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Greetings!
Just got back from a trip of a lifetime. About three years ago I became involved
with a solar company. They make
the most efficient panels on the planet.
I have done a lot of their sales training all across the nation. In fact, in March of this year they
took me to Hawaii to do a program on Oahu. Tough job. We
stayed two weeks, took May, Jon and Shalaine and McKade, almost the entire clan.
In July they mentioned to me that they might want to do a
program in Manila, the Philippines, where they
manufacturer most of their panels.
They also have a call center there which runs all night long. They operate from 10 PM to 7 AM, almost
the same as Pacific Coast Time, where they are headquartered. The call center responds when you call
to get more information about solar or set an appointment with a dealer. They also have a group of dealer
support staff who help the dealer with leads, installs, orders, all kinds of
things. They wanted me to work
with both groups, help them improve service and delivery from 10,000 miles
away.
So I said I would be thrilled to go, then forgot all about
it. The last of August they called
back, said "It's On!" like the
Southwest commercial. So we looked
at what they wanted, and when, and I pulled out of Colorado about 8 days
later. They wanted me to do a
complete week, 5 days, so it was worth the 12 hour flight, plus the 3 hour
flight, plus the 2 hour flight. It
is half-way around the world, almost exactly.
So I am going to give you some highlights from the trip,
spread out over probably three issues of my newsletter. It was that big a deal, and I learned
some really neat things on the trip of a lifetime (from here on to be know as
TOL).
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First Up...
What was I getting into? I have never been to that side of the world, so I called an
expert. My sister. My sister does what I do, only
different. She does training and
consulting for a number of international companies, works all across the
planet. If you are an executive
with GE for example, and moving to France, she will help. She meets with the family for several
days, sharing with them the local customs, what people expect, what to eat, how
the school system works, all kinds of things good to know about a foreign
country.
She hooked me up with a CIA website (or course you can go
on, just need my password!), actually no password needed, it is for public
consumption. She also told me
several things about the people from the Philippines. First they really love family, respect their elders, that
sort of thing. Many generations
living together, some due to economics, but many as a choice. Next, they take pride in their job. They want to do well at the tasks they
have been given. And so they were
really enthused about the training.
Now, if you do training for a living, as I do, one thing becomes really
clear early on. Not everyone is
totally engaged in the training process.
In fact, some are just there taking up space. There have been studies done that show that about 20% of the
participants will embrace the training and apply it fully. 60% will apply some, and may need a
nudge from time to time. But there
are 20% who just do not get it.
When asked how the meeting went, they say "Good Food!".
I can tell you that the participants in Manila were all
enthused about being there, and got involved completely. It was one of the best training
experiences ever. When we broke
for lunch, they all asked me if I had meal plans. No, I was ready to eat with anyone who would eat with
me. So at each meal, they all
asked me to share their table, and had about 50 questions for me.
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The CIA Website cont....
The CIA website also mentioned several groups of terrorist
groups that are in the area.
Manila was an American colony for years, went independent in the
80s. Every so often a group comes
up and challenges the government, even by shooting several of the political
leaders. That would come under the
heading of challenging. So the
website warned me about going up into the mountain areas north or south of
Manila. Not a problem to me, not
going anywhere outside of the city, just doing some training. Now, before you write me a letter, let
me be perfectly clear that I am in no way saying it is an unsafe country. That same site warns you about gangs in
Portland and New York as well. So
it is a fact of life today that no matter where you go there may be bad guys
waiting to take advantage. Just be
careful out there.
So I called United and told them where I was going, and just
had them make up the ticket. Took
four flights to get it all done.
Lots of options, so I wanted a professional involved. The other reason I needed them involved
was to be sure I could get business class on all legs. I am 6'2", and a 12 hour flight would
likely bind me up totally if I could not stretch out. So I used miles to upgrade to business class, both
ways. That required me to go
through China. Actually Taipei,
the People's Republic of China, kind of China but not exactly. The billion people in China say they
are not China; to the people of Taipei it is a positive thing to be considered
as China, even if it is by a guy form Colorado.
So I had to spend the night in China. Not excited about clearing customs,
finding a hotel, that sort of thing.
So I did some research, discovered that there is a hotel in the Taipei
airport, inside customs. Got me a
room, seemed to be perfect. Told
me to follow signs to the Evergreen hotel, don't go out of customs, that would
be a problem. So I got into the
airport, at about 8:30 PM. Right
up till that moment I did not realize that there were two terminals in Taipei,
1 & 2. The Evergreen in 2, I
landed in 1. No signs, so I just
followed the crowd. Ended up in
customs area, where a bunch of guys with guns on their hips greeted me. So I went through customs, ended up in
main terminal, not happy about how that ended up. Asked a friendly young lady at a information counter how to
get to Evergreen hotel. She said
it is inside terminal 2, you are in wrong terminal. So I just have to go back through customs, and I am
there. Not so easy, since China
Air will not give out a boarding pass ahead of time. They do not have an arrangement with the US carriers, so no
electronic ticket, so no pass 24 hours before the time of departure, like we do
here. Only way is to come to
ticket counter the day of the flight, which in my case was the next day. So I am all alone in a foreign country,
don't speak the language, and no idea where the nearest hotel is.
To find out what happened, see my column next month.
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OK, not gonna do that, each article should stand on its
own.
I went back to the
information desk, the kind lady told me where to stay, got me a room
reservation, hooked me up. The
hotel was called City Suites, a name that I liked right from the start. One mile from the airport.
So is there a message for us in here? I believe so. You and I take a lot for granted in this business of AC,
heating, plumbing, solar, what we do for a living. But to many of our customers, it is not business as
usual. It is in fact, an event of
a lifetime. Many have never had
the experience of installing the stuff you sell before. They have lived in their home for 15
years, it had the items you sell in it when it was new, now it needs to be
replaced. So they are somewhat
concerned, the fear of the unknown.
So help them with the process.
Let them know what is going to happen next. Equip each employee to answer all questions, to give
guidance as to the best course of action, to help them through the event. The lady at United that helped me with
the ticket actually said I would enjoy flying through Narita (Japan), as it is
a state-of-the-art airport. And it
was. So I looked upon the trip
with enthusiasm to see what that leg would look like. My sister told me the people in Manila were very gracious
and friendly, and they were. I
enjoyed the trip even more by anticipating meeting that group of people who
really wanted to learn some new ideas.
Sincerely,
James Hinshaw
Sales Improvement Professionals Inc. Ph: (602) 369-8097 Em: [email protected] www.SipTraining.com
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