Doing things right is a very simple personal and business philosophy. It means doing the best you can. Once you have done your best, that is all you can do. When you make decisions, as long as you make the best decision you can at the time, I believe that is all anyone can expect of us. The truth is, we don’t always do the best we can and do not always make the best decision for a myriad of reasons. Some of those reasons are short term gain, ego, pride, self-satisfaction, revenge and any number of other bad factors to bring into a decision. Additionally, while we will not admit it to ourselves, we may just not be willing to try as hard as we can.

Keeping it simple is something you learn by experience. I have often told our sales people that the first 30 seconds of a conversation is the most critical part of selling. For better or worse, the people on the other end of the phone call or on the other end of a hand shake, instinctively make a decision on you within an unfairly short amount of time. That is why the first eye to eye meeting or the first phone call very often sets the stage for the relationship. This is something many people choose to overlook but we all know it is true. To prove my point, think of the last person you met and be honest with yourself on how quick you made assumptions on that individual. It is human nature to “size up” people you meet or speak to.

I got a call back today from a hotel owner with whom I had left a message. The first minute was who do you know and how is the weather and it’s a beautiful fall season etc. Then the guy says “I am returning your call.” This was the checkered flag that began my 30 seconds of opening pitch. I was through in 30 seconds with what I wanted to talk to him about and then I just hit the pause button. When I paused, he knew it was his turn to talk and he started telling me about his business and his family’s growth plans for the future. The call went well. After the call I thought about how if I had keep talking for 5 minutes, he would have lost interest.

I have a great friend of mine who is also a great client. We often laugh about the first conversation we had years ago. To hear him tell it, he could tell right away that I stuttered so he said he picked up on three words to tee off on then proceeded with the conversation. Ha. That was the first conversation we had and it must have worked because he and I have worked on many hotels and it all started with that first disjointed call.

When you do the best you can with each opportunity and you keep the complicated things simple, you will be much more satisfied in life, more relaxed in what you do and have more joy and accomplishment in your life. KT