20 Something Sales Rep

2nd street market - Reminiscint of a time gone by

2009-02-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

2nd Street Market
600 E 2nd Street
Dayton, Ohio 45402
(937) 228-2088

I think that a lot of people forget how things used to be. I am now 27 years old and I clearly have no memories of how our downtown looked in its busiest years, but I might have found a little taste of something similar.

It was early January when I remembered the 2nd street marke t. My Dad and I kept calling it the "Webster Street Market" or the "Finley Market". Why did we have those names in our memories? Not sure. It made the search for the building all the more amusing as it took about twice as long as it should have to find it.

But for some reason, I remembered the place. After some errand running, my Dad and I decided to stop by and see how the market was doing. It was bitter cold outside and the long, narrow corridor of shops was without a doubt one of the busiest places in Downtown Dayton that day. As we perused the various shops we were looking for only a few things: A cup of coffee; and some lunch.

We found a sandwich shop, the name of which I cannot remember, and we sat and listened to a guitarist, whose name probably left me faster than I forgot the sandwich shop's. But we sat and talked. I saw some old friends from high school. We just had a pleasant time in general.

It reminded me of what a downtown should be like. A bustling market. People milling about. Vendors selling their wares. Capitalism. Quite literally the free market. I am sure that I will find myself going back there when it gets warmer as my first visit was enjoyable. Now if only I could remember that sandwich shop...

www.glassdoor.com - a true view?

2009-02-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

At work, recently, a survey done by a company that was organized to give access to "salaries, ratings and reviews posted anonymously by employees". The only part of the survey that I was able to see was a listing of the top 50 and the bottom 50 companies with sales above $1 Billion. To my amusement, which was closely followed by horror, the company I work for is in the bottom 50.

My first reaction was that, "Well of course, all of these people who are writing on this page are all people who got fired, laid off, quit, or just plain want to spew their venom and feel important." As it turns out I decided to visit this website called www.glassdoor.com and see for myself what this really was all about.

For clarity sake, the aforementioned survey was based on a "Yes or No" check box if you approve of the company's CEO. That is hardly a representative, or statistically valid, sample in itself. That being said, the same question is being asked in the same way to everyone on the site at every company. So it still does hold value even though I would not call it statistically significant.

After reading a few of the opinions of my company on the web site (almost all of these were negative, they were also mostly negative at other companies) I began to see a more complete picture of my own company. It was fascinating to hear that Engineering was having all of these problems that seemed to small to me, but, for some reason they thought it a big enough problem to post and *gasp* worth the risk of revealing themselves as an unhappy employee. Then I read about some of our employees in customer service complaining about not being to able to work their hours requested, overtime problems, staffing issues. All of these I suppose I could relate to better as they interact with our customers directly. As I kept clicking I found one of the more interesting things of all: A management review!

The manager was not exactly happy with the company. They were from the southwest. I think I know who it is, and if it is indeed that person I respect them very much. They wrote not about pay grievances (they probably have a salary of $150k+) but about quality of life issues. How they are asked to do more without any help. They are alone on "an island" away from headquarters and it only complicates things because information is not communicated effectively or accurately except when they meet 4-6 times a year. Finally, about their hiring practices. This manager wanted more control of their sales force choices due to the fact that they were held to the standard of meeting their company given objectives.

After reading all of these, mainly negative, opinions I found myself sitting there grinning like a Cheshire cat. I have no doubt that if all of those people's names were exposed that they would find themselves in trouble. I also have no doubt that some companies would use this type of feedback as a tool to punish. I also do not think that that same company that would punish their employees would also get good ratings on this, or any anonymous, web site.

So why the grin? If I were the CEO/Manager I would print all of these off and do my best to commit them to memory. I left www.glassdoor.com with a complete understanding of how my organization works not from the top down...but from the bottom up. The people doing the real work were the ones telling the world how to fix it. Yes, it had a very negative spin. But, in the right hands a talented manage could see through the frustration and make positive changes in the organization. No one needs to be punished, but obviously some things need to be changed.

NFL

2008-09-08T18:53:00.001-07:00

The most organized version of football I have ever played was probably in elementary school where we all chose teams at the beginning of recess. I was never in Pee-Wee football, I didn’t even try out for the middle school team. Just like millions of other kids I was into soccer. I would imagine that the number of youth soccer players out numbers those of the youth football players by ten to one. Select soccer dominated my childhood years and I could not wait until the world cup to watch the pro’s from around the world.

For some reason the staying power of Soccer does not translate into adulthood for Americans. Now, I find myself getting excited for Football Season (Not to be confused with Futbol). As the season is officially now in full swing I heard a few analysts being interviewed as to why Football has so many stadiums selling out, why the Super bowl is still one of the largest spectator sports in America, and why there are just so many Football fans.

While there were a whole host of reasons as to why this is the case, I am going to focus on the Marketing aspect to their success.

First, when compared to Soccer, the NFL seems to be perfectly designed for commercial breaks. Every time a team achieves a first down they can squeeze in some commercials at will as they “move the chains”. Also, after any event that causes drama and excitement in a game such as a touchdown, an injury, or timeout there is an extended period of time for advertising. This keeps the interest at a peak, and keeps us fans sitting at home on the edge of our couch. Football, more than any other sport, is a consumer product company’s dream.

Second, the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, and the NFL in general realizes that they are providing a specific “performance” every time a team takes the field. They are putting on a show. Just as on any good Soap Opera, each week adds new twists and turns to the overall “plot” of the season. The NFL also protects their film footage better than most sports and keep them off of You Tube. This forces all of the loyal fans to watch their performance live, thereby increasing the amount they can charge for advertisements. You can only see what happens after the cliffhanger of Monday Night Football by actually watching the next chapter unfold live.

Third, Fantasy football was the best thing that could have happened to the sport. We are seeing the home team “super fan” going through a transition. Now, all of a sudden they are wanting to watch not only their favorite team, but also individual players throughout the league because they are on their fantasy football team. These super fans need to makeup for a bad defensive choice they made earlier in the week and they know that the insulting text messages are on their way from their buddies if they don’t make up some points. Fantasy football keeps people talking about Football all week long, not just on Sunday and Monday.

The NFL understands they are providing to men what soap operas provide to women. It is an entertainment industry and each gripping game is an unfolding plot twist. They force us to watch it live and they encourage us to talk about it all the time. They even grant us participation in the league by giving us the fictions power of being an “owner” in our fantasy league. The NFL understands us. And we love them for it.

Bad customer policies lead to frustrated golfers

2008-09-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my foursome scheduled a tee time of 9:07AM for the “inside course” at Community Golf Course in Kettering. Due to a wedding that we had to attend latter that day we only had time to play nine holes. Upon arriving there were just a few people playing, only one group of two on the first tee on the inside, and no one else to be seen. I thought it was a bit sparse for labor day weekend when the weather was in the middle 80’s with clear skies.

My girlfriend and I arrived before the other two playing, so I went in to pay. We needed a cart and the total was $79.50. Come again? Community Golf Course, 9 holes….that should be less than $50.00 for two people. I politely explain that we called ahead to reserve only a 9 hole round due to a wedding etc… Their response was that, “The city will not let us refund any money. We can only issue you a rain check.” I was not happy.

I grabbed the other two playing, told them it would be $80.00 to play 9 holes (all we had time for) and we all decided to leave. Naturally the person who is out the money has the most tied into the policy. I was more upset than the rest of the foursome.

To be fair, I looked on the City of Kettering Web site and I also searched long and wide for their policies online. There are none to be found. I was planning on posting them.

More interestingly, why would a company, or a golf course in this case, have such a ridiculous policy with a double whammy: No refunds; Only 18 holes (an “all of nothing”).

I can think of a few reasons:

First, they are assuming people are dishonest. Why force people to pay for 18 holes even the course is not busy (which we know on that day it was not)? Because they assume that some people will pay for 9 holes and then just finish out the back 9 and “cheat the system”. This is the easiest way to get rid of the opportunity to cheat on weekends.

Second, and a flawed theory, is that they want to “fill their course” by having people play all 18 holes and get the most out of every round. It is easy to assume that you could alternate the starting hole (e.g. first tee, or on hole number 9) effectively enough to make sure every part of the course got equal wear and tear. Further in this argument is that they can get more people playing if they have a full 18 holes for every foursome. This is also not true. They start people every 11 minutes or so no matter hoe many holes the plan to play. The constraint is time, not number of holes.

They are an example of a business that has a ridiculous policy for the sake of having it. I guarantee you that if you or I owned this golf course and a group of four people who were upgrading their golfing experience by renting a cart came in and only wanted to play nine we would try to still take their money. Especially if our course was not busy. By simply using your common sense, looking at the schedule of start time, looking that there is basically no one on the course today, we could bend the rules “just this once.” Thank you very much, and it will be $45.00 for you two, and $45.00 for your friends.

Finally the “no refunds” rule is just beyond comprehension in the consumer society we live in today. It costs literally nothing to void out a credit card sale. In fairness, we did reserve a tee time, so theoretically we took up a profitable space for the course. Except on this day like many others, when they had time to spare and no one was waiting. Also, because we warned my friends, they did not even enter the club house and therefore did not pay a dime. The four of us simply left and played a different course.

So what will I do with my rain check? I will probably play again. Community is a great course and I have played it probably a hundred times. It is so unfortunate that they have these antiquated and ridiculous policies with their customers. I wonder if the visionary John H. Patterson, the man that donated the land and money for the course and founder of NCR, would agree with their policies today.

World Wide Travel Center

2008-08-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

I went home today for lunch and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had won two round trip plane tickets to any international airport! The mail came in this very seriously marked tear away package with specific delivery dates and everything. See below:

It also had a 1-800-809-6310 with a corresponding offer # to verify after I call. So, not wanting to waste any time on redeeming my two newly minted tickets, I called in.

