As a very young salesman in a 5-star hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii over 50 years ago, I recall vividly my first sales call to MARITZ TRAVEL. It was the first time I heard about an “incentive” group and I did not know about the word, “incentive.” To me, it was just a piece of business, 100 rooms for 7 nights, total 700 room nights. The client was excited to hear from me when I called and even more so that I wanted to visit him in person at his office. Ind

In the initial situation analysis on Ocean Park, all the feedback from guests was very loud and clear. One welcomed criticism stated that there was no noise from the park. To a salesman, that means no one is selling, and we needed to begin “selling.” Nothing happens in this world until a sale is made, and no product sells by itself (no matter how good it is); it is sold by a salesman. If it is not sold, it will not be bought. This is a mantra that salespeople repeat ov

The other day, I read this simple but fabulous quote, “Recognition may not be the goal but it sure keeps us motivated.” Perhaps it has been said in many other ways with different words and phrases, but the meaning is crystal clear. It is a belief that all successful leaders have preached throughout their careers. They insist that it is one of the management philosophies that made them successful. Recognition can come in many forms and the result is normally a great se

Our professional career is a journey (this applies to our personal lives also). While we make every effort to plan for a smooth trip, we know that change along the way is inevitable. Every step is one that hopefully leads us forward in advancement. It represents progress and if the step takes us in a wrong direction, we learn from it, and adjust. We have consistently talked about this journey beginning with a first step. While we stress the importance of the first ste

For some time now, I realized that the best way to start the day in the morning is with a cup of hot coffee and reading the comics page of the daily newspaper. Instead of the Front Page which is constantly filled with sensationalism and bad news, I find happiness and laughter with the comics. As I now spend more time with the comics, I have discovered so much inspiration from this form of communication. While funny, they all carry a message and themes which are abund

Photo Credit: Source Unknown There are numerous stories and case studies about successes in business. The story of T&T Supermarket should be included. For the past 10 years, my wife and I have regularly taken a two-hour drive from our Seattle suburb in Lynnwood to Richmond, B.C., to enjoy excellent Chinese cuisine and to shop at T&T Supermarket. Since first learning about this successful supermarket in Canada, we hoped that they would one day be in the Seattle area.

During my career, I have often described “Marketing” as the soft side of selling. While sales is directly facing the prospect, marketing does not necessarily have direct personal contact. This cartoon says it all. This is marketing: communicating, messaging, advertising, and PR. It is such a great reminder to all of us regarding the mechanics of Marketing, how it is transacted, and the reaction from the audience. The sign, “Ice COOL Lemonade,” provoked a reaction fro

Many successful business leaders state categorically that planning is essential. All of them have proven this with their businesses. Sales and Marketing rely heavily on planning ahead. As mentioned previously, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” This seems obvious and easy to comprehend, and yet, we constantly hear of how we forgot to plan or did not plan for this or don’t know why we did not plan for that or should have planned for it. For example, a major segm

It is not surprising that much of my inspiration to write my blog comes from the comics. While the comics are satirical, they all have meaning and remind us of everyday life. This one stood out as a great example of the art of negotiation. It highlights the negotiations we encounter every day for just about everything we do. It shows how we develop negotiation skills from a very young age even though we may not know it at the time. For many, the ability to negotiat

Throughout my professional career and personal life, I have always been interested in sales skills and how people follow the steps of the sales cycle. During any given day, one can see these performances unfold repeatedly by many and the results of their efforts. Selling is happening every minute of the day, as we are selling all the time and sometimes don’t even recognize it. Our golf club has a caddy program to help introduce the game of golf to high school student

A friend suggested I write an article from a “third-person perspective” about theme parks. Perhaps the best way to approach this may be to recall the start of my career at Ocean Park Hong Kong. Before Ocean Park, I had a successful 30+ year sales and marketing career in tourism and hospitality with 5-star hotels in America and Asia. As such, jumping to a theme park from hotels was a new twist for my career. Initially, I thought selling the park would not be so difficult

Recently, I read that “speed + confidence” creates the best service. As service is the top priority of our business, this bit of advice seems to be appropriate. Here are two simple points, both of which represent the best way to lose business and lose a customer. 1. “Sir, we will get back to you…” (perhaps the most overused phrase in business). This surely loses trust in your prospect because it indicates you do not know, and you are not prepared to address his p

Midway in my career, I began to establish myself as a public speaker. I was being invited to speak to various companies, corporations, organizations and at conventions about sales, and it gave me a chance to share personal experiences and best practices on selling. It did not take long for me to realize that I enjoyed this very much. Being in front of an audience was something I looked forward to, and I was always eager to receive an invitation to speak. I started to p

While I am sure we all know this by heart and believe every word, a reminder is always useful. Nobody will remember Your job title How ‘busy’ you were How many hours you worked What kind of car you drove People will remember How you made them feel The advice you gave If you kept your word If you were there for them What makes selling so special and so rewarding is that it is a process done with people. We interact with people, face people, act and react with peop

In your daily life, professionally and personally, can you recall how many times a problem arose because of communications that were unclear and misunderstood? Communication is the beginning, middle, and end of everything we do. How we communicate or do not communicate will determine the results. We all have horrible stories about how misunderstood or mistaken communications affected our objectives. While it is not possible to avoid any mistakes in communication, our go

Make each day matter, and even if the sun does not come out today, it will come out tomorrow. “The sun will come out tomorrow, so you gotta hang on till tomorrow, come what may. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, you’re only a day away…” Little Orphan Annie taught us this. Although I have never been on Broadway to experience its marvelous live musicals, I have enjoyed many of their adaptations from Hollywood. Aside from the excellent scores and melodies, the ly

Not long ago, a friend characterized me as someone who, though officially retired, cannot sit still and really does not want to sit still. My wife often remarks that since I am retired, I should relax and step away from the business world. Unfortunately, I think my friend’s description could not be more accurate. Staying active and maintaining a connection to tourism and hospitality means I am not fading away into the sunset. When it is time for me to do so, I wan

I have not written much about management because there are many who are much better than me in expressing the finer points of management and have stronger credentials. While I may not have followed all the management gurus and their teachings during my career, my style worked for me and for those whom I managed. Our business was successful, the troops were eager, engaged, encouraged, and enthusiastic. That covers all the “e” adverbs. I could not ask for more. Let me

During a recent trip to Hong Kong, I was invited to speak to General Managers and sales executives from two successful hotel groups. It was not sales training, but they asked for an “inspirational” message to “fire up” the sales team. Though the invitation was last-minute, I was delighted and accepted graciously. If I have not mentioned this in any of my previous articles, nothing pleases me more than to be in the presence of salespeople. To also have general managers l

You can call me old-fashioned and depict me as a dinosaur in the digital world, but then, there must be many others who are like me. ...