I’m on hold this past week with my website hosting company with some questions about our account. I have a somewhat complex question/request for them which requires the customer service rep to put me on hold to obviously research it. I don’t mind being put on hold as I am ever hopeful they come back with the solution. However, I was a bit shocked by the hold music when she put me on hold the first time. The song was Another One Bites the Dust. I kept waiting for the dial tone as surely she was preparing to hang up on me. I was relieved when she returned. I explained… Read More
Continue ReadingIt Could Be Worse
This Forbes story is probably more therapeutic than anything else – the gist of it is that celebrities make colossal business mistakes. One thing I have always wondered about, where is the anger towards celebrity pay? I hear of the anger regarding CEO compensation, but never so much as a whisper of discontent regarding celebrity compensation. At any rate, I had completely forgotten about this stunning blunder: The award for biggest entrepreneurial swing-and-miss might go to actress Kim Basinger. Smoldering in films such as 9 1/2 Weeks, Batman, L.A. Confidential and I Dreamed Of Africa, Basinger bombed on a grand scale in 1990 when she sunk $20 million into buying… Read More
Continue ReadingStupid Sales Moves
Funny article from Saleshq.com: While working my way through college, I sold vacuum cleaners. Trying to close a sales call, I asked the prospects if I could use their phone to call my boss and see if I could get them a better price. Of course, I already knew what I could sell it for. So instead of dialing the whole number and bothering the boss, I only dialed six numbers. After a few minutes of acting like I was talking to my boss, the phone started making that really loud beeping noise that lets you know the phone is off the hook. They asked me to leave. R-O-O-K-I-E. I… Read More
Continue ReadingHow To Lose Your Job
Chances are if urination is involved, you will lose your job. From SalesHQ.com’s article 15 Stupidest Ways to Lose Your Job: When April 15 rolls around, urinating on the IRS might be on top of your to do list. But be careful—like audits, the IRS does not take peeing lying down. As first reported by The Smoking Gun, an IRS employee relieved himself in the freight elevator “on numerous occasions.” After the signature scent was noticed, a federal agent installed a surveillance camera and caught the urinator in the act. Did the culprit have a bladder problem? No, he said he “did this because he felt he could get away… Read More
Continue ReadingOptimism Defined
The epitome of optimism – a headline from abcnews.com: Has the Recession Finally Ended? I guess you could characterize this as “talking up” the economy. Here is one paragraph from the article that made me laugh (emphasis mine): Today also brought some positive news from the much-battered retail sector. For the first time in three months, retail sales in May rose, by 0.5 percent, according to the Commerce Department. The sales were pushed higher by increased demand for new cars and sales at gas stations. It was the largest increase since sales rose 1.7 percent in January following six straight monthly declines. While this is good news, part of the… Read More
Continue ReadingMediocre People
This quote is from the JustSell.com daily email. I thought it was excellent: “Mediocre people have an answer for everything and are astonished at nothing.” Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) French Artist
Continue ReadingEven Airlines Use Assessments
Short background here is that Delta bought Northwest Airlines and now I am in the process of switching my frequent flyer program to Delta. Being a free miles junkie, I completed Delta’s online travel profile. I thought it was simple background info/preferences for me. At the end of the 15 questions I receive this information: Speed Racer Comfort Seeker Opportunist Grand Planner YOU TRAVEL IN THE FAST LANE, WITH MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY. As one of those rare, special people who gets things done quicker when there’s more to do, you prioritize your time to your advantage. You always find a way to be more efficient, and you never met an obstacle… Read More
Continue ReadingCustomers Are Pigs
I have a new favorite title for a sales ad: Territory Manager, Swine-Minnesota I’m not making that up, it is an actual title. This seems remedial, but employment ad titles do matter. Most of us remember the days of looking at ads in a paper where space was limited and costly. Titles were less important then because the ad was still displayed. Not today – I only see the title of the ad and the company in the electronic format. The title has to be strong enough to elicit the click. I think there are many companies that still miss that critical point. And the major culprits are companies with… Read More
Continue ReadingQuote Of The Day
This is from JustSell.com: Obstacles cannot bend me. Every obstacle yields to effort. –Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian painter, sculptor and inventor
Continue ReadingHappiness Is Outstate
Ok, I’m confused – from our local Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal: Gallup, Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans earlier this week ranked Minnesota as fifth in the country for the overall health of its people. In the case of emotional health, Minnesotans were ranked fourth. The ranking, derived from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, comes about a week after the Minneapolis metro area came in 19th in BusinessWeek.com’s list of the 20 unhappiest cities in the United States. In Minnesota, we refer to the Twin Cities as the “metro area” and the rest of the state as “outstate.” Apparently happiness is found in the outstate areas. This distinction is even more… Read More
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