Jon Carson Consulting August 2018

Jon Carson Consulting August 2018

August 2018

We Bought a Farm! The Benefits of Working With Our Hands

Our home is much smaller than the one we were living in before, and I’ve been enjoying the change in size. We like being minimalists, although it’s been a bit of a challenge. We’ve had to give up a lot of our possessions, and it’s made us consider what we really need in our lives. We utilize as much possible space in our new home as we can. In our old home, Dave and I had two separate offices, but we don’t have that luxury anymore. Instead, I’ve taken up a corner of Clare’s bedroom. In Carson’s room, there’s a deep closet which has enough space for Dave’s audio equipment so he can have a studio. Clare and Carson were a little on the fence about the move. Carson feels sad about losing the old house, but for good reasons. He grew up in our old house, and it’s always a little sad to leave your childhood home. We’re hoping to make the farm comfortable for him when he’s finished with his internship in Washington D.C. He might feel a little displaced, but we hope he’ll come around and enjoy it too. While Carson’s been away, Clare has been with us through the whole process. She’s settled down well, made her room really cute, made friends with the neighbor and his two dogs, and she works hard with her dad outside. She’s out there hauling and working in the field and garden just as hard as any of us.

habitat. We don’t have any animals quite yet, but we’re looking forward to making a home for them here. We’ll be getting two head of cow and five or six chickens. We want to keep the farm maintenance pretty low, and we want animals that will produce for us. Dave is very excited about getting our animals and is looking forward to farm- fresh eggs. Dave loves working in the field and garden, and I love watching him work so diligently. He gets a deep satisfaction from working with his hands. In the field, we’ve planted alfalfa, which is wonderful to smell first thing in the morning. We love the smell of alfalfa or mint filling the house. The best part for me is just being in an area that’s so open and peaceful. At the drop of a hat, I can go to the windows and look out into the open sky and field. We even walk on the road, just enjoying the quietness of it all. You can sit still and hear the wind rustling through the trees, our neighbors’ horses, and the birds all around — it’s a breathtaking experience. Taking the first steps into a new life can be daunting at first and maybe a little frightening. But with hard work and determination, those steps can lead to the best moments of your life. -Claudia Weathermon

Green Acres!

For a little less than two months, Dave and I have been living on our newly purchased one-acre farm and home. Both of us are excited for what lies ahead. Although some of our friends think we’re a little crazy, we’ve been thinking about buying a farm since the beginning of the year. Since then, I’ve been busy selling furniture and getting rid of what we don’t need anymore. Before we sold our old home, we purchased the one we’re in now — that way we could start renovating it before moving in. It’s a 30-year-old house and it needed a fix-me-up, so we did everything from painting and putting new floors down to electrical improvements. We wanted to put our personal stamp on the house, and all the hard work is starting to show. I call it our baby house — our little baby farmhouse.

Along with the house, we’ve been working on the field, the garden, and the animals’

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Are You Kicking Customers Out the Door?

Are you kicking potential customers out the door? I normally wouldn’t even think to ask the question, but as of late, I’m seeing so many businesses doing just that. I have to ask them to stop sending business out the door and down the street to their competitor. Here’s how it starts — and mind you, this comes from personal experience. Just last week when I was at a convenience store (which used to be open 24 hours a day, but now closes at 10 p.m. for cost-cutting reasons) the clerk was helping me, then abruptly stopped our exchange to make an important announcement over the public-address system, “Attention, shoppers: We will be closing in five minutes!” I heard him loud and clear: Anyone who is planning on spending money with us tonight or any other time after this message, please leave and never come back. Remember how hard we market to get customers in the door, and that one clerk — with the flick of a microphone — can run them out for the night and for good. This event was followed by my favorite coffee shop telling me as we walked in the door at 9:50 p.m., “Sorry we’re closed now.” Translation — never come back again and tell all your friends not to either. In these difficult times, I’m surprised that stores are willing to run off prospects. Remember Sales Rule No. 2: When they call or come in, they want to buy. Owners and managers, I know you don’t

profess to kick out customers, but you need to make sure your team isn’t doing just that in an effort to get home early or clean up before closing time. Here’s a great statistic. An average grocery store customer will spend $200 a week or just under $12,000 a year. Multiply that by the lifetime of a customer and it works out to $200,000. However, the influence factor or the recommendation side of that is multiplied six times. They’ll influence or recommend your store to others who will bring you another $1.2 million. So how do you make sure you’re getting that customer’s business and the business of friends they would influence to shop at your store? First of all, “secret shop” your own business. Have someone come in five minutes before closing time and see how they are treated. Call your business at two minutes before closing time and see if the recorder is already on. And when you leave a message, see if it is followed up by a return call the next day. Empower your employees to do the right thing. The right thing is staying open past closing time, answering the phone when it rings after five, and returning phone messages. If you’re not doing that, you may be the victim of the next $1.2-million-sale that walks out the door. Just say NO to kicking potential customers out the door. Invite them to stay.

