The Hindu Business Line : Three keys are: like, trust and respect

Fun. Not a popular `F' word, especially when hiring a salesperson. "Maybe it should be," suggests Barry J. Farber in State of the Art Selling from Magna (www.magnamags.com).

Reason: Top salespeople have fun with their job. "They like what they do; and they like the challenge."

Also, they like working with people, and `the sense of accomplishment they get from closing a sale.' Elsewhere in the book that compiles `secrets for success' from `100 top sales performers' speaks of `three keys', viz. like-trust-respect. "To succeed in sales, the customer has to like you, trust you and respect you." He discusses the findings of a research by the US Office of Consumer Affairs about how customers handle faulty products and slipshod service: One in four purchases causes a problem.

Three-fourths of consumers don't complain, "because they don't know where to call, don't think it's worth the effort or don't think the companies will respond." Eighteen per cent throw away the defective product and pay erroneous bills without complaining. Of those who don't complain, 63 per cent switch brands. "Of those who do complain and receive a satisfactory response, 70 per cent become the company's most loyal customers."

Worthy read.

Standards for learning

Great teams, not charismatic leaders, build great organisations. Thus writes E.H. McGrath in his foreword to Team Development and Team Effectiveness: A Facilitator's Handbook, by T.T. Srinath, from ICFAI Books (www.icfaipress.org). "Effective working in a team pre-supposes self-awareness, willingness to participate and a desire to accomplish," writes the author in the overview. Wouldn't standards help? "The question is not about standards but about who sets the standards and how they are measured," notes Srinath. Too often, standards are used as a control device and not as a mechanism for learning, he rues. "Standards become dogmas. This is all right for engineering projects but not for human development." For, "once measures become punitive, people will work to outsmart them." Valuable insights.

Tailpiece

"I was taken aback when he... "

"Shouted at you?"

"No, when he called me `brother'!"

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali