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Following my instincts

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:15:49 +0000

It was winter, and the weatherman announced that going out of the house should be avoided, with a blizzard, anyone can get buried under the snow without anyone seeing it! And even the warmest sweater and coat cannot provide you with the warmth you need! As I sat down on the couch, drinking hot coco and watching TV, I was so happy to be inside, warm and cozy.

After a few hours, my dog stood up and walked to the direction of the kitchen, a few minutes passed but still my dog wasn’t back, and that was unusual! My dog never stayed out of his bed this long during the winter. I was starting to worry, so I stood up and found that his doggy door was open! I forgot to lock it! I put on my coat, yelled to my mom that I was going out and to look for him! And I found him lying near the mailbox! I scooped him up and carried him indoors. I covered him with warm blankets, and when he finally opened up his little eyes, I knew he’d be okay. I was really lucky that I followed my instincts and my dog did not freeze to death out there.

Compare Small Business Owners

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:38:07 +0000

The small business marketplace is a great opportunity for analysis. There are millions of crazy foxes out there, and they make up a much broader population than the big company world. If you’ve been keeping a good database of prospects and customers, it’s time to do a little mining.
Do a database dump and take a look at all those foxes you’ve dealt with over the past few years. Who did you close and whom did you lose? Why? Pick out a few dozen and try to categorize them among the seven types of foxes. Knowing what you know now, would you have approached them any differently? Do you think an alternative approach would’ve helped you close the deal? Analyze your wins and losses. After you look at the past, think of how you can apply its lessons to the future.

Know the Animal You’re Dealing With

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:37:03 +0000

With most of the crazy and wily foxes described above, you can do business and make a little money. But it’s extremely important to recognize the type of small business owner you’re dealing with as early as possible. Why? You can cut to the chase quicker.
Remember, you’re operating in a world of thin margins and higher volume. You can’t dilly-daily around with these crazy foxes. You need to evaluate them as quickly as possible. With experience, you should be able to categorize these small business owners after a short phone conversation. Occasionally, it may require a face-to- face meeting. But, besides learning about them and their business, you should first attempt to associate them with one of the above seven types. Once you’ve figured them out, you can immediately position yourself to hit their hot buttons.
Unfortunately, there’s no list of questions you can rattle off to get the answers you need. You can’t just ask someone on the phone whether they completed high school or not. The answer may not even be relevant. One customer may have dropped out of boarding school when he was sixteen, but he still could be a major shareholder in a billion-dollar company founded by his great-grandfather. Figuring out what type of fox you’re dealing with will take some subjective evaluation. At first, you may find it necessary to actually meet the person before you decide. It’s only by looking at their appearance and their office, and chatting about their home life, that you’re going to be able to get a clear picture. Unfortunately this takes more time, and time is what we’re trying to save here. Consider it an investment. If you get really good, you can get the same kind of feel from a twenty-minute phone conversation.

Enthusiasm

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 05:35:12 +0000

Always offer a money back guarantee to the glass-is-half-empty fox. This will help temper his lack of faith in human nature. But that doesn’t stop this fox from seeing the glass as half empty. He laments that everything he has achieved has been earned through his own sweat and blood. In his mind, so many others—employees, vendors, the government—are trying to take advantage of him. This makes him a little bitter. It’s a cold, hard world out there, according to Klaus. Any number of outside events could topple him. His mottoes: Trust no one. Rely only on yourself. Hunker down.
Now mind you, there are plenty of glass-is-half-empty employees working at larger companies, but it’s a different situation. With a negative corporate employee, there will always be others around to help mitigate his attitude. The glass-is-half-empty attitude will reflect a single employee rather than the position of the corporation. In a small business, where the fox IS the corporation, this attitude can easily become the company culture.
The worst thing you can do with a fox like Klaus is to be overly optimistic. Don’t think for a minute that a glass-is-half empty small business owner wants to deal with someone who’s bouncing up and down with enthusiasm. Your energy and outlook are really not going to change his tune. It will most likely just annoy him.
When dealing with a fox like Klaus, you need to adjust your personality a little, and try to look at things from his point of view. Don’t debate whether life is a half-full or half-empty glass. He thinks it’s half-empty, and your job is to help him deal with all the negativity that surrounds him. Accept his position and offer solutions to help him defend against “those who are out to screw” him. Make sure your product legitimately helps him, and prove to him he’s not going to be screwed like he expects to be.

The Fox with the Half-Empty Glass

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:33:12 +0000

Ever meet one of those smart and successful little foxes that seem like they’ve got it all, but are never satisfied? This is the fox with the half-empty glass. Klaus is such a person. Compliment his offices and he’ll complain about the rent he’s paying. Marvel at how he built the travel agency that he started five years ago with his own savings into a profitable six-person operation and he’ll grumble about high salaries and excessive taxes. Comment on his high-tech computer system and he’ll bring up how much it cost him the last time it went down. The world’s out to screw this fox, there’s just no two ways about it.
Small business owners are, for the most part, quite optimistic. But a significant percentage of them combine optimism with a sometimes lethal dose of cynicism. There’s no question Klaus wouldn’t want to be working for someone else. And of course he’s secretly pleased that his business has grown and he’s become somewhat successful. Looking forward, he does view the big picture as rosy. He wouldn’t be in this business if he didn’t think it couldn’t provide him with a livelihood for many years to come.

The Unfinished Fox

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:18:01 +0000

Some foxes could just use a little polish. “Just call me Freddy, okay?” he said while offering me his large hand that was attached to a muscular, tattooed forearm. Freddy and his brother Alphonso own an industrial motor repair shop in Maryland., The business has been in the family for more than forty years. Their uncle was still involved. In fact, there he was, walking around in his undershirt, the usual cigarette hanging out of his mouth, ignoring us all. The place was alive with activity. Behind Freddy were about ten or fifteen other guys, all perspiring in the un-air-conditioned shop floor, assembling motors, applying grease, drilling, hammering, and cutting strips of metal. Freddy looked at me without expression and said, “So I’m busy, what do you want?”
Say hello to the unfinished fox. Freddy didn’t have a college or a postgraduate degree. He worked from 5:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. every day, including Saturday. Both he and his brother were supporting families, their wives also holding down jobs, so that they could maintain a decent lifestyle in a decent neighborhood, and their kids could play basketball and soccer. The last time Freddy wore a suit was in church a few years back. He’s worked in the shop since he was a kid. He’s got permanent dirt under his fingernails. He’s never been to a training class, and the only time he’s traveled anywhere was to Virginia Beach with the family.
This fox didn’t work his way up through the organization like his corporate counterpart. And who would be his corporate counterpart anyway? A production manager? Maybe, but Freddy also oversees all the billing and collections. He has to evaluate insurance for his employees. And he does other stuff too, things that the MBA corporate employee doesn’t.
He’s not only required to oversee a job; he’s got to first find a customer, price the job accurately so he can make a profit, sell the job, order the materials, produce the job, bill it, and collect it. All without a college degree, professional certification, or corporate training. He’s never really learned how to be “professional.” No one’s ever told him the “right” thing to say. He’s never been to any corporate retreats, meetings, events, or trade shows. He doesn’t feel very comfortable whenever he must deal with a larger customer. He’s wary of others, and he’s afraid that they may figure out that he’s not as educated as they are.