Ferretgate

Ferretgate: the long story

It has been a long while since my last blog post but I have a problem that you can help with. I want a ferret. This may seem like no big dilemma but unfortunately my friends and peers seem to be polarized by this issue, so I am putting it up for a kind of vote.

Before I explain the details let me make my case. I have owned a ferret in the past. I got her when I was in college around Christmas time so I naturally named her Holly. She loved me. In fact she loved me so much that she didn't let anyone near me without nibbling at their toes or playfully barking at them, to be fair it sounded more like a chirp. She stole shiny trinkets and hid them under my bed. She curled up in my lap when I watched TV. She slept on my face. She was my world.

When I graduated from college I got a job in Columbia, SC. After living their for a few months I decided I would like to get another ferret to keep Holly company while I was at work or out. My girlfriend at the time (now wife) thoughtfully bought me one but she did not pay attention to my two rules of ferret buying.

Rules of Ferret Buying

1. Buy only female ferrets.

2. Watch the prospective ferret in the pet shop to make sure it uses the litter box.

She bought me a male ferret. He was very cute and he too adored me. However, I learned the hard way that one way male ferrets attract mates and impress other ferrets is to publicly display how good they are at acquiring, and therefor providing food. They display this by depositing solid waste all over the place.

At the time I lived in a townhouse and did not have adequate facilities or time to train away this behavior. I eventually had to give the ferrets up to a friend that lived on a farm with several rooms she could devote to the ferrets. I cried... a lot.

Now I know that I only want one female ferret. I am also committed to training her if need be to use the litter box. I want to name her Wasabi.

Here is How You Can Help

I have a T-shirt shop where you can buy either Team Ferret shirts or Team No Ferret shirts. If more people buy the Team Ferret shirts by January 17th, my birthday, I will buy a ferret. If more people buy the Team No Ferret shirts I will not buy one. I agree to abide by the decision.

Team Ferret Shirts

http://tiny.cc/teamferret

Team No Ferret Shirts

http://tiny.cc/noferret

Decision Time

I will announce the vote tally in public at The Gin Mill in Charlotte, NC on Wednesday, January 20th at 6:30. I would like to thank you in advance for your support!

Interviewing: it's a process of elimination

If you are interviewing for a new job you may think the employer's goal is to find the best candidate from all those who applied or sent in résumés. That is not the case. From the employers point of view they need to quickly weed out as many of the applicants as possible by whatever means necessary. 

Few interviewers have the time or inclination to sit through dozens of long interviews trying to figure out which prospective employee is the best. Rather they eliminate candidates based on dress, promptness, neatness, grooming, first impressions, and an infinite array of other seemingly minute details. 

Here is where you must do your part to insure you make the short list of interviewees that the employer will spend some time with. If you have a weird hairstyle or a nose ring, now is the time to make a change. The more professional you look, the more likely you are to get through this process of elimination. 

It doesn't seem fair that employers are going to be judging you based on these surface issues, but it is a fact of life and the sooner you realize this the better. This same concept holds true if you are meeting new clients, making a sales pitch, or even going out on a first date. In other words, when there is nothing to object to, people will take time to get to know the real you.

Don't be Sheep: go after what you want

Many of us are too concerned about appearances to actually express our real thoughts and feelings. We let ourselves be led around by the expectations of others or some preconceived notion of what our lives should "look like." Instead we ought to take some time to analyze what we want out of our lives and create a plan to make those things happen. 

If travel is a real passion of yours and you are constrained by your current situation, start looking for ways to create a life that includes travel. Maybe that means looking for another job or even changing careers. Whatever the case, you only get one shot in this life so make it count. 

Perhaps you are interested in a new position or opportunity at work. If you don't let anyone know about your desire for that position, chances are they won't ever know you were hoping to make a change. It is your responsibility to go after what you want, whatever that may be.

Think of today as your first chance to express who you want to be and tell someone about it. Work hard for the things you want and take pleasure in getting them. Don't be a sheep, instead be a billboard advertising the new and future you.

Make a List: how to embrace change

Would you like to be happier with your life? Are you looking for a new job? Would you like to be more confident? All these situations and many more really boil down to a desire for change. While the examples above are generally positive changes we know that change can be negative as well: loss of a job, a break up, being forced to change careers, etc. The common theme here is change and it is up to you to make it positive. 

Some of the best changes you can make in life start out as negative situations that you can not escape. They key is to list your greatest talents and desires as they relate to the change in your life. If you lost your job, try listing the attributes of your ideal position. What would that job be? Where would you work? What type of environment would you like to work in? Focusing on how you can improve your situation should provide you with a set of guidelines with which you can embrace this change and how you can better yourself in the end. 

Making a list is important because it may highlight skills or characteristics of which you were not aware. Are you good with people? Do you like solving problems? Are you good at math? Answering these types of questions will help fill your list with those hidden talents and desires that make you, well you. Knowing your strengths as well as your weaknesses gives you a roadmap that can help lead you to the perfect scenario.

Think of your current situation as being slightly broken... then describe what your "fixed" state would look like. Would you have more friends? Would you have a better job? Being able to visualize this "fixed" state gives you a target to strive for. Without a clear picture of what you want, you may drift into repeating past mistakes or even making new blunders. It is much like going on vacation: if you don't have a map you may end up anywhere. If your map is detailed and thorough enough you may end up in that perfect place.

