Thanksgiving Message

The following conversation took place at Timothy’s funeral.  His memorial service affected people deeply. Mourner after mourner shared powerful stories about the way the 45-year-old man had touched their lives.

“That was wonderful,” one man exclaimed. “When I die, I want the exact same service. The same music, the same Bible readings, the same words.”

Another man put a hand on his shoulder. “Our church doesn’t do cookie cutter funerals,” he said. “If you want a funeral like this one, then you are going to have to live a life like Timothy between now and when you die.” (Condensed from “GET REAL: A Spiritual Journey For Men” - 2007)

What would you want people to say about you when you are gone?  Or better still what do you want people to say about you NOW!

I once heard this in a sermon but I have added to the first three letters the last three myself. 

You might think about it as a legacy to work toward.  

Be a FATTTE person

A Faithful,Available,Teachable,Trustworthy,Thankful,Encourager

Now there are no money back guarantees with this promise but I CAN tell you if that becomes your legacy or your DASH (the little line between the time you were born and the day you die). you will have made a difference in the lives of others.

So at this Thanksgiving time of the year

I am thankful that I can express myself to each of you and that you are gracious enough to read what I send you.

Have a Meaningful and Memorable Veteran's Day

Armed Forces Medley

"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, so that my child may have peace." Thomas Paine

     I was talking to a friend yesterday and mentioned something that I have thought about for many years.  I tend to gravitate toward Veterans.  In groups of people I do not know in a social situation, I manage to usually end up talking to a Veteran even when I do not know that fact in advance.  Coincidence?  I think not!
     It will be my honor to lie among all of you that have served when my body moves to the dirt side of the grass.  It is also my fervent hope that our spirits will all meet "up yonder"!

Wishing you a Memorable & Meaningful Veteran's Day,
Dan

Captain W Dan Dobson

United States Air Force

1967-1972 

Sales Joke and Moral

While cruising at 40,000 feet, and on his way to Las Vegas, a salesman looked out his window, "My gosh!"  he screamed, "one of the engines just blew up!"
Other passengers left their seats and came running over; suddenly the aircraft was locked by a second blast as yet another engine exploded on the other side of the cabin. 
The passengers were in panic now, and even the stewardesses couldn't maintain order.  Just then standing tall and smiling confidently, the pilot strode from the cockpit and assured everyone that there was nothing to worry about.  His words and demeanor seemed calm and he made most of the passengers feel better about the situation.  They sat back down in their seats as the pilot calmly walked to the door of the aircraft.  There he grabbed several packages from under the seats and began handing them to the flight attendants. Each crew member attached the package to their backs.
"Say," spoke up the alert salesman, "aren't those parachutes?"
The pilot confirmed that they were.
The salesman continued his probing questions to uncover the truth; "But I thought you said there was nothing to worry about?"
"There isn't," replied the pilot as the third engine exploded.  "We're just going to get help."

Moral of the story.  True sales professionals understand the importance of paying attention to non-verbal, physical cues from their prospects.   Prospects may lie to your face, but their body posture and sudden gestures give away their true thoughts, feelings and emotions every time.   Want to thrust some altitude into your sales career?   Understand first that you are the pilot of your own sales career and your ability to read the minor weather type shifts in non-verbal cues will determine whether you have a successful flight or whether you will ultimately crash and burn.  It's that simple.

Reflections on a Decision Well Made

As I grow older (by the minute), I find myself becoming more and more reflective about decisions I have made in my life.  Some have not worked out so well to say the least but more than enough have so I count that a blessing.
     I was thinking the other day about my decision to make sales a career which actually occurred when we bought our first home.  I was very impressed by the salesman ship of the real estate sales guy and having been hatched out of a sales egg anyway, I decided to give it a try.  That was 1972 and I am still going strong.
     I got into sales quite frankly because I came to realize that sales people can make a lot of money without having to invest in a formal technical education.  That sounded good to me at the time.
     But as I look back, I stayed in and enjoyed because I was able to make a difference in people's lives by encouraging them to do something which I always believed was in their best interest and would enhance their lives either professionally or personally or both.  I have never sold anything to anyone that I did not honestly believe would help them.
     I would encourage you today to spend a few minutes examining your motives for playing ball on a sales team.   

Make sure those motives are more about them than they are about you.

