Best Buy Is Not the Best Buy
One Saturday night my home laptop died an unexpected death. As I was to find out, the hard drive died along with the computer. So once I got through the grief period, I set out to buy a new laptop. BUY a new one is the important word in the sentence and the shopping experience. I went to Best Buy where two “salespeople” worked so hard to be user-unfriendly that I walked out of the store, across the parking lot, to HH Gregg.
Lesson Learned: I was not window or price shopping. I was going to buy a laptop that night. The two Best Buy un-salespeople kept throwing up roadblocks and additional costs. They forgot they were selling a commodity. I went to HH Gregg where I was met by Davor Mierzvinski, a salesperson and U.S. army vet. He listened, helped me, helped me quickly, went above and beyond by offering to try to get the info off my dead hard drive. When that was not possible, he invited me to bring my office laptop and he transferred all of my files for me. Are you making it easy for people to buy from you or a challenge to buy from you?
Herbie’s Hint: H is for Hideous
My Dad always said that it didn’t matter what they said about you, as long as they spelled your name right. Recently Akron Life & Leisure magazine asked me to have my picture taken for an article on the KNOW in which they were nice enough to include me. After the magazine “hit the newsstands,” I received an envelope in the mail. I noticed my name was misspelled as I tore open the handwritten envelope. Someone, anonymous of course, had photocopied the picture and wrote a note to me, “H is for hideous.”
Lesson Learned: You might be wondering why I would share what could have been a private story. Two reasons. 1. We are always figuratively one envelope away from an alternate reality. We could be one envelope or one phone call away from a life-changing client or one envelope away from someone thinking we are hideous. Life can change for the better or worse in a moment. 2. The sender did not spell my name right. But I did get coverage and my Dad would say that was most important: someone was talking about me. Are people talking about you?
Miss Natcha Vallarta
In August, I interviewed Joy Chicatelli. She had written a children’s book titled Bailey’s Heartstrings. For pet lovers it took up where Rainbow Bridge ends. According to her book, Bailey could not cross over “The Bridge” until he found a new dog for his family. After searching the world, he found his replacement at a pet shelter.
Lesson Learned: When I met the 3-month puppy who would become Miss Natcha Vallarta, I thought of Bailey’s Heartstrings. I did not go to Mexico with the idea of coming home with a dog. As I kept going back to see her each day, sitting on that cold hard floor, I wondered if my Missy was leading me to her. Did Missy need to finish her job? What can you believe in just because you want to?
What I Learned from Donald Trump
Can’t We Shoot the Celebrity Chefs – Especially Paula Deen
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Is Your Value Visible?
If you put your ear to the ground…you can hear it. There is a groundswell, and it’s coming your way.
Will you be a leader in this grassroots movement or will you bring up the rear?
To be in the forefront, you must redefine how you discover, define and discuss your value with all those you encounter, both professionally and personally. First, you need to discover your value both as an individual and as an organization. Then you need to articulate this value with a clarity that compels people to think, talk and act in ways that create a “professional velocity” propelling you toward your goals.
Have you seen the popular motivational poster that reads, “LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY?” Although the message applies to leadership, the same can be said for how you see yourself in this “Communicating Your Value” movement.
Bold individuals and visionary companies look for a competitive edge. Let’s fact it; we all compete in a hyper-competitive world. We are constantly looking for an edge in price, service – or anywhere else we can proclaim to our customers – that we do it better. To gain that edge each of you can adapt the mindset to recognize the twist – the impetus – that makes this movement unique. It’s based on the idea that value is in the application of an idea, not on the idea itself.
To be included in this “Communicating Your Value” movement you must first rethink how you discuss your value. Standout value is defined as making that which is already there, known. Or, one might say making the invisible, visible.
Can you develop and discuss your value on an ongoing basis? I believe the only way to discover value is to use powerful, probing questions to uncover your story – and to create a new one.
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How the Sweater Vest beat the Guy from Central Casting
Mitt Romney is hitting his head against a brick wall this week. He and his PACS spent millions. Rick Santorum spent $100,000+ .
Communication Lesson Learned: your audience (voters) decide your value, not you the speaker. The Rules of Communication apply even if your net value is $250 million. You need BUY-IN from your audience. Santorum got it by speaking face to face in every county in Iowa.
