So saw the Ergo-Tilt in the shop & figured it would be great because it has some amazing benefits:

• It’s an ergonomically designed accessory that relieves stress by tilting your laptop.  This tilt stops me from straining my neck & back because I no longer need to ‘hunch’ over the keyboard, as well as helping to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (caused by nerve compression in your wrists).
• The slots in the Ergo-Tilt allow air to circulate effectively around the laptop & since a cooler laptop performs better than a hot one, it improves my efficiency.
• It’s extremely light, folds flat & fits in my laptop bag.
• It’s durable & has a 5 year warranty (considering it’s made out of hard plastic, it’s unlikely break unless you apply too much force to it).
• The packaging is made from 100% recyclable materials & the Ergo-Tilt itself is recyclable.
• It comes in 5 colours (black, green, red, yellow & blue) & can be branded with your company’s logo & contact details, making it an excellent practical corporate gift.
• It’s assembled by challenged individuals, giving jobs & hope to people who would otherwise not have much.
• Best of all – it’s a South African product, so purchasing it supports local industry, it’s being sold overseas & a group of South African entrepreneurs own & run the company!

Well, I now highly recommend it – I bought one for my wife’s laptop too.

You can purchase it for about R80,00 at Game stores countrywide (don’t buy it from ‘Incredible’ – it’s R50,00 more).

Find out more about the Ergo-Tilt by going to www.ergo-tilt.com

[UPDATE: From Herb of Ergo-Tilt:

"Game will be upping their prices in a few days to R99,00 . Their R80,00 price was a clearout as they are about to receive our new designed retail boxes.

We are preparing a press release to show our new item & will keep you updated".

Thanks Herb, I'll post your update here.]

Study shows up lack of sales people in SA

“South Africa has far too few salespeople, says Peter Finkelstein, MD of specialist sales consulting practise DaiSho Marketing.

Looking at the results of a nationwide research by DaiSho into sales and selling in SA, he says fewer than 6% of 1 812 respondents involved at various levels in the sales chain are called salespeople or sales representatives.

The rest go by an assortment of titles ranging from adviser or consultant to customers relationship manager or account manager.

… For some inexplicable reason,” says Finkelstein, “sales people don’t want to be recognised as salespeople.” This despite all respondents admitting their main function is some form of selling.

… managements agree with DaiSho that when sales personnel have low self-esteem – when the live in denial of their role or are so embarrassed by it that they need to disguise their function [my highlighting] – they cannot expect customers to show them real respect.

… Customers expect more from salespeople than they can afford to give.

… A high 72% of salespeople say their workload does not leave enough time to generate leads. What is more, few companies appear to invest in prospecting [my highlighting]. They seem to regard this as a part of a salesperson’s general duties.

Thank you to Mr Finkelstein for pointing out what should be seen as a serious problem for South African business. At time like this, when running expenses seem to be sky-rocketing, companies are under even more pressure to perform & turn a profit. Sadly, it seems most turn to cost-cutting exercises, with many of them thinking that by laying-off staff (or not replacing opening positions) is an acceptable way to save money.

Not the greatest solution – it’s cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Forgive my ignorance & naivete, but isn’t profit = sales – cost of sales? That’s one of the first things I learnt in high school accounting classes. What seems to be happening here is that with a decrease in sales (due to the economic climate), companies are not re-thinking their sales strategy – they’re trying to lower their expenses. Oh oh.

So where have all the salesmen gone?

If the salespeople themselves are embarrassed about their job function, how confident are their prospects about the company’s abilities to deliver on their promises? No wonder their customers don’t give them enough respect! They’re not expecting it of themselves, never mind demanding it.

Are people just not generally aware that you’re selling all of the time? If you’re going on a date, you’re selling. Getting dressed smartly for a meeting? You’re selling. Trying to convince your family to buy you that birthday present gift you’ve always wanted? You’re selling!

On my recent visit to India, I saw that everybody sold something: if you are able to walk to the street, plonk down some coconuts, bananas or magazines, you sell. It didn’t seem like people were thinking “Oh, dear me. I don’t have a job, I’ll wait for someone to give me some work”. Rubbish! They create their own work by buying something, anything, & finding out where people were willing to buy their products . And Kerala, where I was staying, is run by the local Communist Party, so you can’t exactly blame socialism.

What is even more disconcerting is that it seems that in South Africa,in an effort to get some sort of work out of their sales staff, management gives their salespeople even more work to do. Work that keeps them in the office – who are you going to sell to there? If almost 3/4 of the salespeople questioned say their workload does not leave them enough time to generate leads, who’s fault is that? You can’t consider investing in prospecting as part of a salesperson’s general duties AND expect them to increase sales.

Personally, I think the root of the issue is that South African business owner’s don’t know how to motivate, educate & appreciate their salespeople. By the same token, I don’t think there are enough “full-time professional” salespeople who consistently work on self-development of their skill sets.