Happy Thanksgiving,

dan

Building Trust aka Walking the Talk

   

 As I sit here in our home office watching "Frankenstorm" bear down on us and hearing the wind moaning as it bends the trees in our woods (which I pray do not fall on our house), I am reflecting on how our company has responded to this crisis.
     There is a lot of posturing in our business world about customer's being one's # 1 concern.  Putting money behind that boast is another matter entirely.
     While preparing for the worst but praying for the best, Trinity flew a team of Delaware OPS and Support folks to our Kansas City location to set up shop so we could continue to serve our customers needs.  There were no discount fares for this emergency so the cost is significant but this is part of what TRUST involves.  If you want your customers to TRUST you, you have to be willing to do what it takes to make sure you serve them 24/7. 
     It reminded me of the quote below

     It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.

—Herodotus, Histories (8.98) (trans. A.D. Godley, 1924)

     I am damn proud that I am part of an organization that "walks the talk".  The lesson for all of us is very vividly depicted by this act of concern for our customers.

Sales Whisperer

 
Once upon a time a salesman was looking after his four year old nephew for a few days.  He was a very shy little boy and often had to be encouraged to say the right thing at the right time.  But he was a very fast learner.  One day at lunch, when the salesman's wife had company, her little nephew said, "Auntie, I have to tinkle!"   The salesman's wife took her little nephew aside and said, "Never say stuff like that at the table, sonny.  If you want to tinkle say, 'I want to whisper.' "  And the incident was forgotten.

Later that night when the salesman and his wife were asleep, their little nephew climbed into bed with them.  He tugged at the salesman's shoulder and said, "Uncle, I want to whisper."

The salesman said, "All right, sonny, don't wake Auntie up.  Go ahead, whisper in my ear."

The nephew was sent back t his parents the next day.

Moral of the story.  True sales professionals know that in order to be successful, whispering just doesn't cut it.  You need display confidence when speaking with prospects and customers.  And if it's your prospect who's whispering, encourage them to speak up and engage in open dialogue.   Leave whispering to those failures who take the time to gossip.  Ask yourself if you're one of those people who just sit on the sidelines content to just watch and talk about what happens or, do you have what it takes to throw caution and whispering to the wind and actually engage others and get into the game?

"The two most precious things this side of the grave are our reputation and our life. But it is to be lamented that the most contemptible whisper may deprive us of the one, and the weakest weapon of the other."              -   Charles Caleb Colton

Ditch The Fear

    Let's say that you make 650 well researched and prepared sales calls per month and out of those 650 you receive 455 outright rejections.  How would you rate your performance?
The truth is that if you sustained those numbers for your entire hitting career in major league baseball, you would likely be a candidate for the Hall of Fame.  You see that is a .300 batting average in the big leagues.And in the "big leagues" you are!  Because what you do daily is how you earn a living to support your family just like MOST big league baseball players do!
    Overcoming fear is a part of life.  I remember in my high school playing days facing one of our very own pitchers who was a fast-baller with a wild streak.  He hit me four times in the ribs during that practice last time cracking one. I saw him years later at a reunion and that was the first thing he mentioned after I spoke to him. He was surprised I did!! LOL Was I afraid for a time about stepping in against a lefty who was a little wild? You bet! I loved the game enough to hang in there.
    Sales folks who make their living talking to people on the phone often develop a phobia that causes them not to want to pick up the phone and make that necessary call or as I characterize it that necessary investment on their business which is finding new customers.
    What you need to understand, though, is that you may fear calling because you have probably been exposed to traditional selling approaches, which triggers rejection.  It goes like this: introduce yourself, explain what you do, suggest a benefit to the potential client...and then close your eyes and pray that they won't reply with "Sorry, not interested" or "Sorry, I'm busy." Unfortunately if you use this approach you are likely hearing this many more times than necessary.
  Let go of the traditional and embrace the natural is my advice.  Talk to them in normal language which is precipitated by your thoughts not a scripted litany of boredom.
    How would I do that, Sensei, you say?
    Like this caterpillar:
    Ask your current customers what issues doing business with you has solved for them.  I am betting they are the same issues most of the people shipping and receiving freight have. Now use that as your conversational hub when you are talking to potential customers.  You are now thinking about things from the prospects side of the equation and not your side.  You take the focus off you and put it on who it should be on:  Your potential customer on the other end of the line.
    You change what you think and you change what comes out of your mouth.

GIGO,
Dan