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Sucker punch!
This graphic is from my favourite tee – the shirt is a well-worn item on its last legs, but I don’t want to cast it out of my wardrobe yet: its status though has been downgraded to sleepwear / exercise-wear.
The reason for it’s survival is staring back at you from the page – it is a classic example of a paraprosdokian. The twist in the tail is witty but catches people off-guard. It may bring a wry smile to a few faces, but chances are that many of them would be annoyed.
Don’t we often behave this way when we respond to our family, friends and co-workers?
A team-member walks up to the manager and says, “Boss, I closed the XYZ Technologies order. It will cover my quota for the next two months.”
Manager responds, “About time too. You have been messing up my numbers for the last 2 quarters.”
How about this one? A colleague walks up to you and says, “Did you hear the news? I have been promoted as Manager of the division”. You respond in a bland voice “Congrats, buddy. All the best,” There is no joy on your face either.
A scene that is played out at so many homes – son runs excitedly to Dad, who has just got home from work, and says “Dad! Dad! I hit a six in the cricket match at school.” Dad, who has had a terrible day at the office, responds “That’s nice! Go tell mom that I want a cup of tea.”
Energy Sappers! Motivation Killers! Spoil-sports! That’s what a lot of us unknowingly end up being by not taking charge of our emotions.
The Manager lost a huge opportunity to push the average-performer into a consistent good performer when he refused to pick up the cue to motivate the subordinate. An effusive and positive response from him could have set the tone for a constructive dialog with his team-member.
The miffed colleague in the second sample probably was in the running for the Manager’s position and when it went to a friend the resentment and frustration showed – this person could have managed emotions in a mature manner and participated in the colleague’s success.
The Dad quite obviously was behaving like a child here. Drowning in his own frustrations the parent ended up disappointing his own child. If he were in charge of his emotions this situation could have been used to help him recover from the bad vibes at the office and return him to a happy state. In the process his child would have stayed happy and excited too.
It’s important to be able to take charge of our emotions. So much happens during a day or in the course of a year, some happy events and some not so happy ones; the idea is to interpret and understand each of and respond in a mature way.
It’s important to celebrate the success of your friends, associates and family-members. Relationships can be strengthened or broken by your reactions.
And it’s important to rationalize when one fails – derive the right messages from the situation with the intent to recover from the fall. Wallowing in self-pity or displaying anger and scorn would be extremely short-sighted and destructive ways of dealing with the situation.
Our inability to react logically or sensibly can have a devastating effect on the recipient of that unexpected blow!
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The author, Jayadev Menon, has his own consulting & training practice, AKSH People Transformation. To know more about his Training and Coaching solutions visit http://www.akshworld.com or write to jayadev.menon@akshworld.com
Angel calling!
The call came this morning; thought I must share this message while its still fresh in my mind.
There is a huge backlog at the Sales Coach blog. In 2013 articles haven’t been presented at the rate maintained in 2012.
Gives you their precious time!
Something’s missing – has the zest gone out of the activity? And that’s when the man who, a little over a year ago, had pushed for this blog’s creation made a phone call. Well, to be honest, that call came a few days back; today’s one was the booster dose!
He asked why the blog is not active these days and I replied “I have lost my mojo; am wondering whether it is worth the effort? What is the purpose?”
His answer was simple, “The purpose hasn’t changed. It is the same today as it was a year back. And it’s simple …. The blog itself is the purpose!”
Can it get simpler than that? Straight and unambiguous!
During the conversation I realized that while the purpose had not changed, but my attitude towards it had. I was clogging my mind with questions that weren’t germane to the issue – missing the wood for the trees?
Have you felt that way? A project that was started with so much energy and gusto starts losing meaning in a while. You wonder whether it’s worth the effort and whether its pursuit would lead you to the results you had hoped for.
You become less intense about it and soon lose focus. And soon you are desperately looking for something else to do. Life becomes a meaningless morass. Been there?
Time to stop meandering in the wilderness! Don’t fool yourself into thinking that the careless wandering would eventually lead somewhere. For a lucky few it may but for the majority it only means frustration, dejection and failure.
It pays to realize early enough that you are headed the wrong way. And you probably are one of the lucky few who have a Guardian Angel, someone whose call would come when you are down and out.
