Congrats to Chelsie Bowden for bringing the most Guests in December 2011.
Where: Crystal Creek Cafe in Bothell, WA AKA the scene of the crime.
Thank you for agreeing to help us. The group has many skills but we need your help to solve this horrible crime. We will help you in any way we can.
You search the cafe for clues. There is still some yellow police tape, tucked into the door handle. There is fingerprint powder on the windows, but the police had said they didn’t get any clear prints.
You notice a small smudge on the floor by the cash register. Yellow police tape on the door.
Ask our expert carpet cleaner about his opinion of the carpet smudge.
GOOD LUCK SOLVING OUR MYSTERY!
“Golden Nuggets” is the term we use at Southwestern Consulting to describe the seemingly insignificant things that people say throughout the course of conversation. A common denominator amongst most successful influencers of people is that they pay attention to every word that comes out of someone’s mouth.
Earlier this year, I was following a sales rep in the field for a sales performance consulting project. I was perplexed how many things the prospect was saying that the sales rep wasn’t paying attention to. It was like gold bars flying out of the prospects mouth, and instead of taking out a net and catching the gold bars, the sales rep was dodging them and trying to get through their presentation as fast as possible.
So what are the little things you should be listening for? Here is a list of “golden nuggets”:
– hobbies and things they do for fun
– people they know that you know as well
– things that they are interested in
– what they like about your product or service
– their answer to all of your questions
– people they say would be interested in your product or service
– what they don’t like about the current service provider
– why they didn’t buy from the last person they talked with
– why they accepted the meeting with you
– what grade their kids are in
– where they work
– what area of town they live in
– where they grew up
– what they say after you answer their objections
– why they bought
– why someone didn’t buy
– what they like the best about your product or service
– what kind of dog they have
– what kind of car they drive
– their favorite sport
– how they know the referrals they gave you
– what they did before the job they’re at now
Take a look at this list and ask yourself “how effective am I at getting ‘golden nuggets,’ remembering them, and then using that information at the right time to answer objections, influence someone to see things my way, set an appointment, or close a sale?” I recommend creating a “Golden Nugget” note book that you write down all of the detailed information you gather about the people that you interact with daily. Then before every meeting or phone call where you’re talking with someone that you’ve got “golden nuggets” about, you pull out your “golden nugget” notebook and review the valuable information you know about them before engaging with them.
Have fun gold digging! by Dustin Hillis Co-founder of Southwestern Consulting
One of the fundamental hallmarks of successful companies, and a key building block for successful business careers, is a predisposition to 1) initiate and engage in powerful conversations, and 2) facilitate communication networks. The strongest leaders ensure that everyone – including themselves – talks with everyone, real time, all the time. And we’re not just talking about social marketing with customers.
Companies need to ensure that all cylinders fire when they should and all wheels are perfectly aligned. Functional excellence is great, but integrative excellence – the ability to build processes, structures, and culture that destroy organizational silos while energizing networks, conversations, and collaboration – is even better.
Entrepreneurs who don’t participate in and cultivate networks will fail. Maybe that wasn’t true a decade or two ago, but in our 24/7 networked world of social media, there is no alternative. Opt out at your own peril. Our networks must include every function in our companies – yes, even the unholy trinity of Finance, Legal, and Regulatory – as well as peers in other industries.
A few things to consider:
Here’s the underlying reality: Everything (that includes us) is interconnected. Marketers can’t get there without Sales, Finance, Operations, Product Development, agencies, and of course those pesky customers. Solopreneurs can’t get there without referral networks, suppliers, clients, etc. Your success depends on my success and vice versa.
So kumbaya, my friends: if we are not working together, surely we will end up playing alone. And any kindergartener can tell you that’s not as much fun.
by Mark P. Friedman of Fast Growth Advisors
The naive farmer farms as his parents, grandparents and great grandparents did. She plants, hopes and harvests. Anything that goes well or poorly is the work of the gods.
The professional farmer measures. She tests. She understands how systems work and is constantly tweaking to improve them. When failure happens, she doesn’t rest until she understands why.
I didn”t use the word amateur, because money isn’t the point. The naive farmer is failing to take responsibility and failing to learn. The naive marathon runner straps on sneakers and runs (but doesn’t finish). The professional marathoner trains. The naive office worker empties his inbox. The professional works to understand how the office functions.
Mostly, the professional asks questions… What’s next? How to improve? What’s this worth? Why is this happening?
[By the way, it's possible to be naive and happy. It's difficult to be naive and productive, though.]
I spent the last week working with Western Seed and Juhudi Kilimo, two vibrant companies that are helping small-plot farmers in Kenya (and beyond) dramatically increase their yields, their income and their well-being. It became clear early on that the real challenge is to help the naive become professional. Once you open that door (whether it’s about how you build a website, swim laps or teach school), so many other things fall into place.
Before you can sell a service, a product or an insight to the naive, you need to sell them on being professional.
