New next Open Seminar of "Freedom From Fear" will be at DiscoverU in Northgate (just north of Seattle) soooooooo mark your calendars for September 1st!
 

 

 Road Improvements  

How many names memorized?

To celebrate my 25 wedding anniversary, I took Debbie to “Lost Wages” NV, to see Jerry Seinfeld. Caesar's Palace is something to behold. Just when you think you have seen it all, there is a new casino in Nevada, The Wynn Las Vegas. The owner, Steve Wynn, is a pioneer, a world class leader. The hotel is amazing. It cost $2.7 Billion to build; it has a 5-story waterfall that cascades into a 3-acre man made lake. Sitting on 192 acres, it houses 2700 guests, boasts an 110,000 square foot casino, priceless artwork by Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne, and Van Gogh. Over 82,000 people applied for 9500 positions. Their web site is a visual and auditory spectacle. A cab driver told me as we drove by the hotel recently, a friend of his works there. Mr. Wynn has all 9500 employees’ names memorized. He calls them by name when they are NOT in uniform with a name badge. Imagine that? Mr. Wynn and his hotels are a WOW!

There is a Seattle company I’ve long admired and followed. Nordstrom. They are a WOW as well. I picked up the Sunday Business section of the Seattle Times some years ago and an article about Pat McCarthy caught my eye. He was a Super Salesman. The #1 Sales person at the famous retailer, Nordstrom. I called him up and invited him to breakfast. He didn’t mind when I brought out the tape recorder.

His personal story is a compelling one. He was a counselor for a few years after college. Then one day he went to work for the local retailing legend.

He was a complete failure, a flop, a dud. His boss’s boss said, “Fire him!” Ray Black, Pat’s boss, was a compassionate coach, teacher and super salesman himself. This Pat fellow was a potential protégé. Ray said to his boss, “Give me a month.” Ray employed some tough love. “My boss wants me to get rid of you. I believe in you, Pat. However, you are going to have to change, learn, grow and go to work on yourself. We have a month.”

To Pat’s credit, he went to work on his skills. He improved his product knowledge, qualifying questions, active listening skills, closing questions, service after the sale, proactive inside sales telephone calls in slow times, the list went on and on. He transformed himself.

He went on to become the co-author of the insightful business biopic “The Nordstrom Way.” The last time I talked with Pat, the book had turned him into “The Accidental Public Speaker.” He is now officially retired from the Downtown Seattle Nordstrom Store.

What follows are the causes of his success. They come from the interview, my observations of him in person and his book. If you are in sales (who isn’t) then make the time to:

a) Recognize the principles
b) Relate it to your world of sales
c) Assimilate the information
d) Apply it to your world….this information might just transform your sales career…

1. His Rolodex is his Bible, a loose leaf binder filled with customer contact information, over 6000 names with details on every prospect and client. Most people do not stay to build a customer base. (Sales is a long term, relationship game.)
2. He makes (40) calls a day (from his Bible). “It’s time to update…” is what he says when he calls. You know what? It always is! Integrity.
3. $1.3m/yr gross Sales in Men’s suits (this is almost twice as much as the next closest sales person at Nordstrom) = $80,000/yr. + Profit-sharing ($20-30,000) and benefits.
4. He cares! He remembers people’s names. He remembers their size, marital status, position, work and kids! His memory is a muscle that has grown over the years with practice and use.
5. He considers everything he does as his business. He embodies a Servant Leadership “Attitude!” Making deliveries and writing thank you notes is part of his franchise.
6. FILO! First In, Last Out… no breaks, no lunch. He just puts in the time. When he is at work, he works. Total focus!
7. He was a failure and they wanted to fire him. Then, he met Ray Black, his first mentor. Pat was a willing student. He studied! He changed, he evolved.
8. Ray taught him the value of remembering names. 6000 names in all. Yes, you read right, 6000 names memorized in his mental rolodex! Wow!
9. He learned to multi-task. He possesses world class people skills. It’s an art form, a show! He is so deft and tactful in his handling of multiple clients at once. He is so skilled, no one ever feels slighted!
10. Pat is an empathetic listener! He leans forward, he nods, and he never interrupts, and he really, really cares.
11. He sees himself as a counselor, coach and friend. “Giving back to the bucket of life” (See the book “How Full is you Bucket”)
12. When they are happy, he says: “This was fun for me! Shall we do this again?”
13. He is proactive and assertive. “It’s time to update!”
14. He is humble and kind. Soft-spoken!
15. You can find his story and Nordstrom’s in the book he co-authored, “The Nordstrom Way.”

Will any of us ever achieve that level of mental acumen to be able to remember 6000 names, let alone 9500 employees? But, hey, we can start with the people around us.

Can you lend me $499 bucks for one night? It’s the cheapest room at the Las Vegas Wynn. It’s a 600 square foot broom closet. The view is amazing. I am going to check in as soon I am done at Nordstrom.


 

 One for the road

This months must read "One for the Road" book is "The Nordstrom Way" by Robert Spector and Pat McCarthy - 1996 Wiley (reprint) - 256 page - ISBN: 0471161608

Nordstrom has long had the reputation for outstanding customer service. This book, coauthored by one of Nordstrom's top sales associates, Pat McCarthy, tells how Nordstrom earned that reputation. The work combines case studies and personal narrative with some history of the store. Each chapter helps the reader see one or more aspects of what has made Nordstrom so successful. Learn what "Other Centered" means.

Did you know that it's called "Nordstrom" not "Nordstoms". That's OK most people don't.

 

  Watch "The Road" Buddy!

Have you been to Matteson Avenue lately? Here are some of the updated places to visit:

100 Best Fiction books!

The E-Zine Street Archive!

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 The Boulevard

This months featured web site is none other than Steve Wynn's Las Vegas Wynn. You may never go to Vegas and if you did might not say with Steve but you might want to visit his hotel either in person or on-line. Either way you are in for a treat!

 

 The Wire's Conduit

This months Wire tip is all about backing up. It sounds so simple but very few people "ever" do it. With faster CD and DVD burners out there you just don't have an excuse anymore. Do yourself a favor and backup (copy) your "My Documents" folder to a fresh CD or two. You'll sleep better tonight.

My folder is pretty big so I back up to an external USB hard drive. Still, I can just click and drag files to the external drive.

Next month we talk about backing up all that email!

I rate this a 10 on the value scale (1-10 - 10 being best)
I rate this a 1 on the complexity scale ( 1-10 - 10 being hardest)

Questions? email Kevin at kevin@mattesonavenue.com

 

 End Construction  

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