But then again do you realize that the person means well – do you see the person as a helping or hindering influence? It pays to listen because he called only because he cared. Such friends aren’t going to say that he or she is your revitalizer-dose; you need to realize that.
My pick-me-up friend called again today, to check how things were at the blog and to find out whether I had made any progress with my book. Yes, that is the other major project that is hanging fire. A book! I am going to kick-start that one too thanks to the energizing phone conversation with this friend.
Do you have such an angel investor in your life? This friend or guide may not give you money, but provides something that’s just as valuable, his or her time?
If there is such a person, my next question is …. Are you listening?
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Did you enjoy this article? You can get updates on all new Posts by subscribing directly at the blog or on Facebook – just “Like” this: https://www.facebook.com/Sales.Coach.Blog!!
The author, Jayadev Menon, has his own consulting & training practice, AKSH People Transformation. To know more about his Training and Coaching solutions visit http://www.akshworld.com or write to jayadev.menon@akshworld.com
Johnny is a good man!
It’s Saturday night and we were meeting with friends at Kovalam’s famous Hawa Beach (3rd Beach). The plan was to enjoy a seafood meal at one of the beachfront shacks that line the length of this popular tourist destination.
We walked along the tiled walkway that separates the restaurants from the beach, to check the sights and the available seafood. The walk had made us thirsty and a chilled beverage was the need of the hour. We had made a short-list of the restaurants to choose from after checking the stuff on display. A restaurant that wasn’t crowded got our vote – Well, most shacks had a handful of diners because this is the fag end of the tourist season, with the weather getting hotter each day in Kerala.
Photo owner:
http://www.virtualtourist.com
The Service Staff who ushered us to our seats had a warm smile and made us feel welcome. All of us noticed it, but it was my wife who captured the essence of the experience while we walked back to the car after 2-3 happy hours of chatting, drinking and gourmandising:
“One doesn’t need a degree in Hotel Management to do a great service job. Till what Class you think that guy has studied – not even High School, I guess. But, just look at the way he remembered to do and say the right things at the right time. Fantastic! He made our visit to the place worth remembering.”
How does one teach Service Staff such things?
I’ve been to so many fine-dining restaurants and received such indifferent service. The staff usually treat visitors with such disdain. They somehow fail to think long – term or from the customer’s point-of-view. They are busy doing a job.
So, what did Johnny do that made us feel different? No, this isn’t Johnny as in “Johnny-come-lately” or “Some Johnny”; that is his name! Mr.Johnny is special.
He wasn’t wearing a starched uniform or speaking in a clipped accent, but most wait staff at Kovalam know a smattering of English thanks to the interactions with 1000s of foreign tourists. He didn’t have slicked-back hair and his grooming was ordinary. But, all that just didn’t matter. He overwhelmed us with Care!
He suggested the best fish and the preparations that would suit our palate. When the food arrived he placed the food ordered at the right places, having remembered who had ordered what. Even when he was far from our table I noticed him glancing our way to check whether the glasses had beverages in them. He was not only keeping us happy but ensuring that the restaurant got more business. It was smart thinking!
While we ate the food Johnny stopped by to refill the plates and then asked the ladies whether the preparations had come out right – “How does it taste, Madam? Is everything okay?”
Post the meal his question was “Did you enjoy the meal?”
And after we settled the check and rose to leave he asked “Next time you aren’t going anywhere else? Come straight to our place and we will ensure that you have a good time.” Bingo!
It was a clever thing to say, but it also meant that he had heard us discuss the other restaurants on the beach. My wife and I had been telling our friends, who are from out-of-town, that we come here often and the other shacks serve good food too. He wasn’t lurking to gather juicy titbits from our conversation, just that when he visited our table the relevant bits of our exchanges stayed in his head to be used at the opportune moment. It is a useful skill.
Isn’t it plain common sense? I mean … Customer Service:
- Receive the customer with a smile
- Help them make the choices
- Suggest without sounding opportunistic
- Be around to help
- Sense the mood and the need
- Keep the interaction going without intruding
- Check whether the customer is happy
- Be there to help throughout
- Confirm that everything went well
- Sign off in style
- Tell the customer that you look forward to seeing them again
Johnny did all that with such style and he had not been taught any of it. He just picked it up along the way. He might just blink if one were to ask him about CRM, CLM and CSAT.
