You can be a T/A with a low “P” score – many finance, legal, and medical professionals fit into that category. After visiting John, my accountant, I rarely feel uplifted and full of joie de vivre. However, I usually leave the meeting feeling reassured and confident that my taxes are in order and that I will not get in trouble with the myriad of fed

Interrupting the customer. Because you know the answer! Constantly trying to add value and participate. Because you can fix the problem! Answering questions quickly. Because you are smart and know the answer! Not wanting to say, “I don’t know.” Because you don’t want to admit that you don’t know the answer! Proposing a solution too early. Even thou

had exhibited extreme reliability to me, I would assume their response would always take 50% longer. I would also assume that customer and internal issues would erode the big block of time I had reserved for myself tomorrow, so I would only have 50% of that. Maybe that is a pessimistic view, but I feel that is life in the corporate world, plus it g

CASE STUDY – THE TEACHER'S STORY My beloved wife, Allison, taught Fifth Grade students – which to readers outside the U.S. means 10-11-year-old children. I’ve found that over the years, I have learnt a lot from studying what she studies – notably when she received her Master’s degree. One of the modules in a Classroom Management workshop was about

issues, as (to foreshadow the next chapter) the #1 thing most mid to senior-level executives expect from a vendor’s presales organization is someone who understands their business.

Chapter 9 – And What Do Sales Think About This? Initially, not that much! This is a classic situation of taking some short-term pain to obtain some significant longer-term gains. However, there is no question that sales-oriented issues and concerns arise during the initial phases of a T/A program. Section 3 will examine some of the implementation i

Listen. Listen really hard. Pause for a second after the client asks you a question to imply thoughtfulness and to ensure that the customer has finished their question. Using non-verbal cues makes the customer feel you have listened and understood. See Chapter 18: The Listening Sales Engineer. Use I Don’t Know Wisely (Again). If you don’t know, the

you say, “did I make that clear?” The first version puts pressure on the student to say that they didn’t understand, whilst the second version puts pressure on the teacher for not clearly explaining. It’s a minor point, but when I implemented this in my workshops some 10-12 years ago and suggested the technique to my other instructors, we noted a s

Anticipate. Reliability at its best isn’t just doing what you say; it is also about anticipating what the customer may need and preparing for that eventuality. Set Homework. Send your client pre-work and even homework. They’ll appreciate the opportunity to be fully prepared and briefed. Whether they read the material is another issue. Be Personal.