“You don’t have to interfere in something that may not be any of your business. Just send a good thought and say, ‘Hello’ or ‘Can I help you?’” Reason: These words of encouragement or help ‘vibrate with positive force.’ Unkind words can devastate people or cause them to be disheartened or offended, cautions Browne
“Wasted words are a misuse of vital force. This throws away power. Energy is a sacred commodity and should be preserved. When we squander our energy we don’t have enough when we need it… The only way to preserve our energy is to watch our words.”
So many of our personal relationships are destroyed because of the way we speak to each other, rues the author. “Prepare your speech,” she advises. “We often speak with no preparation that results in thoughtless words.”
Rude, abrupt, mean, harsh, nasty, or crude remarks have harmful effects, explains Browne. “When combined with the speaker’s tone of voice, they create discordant vibrations. These thoughtless words live long after they are spoken and affect everyone within hearing distance.” She mentions as examples what we ubiquitously find: such as bosses who are rude or abrupt to employees in the morning and thus set the tone of the office for the whole day; and how ‘an upbeat, happy greeting can get the staff in a positive frame of mind resulting in a productive workday.’ More powerful than spoken words are the written ones. “If you say something and regret it, you can withdraw it with an apology. It is easy to forget exactly what someone said.” Not so with the written word. It is ‘indelibly imprinted.
Writing our thoughts down is a way to structure our thinking, the author guides.
“When we write a letter, we usually take more time to compose our thoughts than we do when we make a phone call. That is why people feel letters are special.”
On the positive side, she highlights how the written word can be creative and inspiring. “It can teach, guide, instruct, entertain, and shift our consciousness. It has a huge effect on getting the things that we want.” However, good writing takes focus, patience, and persistence, counsels Browne.
In sum, her message is simple and straight: “Be careful what you think. Be equally careful what you say. Be even more careful what you write.”
Recommended for a careful read.
Showing posts with label Inspirational. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspirational. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2008
Killer Instinct
Another Fabulous article by Madhav Mohan (http://MadhavMohan.com) on the Killer instinct.
On the sun-drenched veldt in Africa, a deadly drama of life and death is enacted daily. The lioness is on the hunt! She’s spotted her prey and is going for the kill! Ears flattened, body downwind, every muscle taut, all senses focused on the hapless wildebeest. Nothing registers in her consciousness except the prey. And then, a blur of frenzied movement followed by death cries: the wildebeest is meat for the pride.
Snapping up orders
On a lazy Saturday afternoon, the door chime signalling a visitor snapped Shabnam out of her reverie. As the store manager of a large retail furniture and furnishing outlet she is responsible for the store’s performance. She leads a team of 20 people and knows that every walk-in could be a huge sale. She homes in on the visitor and locks on! After 30 minutes, a sale worth Rs 4 lakh materialises. Shabnam has treated her prospect to coffee, established a strong rapport, answered every question and provided just the right solution.
In market after market, the drama is similar! The salesman spots the prospect and closes in for the sale. Total focus and single-pointed attention to clinch it! All faculties are tuned to the customer and his objections; every question is an opportunity to move a step closer to the consummation. And finally, the order is at hand!
Watching Shabnam in action, I’m struck by her resemblance to the lioness on the veldt! The same concentration and dedication and the same total commitment to the job at hand. Both have something in common: the killer instinct. A complete and irrevocable commitment to finish the job on hand, to close the circuit and achieve the result, under all conditions! No prey or prospect can ever slip away!
A must for every CEO
Every CEO must, of course, possess that killer instinct. More importantly, as a leader and organisation builder, he must look for people with this instinct in every functional area. That’s when the organisation is guaranteed to grow and prosper. Far too often, competence is blunted by the absence of the killer instinct and so opportunities simply evaporate. It’s somewhat like the hockey centre forward who dribbles past three defenders and the goal keeper only to shoot the ball wide off the mark! Many companies snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by entrusting important projects to people without the killer instinct.
Spot the trait
It’s difficult to spot the killer instinct, though. One key indicator is consistency. If a person has a record of consistent achievement in any field (academics, sport, previous assignments) it is quite likely that the achievement has been fuelled by the killer instinct. A second indicator is initiative: can the person think through and act quickly? And finally, if stamina and perseverance are present, the killer instinct could also lurk in the background.