But he had what is took …. Service Attitude. The books tell you everything you wish to know on the subject but ultimately service is about sensing, feeling and doing.
The bill was not a small one but we were beaming as we walked away!
Johnny proved once again that ….. Good Customer Service makes great Business Sense!
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Did you enjoy reading this article? You can get updates on all new Posts by subscribing directly at the blog or on Facebook – just “Like” this: https://www.facebook.com/Sales.Coach.Blog!!
To contact AKSH People Transformation for Training and Coaching solutions go tohttp://www.akshworld.com or write to us at jayadev.menon@akshworld.com
Fuzzy logic!
During a recent train journey I started chatting with the gentleman seated opposite and discovered that he is a distributor and retailer of electronic components (Those weird tiny stuff stuck on boards inside your Computer, TV and Hi-fi systems!) – he’s been in the business since the early 80s, a seasoned campaigner. Being naturally curious about Sales and Business Management I quizzed him on trends in his category (inputs from various market segments are of great value to Consultants). He spoke about changing demand patterns, the disappearance of small-time technicians and hobbyists. These days the major chunk of his business was through OEM Sales – manufactures in SME segment bought components in bulk for the electric and electronic products they made. Somewhere along the way the conversation, almost inevitably, veered to Chinese products, because they are everywhere and in every industry. He said that the components trade had taken a double hit – there was cheaper China components flooding the market and then to add fuel to the fire local manufacturers were directly procuring finished products from Chinese factories to avail the low-cost production facilities there.
Instead of getting demoralized and defeated by this trend he too had started trading in finished products sourced from China. Sensing the opportunity quite early this savvy businessman started taking orders from the network of outlets to which he distributed components and supplied them with components and finished products sourced from Shanghai and Guangzhou. I praised the smart moves he had made and then posed a question – “I hear that one needs to be careful because there are a lot of poor quality products available too? How did you ensure that the stuff you got was good? Didn’t you face the risk of facing dissatisfied customer lining up outside your shop with complaints?”
He replied with a smile – “I have been in this business for a while and I know a bad product when I see it. And then there is something known at gut-feel; you just know when the stuff is good. But it also makes sense to back up your intuition with some buffer stock – that will help to cover any damaged items brought back by our clients.”
“Sound thinking!” I said to myself.
He words made me think about a panel discussion I had watched the other day on a Business Channel where the anchor asked a few industry leaders, “What steps do you take to stay ahead of the game in these troubled times?”
Mr Ajay Nanavati, CEO of 3M India, responded in this fashion (these aren’t his exact words) ”This market is a decision-maker’s worst nightmare – instability in government, choppiness in the advanced economies and slowdown in our own markets. In order to navigate this market one really has to learn to read the tea leaves. Dig deep and use all your experience to come up with solutions that may seem radical and absurd. But then we are living in absurd times. It may still go wrong, but this market does not permit you to come up with text-book solutions. One has to rely a lot of intuition”.
That word again!
I am reading “Working with Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman and in the very first chapter he writes about intuition. Goleman says that this skill comes with experience – that it’s our subconscious applying logic based on our past experiences on the subject or situation; some people call it wisdom, he said.
Goleman has also said in the book that almost all successful people rely on gut-feel. They are able to go beyond the limits set by rules learnt in text-books and come up with unique and different answers to the usual problems.
So, the next time you assess a situation and decide to take the road less travelled, I’d say … follow your gut!
“Sales Culture!”
Recently I spent a week in Maldives – let me clarify that it was a business trip. Yes! To the Maldives. I am a strange guy, right?
When there was spare time I visited the shops in the capital, Male’. It gave me the opportunity to understand the market and its practice; and I compared prices of goods with those in India. I found that it was better to shop in India for more than one reason.
For one, the prices of most things were much higher, except maybe if you wanted fish or coconut.
And then you did not get a great buying experience. In one of the electronics shops I practically dragged the Salesperson from his comfortable perch to the display case to talk about features and prices. He was lolling disinterestedly in the corner even as the shop was filled with prospective buyer. I looked around to check if it was just me and found that most shoppers were either talking to the friend who had come along or having to call many times before someone turned up to help.
