#wired: the UN has voted on a specific course of action and that’s actually the best we’re going to get

[helimir]

i can’t write this coherently but it’s unbelievably stupid that the members of bells hells who are like ‘the gods have too much control over mortals, things need to change’ are also the ones dedicated to following specifically the arch heart’s plan (which they believe, incorrectly, is also the matron’s plan) and have completely ignored the plan of the exandrian concord, which represents the closest thing we have to the entirety of mortal civilization on exandria. like who exactly should be in control of this??

[donbrownposts]

Creative Selling

FEAR OF NO                                                                                                                                   

 Why do so many people fear the word no?  Is this word so negative you would sometimes wish it never existed?   Imagine how your childhood would have been if mom or dad never told you no? Stay up all hours, hang out with your friends all night on week days or ever worry about what your mom or dad would say if you did not do your homework or complete a term paper? How about that school teacher who made you keep quiet in class or send you to the principal’s office after throwing an object across the classroom or pushing the fire alarm on a snowy day? How great it would be if you just did not have to deal with the word NO!  

 Doesn't salesmen deal with no all the time or military personnel are constantly told no throughout their tour of duty and of course we all at one time or another had to face rejection from the opposite sex while finally getting the nerve to ask and then THAT BIG FAT WORD NO. Yes, we are all told no all the time whatever it's being rejected by the opposite sex or told you did not qualify for a certain sports event or get that great job offer that would push your career to the next level?  It is all part of life and will always be around regardless of how you make a living or perhaps want to buy a car and the finance company rejects your loan request or declines your application for a mortgage on your dream home. No matter who you are or what you do there will be times when one must sell something including yourself. No is just a big part of the process and selling is a process.

Selling Your Self or Something

What actually does sell yourself or selling something actually mean? Perhaps a better word might be persuasion. Isn't to persuade the same as to sell someone? First let us look at the definition of persuasion. “The action or fact of persuading someone or being persuaded to do or believe something.” Other words associated with persuasion are coercion, inducement, encouragement, urging, enticement, and wheeling. If you are going into B2B  sales the most important word you can or should remember is ethics. This word goes a long way in selling oneself which is the key in selling any product or service.

 Persuasion, in my opinion, is nothing more than presenting facts to support a theory or hypothesis that answers a question or solves a problem. Ben Franklin as everyone is familiar with from the history of the United States was faced with proving that lightning and electricity was the same. Mr. Franklin, as we all know, did the famous kite flight with a metal key attached to a wire on the kite and when the lightning struck the kite, Mr. Franklin felt a strong shock that proved lightning was in fact electricity. This obviously proved that Ben Franklin's theory of lighting and electricity is the same and was of course an excellent example of persuasion. The power of persuasion is not to force or to push someone into buying something regardless of the results, but is the ability to help solve a problem in his or her business. One can follow all the text book strategies and tactics in the world, and which is important, but nothing is going to happen until both the customer and the seller meets agreement on a specific problem and the seller can demonstrate to the buyer a successful solution that solves the problem. The case of Berger Industries, Maspeth, NY is a perfect case example to illustrate this.

 A purchasing agent of several years and who just recently joined the company is briefed by the company's Chief Engineer that the new plastic pipeline product is having issues with assembly of the O'Ring seal, it was very time consuming and frustrating the assembly operator and supervisor. It was originally estimated that the process would take 20 to 30 seconds to install and has been actually taking over one minute and sometimes longer. The operator has to struggle while sliding the rubber seal over the pipe and due to excessive friction finds it to be a very hard in pushing the O'Ring into the groove.” This job was supposed to be a high profit maker but at this rate it will be a definite loser.”  The new purchasing agent Norm while holding his finger to his chin expressed, “Let me make a few calls and see what might be done about this.” “There must be a simpler way of accomplishing this. “up Armed with his list of prior relationships in the rubber seal business, places a call to a reputable supplier of rubber products that he did business with at one of his previous employers. Norm was put in contact with myself and after explaining the situation I scheduled an appointment for the following morning. We had the usual hand shake and simple conversation over coffee and after a brief meeting was introduced to the chief engineer and assembly supervisor. Looking at the application reminded me of the exact same problem with another plastic pipe manufacturer. The problem in assembly of O'Ring Seals over any pipe is a significant amount of friction.  I asked the customer for a few days to produce some prototype samples and would get back to them. I immediately placed a sample order and had O'Rings in a special compound as I promised delivered to Norm and engineer for test and evaluation. The engineer and assembly supervisor were amazed as to how much faster and  