The recruitment process must probe deeply into the background and psyche of the candidate. Career development and training programmes must build the capability to deliver results at all times. In today’s hyper competitive environment, there’s a premium on the killer instinct. Organisations that don’t institutionalise it are in danger of being devoured by those that do!
On the sun-drenched veldt in Africa, a deadly drama of life and death is enacted daily. The lioness is on the hunt! She’s spotted her prey and is going for the kill! Ears flattened, body downwind, every muscle taut, all senses focused on the hapless wildebeest. Nothing registers in her consciousness except the prey. And then, a blur of frenzied movement followed by death cries: the wildebeest is meat for the pride.
Snapping up orders
On a lazy Saturday afternoon, the door chime signalling a visitor snapped Shabnam out of her reverie. As the store manager of a large retail furniture and furnishing outlet she is responsible for the store’s performance. She leads a team of 20 people and knows that every walk-in could be a huge sale. She homes in on the visitor and locks on! After 30 minutes, a sale worth Rs 4 lakh materialises. Shabnam has treated her prospect to coffee, established a strong rapport, answered every question and provided just the right solution.
In market after market, the drama is similar! The salesman spots the prospect and closes in for the sale. Total focus and single-pointed attention to clinch it! All faculties are tuned to the customer and his objections; every question is an opportunity to move a step closer to the consummation. And finally, the order is at hand!
Watching Shabnam in action, I’m struck by her resemblance to the lioness on the veldt! The same concentration and dedication and the same total commitment to the job at hand. Both have something in common: the killer instinct. A complete and irrevocable commitment to finish the job on hand, to close the circuit and achieve the result, under all conditions! No prey or prospect can ever slip away!
A must for every CEO
Every CEO must, of course, possess that killer instinct. More importantly, as a leader and organisation builder, he must look for people with this instinct in every functional area. That’s when the organisation is guaranteed to grow and prosper. Far too often, competence is blunted by the absence of the killer instinct and so opportunities simply evaporate. It’s somewhat like the hockey centre forward who dribbles past three defenders and the goal keeper only to shoot the ball wide off the mark! Many companies snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by entrusting important projects to people without the killer instinct.
Spot the trait
It’s difficult to spot the killer instinct, though. One key indicator is consistency. If a person has a record of consistent achievement in any field (academics, sport, previous assignments) it is quite likely that the achievement has been fuelled by the killer instinct. A second indicator is initiative: can the person think through and act quickly? And finally, if stamina and perseverance are present, the killer instinct could also lurk in the background.
The recruitment process must probe deeply into the background and psyche of the candidate. Career development and training programmes must build the capability to deliver results at all times. In today’s hyper competitive environment, there’s a premium on the killer instinct. Organisations that don’t institutionalise it are in danger of being devoured by those that do!
Monday, June 9, 2008
3 C's for Success
Confidence : Confidence in getting things done
Control : Controlled execution of your ideas
Courage : Courage To think big
-Suni
Control : Controlled execution of your ideas
Courage : Courage To think big
-Suni
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Fall of Bear -- JP Morgan's Jaw Dropping Deal
On Sunday, Mar 16th JP Morgan acquired Bear Sterns, to save it from the brink of Bankruptcy. It was the deal so quick, it stunned Wall Street.
All the credit goes to our CEO, Jamie Dimon who emerged as the most powerful financier of our times.
Here is the exerpts of the artile in New York Times
High in a Park Avenue skyscraper (Building opp. to where I work..proud to be morganite.. :D), within a maze of soft rugs and wood-paneled walls, James Dimon sits just footsteps from the mahogany roll-top desk of J.Pierpont Morgan, the feared lord of the House of Morgan and the most powerful financier of his time.
Mr. Dimon’s race to cut a deal for Bear began around 6 p.m. last Thursday, when Alan D. Schwartz, Bear’s chief executive, called with startling news: Bear had been driven to the brink of bankruptcy by what amounted to a bank run.