The woman that picked up the phone did not identify herself by “US Airlines” as the airline ticket I received in the mail said. She said she was from World Wide Travel. I was confused. She asked me for my “offer number” on the back of the ticket. I gave it and she verified the spelling of my name.

I am not as lucky as you might think. As it turns out it is for a company in Beavercreek, OH called World Wide Travel Center http://worldwidetravelcenter.com

She then started reading (funny how you can tell when people do that on the phone) me her canned pitch. It went something like this:

“Mr. Lewis, this free travel offer is not a timeshare. Also, it is only available for couples who make more than $45,000 per year and have a valid credit card. Do you fit that category? Ok, Great. We would like to invite you into our office for a 90 minute proposal to discuss your travel needs and at the conclusion of that session you will receive your two free tickets to any international airport. Can we schedule you tonight, tomorrow, or Friday at 6PM?”

*CLICK*

Unfortunately this type of “Advertising” goes on all too frequently. I felt like I was in Orlando trying to get free tickets to Disney Land after hearing how I needed to buy an $185,000 time share and how rich it would make me. These, probably bogus, offers are the worst way to develop a client base. It leaves almost everyone your business comes into contact with feeling slighted. Plus, imagine the sharks that would actually come to the travel “appointment” and sit there only to want to get something for free with absolutely no intention of spending a dime. Does that sound like good business?

Have any of you received this same mailing? Would you have gone to the meeting?

Dayton has a new brand name

2008-08-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

I believe in the power of Branding. In business to consumer marketing there is little that is more powerful or valuable than your brand name. It is the reason we buy most all of our household items every day. Brand names reduce the perceived risk in purchasing decisions. We all remember when P&G hit it on the head: “Choosy Moms Choose Jiff”.

It also works in a Business to Business situation. GE aircraft engines are fantastic. I could not afford to buy one as one consumer, but airlines want their clients to feel comforted in the quality engines that they do buy. GE reduces the perceived risk of an airline, and by extension the airline passenger, with their strong reputation and brand name.

This does not work with the Government Sector.

I am sure many of you have read the recent Dayton Daily News Article about Dayton’s new Brand Name. Visit the link to the article. To summarize, it cost $95,000 to come up with that title and look. It will cost $50,000 this year for a local marketing firm to manage the brand name.

This is what we got for $145,000.00

The only problem is this: When in the history on man kind has anyone moved a business to a city because of a brand name or slogan? I am not sure how much more plainly I can say this: Never.

If the end goal of this new brand name is to spend tax payers’ money, then I think the project was a success. If they had any other goal in mind, they are going to be once again scratching their heads wondering why the businesses didn’t come flooding in due to our new brand name and slogan.

We all know of places that are growing: Silicon Valley, the “Tech Triangle” in North Carolina and even to use an international example, Dubai. Do you think that they changed their slogan and growth happened? Of course not, that is a ridiculous conclusion.

So, what did they do with their money if not invest it in a catchy slogan? The Tech Triangle courted all of those businesses by offering hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives. What did Dubai do? The same thing. Silicon Valley? You guessed it. Those businesses were courted by tax rebates and incentives galore. The results speak for themselves in these three different situations.

It is out of ignorance that a city like Dayton would be willing to spend $145,000 on a slogan rather than investing in tax incentives (in whatever form they may take) to keep current and court new businesses to the region. States and cities do not need slogans or brands. They need effective policies that manage their current mix of businesses and court new ones on a continuous basis. Each city is in competition with each other city to court these businesses. No business will move to a place unless there is some financial incentive.

To do anything else would be Patently Stupid.

Toyota Prius = Marketing Mastery

2008-08-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

It was a month ago that I first read about the Toyota Prius adding solar panels to the top of their sunroof by 2010. At first thought, that is brilliant. As a driver is cruising down the road they can charge their battery even faster and use even less gas. Why didn’t I think of that?

While Toyota expects that the solar panels could increase mileage this is not the reason why they are adding solar panels to the sunroof.

It is obvious that Toyota has done their marketing research. In Japan especially, but also the US and Europe, people like to take naps in their car at lunch time with the air conditioning on full blast. They spend the 40 or so minutes cooling off in their car with the engine running. A waste of fuel? You bet. By watching this behavior and conducting focus groups Toyota recognized a need from the consumer and figured out a way to help these lunch time nappers. As it turns out, the surface area of one Prius sunroof would be just enough electricity to run the air conditioning.

Will this sell more Toyota Priuses? Not immediately. Will this increase customer loyalty? You had better believe it.

Customer loyalty is one of the most important metrics in the auto sales industry. As everyone knows it costs much less to keep a current customer than to go searching for new ones. More to the point, it has been proven that people who buy the same brand and model of car to replace their current brand and model of car are willing to pay about 3% more than a person new to that brand.

So, imagine you have the largest market share of hybrids, which Toyota does, and you have a relatively inexpensive way to “wow” them into only shopping for your cars again by showing you understand their lifestyle. It is a no-brainer. It is all of these little things that the “Big Three” in Detroit are missing. They do not effectively conduct marketing research which leads to products that consumers do not want to buy.

It is easy to see why Prius owners have such a high satisfaction rate with their car. They feel completely understood.

The impact to the Prius customer: 100% satisfaction

The impact to Toyota: 3% higher margins

The Big Three: Discounting SUV’s and Trucks

Ticketstumbler.com

2008-08-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Tickets! Tickets!

Have you ever tried to find the absolute lowest price for an event online?

I bet that you used Stub Hub and weren't sure if you were getting the best deal. Then you went to Great Seats and compared the two. Maybe you were extra ambitious and then used Ticket City and compared all three.

Wouldn't it be nice if you had one place to go to be absolutely sure that you were getting the best deal?

Enter www.Ticketstumbler.com

Like all good web2.0 applications Ticketstumbler is one of those cool new tools to save you time. It allows you to search with all kinds of new found freedom such as: "NFL Cincinnati" or "Detroit Red Wings February" or even just a date like "August 23rd". Ticketstumbler then scans all of the other ticket sites on the internet and gives you results from every one of them. Think of it as a nexus of ticket information.

Although it is a fairly new site it is already as slick as can be. Ticketstumbler is doing to ticket searching what Expedia.com did for travel. I rarely even go to an airline's website anymore.

As it turns out, it looks like I wont be going to any other ticket site anytime soon either.

Enjoy!

Oregon District New Plan - Too little too late?

2008-08-02T11:59:00.001-07:00

On July 24th 2008 the Director of planning and development "approved a new strategic plan...designed to better integrate the popular neighborhood with greater downtown and compete with other entertainment destinations"

This, of course, is in reference to the Oregon District. The first thing that will happen is the parking lot next to Gem City Records will be completely redone. If any of you have eaten at Thai9 for lunch recently you don't need me to point out that this is sorely needed.

In the Dayton Daily News article it was stated:

"The five-year plan identifies goals, weakness and opportunities for the Oregon District. Among the goals:

• Create a sophisticated mix of uses to form an "authentic live-work-play" district.

• Connect the district with the region by improving access and image.

• Maintain a vibrant and comfortable urban ambiance."

Some of the weaknesses mentioned were:

Lack of retail and service uses
Parking shortages (see my article below about The Greene and their parking nightmare)
Parking safety issues
A worn appearance
Saturation of adult bookstores and adult-oriented uses.

I agree with both the positives and negatives.

I view the Oregon District as a more "blue collar" place. Many bikers, lots of tattoos, lots of piercings and the occasional young male involved in a "domestic disturbance". Most of the bars I would frequent have their own uniformed security guard, not a bouncer, at the front door.

Unfortunately it is kind of a culture clash currently. For instance: There was a huge backlash on the smoking ban in Ohio from the Oregon District bar owners. Their claim was that they would lose business due to the number of patrons who smoked. This was basically an isolated opinion that clearly did not represent the rest of the community's opinion. As it turns out the smoking ban has helped. A friend of mine is related to the owner of Oregon Express and their business is doing better than ever.

If they get rid of the safety concerns, improve parking and lighting, and encourage a few new cool bars and restaurants, the Oregon District has a very real chance of competing against The Greene. I am excited to see what they will come up with. Until then I am planning on voting with my dollars and going to places that are safe, clean and fun.

The Greene - No Parking!

2008-08-01T04:37:00.001-07:00

It occurred to me some time between when I was driving around in circles trying to park at The Greene and in the middle of my 3 mile run at Urban Active that The Greene has a serious problem. No Parking is available. It is borderline criminal!

The Greene is fantastically popular and it definitely has a share of my wallet. I visit The Bars and Restaurants often and belong to Urban Active. I noticed that it does get insanely busy on the weekends, which is to be expected at a mall, but recently that traffic has bled into the weekday. I can barely find a parking spot to go work out for 45 minutes on a Tuesday night at 8:00PM.

This problem was a long time coming. I first recognized it may be a problem when I compared Easton to The Greene. Easton has a huge multi level parking garage in addition to the surrounding ground parking. Even at Easton it is barely enough. The Greene has fewer stores, and drastically less parking. It only compounds the problem that they are attempting to add a third level onto the parking that is in between Bar Louie and Urban Active and have temporarily closed half of the parking garage.

It is at Urban Active on the second floor where I find my self running on a treadmill watching people endlessly circle half of the parking that is left. I almost start to laugh when I realize that just 15 minutes ago that was me, pulling my hair out, trying to simply get a work out in.

I think the parking will get worse before it gets better, but what a negative perception problem to have. It reminds me of a Yogi Berra quote: “Nobody goes there anymore…it’s too crowded.”

Good grief, hurry up and fix the parking problem!

