Fine-Tuning Common Sense: A Safe Way To Achieve Fantastic Results

Lars G. Sjogren

Description

Lars shares his "know how" of more than forty years experience of sales in more than 100 countries all over the world. Not one industry has escaped him. Lars has trained more than 150,000 people worldwide.

The main reason he wants to share this experience with the world is that it really works – small changes in attitude and behaviour yield big results.

Lars' energy is contagious. He has a fantastic ability to think on his feet. He did not train people – rather, he communicated with his delegates and got them very interested in learning

When asked what he did, Lars said "I am fine-tuning common sense." How did he do it? By changing the attitudes and behavior of people just a couple of degrees. Starting from the top and HAVING FUN!

Sujets

• Vente
• Sales
• Business
• Economics
• Selling
• Employabilité, métiers et formations

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 28 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456606008
• Langue: English

Extrait

Fine Tuning Common Sense:
 
A Safe Way To Achieve Fantastic Results
 
11/11/2011
 
Lars G. Sjogren
 


Copyright 2011 Lars G. Sjogren,
All rights reserved.
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0600-8
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 
To more than 150,000 of my delegates throughout the world who made this book possible
 
 
 
And
 
 
Special acknowledgements to:
Alison E. Scott and Sallie Wise Chaballier, who made invaluable contributions to my “SwEnglish”.
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 
Lars G. Sjogren was born in Malmö in southern Sweden on April 18, 1940. As a little boy, Lars was always very shy because he was badly burned just when he had learned to walk. He must have hated his scars. People loved to poke their fingers into them.
For those of us who had the pleasure of having Lars as a consultant, it is VERY difficult to accept that he ever had been shy. Lars had a reputation of being capable of selling snow to the Eskimos.
Lars’ energy is contagious. He has a fantastic ability to think on his feet. He did not train people – rather, he communicated with his delegates and got them very interested in learning.
Lars had planned to go into forestry in Sweden, but when he started to work he got so interested in the people he met in the forest. Why were they so different? Why could you trust them to the bitter end? He then also realized that the economy in the forest as was not very good. He got interested in why. He was always asking why. He studied business economics – micro and macro. He took a degree in the subjects of Psychology and Business Economics – a fantastic combination if you were going to help people in their business. He had a very good career with AC Nielsen as a Client Service Representative. He spent a short time with Dux of Sweden.
He started his career as a consultant in his home town of Malmö. Very soon he was asked by his manager in southern Sweden to train the trainers within the company. During nearly forty years as a consultant he worked in more than 100 countries throughout the world, having more than 150,000 people (delegates) on his seminars. Every type of company used his help with great success. Companies like Norsk Hydro, ICI ,Zeneca, Atlas Copco, Novartis, Hoffman La Roche, Haki Produkter , Canada Maritime, Cast, Jadroplov, Sheraton, Intercontinental Hotels, HASTENS, DUX and many, many more. Regardless of size!
When asked what he did, Lars said “I am fine-tuning common sense.” How did he do it? By changing the attitudes and behavior of people just a couple of degrees. Starting from the top and HAVING FUN!
 
The Experience That Gives Me the Right to Write This Book
 
Why should I share my know-how collected over more than forty years in more than 100 countries all over the world? Not one industry has escaped me. I have trained more than 150,000 people. The main reason I want to share this experience with the world is that it really works – small changes in attitude and behaviour yield big results. It has been fun and simple. If I have picked up or developed some ideas, I will have to let you judge by this little book.
 
Again, the most important thing to remember is that small changes in attitude and behaviour can create big results. Big changes create confusion and in many cases can cause a revolution.
 
A Few Small Changes Add Up
 
Let me give you one example. A company in the rental business in the construction industry contacted me from the US. “We need miracles Lars” was the message. “We need more business at higher prices” (who does not?). “Come over for a couple of weeks, travel with some of our sales people and see what you can do.”
 
I packed my bags and off I went. I travelled with what were regarded as good sales people, medium performers, and bad performers. I sat in on sales meetings. I spent a month with the sales organization. Then I “got it”...the PDC.
 
In the first training session I did was a fantastic young woman from dispatching who immediately challenged me: “Lars why am I here? – I can’t make a difference!” I asked her what she was doing (even if I knew). She said, “I am in dispatching, which means that one of the sales people has sold a customer on renting the equipment instead of buying it. I prepare the papers, get his material on a truck, and off it goes. What difference can I make? “.
 
I asked her if she ever had phoned the customer when she was loading the truck. I can still hear her: “Why should I? If I had to do that then I could not process as many deliveries as I do.” I asked her if she could think of a better occasion to ask the customer what else she could send to him, as the delivery was nevertheless coming. She could also make certain that the trucker knew where to find the customer, in order to save time for the trucker. She said, “Perhaps I could sell something more. I will try next week if you train me in how to do it.”
 
After three days of tailor-made training she believed she could make the sales pitch on the phone. A week after the training she phoned me, proud as a peacock. “I have sold for $2000 this week. No one has asked for a price reduction. Many customers have even phoned back and thanked me for helping them”.
 
$2000 does perhaps not sound like a lot but over 50 weeks it gives you $100,000. More essentially, there were 700 employees in dispatching. That adds up to $70,000,000! As I said before, small changes in attitude and behaviour produce big results.
 
Pre-Delivery Calls (PDCs) were introduced during the trainings I did. The reaction was very positive and management was extremely happy. A PDC stamp was agreed upon. Every dispatcher noted the date when the call was made, who talked to whom and what was sold or bought.
 
After more discussion, we came up with Pre-Pickup Calls (PPCs).The dispatcher should always phone and check if and what the customer wanted before they picked up the product the customer had rented. Another $30,000,000 was achieved over the next year.
 
After more thinking and discussion, Pre-Service Calls (PSCs) were introduced. Not only did the PSCs sell more – they saved a lot of money. A quarter of the service visits were not needed. The problem with the rented machine could be solved over the phone. PSCs saved close to $30,000,000. In all, this company generated an additional $130,000,000 at full prices!
 
Finding Key Clients
 
I was approached by a firm of corporate lawyers. Could it possibly be that they could increase their business? They had lost a few clients recently because their clients had either been taken over by one of their competitors or the owner had decided to stop doing business. The law had also changed in England so that they were now permitted to look for business. I asked them how many key clients they had. They looked as if I came from another planet. Of course every client was a key client. I said OK, everyone is equal but some of them must be more equal than others.
 
When looking at the approximately 20 partners in the company, there were only approximately five or six who were extroverted enough to be capable of “selling” the firm.