For the Business of Apparel Decorating
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12 || P R I N T W E A R S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 SELLING SMART B Y J E F F R E Y G I T O M E R Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Custom- er Satisfaction Is Worthless Customer Loyalty Is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Get - ting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM!. His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com. W hen you walk into someone's place of business to shop or buy something, what are you expecting? Most people expect a friendly and helpful employee, to be served in a timely manner, presented with a quality product, and be thanked whether you give them the business or not. What do you really get? Typically, you get a mechanical welcome, someone feebly saying, "Can I help you?" followed by people telling you what they can't do versus what they can, or what they don't have. Maybe a bunch of sentences containing the word "policy," and an inability to un- derstand that just because they're out of an item doesn't mean you don't still want it or need it, and will likely go to their competition to get it. All this and a touch of rudeness. Now, maybe I have exaggerated a bit. But I can promise you, not by much. The interesting part is, many companies have multiple locations where the products are the same, but the service is not recognizable from place to place. IT'S ALL IN THE MIND(SET) The inconsistency of people's performance can make or break a business. Here is what will make or break anyone, especially those in a job they consider beneath them. Understand the following factors for emerging into a better career. All of these elements will be reflected in your performance. 1. Your internal happiness. Happiness is not a job; it's a person. 2. Your attitude towards work. Do you just go to pass the time for a paycheck or are you there to earn your pay with hard work? 3. Your self-esteem and self-image. How do you feel about your- self? 4. Your desire to serve. 5. Your commitment to being your best. 6. Your boss and how your boss treats you. 7. Looking at your job as menial rather than a steppingstone towards your career. It's not "just a job," it's also "an oppor- tunity." 8. Pride in your success. 9. Realizing that you're on display and that your present actions will dictate your future success. Companies spend millions, sometimes billions of dollars in ad- vertising, branding, merchandising, strategizing, and every other element of marketing that they believe will bring business success. But if there are people involved, marketing means nothing if the people are not great. When I walk into a business, I ask people, "How's it going?" I get the most disappointing answers like, "Just three hours to go." Or, "It's Friday." What kind of statement is that? What does that tell you about the kind of employee they are, much less what kind of service is attached to their attitude? When you go to a hotel, a multimillion dollar business rests on the shoulders of the front desk clerk. That's the first impression you have. In a retail business, it's no different. All the advertising gets you to come into the store. From there, it's all about the sales clerk or front desk help. So, what is your company like? Do you have any people working there that hate their job? Do you have people with "attitude?" What can you do? Here are a few suggestions that you can implement to combat negativity in your work place: • Set the example by being your best and doing your best • Hang around with the winners, not the whiners • Create service best practices, and have everyone implement them • Have internal positive attitude training every week • Look at the best companies in America for practices you can adapt and adopt • Do your best at everything, everyday • Work on your attitude; you must think you will succeed before success is yours Each employee has the responsibility of representing their com- pany to their customers in a way that reflects the image needed to build or maintain a great reputation and a leadership position. Anything less than "best" is not acceptable. But here's the secret: don't do it for your company; do it for yourself. Develop pride in doing your best at your job, even if it's not your career. Never use the word "just" when you describe yourself. Real winners are few and far between and making yourself one is a choice. It's Not the Company It's the people in the company