Mr. Dimon quickly dispatched his investment banking co-heads, Steven D. Black and William Winters, to assemble a team for a possible takeover. By Friday, JPMorgan was plotting how to assess Bear, particularly the risky mortgage-related assets that had led to crippling losses.
“Jamie was driving the process. It was an extraordinary thing to watch,” said a senior executive involved in the deal.
By 8 a.m. Saturday, about 40 bankers were huddled in the boardroom of the eighth-floor executive suite at JPMorgan’s headquarters, which served as a makeshift war room. Under the command of Mr. Black and Mr. Winters, the group divided into teams, each charged with assessing an aspect of Bear, and began heading across the street to Bear’s headquarters to scour the books. More than 200 bankers ultimately joined in this task.
By Saturday evening, the JPMorgan bankers believed they were so close to a deal that they began drawing up a presentation to investors. The expected price per share was in the double digits, roughly half Bear Stearns’s closing price of $30 on Friday.
But the bankers could not agree on how to value Bear’s holdings of complex mortgage securities. Back on the eighth floor at JPMorgan, Mr. Dimon and his lieutenants paced from room to room, trying to keep up with the latest information.
With so much uncertainty hanging over Bear’s portfolio, the JPMorgan bankers decided to ask federal officials to explore ways to limit the bank’s risk. Among the options was having the Fed guarantee billions of dollars’ worth of Bear securities — an unprecedented step for the central bank.
On Sunday morning, JPMorgan threatened to walk away from the deal because executives felt they would be taking on too much risk. Mr. Dimon and his team wanted to give federal officials time to explore other options, according to a person close to the deal. “You have to have a margin for error so if you are wrong, you are not jeopardizing the company,” Mr. Dimon said.
A Bush administration official said the government was not concerned about the fate of a single bank but about the stability of the financial markets. Indeed, this official said, Bear Stearns was “anything but too big to fail.” But its failure would have had huge repercussions for the stability of the broader markets, and that was why the Fed acted with administration support.
Soon the bankers and policy makers were racing to strike a deal before markets in Asia opened for trading on Monday, fearing markets might plunge if Bear failed to find a buyer. But by 3 p.m., there was still no agreement, but they were heading toward a federal guarantee.
With hope that a deal would be reached, JPMorgan executives began briefing credit ratings companies and Mr. Dimon talked to his board. Just after 7 p.m., with less than an hour to go before Asian markets opened, the two sides reached an agreement.
Mr. Dimon was quick to dispense credit to his top bankers, as well as to Mr. Paulson and Mr. Geithner. “Same with the team at Bear Stearns,” he added. “God knows what pressure they had to be under.”
“This is the first time someone has stepped up and offered to solve a problem, even if it will cost Bear Stearns dearly. And making a few bucks on the leadership is in the Morgan tradition as well.”
Mr. Dimon, for his part, said on Monday that he was looking forward to getting some rest.
“There are two types of not getting sleep,” he said. “There is not getting sleep because there is a lot of work. The other is because you can’t sleep. I had a little of both.”
NY Times Article
Wall Street Journal
"Proud to be a Morganite"
All the credit goes to our CEO, Jamie Dimon who emerged as the most powerful financier of our times.
Here is the exerpts of the artile in New York Times
High in a Park Avenue skyscraper (Building opp. to where I work..proud to be morganite.. :D), within a maze of soft rugs and wood-paneled walls, James Dimon sits just footsteps from the mahogany roll-top desk of J.Pierpont Morgan, the feared lord of the House of Morgan and the most powerful financier of his time.
Mr. Dimon’s race to cut a deal for Bear began around 6 p.m. last Thursday, when Alan D. Schwartz, Bear’s chief executive, called with startling news: Bear had been driven to the brink of bankruptcy by what amounted to a bank run.
Mr. Dimon quickly dispatched his investment banking co-heads, Steven D. Black and William Winters, to assemble a team for a possible takeover. By Friday, JPMorgan was plotting how to assess Bear, particularly the risky mortgage-related assets that had led to crippling losses.
“Jamie was driving the process. It was an extraordinary thing to watch,” said a senior executive involved in the deal.