Voicemail: get your call returned

Voicemail is a convenience that almost all of us both love and hate. We love it when we use it but we hate it when someone we're calling does. We often do not get calls returned when we leave messages, and overcoming that problem is the focus of today's post. Let's assume that you are cold calling a new client, you get their voicemail, and your short term goal is to get a return call.

First the basics: don't leave any information that will predispose the client to making a decision one way or the other about your product or service. For example don't tell them you want to sell them advertising space in your company's magazine. Instead simply say that you are calling from (insert name here) magazine and would like to speak with them about "some ideas." Always leave your complete phone number twice so that they have time to write it down without replaying your message. 

Never ask for a call back at a specific time or within a specific time frame. This only serves to give the other party a reason for not calling. For the same reason never state in the message that you will call them back, even if you plan on doing so. 

Do not make cold calls on Mondays or Fridays. Mondays are spent "catching up" from the weekend and can be very busy. Fridays are often wasted days spent planning weekend activities and finishing up small "house cleaning" tasks from earlier in the week. Statistically, messages left Friday afternoons are the least likely to be returned.* 

Make your message an introduction and link it to something of interest to the client: an event or up coming function, a mutual friend or business associate, or even an interesting and applicable news item. The stronger this personal tie is, the more likely you will get your call returned.

Lastly, voicemail is like a small sticky note, not a full sheet of college ruled composition paper. Keep it short and to the point. If you tend to ramble, you should rehearse or even jot down a "script" before you call. If this "script" takes up two pages tear it up and try again.

*Hunter, Mark. Voicemail Survival for the Sales Professional  

Customer Service: don't discount it

I have a client that owns and manages a few restaurants. During one of our first meetings we sat down with his marketing person to discuss ways to bring in new patrons and increase repeat business. One of the first suggestions from the marketing guy involved coupons. My client immediately cut him off saying, "I don't discount my food." This seemed harsh and closed minded until I realized how important his statement was. In many businesses the first reaction to poor sales or a slow month is to discount the product or service. This will attract new clients and increase business, but it may not help the bottom line. In fact discounting an item often establishes a base price in the mind of the customer. 

If I buy a can of peas for 75 cents this week am I likely to be happy when they are more expensive next week? This is one of the most important concepts when it comes to customer service. You must look at your business through the eyes of your clients. If I have to pay more next month for a product I bought on sale this month it appears like I am not getting a good deal. 

So, if you can't cut prices how do you create more business? Promote what you and your company already do well. Advertise, promote, highlight, and emphasize what you are doing right to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Often this comes down to good customer service. Most of us are willing to pay a premium for good service and attention to detail. Many business owners are willing to offer better service and more attention to premium customers... it is a perfect scenario. 

Spend some money where it will improve your customer service. Ask employees what would help them to serve your clients' needs. Implement a few of the best ideas. This will increase employee "buy-in" and show the customer that you value your staff. 

Eliminate poor performers who are not living up to high standards of service. For every complaint you receive about an employee rest assured ten other customers left upset without saying a word. It is vital to your long term success that you keep only energetic, qualified, and happy staff members. This sometimes means you will need to provide more training for new hires or even additional training for current employees, but in the long term you will be rewarded.

Keeping a constant focus on customer service will not only grow your business but also keep that growth for the long haul, something specials and discounts can't do. So when it comes to good service, never discount it.

Anticipation: make it work for you

In the immortal words of Lemmy Kilmister, "the chase is better than the catch." Put another way sometimes the anticipation of something is better than the actual experience. How often do we feel let down by the reality of a situation that we have been looking forward to for months? I feel it is very important to enjoy, even to relish the anticipatory emotions leading up to every "big deal" in our lives. Too often we downplay expectations hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the experience. This does not allow us to fully enjoy or take advantage of the warm fuzzy feeling that we generally call anticipation. Why do we deny ourselves this basic pleasure? Chalk it up to lowering expectations, avoiding disappointment, fear of failure, etc. The point, in my view, is that any time we are given the opportunity to feel good about something, we should take it. In fact looking forward to things is a sign of high self-esteem. The optimist has several serious advantages over the pessimist. For example optimists are happier, healthier, and more successful than pessimists.* Pessimists on the other hand do tend to be more realistic than optimists. So, which would you rather be: healthy, happy and successful or realistic and tempted to slit your wrists? I'll take happy anticipation every time!

For those practical people out there think of it this way: optimists visualize positive outcomes. A pessimist sees themselves failing and often this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are about to make a sales call and you visualize it going badly you may unconsciously contribute to that failure by making a bad pitch or communicating negative feelings non-verbally to your client. If you walk into the same meeting with positive anticipation you can unconsciously pass positive messages to the client and even improve your sales pitch. Do you think professional athletes warm up with thoughts of failure running through their heads? Rather, most high performing pro athletes anticipate success during every practice. They visualize that perfect play, the last minute buzzer shot, the long pass for a touchdown, being the first to break the tape, etc.* Can you apply this to your work, to your life? 

The next time you are looking forward to something and your friends or even the little voice inside your head tells you, "don't get too excited" make sure you remember you have a choice in the matter. Take responsibility for your own happiness and choose to mentally frolic in your anticipation. Just before your next presentation or project take a little time to anticipate success and embrace the idea that this next experience will change your life in the best possible way.

*statistical information on these topics can be found in Human Relations: Strategies for Success 2nd Edition by Lowell H. Lamberton, Leslie Minor-Evans