Just Plain Bill

“You gotta know the territory…”

The musical, The Music Man, by Meredith Willson, includes a song with lyrics that capture perfectly the critically important aspect of the sales process: knowing your customer and his/her interests, needs, and desires.

The verse, “…but you gotta know the territory”, comes in the opening scene of the movie and featured in the song Rock Island, presented by a group of salesmen travelling from town to town.

To refresh your memory, the movie’s lead, “Professor” Harold Hill, a well-known con man, comes into town on a train, planning to sell musical instruments, music lessons, and all the trappings to the children of an Iowa town. He’d planned on skipping town after the initial sales, as he had no musical background, but, instead, fell in love with the town librarian, helped her son overcome his lisp - and ended up staying.

In all my years of sales training, THE one theme that resonates and endures is that of “knowing the territory” – learning as much about the customer as you build a relationship, learning more and more about the needs and wants of that customer, where, and how you can better meet those needs and wants.

On a similar note, I enjoy watching the TV show, Shark Tank, where a diverse group of successful business people considers investment proposals from entrepreneurs. In nearly every show, I’m amazed that the majority of presenters have not done research on each member of the show’s panel of wealthy investors; a failure to “know the territory” so the entrepreneur can perfect the pitch, refining features and benefits to match a panel member’s interests, likes, dislikes, and so on. With so much at stake, I’d think the presenters would memorize, then incorporate that easy-to-find information into a polished, professional proposal, delivered with a laser-like, personalized approach. (I’m tempted to write an eBook on the topic: “Perfecting your Shark Tank Presentation”. Maybe in my next life, eh?)

Here’s to your better “knowing the territory” of your next endeavor, either in business or in your personal life.

Just Plain Bill

The tropical storm named ‘Bill’…

It’s interesting that the naming of tropical storms has never been of much importance to me… hearing the names and promptly forgetting them, likely because I’ve never lived in areas where these storms caused serious problems.

That is until the latest “tropical depression” of June 2015 named “Bill”, which happened to bring damage to a friend of mine in Texas. I responded to her Facebook post that declared, “Bill is not welcome here”, referring to the storm that had uprooted a large tree in her front yard. She sent it to me in jest and I got quite a chuckle, but this caused me to check back in the record of storm names through the years, where I discovered that a different “Bill” caused widespread damage in June 2003 – yet was barely a blip on my radar.

I’ll probably go back to my casual recognition of names given to storms and tropical depressions. After all, life’s been good and storm free!

I wish the same for each of you, and especially for my friend in Texas!

Just Plain Bill

Obsessive-compulsive? Just a tad, eh?

I’m sure I have my obsessions, things about which I’m compulsive and which surely cause frustration (perhaps even some anger) from those with whom I interact, but nothing compares to what I experienced a few years ago while staying with friends prior to completing the AIDS fundraising bike ride from Boston to New York.

After a delicious dinner, I was helping with the dishes. My friend stopped me as I was putting the utensils and silverware into the dishwasher, pointing out to me that I was doing it “wrong”, according to the process he had learned from his girlfriend. Up to that moment in a life rich in worldly experiences, I hadn’t really realized there might be a “wrong” way to put utensils and silverware into a dishwasher. I quickly rearranged my “dishwasher filling style” to please my host and conform to the wishes of his girlfriend.

Upon further research, I realize that the experience I had labeled as “obsessive-compulsive” may not exactly fit the strictest definition, as it might not be something that is done repeatedly, or something having a negative effect on the lives of others. Maybe it was just something I felt was a little too strangely intense…

This is probably just one example of strange behaviors and idiosyncrasies we all have. Following this experience, I ran a little self-inventory to see if I could recognize (and possibly minimize or stop) my own behaviors that would seem strange to others.

After making up a long list, which I had to prioritize, then alphabetize, and then transfer to a masterfully created Excel spreadsheet, I was comfortable with my self-inventory! What? Does it seem just a tad excessively “organized” to you?

Perhaps one person’s needs for order and process are another person’s excesses. Obsessive or compulsive or what? What about you and yours?

Just Plain Bill

I learned a new word,

and it’s all about me

Seth Godin, best selling author, relentless blogger, and business evangelist, just taught me a new word, plyometrics.

·     Plyometrics

·       Explosive action. Training by jumping from a standing start. Not worrying about getting up to speed, but going from standing still to flight.

Not everyone needs to be good at this, but you can bet that most organizations need people who are.

Not, "I'll think about it," or, "I'll ask Susan what her take is," or, "Let's reconvene tomorrow..." but, instead, words like, "go," and "now." Perhaps it’s a little more than “ready, fire, aim.”

Plyometrics is an attitude, the willingness (the bravery) to try things on small groups, in controlled situations, to say, "Here, I did this, or I made this."

It's not a slipshod way of doing business for your core customers (that's another form of hiding). No, it's the posture of urgency.

Seth asks, “Will you leap?”

To that question I answer a definite “yes,” which may seem to be a little out of place for someone who is late into his seventh decade, at a time in one’s life when a “rocking chair” style is usually in order. 

Just Plain Bill

But I don’t “know” you…

One belief I’ve held onto during my over 40 years of teaching and training, is that my learners tend to master and apply what I’m teaching in direct proportion to how well I “know” them. I’m not sure how else to state that belief, but it’s becoming more of a factor as I’m doing more online teaching at this time. 

My personal experience of this concept from the learner’s perspective is quite limited. I took one correspondence course in the military through USAFI, the United States Armed Forces Institute. The course was free, with literally no interaction, and I discovered very quickly that the lack of personal connection led to my non-engagement, which resulted in failing the course.

Was my failure just a result of my learning style? My preferences for engagement, involvement, and comment?

I’ve added webinars to my online courses, which allow me to have limited engagement with directed questions and responses, and I combine them with a commitment to include personal, individual phone calls to discuss course progress. I find I do gain some valued contact with online students, which helps me customize any remedial or enriching work in my courses.

The jury is still out, but I have hopes for additional “knowing” moving forward, searching for new ways of connecting, to be a more effective teacher.