This powerful phrase comes right out of Jeffrery Gitomer’s "Little Black Book of Connections".  Gitomer says that every company in the world tries to teach people how to sell and, that nothing could be more backwards or ineffective.  "What they should be teaching, he says, is how to promote, how to provide value, how to communicate, how to make presentations, how to engage, and how to connect."  All of these are important for us as Interiorscapers but, to start, lets look at one of these, How to provide Value.

Lets take one group of IP clients, the property manager.  He has buildings with office space he leases/rents and then, once he has these tenants, he is responsible for providing maintenance, repairs, etc.t   Lots of opportunities for you to become an invauable resource.  Maybe you offer to provide a gift plant to a new tenant or one that just renewed their lease.  Or, maybe, you help him by suggesting a new service provider you know to be reliable, honest, and so on.  Don’t just sit there like a bump on a log.  Ask questions.  How can you help?  What does he need and not just in plants.  And, also, look at what he is receiving from you and if you can reengineer things so that he is getting the most bang for his buck.  Suggest not just Holiday Decor, but Holiday Decor as the backdrop for a Holiday Charity partnership.   Maybe a tree with $$ ornaments tenants can buy/contribute.  Maybe, a Holiday Egg Nog and Cookies Hour for all the tenants one afternoon.  A great way for tenants to connect and network.  And, if you are providing these extra pluses, it sure helps protect you from those who do not.

You get the idea.  Ask the right questions and you just might make a friend for life..your business life.  Now go out there and get ‘em, Tiger.  And sell a few TOPsiders for me.

So, you attend IFMA, BOMA, and Chamber Meetings.  This is your way of networking and staying connected.  Great start, but just a start.  Think of your connections as seeds you’ve planted in a garden.  To grow and bear fruit, you have to water, fertilize, and prune.  Right?

Once upon a time, this was not an easy task.  Time was the enemy.  Time to visit, call, and otherwise stay in touch.  Well, that was then, this is now.  With today’s technology, it is ever so much easier.  Blackberrys and IPhones store ten file cabinets full of names, numbers, birthdates and so on.  Sites like Linked In offer more opportunities to connect.  Emails are easy to send. 

The trick is to not abuse this wonderful technology.  How many of us have received the "Good Luck" email that must be passed on to 20 contacts or something dire will happen?  Have you ever thought, as I have, that I must not be very important to that sender or they wouldn’t have sent it to me giving me the burden of having to piss off 20 of my friends??  Not a good way to make friends and influence people.  If you don’t mind therse chain emails…OK.  But, if you do,  vow never to pass these things on.  They are a burden not an opportunity.  Same with the cutesy bunnies hopping all over the page.  I’ve gotten some that are pages and pages long.  Not a productive use of time.  Bottom line?  Emails have become so pervasive, they are now, invasive as well.  Choose carefully the way you stay in touch.  An example of one great way is that if you know the recipient has an interest in, say, Green Roofs, sending a link to a good Green Roof article shows interest, caring, and a knowledge of them personally.  Maybe they love their garden.  An informative, short piece about your area’s newest bulbs would be appreciated.  You get the idea.  Keep it relevant and keep it short.

Connecting in smart ways is a major positive.  The wrong way is bad.  Think it through and follow up.  Good Hunting.

I’m just about fed up.  Every News show, every newspaper article, every talk show is full of doom and gloom about the economy.  Oh, I know that job losses are astronomic, that new projects are few and far between, and that this is the worst mess since the meteor hit the planet.  Still, if we just sit around with our blankie covering our head, nothing will be accomplished. 

I’ve said it before.  Find a Cheerleader.  Someone you talk to every few days and share stories with and then, laugh.  Tell each other your plan for the week, in detail.  E mail these Plans to each other and have a followup after the week is over.  What did they accomplish?  What did you accomplish? 

Sounds sophomoric?  Maybe, but having someone know what you intend to do and when and then caring enough to check up on you is golden.  I suggest you try it.  And, if you don’t have anyone you feel comfortable with, no one you want to know your good points and bad, use ME!  Yep, I am offerring to be your Cheerleader and I want you to be mine.  No Biggie, just an email once a week and lets see if we can reenergize ourselves and make something good….happen!