I mentioned this to my friend when I visited him later that night – he is from Kerala too. He responded – “That’s nothing, Jayadev. It’s the norm here in most shops. Last week I was passing a shop and found the iPad 4 displayed at the window. I could have waited till I got back home but on a whim I popped in to check it out. The model I have now is over a year old and I wanted a replacement. My mind was set on the 32 GB model.”
“You won’t believe this. I said to the salesguy that I am interested in the 32GB model and he said – ‘Sir! We only have 16GB and 64GB in stock. Why don’t you check after a week?’ I was shocked. In India, even before I complete the word “interested” the Salesperson would have been all over me, trying to push a piece that is available in stock. They are trying to make a sale. Here they are fine if you walked out without buying a thing.”
It got me thinking. I have seen a bit of the same happening in Oman, while I lived there. If there was an Omani salesperson behind the counter there wasn’t much of an effort to sell me the product. It set me thinking. Does Sales have a cultural-bias?
In India we keep hearing that Chennai folks are good at Math, Gujarathis and Marwadis excel in business, Haryanvis are good at Athletics and Malayalees are smart at finding their way to just about place in the Universe. (That last one was a joke about my own people … don’t take it seriously even if you find us everywhere. We were always there!!)
What is it about communities or societies that made them excel in a domain – was it a gradual process or something to do with a predilection for certain activity or did someone start the trend and other just followed?
Does the art of persuasion and communication have anything to do with the way people are brought up – or the exposure they receive in the formative years? I would answer with a resounding “Yes!”
It does have a lot to do with the environment we are brought up in? A businessman’s child becomes a businessman (or at least is inclined to be one), a doctor’s daughter wants to be a doctor and an actor’s child will be an actor (far-fetched, that last one!).
I am leaving this open-ended. What do you think?
At the crossroads!
These days we stay in touch with most friends using Social Media or the telephone – people are meeting each other less often. Have you noticed that trend? When was the last time you took a spur-of-the-moment decision to drop in on a friend unannounced?
(Here is another question, out of context, I ask a lot of people: “When was the last time you sent a greeting card to someone?” A sheepish smile is the usual response to that one. )
On Jan 1st the route I took to get back to town, after meeting a client, went past a friend’s office – I decided to drop in. The visit presented me an excellent opportunity to say “Hello!” in person to at least one friend on New Year’s Day – thankfully this busy man was having a relatively quiet afternoon and could spare a few moments to exchange words with a friend who had wandered into his premises not unlike a cat that had lost its way.
After exchange of greetings and other courtesies the conversation veered towards his business. I was constantly on the lookout for information that could improve my knowledge of the Indian business scenario – and the corollaries thereof would be opportunities for my consulting practice and fodder for my blog! (Sneaky me, eh?)
The business papers were replete with news about a slowdown in automobile sales – post-Diwali the market was showing a downward trend. There usually is a dip in Sales in December because vehicles bought in the last month of the year have lower resale values as compared with those bought in January – so people usually postponed the purchase. Manufacturers countered this trend by offering schemes that could offset the loss or at least the notion. However, the present dip was more than the norm and had to do with the overall economic scenario, which was still recessionary. My friend’s was feeling the pinch too.
When I asked about Expansion Plans my friend said he would like to share some information about a decision he had made a little over a year back. His current lines were doing well and so he and partner decided to add another dealership to their portfolio. They scouted around and soon found a leading vehicle brand that was looking for a 2nd dealer in town. They had 2-3 rounds of discussions with the local Business Managers of the manufacturer and then tabled their conditions for accepting the dealership. They felt those were fair and essential for them to get a firm footing in a market that already had a well-entrenched competitor.
The brand being considered is a very popular one and their vehicles are in great demand. The Managers knew that finding another Channel Partner who would accept their terms was not difficult. They did not accept the conditions proffered by my friend and soon found another party who was ready to go with their terms.
My friend felt at that time that this was just another opportunity and there would be many others, better ones, which would come their way. But a year later he found that the new player had done well for himself and was on his way to breakeven faster than expected, thanks to the growing demand for the brand.
