But Where Did They Come From? QR CODES SAVED 2021 If you’ve been to a restaurant in the last year, you’ve probably seen at least once a card with a small black and white box on the table instead of a menu. You probably know what to do in that scenario: You pull out your smartphone, scan the QR code (aka quick response code), and scroll through the menu on your screen. Then, you order from there — all without touching a paper menu or spreading a single germ. For people who love going out to eat, QR codes pretty much saved 2021. They’ve made the dining experience feel safer. But where did they come from? Until now, QR codes have been more or less under the radar — but they’re a lot older than you think. The Birth of the QR Code QR codes were invented all the way back in 1994 by Masahiro Hara of the Japanese company Denso Wave. His goal was to find an alternative to the barcode, which can only hold about 20 characters of information and isn’t compatible with Japanese Kanji and Kana characters. In a way, Hara’s invention was a huge success. QR codes were revolutionary. They can hold more information than regular barcodes (7,000 characters vs. 20, including Kanji!), and you can scan them 10 times faster. However, most people didn’t hear about QR codes for years after they were created. They stayed a secret of Japanese automobile manufacturing. QR Codes Go National, Then Global In 2002, QR codes finally left the factory floor and spread throughout Japan. But it took years for the rest of the world to adopt them. Smartphones and apps — which barely existed when QR codes were invented — needed to catch up. Fortunately, they did, and today QR codes are used worldwide for everything from renting scooters to ordering food in restaurants. The Next Step for QR COVID-19 made QR codes more popular than ever. According to a Mobileiron study, more than 36% of smartphone users in Europe and the UK use QR codes at least once a week. If you’re not already familiar with QR codes, now’s the time to visit QRCode.com to learn how to use them before they kill off the barcode for good.
THE SALES POWER OF THE INTROVERT When we think of careers suited for extroverts, sales often springs to mind. After all, nothing could be more exhausting to an introvert than having to talk to dozens of people every day and maintain a positive demeanor to seal every deal.
However, a surprising study by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) disputes this belief.
The HBR reports that being an extrovert had no impact on a salesperson’s ability to sell; in fact, some of the negative qualities of being an extrovert, such as bravado and overt friendliness, are more likely to alienate customers. On the flip side, humility and modesty were two traits possessed by those who were 90% better than other sales people in their company. Interestingly, these traits often accompany an introverted personality. The reason, as Entrepreneur.com reports, is actually fairly simple. Being effective at sales does not require a profound skill for speaking or storytelling. Instead, salespeople need to be great listener s. This attention to detail and attentiveness to their subject is often found in introverts. Now, that doesn’t make extroverts bad at sales. Instead, you can harness the power of the introvert and spread the wealth among your sales team by doing the following: 1. Establish Trust: Introverts have a powerful ability to connect one- on-one with whoever they are speaking to. They thrive on personal conversations, wherein they can build a rapport with one or two other people rather than a group. This trait is necessary for salespeople to acquire, as it makes prospects feel safe and heard. 2. Ask Questions: A long spiel about a product or service is overwhelming, especially when the person providing it feels like a total stranger. Before launching into a pitch, an introverted salesperson knows to ask questions, begging the prospect to lead the conversation and push the salesperson into the appropriate action for a sale. 3. Keep It Relational: People remember stories. They want to hear stories of success and failures, often applying the lessons from those stories to their own lives. Introverts can captivate an audience — maybe that’s why so many introverts are also authors — and salespeople have to strike that balance between sharing stories and listening.
2 • www.sklartechnology.com .................................................................................... Security. Availability. Support. For more guidance on how introverts can maximize a sales team, pick up Matthew Pollard’s book, “The Introvert’s Edge.”
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