by Bernie Otis, Featured Contributor
You cannot sell John Jones what John Jones buys unless you see John Jones through John Jones’ eyes.”
–Anonymous
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]I[/su_dropcap]N A RECENT ARTICLE in the Los Angeles Times Business Section it was suggested that due to the rapid increase and advances in Technology we have reached a point where economic growth has reached a low point and that it is becoming more difficult to expand it because businesses are relying on technology rather than “Old Fashioned” revenue generating techniques to move product.
One need only look at discussions on Social Media to confirm this trend and I would suggest that we need to take a pause and reflect on this issue. In my book “Revenue Generation Through the Sale of Kumquats——-And Other Things” (Amazon and Barnes and Noble I discuss this issue and provide guidelines for establishing personal relationships that result in revenue generation. The following letter is an example of such a process.
[message type=”custom” width=”100%” start_color=”#F0F0F0 ” end_color=”#F0F0F0 ” border=”#BBBBBB” color=”#333333″]A Letter to an Organization I Did Business With
Dear Company, I am your friend.
I called you today, but even though your message machine said my call was important to you, I had great difficulty reaching you, first having to learn about your specials, your new services, and then on to instructions on how to find someone (if, of course, I knew the last name). When I did reach you, you did not recognize that I am your friend. You kept me on hold for a very long time, while you were answering other calls, and then tried to pass me off to someone else.
But really, I am your friend. I help pay your bills, put food on your table, help educate your children, provide money for you to pay your business costs and otherwise contribute to the welfare of your company.
I know how important friends are to you when you are away from work and am deeply saddened by the way you treat me during business hours. I call you, because I trust you, as a friend should. Oh, yes, sometimes I am upset when I call, but after all, when we have problems isn’t it our friends we call for support?
More often than not I call because I like you so much I prefer to give you my money. Other times I have concerns which, even though that may appear to be bothersome to you, are important to me, and again I always thought that this is what friends are for, to help and support one another.
Perhaps it is time that I look around to find a new friend. One who makes it easy for me to reach them, will listen to me, share with me, help me when the need arises and be grateful that I have chosen to share my feelings and money with them. Perhaps this will make my life a bit less stressful so that I can once again have a mutually beneficial business relationship.
You see, I was your customer/client/patient/friend. I was not your enemy.
Sincerely,
Bernie Otis[/message]
Editor’s Note: Bernie’s new Book “How to Prepare for Old Age—Without Taking the Fun out of Life” is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
