PUMP UP THE A/R – January 2011

TO: ALL KBC BRANCH MANAGERS, A/P & A/R TEAM MEMBERS

FROM: PAULA

PUMP UP THE A/R – THAT’S THE PERCENTAGE UNDER 60…NOT OVER!

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

1.  WHEN SOMEONE SHOWS OR TELLS ME WHO HE/SHE IS THE FIRST TIME, I WILL BELIEVE HIM/HER.      

Hey, we all want to believe the best in people, and sure enough I’ve certainly given more than a second chance to a whole list of past clients, boyfriends, and friends, but when someone shows you their true colors, Believe It.

C.J. has a client in California that bought a machine from us on terms.  We’d had the machine for a while, so with a lot of contemplation we decided we could make this special offer.  The client agreed to an amount down and a certain amount each month.  He missed his first monthly payment, but believing the client’s excuses, KBC agreed to still allow him to put some tooling on his account on a net 30 basis.  Guess what, over 2 years later, we’re still trying to collect the very last of the monies on this account that should have been cleaned up in the last decade. 

So, the moral of the story is: Actions speak louder than words.  Let your clients put their money where their mouths are!

2.  ONCE THE GUINEA PIGS ARE SAFELY IN THE CAGE – DON’T LET THEM OUT AGAIN!

Last year we had the pleasure of Chester and Goldie, the kindergarden guinea pigs, visiting us for a salad filled weekend of munching.  Rachel and Karly were so excited.  Me, not so much. 

Grudgingly I agreed they were kinda cute in the confines of their cage.  Still I felt awfully guilty that those two big guinea pigs had so little space to run around. The girls begged me to let them out.  Finally when a couple of friends came over I agreed to let the pigs have a taste of freedom.  We all sat on the floor with our feet touching to make a guinea pig race track. 

I opened the cage in the middle of the “track”.  Out came the guinea pigs. They sniffed, scurried, ran around, nibbled, and were scared by all the squeals coming from the other beasts.  Finally, Chester made a pee on the floor, jumped on Karly’s foot and deposited another treat, clambered up onto my leg and into the cage with Goldie not far behind.

Usually it takes a lot more effort to get guinea pigs, gerbils, and mice back into the cage.  My friend Alex had to cut the upholstery on her mother’s antique couch to get her gerbil out once it had burrowed deep inside – yuk!

Recently in Mississauga we had a client who has done a ton of business with us over the years start paying very poorly, yet again.  We put him on C.O.D. or Visa for a while until he begged to go back on open account as the C.O.D. payment was really putting a cramp in his buying from us.  Guess what?  We let him go back on open account, and he started paying horribly again.  Finally he bounced a check on us.  He did bring us cash for half the amount, and now we impatiently await the second half.

So, the moral of the story is: Once you’ve got the guinea pigs in the cage, don’t open the door again!

3.  BED BUGS, LICE, AND FLEAS MIGHT BE SMALL, BUT THEY SURE ARE ANNOYING!

Things don’t have to be big to be annoying and get a whole lot of attention.  I bet that if you look at your list of your top 10 clients that you have to consistently call, fax, e-mail, argue, and beg to clean up outstanding skipped invoices, credits taken twice, unwarranted deductions, plead for a check or any form of payment, etc., you will find 10 clients that don’t rank amongst your top 20% of big spenders at KBC.  So, the question is, “Why give them so much of our time and energy?”  Should you put a few clients on C.O.D. or Visa, or have the BIG Talk with the BIG Boss at their places about how we wish to do business together? 

Hey, we’re here to sell tools and get paid for it.  We want to be treated fairly and with respect, and we sure want to give the same to our clients on a daily basis.  It gets pretty hard to be sweet and nice when a select few and pesky ones keep on ignoring us, breaking promises, and being angry when we try to get our money for our tools.

So, make a list of your top 10 that you constantly call, e-mail, fax, or take a lot of time collecting their bills, and figure out what course of action you will take with them this year. ….then fax or e-mail it to me by January 21, 2011.

1.                                               6.

2.                                               7.      

3.                                               8.                                                        

4.                                               9.                

5.                                               10.

So, the moral of the story is: Life’s too short to sweat the small stuff.  One flea is one too many.  The time to spray for bugs is now!

PUMP UP THE SALES – January 2011

TO: ALL KBC TEAM MEMBERS

FROM: PAULA

PUMP UP THE SALES!

PUMP UP THE YEAR! 

 

HERE’S TO A GREAT 2011!

Dear KBC’ers,

Thank you for giving it your best last year and for gearing up for a better and even more exciting year in 2011!  I know that your energy, determination, knowledge, attention to detail, and care will all add up to 100% KBC Customer Satisfaction GUARANTEED!  ….and we all know that plus a stronger economy leads to bigger sales, bigger profits, and a healthier company with greater job security and a brighter future.

By now I am sure you are all caught up from the holidays and ready to focus on the year ahead.  ( A great excuse for my tardiness – sorry!)

Our goal for 2011 is to have every branch achieve a minimum of 10% pre tax profitability.   We know that together we can achieve this by all pulling together and working daily with joy and integrity.

Thank you.

Here’s to a great 2011!

