Itchy stuff… Listening on both…

Itchy stuff…And worse

Anyone who’s ever slept in a motel bed whose sheets weren’t properly neutralized after being processed with an alkaline detergent knows how important achieving the right end pH is. If just one night in that motel bed results in itchy discomfort for an overnight guest, imagine what a long term care facility patient endures on those same sheets.

Our skin’s pH is naturally just a shade under the neutral 7.0 measurement. Sleep on a sheet whose fibers are even a smidge above that desired ~6.9 pH and the itch kicks in. However for that nursing home resident who will sleep on them far more, the result can be bed sores that’re not only painful, but possibly an infection potentially leading to a far more serious health complication.

When it comes to the wash isle it’s why soapers in the know are religious about checking the pH of loads as part of their regular service routine.

But while it’s not so much a health concern in our lodging accounts, we’re well advised to address it there as well. And if the competitor isn’t as vigilant as you are, by checking it when we’re doing that survey in a prospect, we might just find an opening by drawing attention to that shortcoming.

Next up: Getting that survey green light.

Listening on both…Sides of selling

Of course listening to a potential new hire when we’re the ones “buying” is important. But when the shoe is on the other foot – like when we’re selling, it’s even more crucial.

The rub is that we can be so focused on what we’re planning to say next that we can fall prey to those thoughts – to the exclusion of hearing what’s being said to us by that prospect!

And that failure happens more often than think.

Not unlike the old woodworking saying about measuring twice and cutting once, we need to be focused on what that prospect is saying (or not saying) to avoid cutting the board too short.

If we don’t focus on that prospect’s ideas and doggedly continue on the path we’d planned, we can find ourselves having figuratively cut that board short. And while in carpentry we can get a new 2X4, that opportunity might collapse for good in that prospect call.