Recently my son asked for additions to his already large inventory of books. He asked that I explore my bookshelves; and share any treasures he may not have read.
Well, as a reader - you know what happens when you begin to check which books you might be willing to part with. You flip the pages, smile, recall the rest of the story – and put it back on the shelf.
Since this was my son asking, I managed to select a few that met his approval. I could let them go to a good home.
During my shelf rummaging and page flipping I found a small book titled The Book of Excellence, 236 habits of effective salespeople - published in 1990, a mere 34 years ago. It was filled with best habits and advice of the day that made me shake my head. Wow.
Some advice has stood the test of time. Other advice? Well, times have definitely changed.
The book's advice: Send birthday and anniversary cards. Spend at least 4 hours a day in front of customers. Resist fads, whether in clothes or language. Are your shoes polished? Get up early and work late. Tell the truth. Be loyal to your employer. Listen. Listen. Listen.
And the list continues: Rapport is not developed on the telephone. Face to face develops long term relationships. All play and no work does not work. Is your hair shaggy and unruly. Is it too long? Do you use too much hairspray? Spend as much time providing customer service as talking about it. Keep your car, especially the interior, clean at all times. There is no replacement for effort.
I won’t share all 236 habits. You get the idea. People and what is important to us change. Habits, good and bad, stick around unless we shake them up once in a while. I’m working on developing what I think are more good ones. More reading is on my very long list of more this, and less that.
Never too old to change our habits.
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