By 8 a.m. Saturday, about 40 bankers were huddled in the boardroom of the eighth-floor executive suite at JPMorgan’s headquarters, which served as a makeshift war room. Under the command of Mr. Black and Mr. Winters, the group divided into teams, each charged with assessing an aspect of Bear, and began heading across the street to Bear’s headquarters to scour the books. More than 200 bankers ultimately joined in this task.
By Saturday evening, the JPMorgan bankers believed they were so close to a deal that they began drawing up a presentation to investors. The expected price per share was in the double digits, roughly half Bear Stearns’s closing price of $30 on Friday.
But the bankers could not agree on how to value Bear’s holdings of complex mortgage securities. Back on the eighth floor at JPMorgan, Mr. Dimon and his lieutenants paced from room to room, trying to keep up with the latest information.
With so much uncertainty hanging over Bear’s portfolio, the JPMorgan bankers decided to ask federal officials to explore ways to limit the bank’s risk. Among the options was having the Fed guarantee billions of dollars’ worth of Bear securities — an unprecedented step for the central bank.
On Sunday morning, JPMorgan threatened to walk away from the deal because executives felt they would be taking on too much risk. Mr. Dimon and his team wanted to give federal officials time to explore other options, according to a person close to the deal. “You have to have a margin for error so if you are wrong, you are not jeopardizing the company,” Mr. Dimon said.
A Bush administration official said the government was not concerned about the fate of a single bank but about the stability of the financial markets. Indeed, this official said, Bear Stearns was “anything but too big to fail.” But its failure would have had huge repercussions for the stability of the broader markets, and that was why the Fed acted with administration support.
Soon the bankers and policy makers were racing to strike a deal before markets in Asia opened for trading on Monday, fearing markets might plunge if Bear failed to find a buyer. But by 3 p.m., there was still no agreement, but they were heading toward a federal guarantee.
With hope that a deal would be reached, JPMorgan executives began briefing credit ratings companies and Mr. Dimon talked to his board. Just after 7 p.m., with less than an hour to go before Asian markets opened, the two sides reached an agreement.
Mr. Dimon was quick to dispense credit to his top bankers, as well as to Mr. Paulson and Mr. Geithner. “Same with the team at Bear Stearns,” he added. “God knows what pressure they had to be under.”
“This is the first time someone has stepped up and offered to solve a problem, even if it will cost Bear Stearns dearly. And making a few bucks on the leadership is in the Morgan tradition as well.”
Mr. Dimon, for his part, said on Monday that he was looking forward to getting some rest.
“There are two types of not getting sleep,” he said. “There is not getting sleep because there is a lot of work. The other is because you can’t sleep. I had a little of both.”
NY Times Article
Wall Street Journal
"Proud to be a Morganite"
Friday, March 7, 2008
Why are Indian Railways so profitable..?
Ever wondered how Indian railways turned so profitable..? is the magic of Lalu.. or is it a myth..? Whats the root ... they predicted bankruptcy for IR in just 2001..? how did it turnaround..? curious to know why..???....here is what I found. Fascinating analysis of an IIM-A grad.
here
-Happy Reading.
here
-Happy Reading.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Vikram Pandit named CEO of Citi Group
Vikram Pandit, a Nagpur-born NRI and a Citigroup neophyte who wowed Wall Street before intense flames began licking the financial world, was on Tuesday named CEO of the world's largest bank in what many see as a rescue mission.
Pandit, whose elevation had been in the air for several days, replaces the charismatic Charles O.
On Tuesday, the Citigroup board led by its chairman, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin fulfilled Wall Street expectation by picking Pandit as CEO, while naming Win Bischoff, who was functioning as interim CEO after Prince left, as chairman. Rubin, also a stand-in, returns to his previous duties as Citi director and chairman of the executive committee of the board.
Pandit, who is 50, is the first person of Indian origin to scale such stratospheric heights in the financial world, which has many well-regarded Indian executives. Citigroup has operations in more than 100 countries, with 300,000 employees and $ 2 trillion in assets
If anything, Pandit edged out another Indian, Ajay Banga, who runs Citigroup's international-consumer group, for the plum job or the poisoned chalice, depending on one view. Others in the running included former Citigroup President Robert Willumstad and Michael Neal, who runs General Electric Co.'s (GE) commercial-finance business.