Xerox Sales Process

2008-07-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

There has been quite an interest in the Xerox Sales Training article that I wrote as one of my first blog entries. Most of it sadly has been negative. In order to clear up any misconceptions about Xerox and their phenomenal sales training(Ranked 13^th best in 2005 per Business Week) let me first explain a few things:

I will not do their sales process justice in one entry, or even one entire blog. I cannot replicate in text the experience I had in Lewisville, Tx
This is based on their sales process in 2005 called Client Centered Selling – NOT based on anything else or anyone else’s sales process
I am not using all of the information I learned because it would probably get me into trouble and hey, I could be competing against you some day!
Finally it is not exhaustive, complete, or anything more than a fantastic conversation piece. I learned a ton from going through their sales training and it has made me successful now at two different companies.

Finally, I want to be clear. I hope that this causes MORE conversation rather than less. I do not want to discourage interaction, however if it is not constructive, I will not post your comments.

So after that unfortunate, but needed, disclaimer let me go a bit more into depth about the Xerox sales process and exactly why, as long as you follow the steps, it will make you successful

They have a 6 Step sales process and many of you will simply read this and say “duh”. I did too. The devil is in the details. Not many of you sales “professionals” actually follow this entire process every time. I would imagine it is that same group that wonders why they are not doing so well, or why they are continually being beaten by a peer who, “Does the exact same thing that I do”.

There is no mystery to it: Just have the discipline to actually follow the process every sales call.

Step #1 Identify Opportunities

You need to find any changes that have been made in the company recently or since the last time you spoke. Uncover the needs: Current state versus desired state of the client.

Step #2 Clarify

You need to position your questions to build the entire scope of the call around the benefits your client is seeking and how they align to what you, and only you, can offer. Clarify all of their needs based on the opportunities uncovered in Step #1. Then agree on the action needed and summary close on the next step needed. Be sure to zero in on their points of pain.

Step #3 Develop Requirements

Discuss the decision making process and what is needed to make that decision. Make sure that criteria favorable to your product are included and get the customer to rank order the criteria if possible. Make those favorable criteria to your product a requirement for the sale.

Step #4 Recommend Solution(s)

Review the criteria, check for any additional needs (or if anything has changed if time has passed between Step 3 and 4) and for each of the needs highlight the business value that Xerox can offer that no one else can. After this, agree on the solution to be offered moving forward.

Step #5 Gaining Commitment

Summarize the unique value you will deliver. Ask for commitment, then agree on the terms and next steps in the process.

Step #6 Managing implementation

Finally go over and agree on the timeframe for the implementation plan. Make sure that you under promise and over deliver. Adjust the plan should it need to be amended.

So that is it. Notice that you preliminarily close (trial close) at the end of each of the 6 steps to move forward to the next step. So, at the end the decision is easy because you have handled each objection in the appropriate phase of the sales cycle. All of these six steps should be completed in every sales cycle at some point depending on the client’s specific situation and need.

Be flexible and Great Selling.

Ale Fest Dayton

2008-07-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

When it hits about mid-summer my mind tends to think of one event: Ale Fest.

Alefest is probably the best way to spend an afternoon in Dayton in late August. Carillon Park is a fantastic venue for a number of reasons. It is somewhat close to the river, the Bells are impressive to drink under and the field in which it is held is plenty big and no one feels crowded. Plus, it paradoxically raises money for the Diabetes Foundation by…that’s right serving alcohol.

I would recommend getting there about 15 minutes early as you need to get your 10oz glass and your tickets (25 in total) for your beer. The ticket system is definitely the way to go as I could only imagine the already long lines otherwise. It is fast, easy and often you can forget to put your ticket in their jar and end up with a bonus beer toward the end of the event…as if you need that last one anyway.

Honorable Mention beers from last year:

Hoegaarden
Dogfish head 60 Minute IPA (Two years ago they dry hopped 90 minute at the event)
Great Lakes Blackout Stout

I hope to report that many more discoveries will happen on August 23^rd. I actually plan on having a bunch of people over afterward this year to keep the festivities moving. If only we had a brewery in Dayton like Christian Moerlein or the Hofbrauhaus.

www.Mint.com - a Great Financial Tool

2008-07-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was reading some website with the “Top 100 Web Tools” and stumbled upon www.mint.com. Mint is the slickest personal finance tool I have used on the internet or otherwise. It consolidates every bank account, 401k, IRA, credit card, and even your mortgage (however no GMAC unfortunately for me).

After typing your username and password for all of your various accounts it lets you slice and dice your spending habits in a number of ways. It pulled over 300 days of history for me spending habits and it was immediately shown in graphs and made a mock budget for each of the areas where I can spend my hard earned dollar. There is no longer a need for those AMEX consolidated spending lists based on type of vendor. Mint has all of that for every card.

My only worry with Mint was the security around consolidating all of my financial life into one easily accessible area. Fortunately, Mint.com is a very limited tool and that is where the inherent security features are built in. You cannot shift funds, spend anything or change anything about any account because there is no functionality around doing anything other than viewing the information. Mint has no integration other than the ability to view your account information. Though I am no computer expert, it seems pretty fool proof.

I showed a few people at work the tools involved and it spread like wild fire. We have a pretty strict internet blocking program and somehow Mint circumvents all of the blocks. I can even check my daily 401k balance. Which right now is unfortunately depressing as my balance seems to be going in the wrong direction.

Chicago - The Map Room

2008-07-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago I was in Chicago for "The Taste". Some friends and I decided we needed to take a weekend road trip and see a world event. It was phenomenal. We stayed at the swanky The Palmer House and had the perfect local access to The Taste as well as the Blue line "el" train. Both of which would prove to be amazing for different reasons.

First, The Taste was amazing. Other than the frustration of having to buy tickets in order to try anything, we had a blast. The weather was amazing and we got to pet the Budweiser Clydesdales. We spent a pretty penny eating at first, and soon realized that a "taste portion", more like a true sample, was fewer tickets and you could try a ton more samples. We were there for probably 5 total hours and went back to the hotel exhausted and took a nap.

The second half of the story is where the Blue line comes into play. After our afternoon siesta my friends and I split up. While my best friend and his wife went to Wicked (I have already seen it) my girlfriend and I took the blue line to The Map Room.It has been rated many times as one of the top 10 bars in the United States. We specifically went there because of our newly discovered favorite brewery Three Floyds. The Map Room has their Gumballhead American Wheat Beer on draft and it is like nothing else I have ever tasted in my life.

As we arrived at The Map Room the building is nothing to write home about, but when we asked for their menu (which often is printed daily due to the number of bottles they are continuously adding) it was shocking. They had 27 micro brews on draft and probably 200+ bottles. We were like kids in a candy store: Some 200 beers to try and and no need to worry about driving home.

We had a very memorable time trying every beer that tickled our fancy and had an even better time watching all of these guys with their "clubbing" shirts and hair gel go up to the bar and order "A Bud Light".

The bar tender would then say, "We don't serve Bud Light"

The now confused clubber would say, "OK, a Miller Lite"

The bar tender would now be condescending and say, "Take a look at our menu and I will be back."

Their only mainstream beer was a Heineken. Everything else was from a micro brewery or foreign. I still laugh thinking of the greasy clubbers' faces when they are shut down trying to order something normal. Note: You are not a Yuppie if you only know of a Bud Light/Miller Lite. Plus, you are at The Map room for goodness sake! Grab a clue!

All in all it was a wild adventure and we saved one of their menus. The Map Room is a must see, so if you are also in Chicago and a little event like The Taste is going on at the same time at least try to leave The Map Room and get a little culinary culture as well.

Cheers!

Blue Coral > Dawn Detergent

2008-07-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

I recently realized I have been mistreating my Yuppie Mobile. As it turns out Dawn dish washing detergent is NOT good for your car. I repeat: Not good.

Two days ago I was at lunch with a few of my co-workers who consider themselves car junkies (I do not consider myself this) and I was basically scolded as I asked this seemingly innocent question:

"How do you get your car so clean, do you use Dawn Detergent?"

"Dawn? You wash your car with that crap?"

"It takes off all of your wax, think about it! If it can cut grease off of a broiler pan just imagine what it will do to your car!"

Silly me.

So I naturally asked these know-it-alls what DOES work if my Dad's tried and true method of Dawn Detergent with scalding hot water causes such anger and resentment.

Their answer? Blue Coral High Foam Car Soap. *Insert clapping noise*

I just gave it a try and to be honest I can tell no difference other than it is specifically made for my car and costs $6.49 for 1.89L. The bottle I bought should last me two years. Hopefully they are two blissful years of clean cars

Ah the Joys of Finishing an MBA Program

2008-07-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

First: Thank you to all of you like minded sales reps for making comments that I have published many of them. I appreciate very much your feed back and I am humbled that so many people are interested in my little part of the world.

Truly: Thank you; Keep contributing.

So, after my very long hiatus of contributing a single thing to this Blog I’m back! The world is my oyster! It seems that no immediate “MBA promotion” is in my immediate future so I have got to figure out what to do this thing…

First a few thoughts n the MBA program:

It was without a doubt the most work I have ever put into any project
It was the most rewarding education I have ever received
The academic quality and the quality of students was very impressive
It is no wonder why The University of Dayton wins the case competitions in the state of Ohio every year

Per the Motto of UD: “Learn, Lead, Serve” I guess I am entering the lead part of my life. For two years I have had nights weekends filled with team meetings, finance problems, Operations analysis and Marketing projects. Now I will have weekends filled with….well, I guess we shall see.

I have been trying to pick up some kind of hobby after I finish reading the three weeks of Newsweek, Business week and the Economist that I have been neglecting. My thoughts first went strangely enough to starting an herb garden, but that will most likely take about 2 hours to plant and I am sure I would be an absent minded gardner letting everything get too dry. Not the best way to eat up spare time.

I also thought joining some kind of cooking classes and getting really good at a few impressive gourmet dishes. That is much more likely, however it seems that should be something I should learn on my own….I mean come on…I have my MBA. :-P

Expect more posts soon. Life is getting exciting.

A Tale of two Restaurants...

2007-07-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

As I now feel that I know many of the good restaurants in Cincinnati the mystique of traveling to dinner has been wearing on me. I have been yearning to find something fantastic in Dayton, specifically the Oregon District Restaurants. Call it my “Acres of Diamonds” realization.