He analysed their decisions objectively and found that the following mistakes were made while presenting their pitch:
- Their forecast had been too conservative
- At that time they did not foresee such growth in the market
- The impact of the established first dealer was a gross over-estimate
- Some of the demands made were based with a defensive mindset
My friend says that he does not regret having lost that dealership but he learned a lot from it. It helped him to understand himself – it told him a lot about his decision-making strategies and provided him a fabulous self-assessment.
Have you felt that way? Did you make a decision that you regretted or at least felt later that you could have made differently?
How has the original decision impacted you? Do you feel that your situation would be different today if the decision had been something else?
What are the key drivers that impact your decisions? Are they making you too conservative? Or conversely, are they exposing you to great risk?
My friend was very happy that I had cared enough to greet him in person and I was happy with my spontaneous decision because it gave me a great opportunity to learn something.
Sales Coach Blog – 2012 Report!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 30,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 7 Film Festivals
Onward …
The clock has ticked over, past the midnight hour, to usher in another new year … for some it announces the beginning of a new business period and for others it is time to renew their resolve and put into practice the long-overdue plans and promises.
Last year on this date the blog presented Sales Resolutions – the article discussed the essentials of a game-plan for success in Sales. While I believe that Business Plans can & should have definite Start-Date and End-Date (for better focus) I don’t think personal resolutions need to be linked to a date unless there is a concrete reason for starting later. I am speaking in particular about resolutions that are set aside for commencement on January 1st, on one’s birthday or even on some other person’s birthday – it just does not make sense to me.
I made a business call today – although most private companies are closed (to permit the late night parting and revelry that their employees usually get involved in to usher in the New Year) there are many large organizations, particularly the ones in the Government Sector, that work on Jan 1st.
I sought out one such, where I had been hoping to make a breakthrough for a while, and fixed an appointment. The idea was not to fulfill a resolution, but to be productive on the very first day of the year and to keep the trend going right through the year. It was a case of doing the necessary at the earliest – I also made sure that there was no late night partying on New Year’s Eve in order to be fresh and alert for the business visit. The call was a huge success and it gave me great satisfaction – I can afford to party now, but I won’t, because it isn’t a priority.
You may say that resolutions have their symbolism too; maybe so, but why link them to dates, essentially ones that cause inordinate postponement.
“I will stop smoking on my father’s birthday.”
“I intend to be nice to customers from next New Year’s day.”
“I promise to stop drinking from my Patron Saint’s birthday.”
And I fail to see the connection.
If you think it is important then the time to stop drinking and smoking and the time to be good to your customers is NOW / TODAY, not a date in the future!
We are not trying to make a symbolic gesture and such measures are usually not effective or worthwhile. If it is important then drop everything else and do the needful.
On Dec 8th my blog had started its 2nd year. I had posted 2 articles on that date – one by myself and another written by a close friend, who is a Guest Relations expert. Since then the blog has not seen any new additions.
What is the impact?
- The readership built up in the last one year has eroded; the blog is languishing. It is also possible that some of them would have lost interest or have gone elsewhere in search of reading material.
- The energy that went into the creation of articles is missing – the reasons for not writing were genuine, not excuses, but still it caused a dilution of interest and effort. It would seem to readers that this effort is of secondary importance.
- The dialogue, and the Connect, that had developed between the writer and the reader has been lost; the writer now needs to redouble his effort to return to the old level.
- Instead of reaching a new level at the commencement of the new period the engagement and the pace has been lost.
The lack of new articles had nothing to do with resolutions – I went through a hectic 10-period of work which called for focused effort and then I decided to take a break to spend time with the family; both caused a cessation in my writing efforts.
While the reasons mentioned above are legitimate and permissible I am just offering another thought:
- I could have written a few extra articles in the more relaxed period earlier and built up a buffer that would help me tide over the busy period. I could have kept the drafts of the articles ready and just posted one every alternate day to keep the readership alive.
- I could have included a few more Guest Articles, interspaced with my own work, and ensured new material for the readers.
These are just some ideas I wish to throw into your head about planning and resolving to get things done. While making resolutions one needs to check whether the postponement could cause more damage and call for a much larger effort than what would be required if one were to start immediately. Would the delay also lead to a drop in resolve and cause one to falter?
- What is the business impact of delays, postponements and drop in intensity of effort?