Vikram Shankar Pandit, the son of a pharma representative and businessman, came to the United States when he was only 16 for undergraduate studies at Columbia University, home to several prominent Indian academics including the economist Jagdish Bhagwati$, and alma mater of Dr B R Ambedkar.
He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in electrical engineering before switching to finance and earning a Ph.D Mentors cited in a recent profile described him as a relentlessly hardworking student, the kind who relished challenges.
Pandit is seen as a cautious, conservative banker.
Many experts say the new CEO will need not just punditry but also some wizardry to extricate the bank from the mess.
n a statement following his elevation, Pandit said he would "undertake an objective and dispassionate review of all the businesses, individually and in aggregate, to make sure we are properly positioned for the future."
He also promised simplify the company's organizational structure, align businesses and resources with appropriate goals, with economic realities being among our initial priorities, a sure sign that there will be some soul-searching and cleansing.
Courtesy: timesofindia.
Pandit, whose elevation had been in the air for several days, replaces the charismatic Charles O.
On Tuesday, the Citigroup board led by its chairman, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin fulfilled Wall Street expectation by picking Pandit as CEO, while naming Win Bischoff, who was functioning as interim CEO after Prince left, as chairman. Rubin, also a stand-in, returns to his previous duties as Citi director and chairman of the executive committee of the board.
Pandit, who is 50, is the first person of Indian origin to scale such stratospheric heights in the financial world, which has many well-regarded Indian executives. Citigroup has operations in more than 100 countries, with 300,000 employees and $ 2 trillion in assets
If anything, Pandit edged out another Indian, Ajay Banga, who runs Citigroup's international-consumer group, for the plum job or the poisoned chalice, depending on one view. Others in the running included former Citigroup President Robert Willumstad and Michael Neal, who runs General Electric Co.'s (GE) commercial-finance business.
Vikram Shankar Pandit, the son of a pharma representative and businessman, came to the United States when he was only 16 for undergraduate studies at Columbia University, home to several prominent Indian academics including the economist Jagdish Bhagwati$, and alma mater of Dr B R Ambedkar.
He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in electrical engineering before switching to finance and earning a Ph.D Mentors cited in a recent profile described him as a relentlessly hardworking student, the kind who relished challenges.
Pandit is seen as a cautious, conservative banker.
Many experts say the new CEO will need not just punditry but also some wizardry to extricate the bank from the mess.
n a statement following his elevation, Pandit said he would "undertake an objective and dispassionate review of all the businesses, individually and in aggregate, to make sure we are properly positioned for the future."
He also promised simplify the company's organizational structure, align businesses and resources with appropriate goals, with economic realities being among our initial priorities, a sure sign that there will be some soul-searching and cleansing.
Courtesy: timesofindia.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Markita Andrews. #1 Sales woman
The greatest saleswoman in the wold today doesnt mind if you call her a girl. thats because Markita Andrews has generated more than eighty thousand dollars selling Girl Scout cookies since she was seven years old.
Andrews learned early that knocking on doors wasn't worth her time. At age 6 when she and her mother moved to New York after a marital separation, she joined a Brownie troop to meet other girls her age. It was during the Girl Scout cookie sales period.
She started out by knocking on doors in the Lincoln Towers apartment complex where she lives with her mother, aunt and uncle. "One of the doormen said, 'If I get any complaints about you knocking on doors, I'm going to bring you down to the lobby,'" Andrews recalls. Sure enough, there was a complaint, and she was demoted to the lobby. But it turned out to be a boon. "It just happened to be when people were coming home from the office," she says. "I sold to 45 people that afternoon." She adopted this strategy and has used it ever since.
Andrews likes to find her customers all in one place. "I sell in lobbies at a lot of companies, and I try to find new companies every year," she says. Dubbed as the top Girl Scout cookie seller of all time, Andrews last year sold 8,006 boxes--$16,000--not bad for a little over three weeks of work. And the girl, who is described by her aunt, Meredith McSherry, as "shy to a certain extent," has sold well over 30,000 boxes of cookies in the past eight years, with sales increasing around 30 percent each year.