It was the best of times…

After doing some research online and asking around I found out about Coco’s. This restaurant is located at 515 Wayne Avenue spitting distance from the Oregon District. As I entered, without reservations, I found the atmosphere was unique to say the least. It is a smaller place inside but they make great use of the space. Think of a gaudy Bravo that gets too crowded and loud. I opted so sit on the patio where there was an older gentleman playing a keyboard. He was fantastic and made the night very enjoyable.

On to the real reason to go: I ordered the chicken Slovlaki with feta smashed potatoes. The food was quite amazing. Everything on the menu had some unique twist and the sides went perfectly with the main course. Although I despise the markups, the white wine was reasonably priced all things considered.

Coco’s give you many reasons to go back: The atmosphere is great. I recommend the patio if the weather is cooperating. The food was excellently prepared and the entrees leave you wanting more. I believe the final bill was around $120 including tip. I felt like I got a good value from my experience. We were definitely taken care of.

It was the worst of times…

After my Coco’s experience I decided to take my next adventure to the heart of the Oregon District. Pacchia has been a name passed around the Dayton community for years. They have been a presence in the Oregon District since for many years. I was eager to see how this local favorite would stack up against Coco’s.

Based on reputation alone I called for reservations. We were planning on eating at 6:30 on a Friday. When you walk in it is part Starbucks and part restaurant. There is a coffee bar immediately to your right and the restaurant area is to your left. Not what I expected, but I was not discouraged. When we arrived it became obvious that reservations were not needed as there were only two other couples seated. Even by 8:45 the restaurant was only ever half full.

I again ordered a bottle of white, to match our meals, which was painfully overpriced. Our waitress poured the wine into our red wine glasses and never touched the bottle again. An unfortunate oversight. The pork I ordered was spiced to taste fantastic but the twice baked potato was in need of some help. My meal was 75% of what I desired. My date also stated that her Ahi Tuna was not the best. The overall experience leaves much to desire as the final bill came to $135. Ouch.

Maybe next time I should stick to my favorite restaurant in Dayton: J. Alexanders and their Prime Rib and Smashed Potatoes. Lesson learned.

The most impressive thing about the iPhone - Hint: It's not the phone

2007-06-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

Although the much hyped iPhone which is the latest convergence of technologies (one part cell phone, one part music/video player, one part Blackberry, two parts cool) that technological advancement is not the most impressive part of the iPhone.

What the iPhone should be remembered for is the ridiculous amount of hype that surrounds its entrance into the marketplace. I cannot remember or think of a more anticipated product. It all started with a video that I saw on C|net.com that had the iPhone encased in glass and rotating in a circle at some tech convention. No one could touch it or even get close.

After that first appearance the media blitz started. Steve Jobs did what he does best: Promote. He introduced it at MacWorld and the media still could not get their hands on it. He just played with hisnew gadget on stage. This caused what seemed like a diagnosable disease "iPhone paranoia". You could not go a week without reading about the iPhone. There were articles on cnn.com, in The Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, and on every single tech blog worth its' salt.

Seve Jobs, like all great magicians, presented his latest feat of engineering and then did a most unexpected thing: He pulled back. Nature abhors a vacuum. Next, it was the media's turn to step in and fill that void with wild speculation. Speculate they did.

So, what is the most impressive thing you ask? I'll tell you. The most impressive thing about the iPhone is that Steve Jobs manipulated almost every channel of media distribution and it cost him close to nothing. The iPhone was written about everywhere. Why would you pay for an advertisement on page 4 of the news paper when your story is already on the front page?

I hope there will be a case study written about this media manipulating product. Because the story is yet to unfold. As the iPhone is being released (as I write this that will be tomorrow) Friday expect throngs of teenagers, some of whom will be covered on TV at no cost to Steve Jobs, to use their Word of Mouth to ensure the iPhones' success.

I would say look for more examples of free marketing for the iPhone, but you wont have to. It will be everywhere.

wis.dm - Question Everything

2007-06-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

Will this be the newest craze in social networking? Or just a flash in the pan? It is really up to us!

Wis.dm (wisdom) is the latest site to use a domain name hack to create a very clever site. I was reading in the Wall Street Journal about a week ago and came across an article about Wis.dm and their attempt to draw from the wisdom of the masses. (insert another victory cry for the "Wiki" movement)

The site functions very slowly right now, so be patient if you decide to pay them a visit. It operates kind of like Digg.com where it is user content driven. Rather than submitting articles, you submit a "yes or no" question. After you have racked your brain to be the single most clever question creator you know your question is submitted other users can comment, vote "yes" or "no", and discuss your topic. Everything from Terrorism to "does your car have leather seats?" is currently being submitted.

After people decide if they will comment or vote your question is ranked on popularity and the most popular questions bubble up to the top for the greatest number of users to vote/discuss/decide on your question.

So I ask you: Will this site be the latest craze? Please select "yes" or "no"

Moe's vs. Chipotle

2007-06-12T07:18:00.001-07:00

VS

Let the battle for Brown Street begin.

There is a new player in town attempting to take down the juggernaut that is Chipotle. It was only last week that I realized we were getting a Moe's

Although Chipotle has a special place in my heart with their cilantro rice, their super fast service, their $5.25 chicken burritos and their ridiculously high employee turnover I went against my better judgment and decided to try Moe's anyway.

I, however, did not go it alone. I brought a few close friends with me who are equally biased toward Chipotle. As you navigate Moe's menu you notice that they have strange names for everything. My choice? The Joey Bag of Donuts (see comparable Chipotle's Chicken burrito).

Below is my scientific rating scale developed through qualitative and quantitative methods and extensive research:

Scale - 1 to 5 (1 being the worst and 5 being the best)

The Service:
Chipotle - 5
Moe's - 3

Moe's was slower and was not as busy. I give them a get out of jail free card because it was their first week. Perfection like Chipotle's assembly line takes time.

The Food:
Chipotle - 5
Moe's - 4

Although it was different, both were equally delicious. Moe's food did come with complimentary chips, which is a huge bonus. Also Moe's had a few more options than Chipotle. That being said, Chipotle's meat was better tasting and their burritos really are bigger.

The Value:
Chipotle - 4
Moe's - 5
Moe's gives you free chips and a complimentary salsa bar. Their burritos are only a few cents more and you get all of the extras.

The Overall experience:
Chipotle - 5
Moe's - 4.9

I had to let Chipotle win this due to my bias toward tin corrugated sheeting affixed with screws and bolts.

The Winner:
Chipotle with 19 out of 20 points
Moe's - 16.9 points

It was close, and I was scared that my test might betray a restaurant that has been so good to me, but it was worth it. Whew...I need a burrito!

Reactee - Cause a Reaction

2007-06-05T05:34:00.000-07:00

Reactee.com is a perfect example of using something that is ubiquitous, old, and tired in a completely new and revolutionary way.

How it works:
Setp 1 - Go online, create your shirt with your slogan or key word
Step 2 - Reactee sends you your personalized shirt
Setp 3 - When people see your shirt they text your key word to the number on your shirt
Step 4 - The person who texted your shirt receives a personalized message

As of right now these are basically being advertised as a way to promote your own band or political agenda. e.g. the "Save the Reef" where you text REEF; or the "Obama for President "text word Obama. They must have been reading my post on the Micro Lending for their inspiration for this T-shirt. Another cool feature is if you make a shirt, it is available for others to order it as well. So your idea can spread with no real work on your part. Which is exactly what Guerrilla Marketing is all about.

The limit to this product is your own creativity. Although this is meant for a grass roots movement I can imagine a much broader application than just walking the fine line of being "cool" and borderline "nerd" at the same time.

UD MBA Program wins accolades

2007-05-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

As I am currently a member of the University of Dayton MBA Program it is nice to be reassured that the rigorous program is alive and well fulfilling its mission: To produce future leaders.

Some background: This case competition is open to all Ohio MBA Programs. UD has won First, Second, and Third place in a tri-fecta sweep for a number of consecutive years. UD has developed a sterling reputation winning 1st place 7 of the last 8 years with 6 of those coming in consecutive years.

See Link and the copied Text below:
http://universityofdayton.blogs.com/newsinfo/2007/05/mba_students_ta.html

May 17, 2007

MBA students take first place ... again

University of Dayton graduate business students continue to prove they are the people to turn to for that winning small business plan.

For the second straight year — and seven of the past eight years — a UD graduate business team won the Ohio Graduate Business Student Case Competition.

UD’s team of Lyalya Esadova, Amy Smith, Connor McCracken, Eric King and Chris Thunander won on the strength of its plan for Hearthstone Inn in Cedarville, Ohio. The team won $3,000 for its winning presentation made last month in Columbus.

“They did an absolutely sterling job that will help that small business into the future,” said Joe Schenk, associate professor of management.

Schenk and Tom Winning, a UD executive-in-residence, advised the team along with Mike Bodey from the Small Business Development Center at Wright State University.

The competition is open to all Ohio colleges with graduate business or accounting programs and students pursuing a master’s in business administration, master’s of science of management or master’s of accounting degree. Judges evaluate teams’ oral presentations, case studies and solutions for Ohio Small Business Development Center clients.

Ohio Department of Development officials hope the competition provides graduate business students an opportunity to work on practical business problems, contributes to Ohio’s economic development and enhances links between Ohio’s graduate business programs and business and industry.

Small Business Development Centers of Ohio, Small Business Administration, Palo Alto Software and Kent State University sponsored the competition along with the Ohio Department of Development.

Bachelor Party Basics

2007-05-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

As I am now finding myself still single while my two best friends are getting married this summer I have been quite busy filling up my weekends with bachelor parties. Neither of my friends chose the typical clubs of ill repute, and in fact they both chose very different ways to celebrate their last nights as a free man.