- How does one buffer for the period of one’s absence? Can some pre-work cover up for it?
- How does one keep the engagement with the customer at a high round the year?
It’s important that we think about these issues to keep business going onward … and ahead!
The Maestro’s hands!
Maestro Jerry Amaldev -
Photo owned by: Shevlin Sebastian
There was immense power in his hands … the power to make people perform at their best!
They rose as if to seek permission from the Lord to do his work – he is a spiritual person. They swept out arcs in the air to promote synergy and unison, they were used to applaud, to beseech, even demand and their regular movements defined time; a single chop could create complete silence.
There is magic in the Maestro’s hands!
I have been in the presence of this acclaimed musician and guru just twice and on both occasions what struck me were the power of his hands.
He was not tall – a form that was ideally suited to don a Santa Claus garb. No! He wasn’t portly but his benign demeanor and effusive charm hinted such a possibility. However all that was till he took the stance in front of his choir group and gestured to them to get prepared for a song. He then got transformed into a towering personality, someone who was in complete command and having total control over all that he surveys!
He could pick one wrong note sung by one of the 24 singers in front of him and hear a loud whisper from an errant member of the audience. He would walk up to the pianist and insist with a gesture, much like an Umpire declaring a batsman out, that he wanted more volume in that note. If the pianist didn’t oblige, which he dare not, the Maestro would take the seat and show how it’s done. Noisy members in the audience were silenced with just a quick glare in their direction – I guess a whisper would sound like cacophonous babble to his sensitive ear.
He could gesture to sections of the choir and get them to fall in line, sometimes a look or a change in expression would do. When he was happy his entire body showed it – there would be lightness in his stride, his head would move from side-to-side with the beat and his body would do a merry jig. He is music!
What gave him that power?
- A composer at the age of 14,
- Trained in Carnatic and Hindustani styles,
- Graduate and Master Degrees from reputed Universities in America,
- Composer of over 300 songs for Malayalam films, most of which are hits and still popular even though he has not composed a single song for films in the last 15 years.
- Winner of 3 Kerala State awards for Music Direction.
- Released innumerable albums of devotional and light music.
- Consultant and Researcher.
His body of work and his passion for music spoke about his greatness.
The team followed his command because he knew what was best for them and they knew that he wanted them to be at their best. It was a great demonstration of Win – Win!
And what’s more, the man is ever approachable, soft spoken, humble and doesn’t indulge in self – promotion. His oeuvre markets itself!
That was his magic – that humility and self-effacing quality, when he easily could gloat, gave him the power.
Here are the questions I have for the leaders:
- Do you speak about yourself or do you let your work do it for you?
- Does your team follow you because they know it’s the best option for them?
- Does your power come from the Sign pasted on your door or something else?
- Do you know that every movement, gesture and expression of yours is being analysed?
- What is your magic? What is the source of your power?
The Maestro creates merry music by the movements of his hands, because his team knows that in them reside years of experience and creative genius and, in his own words, the benediction of the Almighty!
A single chop of the right hand onto the palm of the left-hand would bring a song to an end …. Complete silence follows!
It’s time for the audience to absorb the magic of the melody that unfolded before them and then do one other obvious thing …… follow the leader and use THEIR HANDS …… to applaud the Maestro’s genius!
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Did you enjoy reading this article? You can get updates on all new postings by subscribing directly at the blog or on Facebook – just “Like” this: https://www.facebook.com/Sales.Coach.Blog!!
To contact AKSH People Transformation for training and coaching solutions go to http://www.akshworld.com
Words rush out from the fingertips!
I used to read a lot – it was fiction most of the time and the love affair with tales had started early in life. My siblings and I were encouraged by our parents to read as much as possible. We read every book we could lay our hands on. I guess we were fortunate that the TV was a relatively unknown and expensive gadget those days – the ubiquitous radio belted out the latest songs and brought us news. Computers and the World Wide Web were things that we read about in Scientific Journals and Sci-fi books and the mobile phone as we know it today had not been invented yet. So other than fun and games with our friends and stories from our parents books were our permanent companions.