By comparison, in 1984, Girl Scouts sold 130,250,000 boxes of cookies, mostly in the United States. Excluding volunteer adults who sold cookies, that averages out to somewhat less than 100 boxes of cookies per Girl Scout.
Some of the big guys have taken notice of Markita Andrews' astonishing sales figures. Companies like International Business Machines Corporation, Lotus Development Corporation and Pacific Telephone have flown her to conventions to speak about her sales techniques.
In 1982, Walt Disney Productions made a 12-minute sales motivation film that featured Andrews. Businesses throughout the country have purchased the film to educate their sales forces. And Andrews, with the help of writer Cheryl Merser, has written a book for Random House, detailing her basic steps of successful selling. The book is aimed at both the youth market and salespeople and is scheduled for release in March.
The first step in selling, she says, is setting short- and long-term goals. Andrews tries to take 100 orders a day after school during the three-week selling period. "If I don't reach my goal of 100 on one day, I'll work harder the next day, and I'll try to think of new places to go."
Andrews also stresses the importance of keeping good records. Sometimes, if customers say they have paid for an order and Andrews has doubts, she checks her spiral notebook of all the people she has sold to, what they bought and what order form they are on.
Wearing her uniform helps attract attention when Andrews is selling in an office. "People will see me and wonder, 'Who's going to be wearing a uniform like that? What is this girl doing?'" she says. "Then they'll think, 'It looks like she's trying to sell something. I wonder what she's selling?' So they'll come up to me part way, and I'll meet them the other part of the way and try to sell them some cookies."
Perhaps the real secret of her success is charm. "A lot of people have bought from Markita just because she's Markita," says her aunt. "People like her and they'll buy one box." Andrews says, "I try to be very kind to people because then they'll tell other people."
Last year Andrews, an honorary member of the National Association of Professional Saleswomen, charmed members of the Million Dollar Roundtable into buying 5,000 boxes of cookies when she was a featured guest at their convention at Radio City Music Hall. Andrews has also appeared twice on "Late Night With David Letterman" and "Good Morning America."
But Andrews does not rest on her laurels--she wants to go to college to polish her sales techniques. Yet for now, with only a couple of years left in Girl Scouts, she wants to reach her goal of selling 40,000 boxes of cookies. This should not be an impossible task for Andrews because she's motivated by a strong belief in her product and organization. "Girl Scouts are a great cause. I sell cookies to help them out--helping kids who don't have enough money to go to camp and helping buy office supplies." Andrews' troop receives 25 cents for every box the troop sells. With the money, she says, "we go to dude ranches in upstate New York."
However, selling does have its ups and downs. When people don't want to buy any cookies, says Andrews, "I will try to convince them what a good cause Girl Scouts are." But it they still refuse to buy and don't wish to make a contribution, Andrews politely thanks them. "I know there are people who don't want to buy, but there are a lot of people who do, and I look forward to the people who do want to buy."
Once on live TV, the producer decided to give Markita her toughtest selling challenge. Markita was asked to sell Girls scout cookies to another guest on the show. "Would you like to invest in one dozen or two dozen boxes of Girl Scout cookies " she asked.
"Girl scout cookies" I dont buy any Girl scout cookies he replied. I am a Federal Penitentiary warden. I put 2,000 rapists, robbers, criminals, muggers and child abusers to bed every night.
Unruffled, Markita quickly countered, "Mister, if you take some of these cookies, maybe you wont be so mean and angry and evil. And , Mister , I think it would be a good idea for you to take some of these cookies back for every one of your 2,000 prisoners, too"
Markita asked.
The warden wrote a check.
Andrews learned early that knocking on doors wasn't worth her time. At age 6 when she and her mother moved to New York after a marital separation, she joined a Brownie troop to meet other girls her age. It was during the Girl Scout cookie sales period.
She started out by knocking on doors in the Lincoln Towers apartment complex where she lives with her mother, aunt and uncle. "One of the doormen said, 'If I get any complaints about you knocking on doors, I'm going to bring you down to the lobby,'" Andrews recalls. Sure enough, there was a complaint, and she was demoted to the lobby. But it turned out to be a boon. "It just happened to be when people were coming home from the office," she says. "I sold to 45 people that afternoon." She adopted this strategy and has used it ever since.