Party#1 a.k.a. The All American bachelor party

The first bachelor party that I will attend will be an all day event. At noon we take a "party bus" down to Cincinnati. I am kind of frightened as to what exactly this entails as I have been on a few that were not exactly sea worthy. When we arrive at the Reds Stadium we will be pampered in the Diamond Seats (@ $202 a pop - I was not happy to find this out) and drink and eat ourselves silly as the diamond seats are all inclusive. We will do our best to get the $202 value from all beverages, I assure you. After we have had our fill of America's favorite pastime we will then party bus-it back up to Dayton where we will crash at the groom-to-be's house.

Total Cost: $350 with tickets, party bus, and beer on party bus.

Party#2 a.k.a. The UD style bachelor party

The following weekend I will be hosting a hog roast at the other Groom's house. Due to my best man responsibilities I will have a much greater authority in what happens. We will roast a complete hog in the driveway, and yes, apple in mouth, of his newly purchased abode. The bourbon spread will be diverse and luxurious as he is from Kentucky. Also, cornhole and other UD drinking games will be rampant (see flip cup). As many of our professors will be attending as well as: My dad; His dad; and the bride's dad. This may sound fairly tame, but I assure you the bride's dad will be the craziest of all of us, and after our parents and professors attended our UD graduation party I am sure they know what to expect.

After the hog roast we will then go to the Olde Tavern, which is where the Montgonery Inn used to be in Madeira. We will then finish off the night with a night cap and a bonfire in the back yard.

Total Cost: $350 - Bourbon ($150); Hog($80); Taxis($60); Bar Tab split ($60)

Two different styles, two different men. One goal: Party like it's your last night of freedom. Good luck Gents! I will leave you with a word of advice:

A bachelor is a guy who never made the same mistake once.
-Phyllis Diller

Dayton City School Levy

2007-05-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you living in Dayton you must realize that Dayton Public Schools, whose reputation is and has been suffering for years, just failed another levy.

As it has been proven time and time again property values are highly correlated with the quality of the public school districts therein. You can see this in communities like Oakwood which has never failed a school levy. Oakwood borders the City of Dayton school districts and if I would really want to prove my point I would put on this blog a 2000 Sq. Ft. home in Oakwood and a similar home in close proximity in Dayton. I will spare you the analysis, you can do that on your own.

So the real question is why did Dayton fail their much needed levy? I ran across a blog that gave some interesting insight. The author suggests that they do marketing research to see what the market will bear (i.e. what 50.01% of citizens will actually agree to). Also the author states that they need to treat their school system like a brand and compares the Dayton Public School system to Nike.

No matter if I agree with every point or not, I was impressed with the new perspective.

I give you Esrati.com

http://esrati.com/?p=265

InBubbleWrap

2007-05-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Free business books? Yes please.

www.InBubbleWrap.com is a very creative marketing tool. It operates as a hybrid blog/sweepstakes for business books. You can enter once a day for your chance to win a free book.

Every day you can log in to see the latest offering from the site. The books are donated by 1-800-CEO-READ and there is always a clever description of the days offering in their entertaining description of the book of the day.

You can read the partial description of the book on the In Bubble Wrap page but if you want to dig further into the book and click to "read more" you will find yourself at the CEO READ website. It is integrated beautifully and is a fantastic example of Guerrilla Marketing (Guerrilla Marketing, is an unconventional way of performing promotional activities on a very low budget).

There are no ads on the website.
Only those readers interested in the books description end up clicking to find out more about the book

Qualified "leads" being generated for his site

There is a new offering every week day so you must visit daily to enter

Helps make it part of our daily routine

The site most likely gives away a few books per every thousand hits

costs very little

And now, I thought it was such a novel (pun intended) idea that I have now done some advertising for him. I can also profess that it is legit as I have actually won a book about business blogging from the site.

Dayton Marketing Community

2007-05-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

If you are not frequenting the Dayton Marketing Community squidoo page and you are in Marketing in Dayton you are behind the curve.

For those of you who do not already know, this is a page that is maintained by a local marketing account executive. I find it to be very useful to keep abreast on the latest marketing buzz in the Dayton community. Think of it as a one stop shop for marketing info. This is the type of page that once you realize what it does you get a "why didn't I think of that?" feeling.

Impressive features I use:

Dayton Daily News aggregation of headlines
Dayton Community Google Calendar mash up (NEW)
List of professional organizations in the Dayton Area
Job Search (Thankfully I have not used this one yet)

I have been using this page for a few months now and it is getting to the point that it is more of a reference tool than your usual squidoo page. There is so much information that is readily available it is no wonder it is ranked #93 currently in the business section.

The bar has been raised. Bravo.

Makers Mark Bourbon House and Lounge

2007-05-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend as I was at the Derby I visited one of the swankiest bars in Louisville. The Makers Mark Lounge . It is, in my opinion, the crown jewel of Louisville's famous 4th street live scene.

As you walk from the street you are greeted with a red lit wall of bottles and the scene is something to behold. The 58 foot long bar is outdone by what must be 100 bottles of bourbon behind it. As you sit down there is a sheer curtain that you can pull around your table for more privacy and most of the lighting is provided by candles put in glass vases that are dipped in that famous red wax. It is a fantastic experience.

So if you are planning on attending the Derby next year, or just find yourself in downtown Louisville, make this your after party.

Kentucky Derby

2007-05-02T05:42:00.000-07:00

Each May there is only one event that I look forward to: The Derby.

A friend of mine introduced me to the Derby a few years ago and I was able to attend, in the infield, the 130th running of the race. Ever since I have been hooked.

The images that the Kentucky Derby evokes are usually of women wearing excessively large hats, men in suits, gambling, Churchill downs, and Mint Juleps. However there is quite another side of the Derby that should be on everyone's "To see before I die" list.

The Infield
The infield must be entered via tunnels. The original ones were built in 1937 to allow better accessibility for racing enthusiasts. Getting to the tunnel from the turnstiles is like crossing traffic and resembles the video game "Frogger." People run amok, obstructing its entrance, and many are staggering drunk. If people aren't careful, crossing at the precise moment, some imbecile might knock them to the ground. They then risk being trampled and possibly having belongings stolen - most notably pride.

Once inside, there is silliness in all directions. People swarm like bees. Some dress in various costumes, and no outfit is too casual. Families spread blankets, while others pitch tents. Elderly folk in wheelchairs sit aside children in strollers. Beach balls are bounced, footballs are tossed and Frisbees are thrown. Little boys and girls play tag.

People behaving like total savages bump shoulders with women carrying toddlers. One can be amid a zoo of lunacy one second, and among a family bonding the next. There is nothing that can prepare an infield virgin for what they witness during initial contact.

The 40 acre spread is filled with college students and blue collar workers. Because is costs $40 to get in there is a certain sense of commrodery that comes along with it. The last time I attended this event it rained hard for probably half an hour. This turned into a slip and slide for the masses. Mud was flying, people were actually swimming in the water and everyone had a blast.

So when you flip on your TV this first Saturday in May, please remember that the least of us will be having the most fun.

Skybus

2007-04-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

There is a new game in town with regard to the airline industry: Skybus.

They are a start up airline out of Columbus that is in a word a minimalist. Hopefully this initiated change throughout the industry. They are a low cost provider of airline travel. It is refreshing that someone took out all of those idiotic "perks" that no one used anyway. This airline makes sense, and they don't take themselves too seriously. Check out their rules for flying:

The Skybus Rules of Flying

(A.K.A. How we keep our tickets so darn cheap.)

1. Don’t pay for everyone else’s baggage.

On Skybus, you pay only for what you check. The first two bags are 5 bucks apiece. After that, it’s $50 a bag (yeah, so pack smartly). Less baggage means faster turnaround and cheaper tickets. Fair deal?

2. Hungry? Thirsty? Bring cash.

Most people love our full cocktail bar and food menu, but if you’re not into that, it won’t cost you a penny. Why should your ticket cost include your neighbor’s dinner? That also goes for blankets and pillows–which, by the way, you get to keep if you buy. Oh, and don’t sneak food onboard unless you brought enough for the whole plane.

3. Bring a book.

We’re not big fans of fancy in-flight entertainment systems. So grab that best seller at the airport, or buy a Sudoku puzzle onboard if you’re feeling brainy. You’ll touch down before you know it.

4. Don’t call us.

We don’t have a phone number. Seriously. We’d love to chat, but those phone banks are expensive. And a good website like skybus.com is even more convenient.

5. Don't be late. We won't wait.

Please arrive no later than 30 minutes before takeoff, or we’ll leave without you. Really. By that time, there won’t even be anyone to check your bag. It’s nothing against you–we just have to keep our flights on time, or things get expensive in a hurry.

6. Don’t expect an army of gate agents.

You probably won’t see any agents at the gate until boarding time. Remain calm! Just print your boarding pass at skybus.com and relish in the savings.

7. Yeah, we’ve got preferred seats. Sort of.

There are no fancy reclining beds onboard, but you can pay 10 bucks extra to board our brand-new A319 airplanes before anyone else.

8. Tickets are nonrefundable.

Refunding a ticket costs everyone, so we don’t allow it. Of course, our tickets are so cheap it wouldn’t have been much of a refund anyway. If you need to change a ticket, your punishment for breaking a date with us is $40.

9. Bigger is not better.

Big airports can be a big pain. We choose less crowded and more convenient secondary airports for better punctuality and, of course, lower prices.

10. No spontaneous dancing in the aisle.

We realize you might be excited about paying a ridiculously low fare, but please refrain from any unbridled dancing onboard. This includes jumping for joy, disruptive cheering, and celebratory break dancing.

Stadium Hunt!

2007-04-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Stadium hunt: Information and directions to hundreds of stadiums across the US.

