There is no such thing as a born...

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The born salesperson

500+ Seth Godin by Seth Godin  /  5d  //  keep unread  //  hide

There’s no such thing as a born salesperson.

What there are… are people with empathy and learned charisma who choose to work hard.

If you show up and show up and show up, and care enough to learn to connect, you will have a skill for life.

In the meantime, consider getting yourself hooked on 30 minutes a day of audio that trains you to sell. It takes a while, but it’s learnable.

Zig Ziglar, Anthony Iannarino, Dan Pink, Brian Tracy, Frank Bettger, Jill Konrath … anyone who will help you learn the long-game, the generous long game.

I love this article by Seth Godin, especially because the content of the message is true no matter the subject.

You can insert almost any topic and the statement is still true.

There is no such thing as a born…

• Leader
• Teacher
• Parent
• Finance Manager
• Event Planner
• Marketing Manager
• CEO
• Business Owner
• Friend

But, if you show up and show up and show up, and care enough to learn, you will have a skill for life.

The question is "What do you care about getting better at?"

"Where in your life is your good enough not good enough?"

The best leaders are always learning because they know what they have is a skill.  And that skill must continue to be honed and practiced or it gets dull and no longer serves you.  If you do not know where to start, start by identifying the people you admire.  Read and research what they are doing, then, go and show up.  

It's not about the eggs (but it is all about the eggs)

Customer Service Story

It was a quick trip to the grocery store, needed to grab eggs, soup, and a gluten-free dessert for Lisa.  It was mentally taxing because I was doing this without a list (I know, I like to live dangerously). 

I keep repeating eggs, soup, gluten-free dessert; eggs, soup, gluten-free dessert; eggs, soup, gluten-free dessert so I do not forget what I came in for. 

Grab all three items, no cart or basket for this guy, and proceed to checkout.  My cashier rings up my items, and then she takes the extra step as she is sacking my order to open the eggs to make sure none are broken. 

The extra step.  The one the other stores do not do, they ring you up and get you out.  It takes time, it takes training and yet it is so helpful to me the customer.  You see I was so intent on what I wanted to get, eggs, I forget that I needed to open them to make sure they were not cracked (which of course mine were).  Arriving home with cracked eggs is an inconvenience, but it is completely avoidable with good customer service.

Thank you Market Street, for the care and training you give to your employees.  It truly is the focus on the little things that make this store such a special place, because all of these little things add up to loyal customers.

So, what are the cracked eggs that show up in your business?  

What is that little something extra that you can do (or used to do) that makes your customers love you and go out of their way to return to you?

If you don’t look for and fix, well the “yokes” on you (so sorry, I could not resist!)

Lessons on Reflections

When do you reflect on what just happened? 

I have found that most leaders are running so fast from completed project to the start of the next project that they never leave time for stopping to learn from what just happened. 

What insights, lessons, or do overs are you missing out on?  If you have to do this project again (or a similar type event) in the future, here are a few questions to consider asking yourself:

• What would you do different?
• What would you keep the same?
• What would you not do (the next time around)?
• What would you add?
• What would you try/experiment with next time?

The magic is not in the questions asked, but in the slowing down and reflecting on the events.  That is where the lessons are learned and your growth as a leader occurs.  Slow down, reflect and you will get more done.

What is one thing you have learned from reflecting back on last week?