Wear clean pants in case you’re involved in an accident

Welcome back!

Imagine…

..You are driving down a road and come across the scene of an accident.

The car is on fire, but the driver is stuck inside. The driver is leaning over the steering wheel of the car, screaming in pain. The windscreen is cracked, and he has blood on his face. He’s screaming that he’s in pain, hurting, and needs help.

The steering column of the car is bent/twisted and his seat has been forced forward. You run up to the car, open the door and see him sitting there badly injured.

“Help me. Help me” he cries.

You take immediate action, and press the lever on the seat to move it back away from the steering wheel. You wrestle with his twisted seat belt catch, and quickly release it. You press the button under the steering column and move it upward away from him. You successfully manage to get him out of the car and away to a safe distance. You check him all over, you call the emergency services.

They all arrive, and do their job.

He is eternally grateful for saving him.

At no point in the above, did he……

Read more

Sales Proposals: Why they’re not getting accepted

I’m sure at one time of another we’ve all been asked to submit a sales proposal, so we burn the midnight oil, get our best creative hats on, and document our best ideas to give to our prospective clients. Some of which then inevitably use the proposal to beat us down in price, make us work twice as long for half as much, or worse still, they steal our ideas, and leverage what we share against our competitors.

Some simply are happy having obtained your ideas on paper, refuse to accept your follow up calls or even speak to you.

Sound familiar? has that ever happened to you or someone you know?

(They’ve got what they wanted, and that’s exactly the purpose of “getting you in” as far as they are concerned. )

Believe me, it does happen.

In fact, on the odd occasion that you submit a sales proposal and don’t win the business, do you make it a habit to ask prospective clients why you didnt win the business, and why your proposal wasn’t accepted?

Yesterday, I was working with a client, who has been getting frustrated by going to appointments, being asked to submit their ideas in writing in proposals, and the majority of which, do not end up getting accepted.

Now I asked Bill a number of simple questions, and they uncovered some fundamental issues that needed addressing.

Read more