Ch-1. Plan Patiently and Implement Impatiently, Passion and Perseverance Pays

Ch-2. Know Your Team, Know the Individuals in the Team, The Perfect Boss, Earn the Respect of the Team, Leader’s Speed Determines the Team’s Speed

Ch-3. The Rare Power of Focus

Ch-4. The Great Value of Commitments, Please Do Not Back Out, Small Gestures Make a Big Difference, Missed Calls Are Missed Opportunities

Ch-5. Seize Each and Every Opportunity to Serve the Customer, 24X7 Service—Sacrifice Time for Customers, Personal Service—An Opportunity, What Makes The Customer Tick?, Never Offend the Customer, Win the Customer and Lose the Argument

Ch-6. Task Vs Team, Autocrats—the Intimidators, Democrats—People Oriented, Leaders—Effective and Efficient,

Ch-7. Satisfied Employees Are God’s Gifts, Employee—a Highly Fragile Commodity, HRD—Human Resource Development or Human Resource Deterrent, To Invest or Not to Invest in Employees, Multitasking—Pros and Cons, Recruitment of Recommended Candidates

Ch-8. Push or Pull, Throw Challenge and Push, Respect Begets Respect, TORI Window

Ch-9. Encouragement—a Big Source of Inspiration, The Story of Two Frogs, Appreciate in the Open and Criticize In Camera, Be Own Encouragers

Ch-10. Dream and Drive
1. The Ones Who Do Not Dream At All, 2. Those Who Dream But Do Not Act At All, 3. Persons Who Dream Big and Pursue Their Dream Making it a Reality

Ch-11. Mr Shine or Mr Survive, Do Better and Get Better, The Bigger We Think the Bigger We Achieve

Ch-12. The Power of Prayers and Blessings, Karma Theory, Do Good Get Good

Ch-13. Happiness and Unhappiness—Only A Mindset, Wrong Comparisons, A Barefooted Man, Ants Act Whereas Crabs Crib, Smile as Often as Possible, Vishal Don’t!

Ch-14. True Friends—a Rare Gift

Ch-15. Forget and Forgive

Ch-16. The Power of One

Ch-17. Try and Fail Instead of Not Trying, Don’t Assume, Higher the Risk Higher the Reward, The One-Eyed Nurse, The Incapacitated Boy Who Became a Judo Champion

Ch-18. Common Sense Is Not So Common, Know the Product, Do Not Exaggerate, Understand the Situation and the Customer, Communication Gap, Use the Brain at least Occasionally, You Go First

Ch-19. No My Way or Your Way, Only Our Way

Ch-20. How to Succeed in Making Cold Calls

Ch-21. First Impression Is the Last Impression

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First Impression Is the Last Impression
Impress but do not press for sale in the first meeting. There is always a second time.
It is an oft repeated adage that the first impression is the last impression and is everlasting since when we meet someone we may instantly develop a like or dislike for the person in the first meeting itself and thereafter the mind becomes preconditioned and starts harbouring preconceived notions which require a long time to change.
Have we ever thought of meeting our fiancee, girl friend, interviewer or even our boss, peers and the subordinates for the first time? We have all seen women, girls, men, children attending the marriage parties in the best of their dresses in order to leave a good first impression.
The same is true about customers also and it is all the more important to present ourselves well in front of the customers.
Here are a few business etiquette pointers which we may all know but not always practice:

* Are we in time to call upon the customer in case an appointment has been taken? We should not be late even by a minute and must show up on the dot. This knowledge is available to all of us but only having knowledge is not enough, it is the application which is more important. Believe it if we show up on the dot for the meeting 50% impression has already been made.
* We should be well dressed and smart in appearance. If we have driven a vehicle covering a long distance then we should try to have a wash before the meet.
* We should send our business card to the customer through the peon and wait outside till the time we are called to enter the customer’s chamber. There are instances when the customer may take even an hour to call us. We should not panic since the time wasted in waiting is time invested. We can always do some reading while waiting. We can endeavour to know the customer better by having a chat with the receptionist, the peon or the other staff.
* In case we are called late we should always have the courtesy to tell the customer that we are well aware of how hard-pressed the customer is for time and must thank him profusely for the time he has spared out of his busy schedule.
* We must look enthusiastic and cheerful and greet the prospect/customer with a genuine smile.
* We must enter the room of the customer after taking permission.
* We should not take a seat until asked to by the customer. By keeping standing we are in fact giving the importance and respect to the customer.
* We should not start the talk till the time customer asks us to talk. There are instances when the sales guys start their talk when the customer is busy over the telephone or is working on the computer.
* We should be enthusiastic in our talk and you should be able to make the customer enthusiastic in taking a positive decision in our favour.
* We should be able to maintain an eye contact with the customer.
* We may not be successful in the first meeting nevertheless we should try to extract a commitment as to when the customer would like to meet us again.
* We should try to follow up the first meeting with a letter or e-mail of thanks.
* We should try to send a small memento to the customer as a follow up if not given in the first meeting.
* We should try to find out the likes and dislikes of the customer and plan strategy accordingly.
* We should go all out to IMPRESS the customer but avoid pressing the prospect or customer harder for order during the first meeting itself.
* Have we rehearsed as to what we will talk about, the company we represent and the product we are going to talk about? If Mr. Amitabh Bachchan can come to the sets on the dot then why can’t we? We are the hero of the shoot of the movie THE IMPRESSION about to be shot with the customer in the second lead role and the shot needs to be okayed in the first take itself.
* Time is very precious and the customer’s is all the more precious. We should try to be brief when making a presentation or talking to the customer. If we are convinced that the customer is really taking great interest in our talk then we may go on and on with the customer’s permission.
* We should not just see but observe the customer as well as the situation. Observing provides us an opportunity to analyze the personality as well as the situation.
* The customer who is not interested in the discussion may start looking at the watch or may call the peon and give some instructions or may start doing some work on the computer providing us a hint that we should leave else the customer shall show us the door.
* This hint should be sufficient and we should profusely thank the customer for having spared the valuable time and also thank for granting an opportunity to meet.
* Every time we meet a customer we should not try to show too much of familiarity since we do not know the circumstances under which we are meeting them.
* A customer who is not in a good mood may turn down the best of offers. We should therefore ascertain the mood, the circumstances and analyze the situation and then act accordingly.
* There is always a second time to make a sale and we should have patience and keep on trying to be victorious one day.
* We should try to talk to the customer in a language well understood by the customer and also we should try and make sense of what makes the customer tick. Once we are able to identify this we can plan and act accordingly.
* A customer having a passion for cricket should be talked to about cricket instead of hockey which the customer may not like. Similarly a customer fond of films should not be talked to about cricket. Knowing the customer is very important for success in sales.
* We should always try to keep the chair used for the interview in its original position in case we have changed the position while sitting.
* We should not bang the door while leaving the customer’s chamber, instead the door should be shut softly and never should we leave the door open.

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