That liking for words has remained strong throughout and somewhere along the way came the desire to express myself in words. Though I usually wrote essays a few poems have escaped from my pen – I would be terribly embarrassed to show them to anyone today. And I was not very systematic or determined those days – so that desire to write remained on simmer most of the time. When I started working people discovered this ability and asked me to compose business letters and some of my dad’s friends asked me to help their kids write essays.
And then the skill went into cold storage for an extended period till four years ago when someone suggested that I start a blog to express my thoughts. Thus commenced my first attempt at blogging – the articles presented at the blog on Blogspot were interpretations of current news and things I observed. After a while the fire died and the blog went into a long slumber – it remains dormant even today.
The current productive spell got sparked when I was in Oman. A bit more than a year ago, over a coffee at Qurum City Centre, Muscat, I was discussing ways to get myself established as a Trainer / Consultant – across the table sat my new friend Shantanu Sengupta. We got connected on LinkedIn and decided to meet each other to discuss strategies to get entrenched in the Oman market – like me he was new there too. It was Shantanu who stuck a lit matchstick between my toes and jump-started this blog. No, he didn’t actually torture me to get this blog going but he fired my imagination by creating a wonderful picture of what the blog can do for my practice. Shantanu didn’t let it go at that – he made me set targets and list down topics that I would write on. He even helped to choose the blog design and fine-tuned the layout. No amount of thanks would be enough for the help he provided.
It was Shantanu who hit the Like button first when articles were presented and posted encouraging comments to keep me interested and motivated – he shared feedback and useful tips too.
A few months after the Sales Coach blog got going I left Oman to resettle in India and he moved to Delhi. But Shantanu kept checking on my progress and gave many more useful tips. The last few months he has got stuck into a new job and the responsibilities of parenting and I have not been hearing from him so often.
The push he provided a year back and the vision he created remain alive and exciting – I enjoy writing and remain committed to doing it regularly. I may not have written an article a day as initially planned nor did I write short articles as suggested, but write regularly I did. In the last 365 days I have presented 243 articles including this one.
Shantanu had made me me activate one more useful and important feature to promote the blog – A Page on Facebook. Thus started the Sales Coach Blog page on Facebook in Feb 2012, a little over 2 months after the blog was launched.
That Page became the main platform to promote the blog on Social Media and it has 173 subscriber now. I post links to the articles on Indiblogger, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ too, but its Facebook that helps to drive readership.
I must recognise a set of friends who are regular readers – Jamy Latheef, Raji Sumanth, Shoba Sriaiyer, Sajan Nair, Sourav Das, Uma Shankar Pandey, Jayashree Vats, Kailash Acharya, Sunil Menon, Catherine, Anatha, Raaj, Vasant, Prem, Jithin …. I can go on. Thank you, Friends!
I am aware of their unstinting support thanks to the comments posted after reading the articles. But then there are as many or more who regularly read but don’t leave a message in any form afterwards – but read they do. I am extremely thankful to them too, every one of them!
There are those who send a discreet note when a typo or a grammatical error is noticed – without their support this blog would be a mess!
Although the name suggests prevalence of articles pertaining to Sales Management and Selling Skills I have blended in articles on Managerial Excellence, Entrepreneurship, Career Guidance, Nature and Hobbies.
My articles try to tell a story – I use this method because people love hearing or reading a good story; stories have hooks that ensure that the messages remain fastened on the person receiving them. I have also tried to keep it simple – there is enough serious stuff available in books and on the Net; so I thought it made sense to deliver the message differently. Feedback coming in from readers tell me that its the right approach.
The most heady feedback received – “My friend reads your blog before attending an interview; he gets motivated by reading your articles!”
Its been an amazing journey so far and I have barely started. There is so much left to do.
I have been able to stay engaged, committed and focused – my blog completes one year today. It would have been great to present 365 articles by this day, but 243 is not bad …. don’t you think so?
The Sales Coach blog has been noticed by prospective clients too and hopefully business will follow – but in the first year the main purpose was not business development. Now that the targets have been achieved I have to recalibrate and push ahead.
The new year begins in a few moments and the journey starts all over again – I have to create persuasive messages and experiment with interesting new formats.
There are many new ideas to be explored … watch this space! I do hope that in the new year the readers will stay engaged and connected with the Sales Coach Blog …. it’s my job to keep them interested with my Sales Tales!
The next story is on its way … Read on!
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