A friend of mine that now lives in DC has been busy at work compiling a database of stadiums for almost every sporting event. The premise of the site is really quite simple. Aggregate information on most major stadiums in one place:

MLB
NCAA Basketball
NHL
NFL
NCAA Football
NBA

He claims it is still in beta format, but it is already quite refined. The best part of this mash up is that you get the satellite image as well as a link to order tickets for that venue. Very clever. Also he is a benevolent dictator: There is a suggestion button.

Great idea. Fun site. It might just inspire you to take that road trip. Enjoy!

Blame Canada!

2007-04-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

I was in Vancouver Canada over the Easter long weekend. Which leads me to a very unique experience that I hope you all will take note of if you are in the service industry.

The reason for my visit to Canada was an International Association of E-Business conference. My father was publishing two papers at this conference and so my mom and I tagged along. Thanks to the University of Dayton fitting the bill the hotel was free, the rental car was free, and we stayed in the swankiest place in town: Robson Street. Right up my alley and all I had to do was pay for a plane ticket.

We found this very unique restaurant called The Bread Garden that served excellent breakfast food and we found ourselves visiting this place again and again for breakfast. We loved, and still love this place. I do not want our experience to negatively reflect on the quality of the restaurant. In fact, I wish we had one in Dayton. Our third visit led to an unexpected result. As we were eating breakfast my mom went to get something from her purse only to find out it was not there. We searched the entire restaurant only to find it had been stolen. Of course everything in her purse had been stolen as well: Passport; Cell phone; wallet (a few hundred dollars); and medication. We called the police, filed a report, and the Constable was amazingly helpful. After this terrible experience I have come to have nothing but respect for the police system in Vancouver. In 2010 when they host the Olympics I feel confident they will protect everyone with the same professionalism that we experienced. Kudos to them, they were more than helpful.

We did all that we could do including canceling cards, getting legal paperwork to get across the border, and changing our keys to the hotel room. So, as I was explaining the situation to the hotel manager to my surprise she actually showed a great amount of sympathy. She apologized for our loss and said that she hoped it did not reflect poorly on our experience in the city. She gave me numbers to all the major credit card companies and the police department. I did not have the heart to tell her we just spent the entire morning already calling them. After this my family then made sure our new keys worked at the room and went to lunch to try and forget about the purse. Upon our arrival back at the hotel room we found that the hotel manager had made us a visit. She had placed a tray on the table with M&M's in a champagne glass, popcorn, beverages, and a hand written note expressing her sorrow for our loss and that all of our local calls we had made would be complimentary.

This bears repeating: She was not the restaurant owner where we were robbed. She was the hotel manager. Talk about impressive customer service! Granted, our hotel was fantastic, but this is going above and beyond. Complimentary phone calls which we did not ask for, complimentary candy and popcorn, and a hand written note (almost a thing of the past anymore). It was completely unexpected, and actually made my mother cry. For all of you customer service professionals: When is the last time your service made someone cry?

Bravo. If I ever come back to Vancouver, and the chances are likely, The Pacific Palisades is the only hotel in which I will stay. Please see the pictures I took of the tray and the card.

What a lesson I learned: Your customers problems are your problems. If you can help solve problems for your customer that you never created, you are looked upon as a hero.

The process of buying a car

2007-04-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have decided to buy my first car. After seeing the cost and frequency of repairs increase for my 1992 Cadillac Seville over the past two years I have come to the decision that it is time.

Being in the auto industry you would think I would have some fabulously sneaky insider knowledge about how to bend over dealers and get a screaming deal. Unfortunately, even though I have been through extensive training on dealerships, it basically comes down to sales and a basic working knowledge of the structure of dealerships. There really are no tricks.

Here is what I have heard from truth or rumor:

Do not tell them the final price you want to pay
Do not tell them you have a trade until after the price is negotiated
Tell them you have been shopping around
Get 3rd party financing from your local bank or credit union
Come to them at the end of the month to get a better deal

This list is certainly not exhaustive, but I am sure it is nothing new to anyone reading this. We are all basically clueless. In order to minimize my cluelessness I tried to find out more.

How I began my search:
I did a ton of research on www.automotive.com which is a site that makes its money by dealers and private individuals listing their cars for sale. They have some of the best and most accurate listings that I have found when comparing competitors sites. They also have an exhaustive analysis of just about every single car being sold on the market.

Further Research:
After my research was complete I took a stroll to a dealership last Sunday, when they were closed, and looked at the brand of car that I wanted and what they had on the lot. I am looking for a 2003 so there was naturally a limited selection.

Why I made the decision to look now:
I was not planning on doing anything until I received my tax return, typical I know, but alas my car broke down again. Another $500.00 for the water pump. I guess I would break too if I had to pump 160,000 miles of water. Regardless that was my reason to contact the dealership. I was fearing that next big repair that would be the big repair. So there you have my buying motivation: Fear.

First Contact:
This morning, after driving my car to the shop and consequently arriving late to work, I got a wild hair and contacted the local dealership via their lead generation tool ...err website. you know the drill. You can click to view their inventory and if you do not see what you want you can fill out their form with all of the information. I clicked send and not one minute later I got a generic e-mail from the dealership telling me I would be contacted in 24 hours. It was probably 5 minutes after that that Shawn, my dealership representative, sent me an e-mail requesting more information. Impressive.

First quote:
I responded to his further inquiry and let him know what I wanted:(this is basically verbatim the e-mail I sent)

2003
30-50k miles
price range of $18,000 to$ 24,000
Anything but Red exterior
Sunroof, Brembo brakes, spoiler, leather, no Navigation, 19inch performance wheels etc...

Based on my research there are probably 30 of these cars listed as of today in Dayton/Cincinnati/Columbus. Not exactly a rare car. Shawn responded back within an hour with a 2006, Red, 18 inch wheels, no spoiler, stock brakes, with Navigation and the price was $41,000.00 and was only good until 8:00pm today. Final offer.

Here's your test as a consumer: How did he do meeting my stated, specific requirements?

Idiots:
I politely responded that while I am sure that car was great, it met none of my requirements. It is not hard to imagine what happened on his end. The dealer probably told him that he has some 2006 that didn't sell and he is simply pushing it on everyone possible. It is the typical sales technique of "one size fits all" or "throw it on the wall and see what sticks". I filled out the form they specifically created for lead generation and they did not use any of that information.

*Insert rant*

Unfortunately that is where I am currently in the sales process and this article is getting quite long.

To be continued...

Jeff Schmidt Cadillac

2007-03-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

If you have been paying attention to television commercials for Cadillacs recently and you live in Dayton you are probably aware that Jeff Schmidt just purchased Roberts Cadillac. It is now Jeff Schmidt Cadillac. As stated in the Dayton Daily News Mr. Schmidt is planning on "attracting a younger crowd" to the Cadillac market. Say What!?!

Per my father (who has a Ph.D in Marketing and follows these kinds of things) the median age of a man who purchases a Cadillac STS is 52 years old. The median age of a man who purchases a Cadillac DTS (The flagship car) is 56 years old. These are descriptors that help define what Marketers would call a Target Market. There are many reasons for this high median age you can probably name a few without any help.

The cost of a new STS is $49,775.00 per Jeff's website. The cost of a DTS is $54,685.00 fully loaded.
The styling, while chiseled and modern looking, is not what this younger demographic is after. (see Pontiac G6 with it's new curved lines and convertible 2-Door option.)
4-door large wheel base luxury sedans do not sell to families who have parents in their 40's and need practical cars (i.e. a Minivan)

I assume Mr. Schmidt is meaning someone in their 40's when he claims to reach the younger market. See above description and think of the 40 year olds you know: Do they have $50,000 to spend on a car? Will they allow their pre-teens to haul their muddy soccer gear all around town in a new STS?

Marketing 101. The answer to the questions above is "No". As we learned in our consumer behavior courses, the target market selects the product. Not the other way around. Groups of people are naturally drawn to products for specific reasons. If you try to "push" or suggest a product to a group outside of the primary target market your marketing efforts will have a very minimal effect.

From what I can tell Mr. Schmidt is doing his very best to be different. Understandably so as he bought a failing dealership. He does need to do something. Age, however, is not the place to change the game. Perhaps he should focus on service, possibly he could throw in an extra year of that fantastic OnStar service. He could maybe even buy the first "X" people who purchase a Cadillac a round of golf for 4 at a local swanky country club.

What ever he decides it needs to appeal to the same group that buys Cadillacs normally. Think 50+. What do they like to do? What is their stage of life? Where do they travel? Who is their peer group? Who are they trying to impress? What is their primary reason to purchase?

I wish Mr. Schmidt the best. But unfortunately his current model will not work in the long run. He is making a classic mistake. He is trying to change the customer base, rather than focusing on the customer.

Woot!

2007-03-22T12:15:00.001-07:00

Woot! Stands for " I Want One Of Those"

Woot! is probably the best example of the power of the internet that I have found for consumer products. It is also the perfect example of the power of economies of scale. For those of you who do not know here is a little about Woot!

Woot! is a website that offers only one product every day at Midnight for discounted price. They give pictures, descriptions, even a clever blog that talks about the product. Most of these products have some kind of technical theme. I have seen everything from headphones to padlocks listed. Every day it is some new surprise.

In regard to price, I have checked around and it is almost always the best deal going no matter what product. How can they do this? Volume. Their economies of scale are phenomenal. Every day there is a different market and a different consumer base that is attracted to that market. Products that seem to have no real place anywhere else fly off of the shelves of Woot. Some of these products are sold out before I get to work at 8:00AM.

They are also very clever in the information that they give out. You never know exactly how many they have in stock, but they do have histogram graphs letting you know how man people purchased this product and at what time.

I am not sure if this was intentional but Woot! has built this off of the QVC phenomenon we are all so familiar with. QVC sells one product for a limited period of time, and they have written the book on television sales. Not only do you get to view the product, learn a little bit about it, but it is also entertaining. Woot! has captured all three of these aspects.

What is next...Woot! TV?

Stay tuned to find out.