Tester- MONIALS Lauren Paris, Realtor in Las Vegas

Q: What did you like best about the Dialing Strangers training today?

Q: Did you have fun too?

A: Yes, you are fun and I’ve learned lots.

A: Well, you gave me some motivation to pick up the phone tomorrow. And I’ve learned to adapt to different people’s personality styles so that I can speak to them better.

Q: And you liked my shoes, right?

A: Yes, you have good style. [laughs]

Q: Would you recommend the training?

A: Definitely!

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A Helping Hand Why Business Leaders Need to Ask for Help

“Can you give me a hand?” Asking for help is a simple request. Most people do it every day, whether they’re getting a second opinion on a paint color or asking a stranger to hold the elevator. Asking for help is important; the ability to work as a team is one of mankind’s greatest strengths. But if the act of asking for help is so essential in our lives, why do entrepreneurs have such a hard time with it? This struggle often comes from pride, the idea that if you admit you can’t do it all, then you can’t do anything. But this mindset often leads to ruin. In a survey by 99 Design, most entrepreneurs claimed the worst mistake they ever made wasn’t a poor financial decision or bad planning — it was simply not asking for help early in their careers. Having to ask for help isn’t a sign that you’re unable to achieve what you set out to do. In fact, when you ask for help in business, you may find you’re able to achieve more . This is because asking for help is a form of networking. You’re actively reaching out to experts, learning how other people solve problems, and broadening the awareness of your name and brand at the same time. If you struggle to ask others for help when you need it, start by changing your mindset. You don’t have to do it all; you’re just one person, and sometimes one person needs to delegate tasks

to others to get more done. Asking for help is also easier when you know what you want to ask for. If you are overwhelmed by a big project, take a moment to write down your goals for that project, along with a list of action steps and resources needed to get there. Then

think about who you can reach out to in order to tackle these steps. If you’re still uncomfortable with asking for help, make a point of helping others when you can. Being helpful changes the way you perceive receiving help and builds a positive reputation with others. When you are viewed as being helpful, other people want to help you in return. Asking for help means admitting you can’t do it all alone. But why should you have to? Doing it all alone can be pretty lonely, and asking for help means you have a team to support you wherever you go.

Take a

Bacon Bleu Cheese Coleslaw Ingredients

BREAK

DRESSING • 1 cup mayo • Juice from pineapple • 1/4 cup vinegar • 1 tablespoon horseradish • Sugar, salt, and black pepper to taste

• 2 bags shredded cabbage • 1 bunch green onions • Small can crushed pineapple • 1 cup almonds, roasted and chopped • 1 cup bacon bits • 1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles

Directions

1. Chop green onions. 2. Place coleslaw mix, green onion, pineapple, bacon bits, almonds, and bleu cheese in a large bowl. 3. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. 4. Pour dressing over coleslaw mix and toss to coat.

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Tester TIME 17707 Madison Rd. Nampa, ID 83687 (208) 707-9807 www.dialingstrangers.com

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

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We Bought a Farm!

Are You Kicking Customers Out the Door?

Tester-monials

Why Is It Hard to Ask for Help?

Why You Should Write Thank-You Notes

Why You Should Write Thank-You Notes

If your mom didn’t teach you how to write a thank-you note, here are the basics:

Did your mother teach you to write thank-you notes? Along with table manners, one of the first things my mom taught was to always write thank-you notes. Apparently it is now a dying tradition. Greeting card maker Hallmark found that only 58 percent of moms receive thank-you notes. Perhaps even more notable (pun intended) is that only 3 percent of all cards sold are thank-you notes. Salespeople, general managers, and owners, ask yourselves this question: “When was the last time I received a thank-you note?” According to the statistics, you’re doing a good job if you get more than three per year. Those stats compiled by the Technical Assistance Research Project in Washington, D.C., also point out that 68 percent of the customers that leave you do so because they feel they’re not valued or appreciated. Here’s the follow-up to the question you just asked: “When was the last time I sent a thank-you card?” It should be mandatory for all sales people to do so as part of the sales process. It makes the customer feel valued. It also creates a reason to touch a prospect again! It sounds too simple to be effective, but just think about how much you enjoy receiving and opening a personal piece of mail. It jumps out like lightning! Good ol’ snail mail is the thing. If you use email, a large number of your messages and thank-yous will be blocked.

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It must be handwritten and hand-addressed.

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It must be written on a nice card with nice ink.

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The card should greet the customer or prospect.

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Your note must express your gratitude for making a sale or taking time.

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It should mention the past and allude to the future: “Great meeting; can’t wait until our next one!”

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After, the note should include one more thank-you.

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The note should conclude with “Regards.”

Now it’s my job to teach our kids to write thank-you notes. They don’t like it, but just about every one they send out receives the same response: “Thank you for taking the time to let us know you appreciated it.” If you’re too busy to write thank-you notes, check out sendoutcards.com .

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