Last Fall some of the ‘scapers I spoke with assured me that, while the stock market was in free fall, they had yet to see any impact on their client base.  In fact, they told me that no matter what their clients were loyal, loved them, and they didn’t forsee any fallout. 

What a different story 4 months later.  Now, scapers tell me they cringe when the phone rings.  Is it another cancellation?  Cutback?  Now, instead of going out on calls for new jobs, they are busy doing damage control.  So, whether it is just a small hit, or widespread, everyone is concerned.  Very concerned.  Even companies in relatively stable markets are being hit and everyone asks me, "What should I do?"

What should you do?  Well, along with being proactive and calling on all your clients in advance to get a feel for what is happening, I suggest coming up with Two (2) Plans of Action.  The first Plan is the aforementioned damage control.  The second is a Coping Plan combined with a What Else Can We Offer Plan. 

The Coping part asks what you will do to preserve dollars if a worst case scenario occurs.  Who will you let go or cut back on hours, what smaller facility can you adopt, what services can you live  without, and so on.  The second part asks you to look at your market and see what other services can you offer your current clients such as Exterior, Patioscapes, Green Roofs, even, as one company shared with me yesterday, adding Cleaning Services.  This last is pretty extreme, I know, but not totally out of the question.  Its all about coming up with ways to add income.  Some won’t work for you in your particular market, some might.  It is up to you as the Owner/Leader to look at all possibilities.

Pleasant?  No. Fun?  No.  Necessary?  Yes, because this situation is not going to go away soon and the well prepared is the one who will survive.  So, Heads Up.  And, remember, you did not do anything wrong.  It is just the way things are.  Now go out there and get ‘em, Tigers.

Valentine’s Day is next week.  The Groundhog at the NY Zoo bit Mayor Bloomberg’s finger on Groundhog Day.  In most of the country it has been a hard, cold winter.  Oh, Spring, hurry.  We need you!

Now, you and I are not the only ones thinking Spring.  Your clients are as well.  Maybe we can use this longing as a way to thank, solidify relationships, and just plain, bring a smile to the face of our clients. How?  Why by bringing them a breath of Spring.  A small, brightly colored blooming plant that says, "Spring".  I suggest going to your bedding plant wholesaler and seeing what he has available in mini daffodils in a 4" pot.  Throw a speed cover or aluminum or plastic on it, attatch your card and go deliver.  It is a great excuse to stick your head in the contact’s door and say "Hi".  Who knows where this could lead? 

Best of all, it is unexpected..a surprise, it is small and takes up little room, and it is inexpensive so the client doesn’t feel "obliged or compromised" in any way.  It is you and the flower bringing cheer.  And, who knows, this happy visit just might remind someone that plants are needed on the 5th floor. 

Yep, about once a month or so I takeJeffrey Gitomer’s Red Book of Sales Answers and read a chapter or two.  Like caviar, it is best enjoyed in small quantities and savored. 

It is small (less than 200 pages),  so it is not intimidating,  It is Red so it can be easily spotted.  It is well organized so it can be easily followed.  And, it is full of Sales Humor which is not just good for a chuckle but, also, helps embed  the message/lesson in your mind.  The old "one picture" maxim, if you will. 

I could regurgitate chapter and verse from this little gem but, instead, I suggest that if you did not pick it up when I first mentioned…do so now.  And , if you did and it has been a while since you read a chapter, do so now.  (This blog was written last year).

This year I’ve fallen in love with another book by Jeff Gitomer, the Little Black Black Book of Connections.  Inside this small, black volume is a plethora of truths and maxims about how to connect and network and, all in an honest, win/win way.  Example: The Universal Truth of Connecting.  If you make yourself valuable, and memorable, others will want to make you part of their network.  Then the book goes on to teach you all the whys and wherfores and how tos. 

As we go further into the selling season and it gets harder and harder to find and keep jobs, may I recommend you buy this volume.  It will become one of the most influential books you own.  Now go out there and get ‘em, Tiger.