management fundamentals

The Archenemy of Fear Is Performance

October 15, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

Anyone who has contemplated forsaking the perceived, if not real, security of employment to start a small business has come face-to-face with and overcome the greatest of all business challenges: the fear of failure. Countless would-be entrepreneurs have discontinued their self-employment pursuits for fear of losing too much – the risk being just too great. Everybody knows that.

But if you pushed through these trepidations and, against all odds, became a business owner anyway, you know that wasn’t the last time you experienced fear. Indeed, fear is so much a part of being a business owner that, in time, we recognize and accept fear as something that can be quite handy.

Not paralyzing fear, like when you’re ignorant of how to prevent or recover from danger. But rather the kind of fear that helps you seek excellence. The kind that motivates you to become more aware, knowledgeable, capable, prepared, decisive, and effective.

Remember these two things about fear: 1) it’s a shape-shifter, capable of appearing in many forms; and 2) successful entrepreneurs learn how to recognize and deal with fear in all its shapes. Let’s look at some of the manifestations of fear, followed by what each one might sound like. [Continue Reading]

“Customers from Hell” and the #1 Business Fundamental

October 6, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

“This is for one of those customers from hell.”

That’s what a small business owner said to me during one of my road trips across the country to check on how things are going out on Main Street.

“Ann” was responding to my query about her business. Her full answer was closer to, “Business has been good. But now I’ve got to spend most of the day dealing with this customer from hell.”

Turns out, what caused this customer’s alleged domicile to be mentioned is because they required a lot of extra attention – they wanted things the way they wanted them. Like Ann, you might be surprised at my response, which is our next “Business Fundamental.”

“You should never have a customer from hell.” [Continue Reading]

Professional Selling Skills: A fundamental now more essential than ever

August 23, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

In 16 BIE (Before Internet Era), business purchases were made by decision-makers who needed to buy stuff for their operations, and they almost always needed help with technical questions, innovations, pricing, availability, delivery, etc.

That year, a/k/a, 1977, every business buyer went to work expecting salespeople to call on them, unscheduled. To a prospect, a “cold call” was not optimum but usually was tolerated. Yes, in those days, you could walk into a business where you were previously unknown and leave with a sale. For current customers, dropping in was expected as good service. Remember, this was BIE, when a salesperson was the equivalent of a website.

As beautifully as this dance by motivated parties worked – one needed information and the other provided it – salespeople were still trained to conduct business with what Xerox (where I worked in 1977) called Professional Selling Skills (PSS). There were three key components to PSS: overcoming objections, closing skills, and probing. [Continue Reading]

Internet Genesis Chapter 1, verses 1-3: And it was good.

August 18, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

Internet Genesis (1961-1974): Chapter 1, verse 1: On the first day, The Genius Cluster said, “Let there be a network of networks.” And they saw that it was good and named it “The Internet.”

Verse 2: On the second day, The Cluster said, “Let there be structure.” And so it was that the three building blocks – now known as the World Wide Web – were formed and mounted on The Internet:

HTTP, a computer language that ultimately turned code into a lever that regular people could use (like a website),
direct messaging,
and email.

Verse 3: On the third day, seeing that their creations were good, The Cluster rested.

For many generations – okay, about two – the Internet and the WWW flourished with few changes until one day a heretic said, “Let’s connect on Twitter.” [Continue Reading]

The Gold-Mining Tool of Professional Salespeople

July 19, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

What follows is a story about the most powerful tool in sales.

A few decades ago, a 27-year-old, shiny, new copier sales representative was minted by Xerox Corporation. Already a sales veteran, it wasn’t his first rodeo. Indeed, he worked his way through college selling on commission.

Commissioned salespeople, like entrepreneurs, work the marketplace high wire. Observing this act, a salaried employee once remarked that selling on commission was “living by your wits.” In the vernacular, business-to-business sales professionals know and accept that “you eat what you kill.” [Continue Reading]

What Love And Patience Have To Do With Negotiating

June 28, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

Negotiating is a process of communication between two or more parties to reach an agreement on future behavior – like when you’re purchasing a small business, leasing an office, hiring an employee, selling a product, or trying to get a two-year-old to take one more bite of peas.

Let’s look at the two key words in that definition: process and communication. [Continue Reading]