FISH!

There was mention in the last post of attitude. Many out there who've been through various management seminars or training schools will no doubt have seen a video entitled FISH. This video profiles a fish market in Seattle. Many will know of the place even without that video because the way the employees throw whole fish back and forth and loudly banter back and forth have been featured on TV and movies as well.

The point behind the whole presentation is that these people stopped concerning themselves with going to work and started to make work fun. Selling fish has become almost incidental. They're a fish market so their customers have come to buy fish anyway, now a new element has been introduced, fun. What it comes down to is that you don't have to "sell" someone who's already come to buy your product. What you need to do now is make that buying experience worth repeating. By deciding to "play" at work this market has made itself an icon in the area.

When you get a call from an ad you've placed, you already know that there's interest in what you're selling. It's up to you to make that experience worthwhile. You do this by answering questions and just plain talking. In other words, don't sell. Be yourself. When the guys at the fish market start their day, they do so with an attitude that it's going to be a great day. More often that not, they're right. They banter with each other, they banter with the customers, and generally set out to have a good time.

Making money doesn't have to hurt. It doesn't have to weigh you down. If you know your product, if you've placed the ads that have brought the customer to your door, and if you know how to just have a conversation, then you're a good portion of the way toward realizing your dreams.

You'll have many days when your conversations yield nothing. But was it really nothing? You met someone new, you spent a part of your work day just having a chat. These are positives and if you don't overlook them then you spend a lot less time thinking that you missed something. Your attitude will be better, it will show in your voice, it will make you more approachable, and your outcomes will become increasingly productive.

Attitude is all. Would you rather buy from someone who monotones through what they have to say, sticks strictly to pushing the product or from someone who seems happy to be there and treats you as if they're happy to see you?