BB Hainsworth's Page

Having been in the financial business a few years ago Bill Good’s book, Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success was recommended reading. Unfortunately I never got past the table of contents. I would rather get a root canal than prospect. So when his latest book, Hot Prospects landed on my desk, what caught my eye was an endorsement from Chris Gardner. I recognized the Gardner name having just rented the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness. The movie starred Will Smith as Gardner who went from rags to… Continue

“I have to go now. I have other calls to make.” Famous last words from the General Motors dealer I have a leased car with. They were calling because they had recently fixed an air conditioning problem and wanted to make sure that it was working properly. The car had come off of warranty a few months ago and it would have to be fixed on my dime. Given the car was only 3 years old, just off of warranty, the very low miles for the age of the car and that they had fixed an air conditioning problem… Continue

I called Telus, my cell phone provider with a hardware issue. Press 1 for English, press 2 for French (I’m a Canadian eh!) Welcome to the main menu. Laundry list to choose from. Oh that might be the right department so I press 3. More laundry, with 6 options. Not sure. Ah 6 a customer service rep. So 6 it is. On hold. Not to worry, I am in Priority Sequence. Jimmy Buffett is wasting away in Margaretville. Ringing, here we go. Ring Ring Ring for about 35 seconds. Recorded message in first in En… Continue

Do some quick calculations. How many new sales reps have you hired in the last 2 years. What did you pay them as a guaranteed salary and include all the benefits. Now how much time and money did you invest in training? How much time was spent teaching them the internal workings of the entire operation? What did their potential account list look like? C accounts and all the new business they could find? How many of those C accounts have moved to B or possibly A accounts? Now compare revenue to… Continue

1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain 2. Give honest and sincere appreciation 3. Arouse in the other person an eager want 4. Become genuinely interested in other people 5. Smile 6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language 7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves 8. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests 9. Make the other person feel important-and do it sincerely 10. The only way to get the best of an ar… Continue