Cocoon your customers

"Retain 95% of key accounts," Erhard insisted that to be the main objective

I learned from Sheraton to brickwall my existing customers - shielding them from the competition and making them feel warm and fuzzy. Aggressive Directors of Sales & Marketing not only brickwall our own customers, we also un-brickwall our competition's.

The key to liberating my competition's customers which has worked for me is patience: don't try to create immediate and permanent shift.

I find many times that the 1st step is to catalyze a change in consumer habits via a trial usage. Familiarisation trips and site inspections are great selling moments which often are taken for granted.

I always try to get close to my customer that my competition doesn't have an opening.

from left: Theresa and Darren

I can do it

"The accelerated decline of achievements in Q1 is alarming" the email for the 3+9 Review Meeting started. "To be sure, the picture isn’t entirely grim. And many of these indicators have their flip sides" it continued.

Keen intellect, business competence and strong interpersonal skills, I have been told, are essential leadership qualities. But one quality that makes the difference against the background of the economic slump and the swine flu, is the ability to remain optimistic in the face of daunting adversity.

Optimism is an important quality, but denial is deadly. Effective leadership, to me in demanding situations, means being able to see the optimistic view and, at the same time, deal with the brutal truth.

The headline

"We need a headline that grabs you by the scruff of your neck and says, 'Look at me!'" the late S.H. taught me.

Surveys concluded that readers look at a newspaper page an average of 4 seconds before turning the page. In those 4 seconds they look at the news headlines 1st.

All ads, or flyers or brochures that I do, I try to say something in the headlines that makes them want to stop and keep on reading.

In my 21 years in sales and marketing, I can summise that there are only 2 things that people buy: solutions to problems and good feelings.

Words that work in headlines are words like new, free, how to, amazing, guarantee, you, now

Ads with headlines that promise a benefit are read by 4 times more people that headlines that don't have benefits.

Marketing a beach resort is no different. People are interested in the fun time they can have. Not in our accommodation room and beach.

The secret of sales success

"Paul was always a pleasure to work with," Sherin, the former Asia Pacific Regional and Worldwide Hotel Program Manager of Agilent Technologies recommended on LinkedIn. "As his customer, he has always shown professionism, integrity, honesty and sincerity. That is the key to his success. Overall a great guy to work with."

The one quality that every great salesperson has got to have is credibility.

It means one is reliable, trustworthy and derserving of his or her confirdence and commitment.

It's not quite true that it's all you need, because even if the customer believe in you, you still need analytical skills and persistence. But if one doesn't have credibility in their eyes, then nothing else matters.

From left: Dominic, Denise

Every loss and heartbreak contains a lesson

"It's ok to make mistakes," Umehara always said. "But don't make the same mistake twice."

Think of Wily Coyote.

Cartoon after cartoon, doom after doom. 1st run and repeats make no difference. The Roadrunner isn't such a genius. He's fast, but he would've been stomped, crushed or even eaten long ago if the Coyote had learned and applied just one damned thing from his mistakes.

Though we shouldn't dwell on defeats, losses or heartbreaks, I think we will do well to study them, consider every angle from every perspective. I always try to analyse how or why I failed and what I can do to prevent the same conclusion from recurring.

To tell up front

"It's good to be so open," Carolyn said on the ferry. "It's better than being surprised later."

Today's workers are more educated, motivated, responsible and more capable of doing their job without being closely supervised.

Good communication right from the start is the most important thing. I never hide anything from my team. I tell them up front what is involved, how long it is going to take, what their role is, how they will be affected. Everything has to be told upfront.

From right: Chloe, Stephie, Jades

The paradox of love

"My wife will visit me over weekends," Pali jested at lunch in pasir Gudang. "She is a weekend wife."

For me, love means a concern for, an acceptance of, and an interest in the one whom I am trying to love. Love is indeed demanding., but it is not unrewarding.

So often I see or hear a friend demanding someone to love him without being to make the sacrifice himself. The moment we ask that question: "what have you done for me?" we have ceased to love.