Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Popcorn

One of my Facebook friends. Kim Duke, produces a useful newsletter about selling- she's not styled the Sales Diva for nothing.This week her artilce really made me smile so here is an abridged version:

In the good old days popcorn was not a bag that you put in the microwave - to make popcorn you needed a stove, a pot with a lid, oil, popcorn.When you made popcorn - you put the pot on the stove, heated the element, added the oil, then the popcorn, put on the lid and then you waited.

What was the first thing that happened ?
NOTHING.
NOTHING.
NOTHING.

And then???

A lonely little POP.

More waiting.

Then another 2 or 3 little POPS.

Then you start shaking the pot slowly (so nothing burns) and then

POPPETY POPPOPOPOPOPOP POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP

Kim says this is like the sales process. She exhorts her readers to make SALES POPCORN. To do this:

You need to have many popcorn pots on your SALES STOVE.

You need to be planting seeds, making connections, have proposals out there with
the right companies and people.

You need to be watching those seeds, giving it some time, shaking the pot a bit and making sure that nothing is burning!

She then askes her reader whether they are making these Sales Popcorn Mistakes:

- You plant some seeds (network, meet with clients, send out an ezine, etc).
- Then you get impatient and keep lifting the lid off the pot or adjust the temp mid-way.
- You ignore your customers who have been loyal to you through good times and bad.
- You only have one SALES POPCORN pot on the stove.
- You only have a few SALES POPCORN seeds in the pot.
- You use stale popcorn seeds that need to be pitched out.

I thought this was a really brilliant analogy and worth sharing with my readers.

Kim's website

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Be in business mode when working from home.

I was browsing through Betty McCray's blog and found a post about setting yourself an appointment at 9am each and every day if you work from home so that you don't let the start time for your day slide. Whether its a meeting with a client or a telephone appointment it ensures that you get your day started in a businesslike way.

I would also add the importance of dressing for business - not only does it put your mind in work mode but it also means that if you get a call from a potential client who wants to meet up almost straight away you're not rushing off to the bathroom to shower and dress and slap make-up on. (OK I'm sitting here typing this in my pj's but it is 5am and my excuse is I am jetlagged and heading back to bed for a couple of hours.!!)

Betty McCrays blogpost

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Canadian citizen (not by birth ) - be careful at Heathrow airport

Be warned - if you fly out of Heathrow with Air Canada and are resident in Canada you risk getting serious hassle and even being refused the right to fly if you do not have a Canadian passport OR a foreign passport and Permanent Resident card. I have been a proud Canadian citizen for almost 4 years. I do not have a Canadian passport as I don't need one, they're expensive and the waiting list to get one is horrendous. It is quite legal for me to fly into Canada with my British passport and a Canadian citizenship card. Permanent Resident and a Citizen of Canada are two distinct status and once a Citizen you do not need, and indeed cannot have, a Permanent Resident card.I pointed this out to the Air Canada check-in person but she decided to get an 'immigration expert'.

The 'immigration expert' had serious 'attitude' and claimed that the citizenship card is honorific and has no value as an ID document - it was just for people like me who had emigrated to Canada and gone through the process of becoming a citizen - an honorary document. This was said in a tone that was méprisant and by someone who seemed to not like immigrants. I was so upset I could have cried.

I told the immigration officer at Montreal airport about all this and he was disgusted that this had happened to me BUT warned me to be careful as these people who, even though they are totally wrong, have POWER, the power to refuse someone the right to board an Air Canada flight to travel back home to Canada.


Sorry to rant but I am so upset by this and want to go public on it to warn other people.

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