Paula & Sheila

What I Did on Christmas Vacation:

Mom, the girls, and I took a warm, but at times very rainy, trip to Punta Cana in The Dominican Republic.  We had a great time reading piles of books, walking on the beach, swimming in the pools, and grazing at the buffets daily.  (We also enjoyed the fabulously fun game of bothering Nanna, jumping on the bed in the morning, and seeing how many desserts we could eat in one day.)  I have never done so little for so long – it was great, but I must admit that I was itching to get back to work.

The one thing that I noticed most while away was the beauty of the Spanish and English language that the Dominican’s used.  If you asked someone how they were, they always replied, “Excelente!” and if you thanked someone for doing something for you, they always replied, “My pleasure.”…..and of course with a smile.  The simplicity and power of those positive words really had a positive impact on my day and theirs.  How much more energy do we create with positive and assertive words than pessimistic and sad sounds?  Isn’t EXCELENTE or EXCELLENT better than, “Not bad.”  or “Not so bad.”, or “Could be worse.” or “Ok.” or  “Thank g-d it’s Friday.”? 

Give your chit chat a shake up and add a few positive words to your vocabulary.  It’s winter out there, we don’t need any more reasons to be sad and gloomy.  Make your words add sunshine to everyone’s day!

Also, although The Dominican’s are truly charming, they know how to ask for and get a sale while still being charming and gracious.  When we left the resort for a perusal through the local strip of tourist shacks or ventured by public bus into Santo Domingo we were always being asked to kindly stop into a shop for a look, please come in as looking is free, being shown a particular item that they felt would be of interest to us, hearing about the benefits of their special offering of goods, offering information, being given a business card so as to be able to return later, etc.  These people did not miss an opportunity to sell or to try and distinguish their identical offerings from those of their neighbors.  There were not many tourists in these areas, and it is not a very wealthy country.  They needed to make a sale and to take advantage of every opportunity that came their way…with grace, politeness, and a bit of humor.

 ………….and when they did get a sale, they tried to add to it.  The wallet was literally open, so they tried to sell more.  They knew that there was money to be had and a willingness to say yes, so they tried.  “How about earrings to go with that necklace?”  “Do you need anything else for some of your friends back home?”  “Oh, this would look lovely on you.”  “Take 3 for $15 instead of 1 for $8.”  “Very nice quality.”  “Oh, I have something special for you, let me show you.” 

Even the cab drivers presented their cards should we need another ride.  One asked if instead of just driving us to the bus stop he could take us the 4.1/2 hours to our resort.  He seemed a bit relieved when we declined due to the fact that one of the girls has a bad case of motion sickness and was already looking a little green.

So, if someone selling tourist souvenirs to an already tired, bedraggled, and overheated rag tag  group of Nanna, Mom, and ice cream  stained twins can work the sales magic, I know you can step up to the phone or counter with your charm and sales tools in hand to increase sales.  Our tools help people do their job.  They help them do their jobs better, quicker, and more accurately.  Our clients need what we are selling them…..so, SELL! SELL! SELL!

Today is the day to:

-Get your client to add onto an order by suggesting a product that goes along with what is already on order.  How about some extra keys with that drill chuck?  How about some new scratch free eye protection to go with those cutting tools?

-Ask your client to increase his/her order to achieve free shipping? 

-Ask your client to double his/her order by offering a small discount.

-Get a BINGO sheet filled out each day….your sales will go up also.

-Ask for every order.  You are not Ma Bell.  You do not make money answering questions.  You need to ask for the order every time!

-Ask for more.  Don’t try so hard to sell less.  Dream big.  Believe big.  It is possible.

-Approach someone in the showroom and begin a conversation about what he does…and how you can help him achieve his goals.

-Ask a client about his business.  Care.  Be curious.  Brainstorm.  Suggest.

-Look a client in the eye, shake his hand, and say Thank You!

-Enjoy doing your job well! Smile!

100% KBC Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed!

These words are on every catalog, every inch of new packing tape, every sales flyer, every new t-shirt, on the On Hold tape, on stickers on product, in our showroom, on our front door, and more.

These are not just words.  This is a way of life.  It means that you need to work hard to do it right.  Sloppiness in one area spreads to others like mold.  If you aren’t doing your job with care and pride – it shows.  Our clients know when you don’t care, and it shows in their experience with us.  If they get a wrong product, poorly wrapped item, sloppily filled in packing slip, less than enthusiastic telephone response, or anything else that says we just don’t care about the details…………then it just doesn’t add up to 100% KBC Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed.

When we decided to wallpaper this slogan/logo onto everything, our management team assured me that we already live by this on a daily basis…..and for the most part we do. 

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

-When you do something for another branch, those people are your clients also – make them happy and make sure that they know they can count on you to keep them looking good.

-If you find a problem with a product or some information, don’t just repair it for your branch, make sure we’ve dealt with the issue company wide.  We have 8 locations, so we sure don’t need to make the same mess 8 times to learn our lessons.  (By the way, remember to send your KBC Catalog and Flyer Correction Forms to Charlie. ) The right information makes the job a lot easier.

-Figure out how to make your client happy without having to prove you’re right first.  Sometimes you can win the battle and lose the war.  We’re all about making sure we get our next order, not making sure this is our last one.