E-Zine Street
Volume 1, # 2 The Service Professionals Resource - January 1, 2005 - $2.95

Hello Again Friends,

Welcome back to E-Zine Street! Oh, and Happy New Year! How are those resolutions coming? Remember, first we form habits and then they form us. Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with! Fulton Sheen said, "The great advantage of habit is that is saves us a lot of attention, effort, and brain work." Are you serious about your resolutions? Grab your journal and record five habits (resolutions) you'd like to have. If your journal's not handy, grab a 3X5 card or a post-it. Now, on another sheet record the five habits that are getting in the way of your better future. Most experts will tell you that it takes 21 to 35 days to form a new habit (good or bad), so review your lists every day for at a month and take action! A wise man once said, "No matter where you go, there you are..... and if you don't watch out.....you'll get there".

A great big Thank You goes out to all of you who sent us comments and feedback. Our goal is that each issue of E-Zine Street has a different, yet interrelated, aspect of Leadership development to consider.

Next, an apology. Our shopping cart was a little buggy for the first weeks of December. Many of you shared your frustration when you tried to order product. Now all is well in shopping cart land. We even added a second resource to help with any more bugs. But, again thanks for your patience!

Watch "The Road" Buddy!
Our NEW Web Community Matteson Avenue has much to offer. Here are some of the many benefits you receive at Matteson Avenue:

"Are Those Guppies?"

A number of years ago, a contractor asked me for a consultation to help with one of his salespeople. We'll call this salesperson Jim. He was an affable fellow: kind, caring, and likable. Jim was a parts driver, when his company decided that he would make a good salesperson. With no training and very little help, they threw to the wolves. Jim had a lot of activity, but not a single sale in three months.

A number of problems were apparent right off the bat, in particular the way he dressed. He still looked like a parts driver: baseball cap, a coat with "Jim" on the lapel, and company-issued pants that were just a little too small. The broad mind of his youth had traded places with his narrow waist. Having said all that, he did a great job of following up on the leads that came in. He had 15 proposals outstanding, but no signature. We scheduled three appointments for the day.

Our first call was to a pet store in a mall. Jim had a $1,500 test-and-inspect maintenance agreement ready to present. We arrived at 9:00 A.M. and were greeted by a very receptive owner. He had a triple-net lease, which meant he was responsible for maintenance and repair. He was referred to the contractor by two of his neighbors who were using this company's services and were delighted with them. It should have been a slam dunk.
I sat back to watch, listen, and observe. Jim talked about the weather, the baseball team, and pets. After 20 minutes, he ran out of small talk. It was time to ask for the sale. This is a tense moment for a new, untrained, and unassertive sales rep. You could smell the fear. He opened his mouth...

"Are those guppies?" he asked.

Like Thor, the god of thunder, Jim broke the silence-and my faith in him-with one swift swing of his hammer.

"Yes," said the owner, walking over to the tank.

You see, prospects don't like to talk about closing the deal any more than a new sales rep does. I couldn't stand it anymore.

"I hate to interrupt your conversation about fish, but can I ask you a couple of questions?"

It was now 9:24 A.M. and mall's iron gate would go up in six minutes.

"Sure," replied the owner, shifting his focus to me.

"Do you want Jim's technicians to come out in the morning or in the afternoon?" I asked.

Pausing for a moment to consider, he replied, "Mornings are best for me."

"Fine," I said, writing down his answer. "Do you want this service agreement to bill monthly or quarterly?"

Again, the store owner answered quickly, "We do everything monthly."

I scribbled again. "Do you want to authorize this agreement on Jim's back or would you prefer the table?"

He shook his head with a big smile, "NOOOO, I wouldn't use his back!" Walking over to the table, he signed the agreement without reading it or looking at the price.

You see, he trusted Jim. He wanted to sign. He had already made a decision to buy, but he had to be led. In sales, you still have to ask for the order. In this case, I used the "trial" close, blended with an "alternative advance". I also used a little humor to break the tension. The owner was grateful. Jim was confused.

I said, "You probably want to finish preparing to open your store."

Jim and I left, mission accomplished.

In sales, if you can't or won't ask for the sale, you are just a nice conversationalist. Sales studies by the American Management Association show that a salesperson has a 64 percent chance of closing the sale after the fifth request to buy.

Remember that the next time you visit a prospect with the clear expectation to close. In my sales training seminars, I suggest to my audience that they begin the meeting with this: At the end of this meeting, I am going to ask you to make a make a decision. Is that fair enough? It's better than asking, "Are those guppies?"

One for the Road

As you may have gathered from last month, "One for the Road" is our monthly book review. This month we have another life-changing book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki. A must-read for aspiring millionaires. This book has spent 221 weeks on the New York Times best seller list. Doesn't that make you a little curious? Learn how to make your money work for you and why you don't need to earn a high income to become rich! This true story created one paradigm shift after another for me. It shattered all my old and erroneous beliefs about money and opportunity. I read it on a flight from New Jersey in one sitting, then re-read it. The next day I bought a copy for my wife. Within 3 months of buying two copies, we have our first rental house and plan to buy three more in 2005! If you want results, buy this book and do what he says. Your kids will thank you.

In this section of E-Zine Street, we feature one of our favorite Web sites. This month Tim Conner gets the honor. Tim is the author of over 45 books and he's a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional). You can find his site at http://www.timconnor.com/. There are tons of resources and articles so go and click around.

Again, thanks for making it this far. There is so much more to come. If you have enjoyed receiving E-Zine Street, opt-in below by clicking on "Update Profile/Email Address" (to be sure we have your correct email address). To get your Free E-Book for opting in, click here mailto:ebook@mattesonavenue.com?subject=Fr^ee E-Zine E-Book. You can also forward E-Zine Street to a friend by clicking "Forward Email" below.

Join "The Road" to Continuous Improvement!
1-877-672-2001 fax 1-334-262-1115
mark@mattesonavenue.com
http://www.mattesonavenue.com/