Andrews likes to find her customers all in one place. "I sell in lobbies at a lot of companies, and I try to find new companies every year," she says. Dubbed as the top Girl Scout cookie seller of all time, Andrews last year sold 8,006 boxes--$16,000--not bad for a little over three weeks of work. And the girl, who is described by her aunt, Meredith McSherry, as "shy to a certain extent," has sold well over 30,000 boxes of cookies in the past eight years, with sales increasing around 30 percent each year.
By comparison, in 1984, Girl Scouts sold 130,250,000 boxes of cookies, mostly in the United States. Excluding volunteer adults who sold cookies, that averages out to somewhat less than 100 boxes of cookies per Girl Scout.
Some of the big guys have taken notice of Markita Andrews' astonishing sales figures. Companies like International Business Machines Corporation, Lotus Development Corporation and Pacific Telephone have flown her to conventions to speak about her sales techniques.
In 1982, Walt Disney Productions made a 12-minute sales motivation film that featured Andrews. Businesses throughout the country have purchased the film to educate their sales forces. And Andrews, with the help of writer Cheryl Merser, has written a book for Random House, detailing her basic steps of successful selling. The book is aimed at both the youth market and salespeople and is scheduled for release in March.
The first step in selling, she says, is setting short- and long-term goals. Andrews tries to take 100 orders a day after school during the three-week selling period. "If I don't reach my goal of 100 on one day, I'll work harder the next day, and I'll try to think of new places to go."
Andrews also stresses the importance of keeping good records. Sometimes, if customers say they have paid for an order and Andrews has doubts, she checks her spiral notebook of all the people she has sold to, what they bought and what order form they are on.
Wearing her uniform helps attract attention when Andrews is selling in an office. "People will see me and wonder, 'Who's going to be wearing a uniform like that? What is this girl doing?'" she says. "Then they'll think, 'It looks like she's trying to sell something. I wonder what she's selling?' So they'll come up to me part way, and I'll meet them the other part of the way and try to sell them some cookies."
Perhaps the real secret of her success is charm. "A lot of people have bought from Markita just because she's Markita," says her aunt. "People like her and they'll buy one box." Andrews says, "I try to be very kind to people because then they'll tell other people."
Last year Andrews, an honorary member of the National Association of Professional Saleswomen, charmed members of the Million Dollar Roundtable into buying 5,000 boxes of cookies when she was a featured guest at their convention at Radio City Music Hall. Andrews has also appeared twice on "Late Night With David Letterman" and "Good Morning America."
But Andrews does not rest on her laurels--she wants to go to college to polish her sales techniques. Yet for now, with only a couple of years left in Girl Scouts, she wants to reach her goal of selling 40,000 boxes of cookies. This should not be an impossible task for Andrews because she's motivated by a strong belief in her product and organization. "Girl Scouts are a great cause. I sell cookies to help them out--helping kids who don't have enough money to go to camp and helping buy office supplies." Andrews' troop receives 25 cents for every box the troop sells. With the money, she says, "we go to dude ranches in upstate New York."
However, selling does have its ups and downs. When people don't want to buy any cookies, says Andrews, "I will try to convince them what a good cause Girl Scouts are." But it they still refuse to buy and don't wish to make a contribution, Andrews politely thanks them. "I know there are people who don't want to buy, but there are a lot of people who do, and I look forward to the people who do want to buy."
Once on live TV, the producer decided to give Markita her toughtest selling challenge. Markita was asked to sell Girls scout cookies to another guest on the show. "Would you like to invest in one dozen or two dozen boxes of Girl Scout cookies " she asked.
"Girl scout cookies" I dont buy any Girl scout cookies he replied. I am a Federal Penitentiary warden. I put 2,000 rapists, robbers, criminals, muggers and child abusers to bed every night.
Unruffled, Markita quickly countered, "Mister, if you take some of these cookies, maybe you wont be so mean and angry and evil. And , Mister , I think it would be a good idea for you to take some of these cookies back for every one of your 2,000 prisoners, too"
Markita asked.
The warden wrote a check.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