easier the O'Rings slipped over the pipe and into the groove. Their original estimate of 20 seconds per seal was reduced in half to under 19 seconds. Smiles from ear to ear came across to all three participants and obviously I walked out afterwards with a contract for a two-year supply. Our compound was specified as sole source and a two-year contract had the business locked up and out of reach from competition. This is an example of servicing an UN-served market resident immediately flew up to meet with me and question my company loyalty and why I cost the company so much money by selling a special compound as opposed to selling parts already in stock.  Once he heard the total story the facts of the case he quickly came to my support and someone else got faced with further training on understanding customer’s needs.    

 Prospective employees waiting for their job interview, a businessman making the first step of a start-up business or baseball pitcher trying out for a major or minor league baseball team all have the common denominator of the word no. What makes this word so powerful that it puts so many strong people into a frenzy and such a deep fear and anxiety? Such a simple and common word that in many of us will do almost anything to avoid dealing with it.  Why would so many people carry so much negative emotion so afraid of the outcome of events?  What we do need to realize is that fear in atoll shapes and sizes is a part of everyone's life and it is just about impossible to change that. Famous actors also go through fear of rejection with almost every audition, entrepreneurs may start over twenty business o [opportunities before finding one successful one, polished sales people will make several presentations and be rejected as well as some of the best criminal attorneys will experience some losses at one time or another. Perry Mason even lost a few. You may ask, “Why does these people never fear no or rejection?” It might surprise you, but everyone does at various points in their life. The greatest people, in spite of their success, feels fear and rejection almost all the time. It usually turns out however that fear is never the issue but how one handles fear and rejection is what really matters. In fact, fear is all over the place such as a businessman waiting for a decision on a very important business loan or salesman presenting a product to a new prospect.  Both of these people are looking for different results but are feeling the same tension and anxiety that is associated with them

fear. Why is this so? Let us look at different levels of fear and the pluses of fear as well as the negatives.

Fear and Rejection

According to Matt James, PHD. Fear is a basic human emotion. It was wired into our systems for a

beneficial purpose—to signal us in times of danger and prepare us physically so we could accomplish what is necessary for survival.” “Fear lets you see only the downside, and that won't get you very far.”  “When warranted, fear can be one of our most vital resources, but as Helen Keller said, "Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than out-right exposure”.  “The fearful are caught as often as the bold." “These days, fear has become big business rather than a helpful, valuable resource.” “We live in a climate fueled by fear while the media manipulates fear to earn higher ratings with headlines such as will major storm hit Your Neighborhood while merchandisers tap our fear to sell products.” “ Politicians stir up fear to accumulate votes, religious leaders employ fear to keep flocks in line, and parents use fear to keep kids from misbehaving.”  “Fear is woven into the fabric of our lives, perhaps affecting modern adults even more than it did our caveman ancestors.”

“A recent article in the New York Observer recently claimed that “fear is the new normal.”[1] Fear influences the choices we make  yet making decisions motivated by fear is flawed, if not dangerous; it will never lead to the healthy, fulfilling lives we crave.” What we can learn about fear should not affect us negatively but should be considered a resource that can and will enhance our productivity and quality of work.

 Positive of Fear

 We will, in our case, concentrate on the young sales person all shaken up during a sales presentation with the fear of the customer rejecting his or her proposal. We are going to look at some factors and

strategies that will not only turn one's fear into more productivity but provide you with high

FEAR OF NO                                                                                                                               

 Confidence and total command of the situation at hand. The sales person will know that every presentation will not always be a closed sale, but he or she will know that they will achieve their fair share as well as the entrepreneur is going to handle most objectives and tasks with confidence and provide a strong presence to the staff.  Let us look at some of the business situations where a strong understanding can provide you with that feeling of confidence and credibility. As we follow Dr. Matt James, he points out several other important factors regarding fear such as “Fear sees only the downside.”

 Conquering fear and the word no is not eazy but it is simple. I will be addressing more on this on my next blog post.