sales & Marketing Awards winners are being announced in this month’s Top Sales World magazine, which you can download over at Top Sales Awards from 3:00pm Eastern (8:00pm) You’ll also be able to read predictions from Jeffrey Gitomer, Guy Kawasaki, Neil Rackham, Linda Richardson, Jill Konrath and more.

Tomorrow, I am going to share with you how the Awards were won – a “behind the scenes” look at all the fun we had! Be sure to join me.

This evening, I “endured” a visit to the Barbour website – that most British of institutions. What an absolute nightmare. Every time I clicked on a product I wanted to order, I was confronted with either an “Out of Stock” message or a “Discontinued” one.

What on earth is going on?

Try it yourself – http://www.barbourbymail.co.uk/

I challenge you to find five items that are available in less than one hour!

Yee gods, in these times of so called hardship for the retail sector, how come these people can have so much arrogance? Don’t they realize some very basic facts of commercial life?

It is said that 91% of people don’t complain. They prefer to obtain their revenge by not buying from a business that has given them an inferior product or a poor service.

They have a passive power and they know it!

The following is a true story – only the name of the business has been changed, but it could be Barbour!

Blooming Buds was a well established garden centre on the outskirts of a growing town. Two years before it closed it had expanded to include a cafe, a gift shop and an organic fruit and vegetable outlet.

As well as employing a core staff of ten it took on a number of seasonal and part-time staff.

The company didn’t have a customer service policy, nor did it believe in wasting money on training.

Customers seemed happy enough. After all they hardly got any complaints. No ‘everything in the garden was rosy’

The manager should have been a bit suspicious. No complaints doesn’t mean that all customers are happy. Most of us don’t bother complaining – we just walk away and don’t go back.

The expansion, unsurprisingly, led to a variety of organizational and logistical problems. There were staffing shortages, managerial inexperience, reduction in quality etc. Gradually business dropped off but still, nothing was done about it.

The staff stopped telling the manager about some of the problems they had encountered because he wouldn’t listen. He invested heavily on advertising, and making sizeable capital changes. He never once thought of getting some feedback from the customers.

Eventually the inevitable happened. The business had to close.

Complaints Are Opportunities:

Opportunities to do what?

* Evaluate how well you are doing
* Identify weak points in your system and processes and put them right
* See situations from the customer’s point of view
* Improve customer satisfaction
* Create long-term loyalty – handling disgruntled customers well often leaves them feeling more positive about your organization than before.

As a leader, or as an employee, the buck stops with you – whatever you do, don’t miss that opportunity!

Are you listening Barbour?

News: Not a great deal of news as I am working with the team to finalize the results in all sections of the Top Sales Awards for you, and finish final editing of the magazine.

I did have an interesting chat with Trish Bertuzzi today – what a “spunky” lady! It is always so refreshing to meet people who tell it like it is. It was a conversation that was well overdue. She reminded me of my mother, but much younger of course – and still alive! Mrs Farrington (Senior) was known for her ability to wade through the crap and see everything for what it really was.

So that’s two interesting chats this week already: Guy Kawasaki shared some of his views on politics and fidelity – the two are not usually happy bedfellows apparently. I shared some experiences of playing bridge – so you can imagine who won in the “I am an interesting conversationalist” stakes.

And if you really want to buy someone – anyone – a very special Christmas present, you absolutely must buy them “Enchantment” from Guy. It is the best book I have read for many years, and everyone who takes my advice comes back and thanks me – several times!

I used to be indecisive – Now I am less certain!

Disclosure: I really struggle with “ditherers.” Life is far too short.

Prudence? Sure. Due diligence? Of course. But in business, if you want to distinguish yourself from the average, you have to trust your judgment – absolutely have to!

While some decisions are easy (what to eat for supper) many more are extremely hard. Usually, a hard decision involves greater consequences/implications or, in some cases, a higher level of resource commitment.

In reality, not all so-called hard decisions are hard. Some feel harder than others owing to scale:
* If a friend asks to borrow $5, you’re likely to oblige without thinking about it.
* If that friend asks to borrow $1,000, you’re likely to be circumspect and ask questions.

The decision is the same one in essence – concerning creditworthiness. But, where the amount is greater, we perceive the decision to be much harder because the consequences are greater. Who cares about $5? But $1,000 is a sum most people would not wish to lose. It represents a risk, but at what stage does the decision become hard – $6, $25, more? The risk is that the friend might not or cannot repay the money and therefore, you might regret your decision. Your decision will be based on your consideration of the risk and the magnitude of the possible loss, although you might not see it in this way.

Defining Hard Decisions
We can define a decision as having ‘hard’ characteristics when:
* The situation is uncertain – i.e. there is a greater perceived risk

And also when:
* The situation is inherently complex with many different issues – e.g. the siting of a new airport is immensely complex, especially in these environmentally-aware times, because of the factors that must be taken into consideration (flight paths, air traffic control slots, residents, communications links, etc.).
* There are several objectives, but one or more is blocked and compromises or trade-offs are needed.
* Different perspectives can lead to different conclusions – especially true where two or more people are involved in making a decision; they may disagree about the assumptions, probable outcomes or even the decision.

The key issue is how to handle hard decisions to ensure they are taken as painlessly as possible. This requires the use of a robust, consistent approach and an appropriate level of detail – essential to ensure that risk is minimized, or at least understood.

Did I explain that clearly? – You decide!

News: I know many of you reading this are either sales managers or even sales leaders – and yes, there is a huge difference! But in any event, if you are responsible for conducting annual appraisals, you may find my advice very useful here – “How to Create an Effective Appraisal” I’ll follow this up next week with “How to Conduct an Effective Appraisal Meeting”

So, as I write this, in just five hours, the public voting polls close over at Top Sales & Marketing Awards, and then the hard work begins, as we reconcile the “popular vote” with the judges marks. All the medal winners will be announced via this month’s edition of the Top Sales World magazine, which publishes at 3:00pm Eastern (8:00pm GMT) on Thursday – and you will be able to download it over at Top Sales Awards

Also in this month’s magazine, you will find predictions for the year ahead from the thought leaders in the sales space, including Jeffrey Gitomer, Guy Kawasaki, Neil Rackham, Linda Richardson, Dr. Tony Allesandra, Jill Konrath and that well known duo, Doerr and Schultz .. oh, and me!

In fact I am going to kick-off my “no holds barred” global perspective for 2012 on Thursday, and then expand on it via my “JF Uncut” column in the magazine.