Watch UD Basketball online for free

2007-01-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

On the Dayton Flyers official site all of you Flyer fans from across the country can watch UD Basketball for free. They just added a feature supported by CSTV that allows you to stream the live feed onto your computer. I hope that this will continue with the NCAA tournament when we make it (Crossing fingers)

You will need the latest version of Internet Explorer (which pains me since I am an avid Firefox user) and the latest version of Windows Media Player as well. Unfortunately those are kind of annoying to upgrade to, but well worth it I assure you.

Other than the stiff software requirements I am pretty excited about this. I also was messing around on the site and found out that you can stream many of the games earlier in the season as well. So for all of you that missed a home game...enjoy!

Go Flyers!

Churchills Tea Room - Cincinnati, OH

2007-01-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

For all of you tea lovers I am writing this to share with you a true gem in the downtown shopping district of Cincinnati.

My enjoyment of tea started in college with my roommate Mike. He is a purveyor of all things expensive: cigars, Audi's, wine, speaker systems, Rolex watches, etc... He started buying loose leaf tea and brewing it as a hang over cure. I had always been fascinated with tea, and this really pushed me over the edge in regard to interest. After buying my first cast iron tea kettle I started buying loose leaf teas and trying all kinds of hot and iced tea. I now have many tea kettles, my most prized being from my trip last summer to Hong Kong, China, of the Yixing (pronounced ee-Shing) variety, that was hand made by a master potter. I picked up one for Mike as well. He was very grateful.

So back to Cincinnati, there is a place called Churchills Tea Room that is located in Tower Place downtown. There is this delightful British woman who owns the tea shop, and she has done a marvelous job with the place. High Tea is served 6 days a week and they also have a large variety of tea to choose from off of the shelf. Probably the most enjoyable part of visiting this shop is having a discussion with the owner. I find id fascinating and intriguing being around someone who is such an expert. The desserts she makes are quite delicious, and the view from the prized window seat is not bad either. Hint: There is only one window seat, so if you plan on people watching you had better make reservations!

After visiting on many occasions I now choose to buy all of my tea from this unique place to support their efforts to reinvigorate downtown. I also have brought many friends to spend the afternoon enjoying High Tea and having insightful conversations. It takes about 45 minutes from my house to get down there, but as of yet I have never regretted the drive.

Prosper - Micro lending brought to the masses

2007-01-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

A while ago I was reading in the Wall Street Journal, for those of us who are regulars it is called simply "The Journal", about the Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. He started the Grameen bank in India that gave out micro-credit loans. These are very small loans given to poor entrepreneurs in third world nations. The impact of these banks is amazing. It stimulates economic development, and fuels the capitalist fire like few other things can. This, of course, does a number of wonderful things economically, politically, and socially for these countries.

Fortunately, I do not live in India. However, I plan on traveling there some day. So how can I start doing something like supporting a micro-credit loan program in Dayton, OH of all places?

Enter www.prosper.com. Prosper is the online version of the Grameen bank. I have been enjoying a 12% return on my investment for about a year now. In the spirit of Micro-credit loans I started small. A mere $250.00 deposit and I was ready to lend. It works similar to Ebay. People basically auction their requests for capital with a detailed description and the lowest rates from the people willing to lend the money win. Lenders, such as my self, bid on these requests with what ever return that they would deem acceptable from their investment. Once the full loan amount is funded the auction closes and the loan is financed.

Prosper has thought of the risks involved and it is compulsory to attach a credit agency to these accounts so that if they were to default, the agency will represent you and get most of your money back. Also, all of those wanting money have their credit score attached. The amount of information is very nice, and makes for a very secure and safe lending environment. The best part of this process is that you can manage your own risk. Do you want to get a higher return? Say, 20%? Well, the people you will lend to will have a credit rating much lower than those expecting an 8% return. The amount of risk you accept is up to you.

I however decided to split my $250.00 between two people. One is paying off credit cards. The other is much closer to my heart. He is getting his MBA and is in sales. Bravo! Though I am not worthy of any Nobel prize, I certainly am enjoying participating in an idea that achieved that status.

Zillow - Realestate Estimator

2007-01-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.zillow.com/

Although Zillow (like "Pillow") claims to be in Beta, it is a very polished Web 2.0 application for anyone looking for a house. It has the look and feel of Google Maps and it overlays houses and housing prices. Although it is not 100% accurate it basically uses sale prices of the neighborhood and comparable houses, "comps", to estimate the value of the house at which you are looking. Zillow calls this a Zestimate.

It definitely gave me piece of mind when buying my first home. I realized that the neighborhood I was looking in was on average worth $XXX,XXX.xx and that the specific sq. ft. requirement and bedroom requirement would put me around that price. It can also pull tax records so that you can estimate what you will be paying when Uncle Sam comes knocking.

Useful, easy and fun to look all of your neighbors and friends houses. Enjoy!

Infiniti G35 Coupe Yuppie Mobile

2007-01-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

Automobile
–noun

1.	a passenger vehicle designed for operation on ordinary roads and typically having four wheels and a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine.

Yuppie Mobile
-noun
1. an Infiniti G35 Coupe

Now that I have been making money for a few years I have come to the decision that after buying my house, the next thing I need is a new car. My dad gave me his Cadillac STS when I graduated from UD and it now has 157,000 miles on it. While I do enjoy floating around, and I do mean floating, in a Cadillac the time has come to change my ride. The Cadillac image is not exactly what I was looking for. After all, how many 24 year olds do you know driving an STS?

So, after a long search looking at Honda S2000's, Nissan 350Z's, and Lexus ES 330's I have decided that the Infiniti G35 Coupe is the car for me. A guy in my MBA class has one: black on black, 293 horse power, spoiler, harmonic exhaust, zero lift aerodynamics...I was in love. We went out one night after class and opened up the engine. I about swallowed my tongue. He had the wheels squealing up the entrance ramp to I-75. Damn! My Cadillac's 4.9l V8 could not keep up with this smaller, faster V6. I was impressed and a little shocked at the speed. Plus, most of the Infinity's come with upgraded rims and spoilers in the coupe model.

I was not expecting to ever own an Infiniti, but after my thrilling test drive I hope to be able to get one soon enough. Expect to see me bragging about it in 4 months.

*Crossing my fingers*

Dayton Flyers NCAA Basketball

2007-01-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

I have been going to the UD Basketball games for about 15 years of my life. As my family is closely tied to the University of Dayton in a number of ways, we have been Flyer fans for quite some time. I can even remember back when we first got tickets in the nose bleed section so that my sister and I could run around be be kids without disturbing the game for anyone else who actually cared. I can also remember the senior season of Negel Knight who would later be drafted into the NBA. The Dayton community has supported the team with out reservation for many years and I am proud to be a part of that community.

Within the past week the Flyers have added another page to the history of Dayton basketball: Brian Roberts scored his 1,000th point. Only 36 other players for UD have achieved such a status. This accomplishment speaks for itself. I am normally not one to glorify athletes, but from personal experience Brian Roberts is not your normal NCAA student athlete. He is actually smart, lacks the ego that has become so tiresome in college sports, and he unselfishly produces on the court. In short; a leader.

In the most recent game on Saturday against La Salle how does Brian Roberts respond to breaking the 1,000 point barrier? He scores 34 points and wins the game with his unfailing free throw shooting. He is routinely over 80% at the line, but on Saturday, in the last 2 minutes of the game, he was 7 for 7.

Will Roberts have the same long term impact at Negel Knight? Maybe not. Will Roberts continue his basketball stardom into the NBA? Most likely not. In Dayton our stars come and go, and we only get them for a short for years. Our only chance is to watch them play in college, and that is why UD basketball is so special. That is why our fan base is so strong. The fan base roots for the team, not the players. It seems Roberts is rooting the same way.

GO FLYERS!!

Marketing Disaster

2007-01-11T06:03:00.000-08:00

The category of products that I am selling currently has been around for over 25 years. However, the product I sell is brand new and has some truly innovative and groundbreaking features. It is more expensive, and works better than any product out there. It has the chance to truly dominate the marketplace. I was specifically recruited from Xerox to join this new product team and make sure that is takes off like a rocket. Coming from Xerox I realize the value of a high priced product that delivers a premium value. If you have ever sold on price, shame on you. The real money, and skill, is in the premium products that demand a premium price.

For any of you who have been in sales you realize that you control only a precious small portion of the success of any product. It is the job of the salesperson to help the customer recognize that there is a difference between their current state, and their desired state. We have to help them realize that they are dissatisfied with their current state and get them all "hot and frothy", as we said at Xerox, about the new product (desired state). Truth be told, that is only a very small part of a total strategic plan for any product. The first step is to get your potential customers aware that this new product even exists. Enter the Marketing team.

To give some background: Our sales team and Marketing team almost never work together. We had a few ceremonial meetings in the beginning and they actually had a hand in training us. Other than the first two weeks of employment we might have seen our marketing team, which consists of two people total, three times for about an hour each occurrence. Three hours in 7 months! Other than the obvious problems that are caused by the lack of time spent together there has been a relatively cordial relationship between the two teams.

About 4 months ago we received an e-mail from Marketing describing their "Marketing Plan". It consisted of sending out mass mailers to every dealer in the country by franchise. They were breaking those down by specific franchises in the order of best chance of success. The first mailer should have the most success. This is not necessarily a bad plan, but sending a mailer to everyone? What happened to target markets? I could go into a diatribe on target markets having a degree in Marketing, but I will not. So, the mailers went out and the response faxes came back. The sales team was excited about getting responses and we jumped on the chance to call these "hot and frothy" customers. Here were the response rates:

2281 letters mailed
51 Leads (2.5% response rate)
1 unit sold @ $XX,xxx.xx NET OT and $Xxx.xx NET Monthly
25 open prospects

Lets break this down.

2.5% response rate

Sounds good right? 2.5% might be good for a random sample mailing however this was mailed to only our current customers. The average for a mailer of this type can be between 8% and 25% as defined by marketing standards. The 2.5% category is for things like your Sunday coupon circular.