There is obviously a urgent & desperate need for proper “I-am-proud-to-be-a-salesman” salesmen in South Africa. If you are one of them, this is best time to be searching for companies willing to pay serious money for someone that can effectively increase sales. Just put on your ‘marketing hat’ for a second here: isn’t finding a need & fulfilling it what selling & marketing is all about?

Do South African salespeople really know how to ’sell themselves’?

Do you think that South Africans generally negative towards selling?

Or just towards salespeople?

Recommended resources:

Anything by Jeffrey Gitomer : if you haven’t heard of him, then you know nothing ‘Sparky’!

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness: How to Make Sales Forever

And my favourite:

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money

Don’t forget to sign-up to Jeffrey Gitomer’s ‘Sales Caffeine’ Newsletter:

As an added bonus: Jeffrey Gitomer & ‘The Little Salesman That Could’:

In the past, I would stand at the baggage collection carousel, hoping & praying that my bag wasn’t pilfered or tampered with.

Until I found a really awesome product for regular fliers like me – it’s called the Luggage Glove.

The Luggage Glove is a neoprene cover that fits snugly over your luggage, it comes in 5 standard sizes, & has a TSA approved locking mechanism. It’s been designed to protect both the exterior & interior of your bag while still allowing your wheels & handle to work properly.

Initially, Luggage Glove had 3 primary objections: security, protection and identification. Naturally the concept had to accommodate as many different shapes and sizes of case possible. Some existing products are too specific, essentially designed for only one particular case.

Luggage is anything but specific! The common features of trolley luggage are the placement and position of carry handles, retractable handles and the wheels. Our sizing system accommodates the different types of trolleys.

Luggage Glove has been patented around these ideals and we have specialized with elasticized materials that will allow for expansion.

The result is the only protector capable of servicing the largest variety of trolley luggage available today.

www.luggageglove.co.za

It’s only available at Luggage Warehouse.

The most amazing part is that it was designed by a South African: obviously, he’s aware of the increasing baggage theft problems at OR Tambo International Airport!

They also offer a branding service so that you can print your corporate logo or slogan onto the Luggage Glove – what a brilliant corporate gift idea, especially if your staff or guests have to travel to your event venue from around the country!

The prices range from R 260,00 (extra small) to R 320,00 (extra large) – not a bad insurance policy, since most of the items in your luggage probably cost more than this individually!

It definitely receives my highest recommendation!

Of course, if you don’t have a Luggage Glove, you might end up like this guy …

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=1Um-rToeOwQ

During a recent sales pitch that I had been hired to write & present for helloWorld, I offered each person in the audience a copy of my first book, “”, as a gift. One of the people in the audience was Meryl, who came to introduce herself afterwards & ask me questions. Of course, it was a pleasure to tell her the book she received was a gift from me!

Two days later, I received a “thank you” email from Meryl, telling me how much value she received from “Customers For Life” – with an added surprise. You see, what I didn’t know, is that Meryl is a freelance editor who regularly works for a very large & respected publishing company. Attached to her email was a list of spelling & grammar corrections in the first 3 chapters (she really has ‘eagle eyes’) that I had missed in the 3 months of proof reading that I had personally done. What an awesome ‘WOW’ surprise; she had given her time & knowledge to me without expecting anything in return. I immediately ‘phone her up & thanked her for the unexpected but valuable service – and hired her on the spot to edit & proof my entire book. Thanks to Meryl, “Customers For Life” is now even better than before.

Last night, my wife & I went for dinner at a local restaurant. I parked my car in a nearby parking garage (rather safe than sorry, even if it does cost more) & we had a wonderful evening. When we got back to the car about 2 hours later, I stopped dead as I was about to open my door – something was definitely different. That’s when I had another ‘WOW’ experience; my car was shining brilliantly. The security guard, who obviously wasn’t very busy, had washed & polished my car while we’d been eating.

I’ve been so busy travelling, I just didn’t have the time to wash my car – in fact, it was on my To-Do list for the next day. I’m sure if the guard had asked me before I left the car if he could wash it, I would have said “Yes, please!”. But he didn’t, and he didn’t even ask to be paid when I returned: he just stood there, smile on his face, as I was standing there in shock. It was only when I asked him if he was responsible, that he admitted it. I gave him a BIG tip; much, much more than I would have if he had asked before I left. His eagerness to solve my problem, without any expectation of a reward, resulted in some extra cash & a very happy customer.

These 2 experiences have reminded me of an important lesson that I’ve learnt & teach to other business owners – “Givers Get”. The more you give abundantly, without any expectation for reward or recognition, but purely because you feel it’s important to solve a problem or fulfil a need, the more you receive abundantly. This can seem counter-intuitive sometimes; we think, “If I keep giving away, I’ll have nothing for myself”, but as these two examples prove, the more you give, the greater reward you receive.

I’m working hard to find opportunities to give you more than you expected, so that you not only receive more value from us, but also because it’s fulfilling for me to hear how surprised you are – THAT is my reward!