1 Unit sold

Out of 2281 potential customers that is a close rate of .04384%. Not even half of a percent. You might have a better chance selling vacuums door to door.

25 open prospects

No one on the sales team even knows what this means. We have many more than 25 prospects but most of those came from our own out-bound activity. Not from the list.

The Verdict: Failure.

Here are rough estimates of the cost of the campaign only for material:

Postage: $.21 for bulk X 2281 = $479.01
Printing costs (I did come from Xerox after all): $.03 x $68.43
Envelopes: $.02 x 2281 = $45.62

Grand Total Materials = $593.06

Without giving exact numbers our Return on Investment was less than 2% only on material costs. This does not include paying salaries, heat, light, time, etc... In terms of an investment. we would have been better off buying a 6 month Savings Bond.

But, have no fear. We have just been told that the next mailer is right around the corner. If we keep this up, we might just get that 1 sale out of 2281 that is just sitting there ripe for the picking.

Adobe Gilas in Dayton

2007-01-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if any of you Daytonians have been aching for a Yuppie bar like I have, but I believe we now have our first. Adobe Gilas recently has opened at The Greene. I was out with some people from Reynolds & Reynolds at the Funny Bone Comedy Club, also at the Greene, to meet some of the other sales reps that work on the east coast. We left the comedy club and heard this music coming from a non-descript second story bar. There were a few people standing outside and we decided to ask what was going on.

As it turns out it was the opening night for Adobe Gilas. You needed a special pass to get in, but because it was so late they let our group of 10+ in without any fuss. Also, they did not have their liquor license yet so all of the alcohol was FREE. What a screwed up law: If you have a liquor license you have to charge for alcohol, but if you dont have one currently you can only give it out for free.

Believe me when I tell you that we all took advantage of this new found alcohol induced freedom. It was a fabulous time. The music was a little too loud, the waitresses were georgous, the yuppies were out in full effect. I've found my bar. I have since been there probably half a dozen times with friends and co-workers. Adobe Gilas is exactly what Dayton needed.

Montgomery Inn BBQ

2007-01-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

This weekend I drove down to Mederia, a suburb on the north east side of Cincinnati, to visit my best friend, Michael, and his fiancee, Angela and our mutual friend Laura. Despite the rainy 40 degree weather we managed to keep busy indoors. Specifically I went down there to help them move into their new house and do menial tasks such as affixing felt to the bottom of all of their furniture and lifting the heavy objects as directed.

We probably spent three hours doing the heavy lifting before we realized that everyone was getting a little hungry. Before I came down I did mention going to dinner, and Angela made reservations at a Cincinnati favorite called The Montgomery Inn. They have three locations including a very nice boathouse on the Ohio River. The Origional restaurant was closest to Mike's new house and it is my personal favorite. To give you an idea the wait on a typical weekend we called around 5:30 and made reservations for 7:30. By the time we got there the wait was over 3 hours. We arrived at 7:25 and still had to wait half an hour to sit down. Mike described the place fairly accurately when he said "This place prints money." Everyone who was waiting to sit was drinking and enjoying their saratoga chips that you dip into the same BBQ sauce that your ribs are smothered in.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Montgomery Inn it is actually quite famous. Celebrities from all over the world have eaten there and many actually endorse the ribs. Bob Hope used to order them on all of his USO tours, for example. The Montgomery Inn has been rated in any number of BBQ magazines as the #1 restaurant in the country. It certainly lived up to its billing. I could not eat all of the "King slab" and fortunately got a to-go box and ate them for lunch the next afternoon.

The after dinner portion of the night was spent in Mike's basement playing pool and drinking Christmas Ale. Definitely my favorite holiday brew. The perfect topper to the night.

Xerox Sales Training: Find your Monopoly!

2007-01-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

A little about Xerox sales training:

Xerox has what is called "client centered selling". It is their self-developed sales training (more on exactly what that is below). When you start at Xerox you go through a 3 month training phase where every day you have to read and know these 3-ring binders of information. They soon become the bane of your existence. I stacked them up at one point and they were taller than I was (I'm 6'2"). You are on conference calls usually 3 times a week and a trainer is on the phone with your training team. The training team was made up of about 20 people from across the country.

After this training over the phone you take tests almost daily. These tests ask everything from "what type of a stapler does a Docucolor 240 have?" to "What is the difference between a Token ring network and a Microsoft Exchange server?" It is intense. They product train the crap out of you and your test results are stack ranked against your class. It is made completely public and is a great source of stress. Your managers see it, the other senior reps in the office see it, and t cooasionally a VP gets on the conference call and asks questions like "Who is the #1 trainee? They also ask "Who are the bottom two people, I want them to stay on after to call so we can talk." They are not messing around and will expose you. It can be a very embarrassing time if you are not at the top of the class.

So, after the product training is over the sales training begins. Out fo the 20 that started only 18 of us made it to Dallas. Those bottom two were unfortunately not asked to continue. They flew the 18 that were left to Dallas, TX where I got off of my plane to a chauffeured black Lincoln limo was waiting next to a driver holding a large sign with my name on it. I literally uttered "Holy shit, I have arrived!" This was my type of business trip! I have traveled extensively across the US and internationally (see future blogs) with my family so I knew what to expect and I know exactly what travel is like. Believe me when I tell you Xerox takes care of their trainees. In the limo was a number of different beverages that I managed to enjoy in the 25 minute drive from Dallas Ft. Worth airport to Lewisville. It was awesome and made me love the company. But I digress...

Client Centered Selling
The next day sales training began. I wont go too much into detail but basically Xerox trains you to sell anything, not only copiers. They give you the tools, that they are continuously reinventing, to position your product better than anyone else. I left a week of sales training and I came in a piece of coal, and exited a diamond. It was intense, it was stressful, it was amazing. Of the 18 that entered only 16 were left. On the second to last day at lunch our trainer came to our table and said "Would Jeff and Angela please join me?" They never came back. In Client Centeres Selling we were tested twice daily. They are long and not easy. They had gotten below a 90% on two tests in a row. They were excused from sales training.

To give you an example of what the sales training is like compared to what you are used to: The OLD way of selling is using what I like to call the "word tricks". We've all heard them, they are as overused like pick-up lines at a bar and include: Shall we use my pen or yours? Or If I could _____ would you _____? Or Wouldn't it be worth the additional cost to allow you to do ______ faster/better/more accurately?

Xerox sales training basically can be summed in in a few words: Find your monopoly. This is my summarization, not theirs, but I think it speaks volumes. Every premium priced product has more options then a standard priced product. Think Lexus vs. Toyota or Sony vs. Sanyo. If you are sold those products in a way that makes you believe that you cannot live without one of the premium options, and that is emphasised in presentations again and again you start to really believe it. Soon, that option is more important to you than price. If this is all done correctly it actually becomes your(the customers') idea that that option is 100% necessary. It is developing this Monopoly in your customers mind that is so powerful in sales. Without it you are only competing on price. Every product has a Monopoly, even commodities. If you cannot find it, you are simply not a good sales person. So I ask you: What is your product/companies monopoly?

Xerox - Finding A First Job

2007-01-05T11:01:00.000-08:00

So you have graduated...now what.

I graduated from the University of Dayton in may of 2005 and had been applying for all sorts of sales jobs. I had applied to every type of company from American Income Life Insurance to a start up company that sold mobile bar-coding layouts for huge factories. I must have had applied for 30 jobs and had been through at least as many interviews. My search ended with my realization that I was going to be selling copiers for the first part of my life.

I had been contacting a number of businesses in the Dayton, OH area and had narrowed my search to a few well known companies: NCR, IBM, Xerox, Procter and Gamble, MeadWestvaco etc... I had high aspirations and was willing to do just about anything to not end up like some of my friends working for Localsmallcompany Inc. I wanted to be branded and have a pedigree so that when I left my first job, my second employer would say, "I want you to meet Kevin, our newest employee. He worked at ________ ."

When I was an intern at Reynolds and Reynolds in college I noticed that people always said that, "Kathy is our number one sales rep this year. She came from IBM." They mentioned that as if it was no surprise that she was successful here. I wanted that. Kathy was riding the coat tails of a company that she no longer worked for. She always humbly pushed off the compliment, which only made people talk about it more.

Well, IBM never returned my call even though I had the help of my sales professor, who worked for IBM for 15 years, passing out my resume to his old IBM-ers. In fact, of all of those companies mentioned only about half had contacted me at all. Xerox, however did. I must have sent Leah, Xerox's Dayton sales manager, three resumes and half a dozen e-mails from January to May and finally she returned my repeated request for a job. Lucky for both of us she was jsut in time. Another local copier company that sold Konica Minolta had been calling me and I was in the interview process with them as well. In fact they had an offer on the table before I had even heard from Leah. This was a huge advantage: I had ammo. Unlike most college graduates I already had leverage, and with a competitor!

I met Leah and toward the end of the interview when she asked me who else I had been talking to I made sure to mention Konica Minolta. She asked a few other questions about them and the rest is history. I started with Xerox and began a journey that I could only have imagined.

I thought I knew a lot about sales.

I was about to find out that I did not.

A little about myself

2007-01-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

Welcome to my first attempt at creating a business focused Sales Blog. As I have traversed through my early career in sales I feel I have experiences that I want to share. I have been through Xerox's legendary sales training and recently through a much smaller sales program with my current employer, Reynolds and Reynolds.

As a 24 year old sales professional who is also a full time MBA student I have a unique perspective on the business world. I am torn between the practical business methods from the usual 8-5 grind and the theoretical and ideal academic world. The MBA program is quite the frustrating experience (more on that later) as I am learning new perspectives on business that no one else I work with can really seem to understand. I have all of the intuition and ideas of management, yet due to age and lack of experience I am stuck in the "produce first, promote second" mindset.

I hope that all of you 20 somethings can relate.

Great selling!