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FROM THE DESK OF Karen
The summer was unusual; I had not been working — I was throwing an adult temper tantrum and had decided I was done working in HR. By September, it was time to get back to it part time. My career started out as a Payroll Temporary, so I figured why not do that again? September 11, 2001 was a typical payroll day for the bus company where I was temping. Went to work, started payroll —nothing unusual at all. Then a mechanic supervisor came into the office and said a plane had just flown into theWorld Trade Center. We all thought he was joking and even asked for the punch line. Then we went to the break room and saw the news. No one could believe it — everyone was stone-cold silent. Then, the second plane hit. Men and women all in tears —no one could believe their eyes. That employer shut down operations and diverted every one of their buses to help in NYC andWashington. I have never been prouder of a company that I didn’t even work for directly. Business was no longer important —HELPING was what mattered. Needless to say, my priorities were realigned instantly. My career was NOT important compared to my family, my friends, and my community. Please take a moment to reflect and remember.
THE WORLD TRADE CENTER H ow the T owers C ame to B e
On Sept.11, 2001, at 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower of theWorld Trade Center traveling at 470 mph, ripping a hole in the building from floors 93 to 99. At 9:03 a.m., a second plane smashed into the south tower traveling at 590 mph, cutting a gaping hole from floors 75 to 85. Within an hour, the south tower collapsed due to the sheer weight of the building combined with the damage dealt by the impact and the burning jet fuel. At 10:28 a.m., the north tower followed. The rubble and debris from the collapsed towers caused fires and further damage to the surrounding buildings and areas. Within hours, nearly 3,000 people had lost their lives. The attack left the world in a state of terror and grief, and the United States was changed forever. Today, the twin towers’last day is remembered as the worst terrorist attack in history, but few people know how the buildings became part of NewYork City’s skyline in the first place. A world trade center pavilion was first hosted during the NewYorkWorld’s Fair in 1939 — the exhibit was dedicated to the slogan“world peace through trade.”The idea for theWorld Trade Center was then abandoned after seven years, until David Rockefeller revived the concept to reinvigorate lower Manhattan. Rockefeller took the reins and continued the project, finding premises near the Fulton Fish Market on the East River, and construction on the $250 million complex began. He also turned to the Port of NewYork Authority for financial support to ensure theWorld Trade Center’s completion, and the first real plans for theWorld Trade Center were put into action. It was then that the Port Authority decided the towers should break the record for the tallest building in the world, beating the 1,250-foot Empire State building. To do this, architect Minoru Yamasaki designed the towers to hold 110 stories each, but they would not have the traditional
Be grateful.
Please know I am grateful for you and wish you every success every day!
- Karen Young
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glass-and-steel-box design used for most skyscrapers at that time. Instead, Yamasaki worked with structural engineers to come up with a revolutionary design that would disperse the weight throughout. The plan included two hollow tubes supported by steel columns spaced closely together and wrapped
plaza was finished. An estimated 10,000 workers labored to build theWorld Trade Center. The towers had 99 elevators, 43,600 windows, 40,000 doors, and 3,000 miles of electrical wiring, and each building weighed 250,000 tons. They were the tallest buildings in the world until Chicago’s Sears Tower was completed less than a year later. The towers were first attacked in 1993. Down in the basement of the north tower’s parking garage, a 1200-pound bomb was set off. The attack cost six people their lives, and over 1,000 people were injured. The Port Authority wasted no time in renovating the building; over
battery-powered stairway lights and a separate emergency command center for each building. The towers remained an iconic part of NYC’s famous skyline for another eight years. Today, the towers are gone, but the peace they once symbolized lives on in the tranquility of Ground Zero, and every man, woman, and child who lost their life on Sept. 11, 2001, is memorialized on the stone monuments and through the annual reading of names. As Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, said,“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”
in aluminum, while floor trusses connected this shell to the tower’s central steel core. Construction of theWorld Trade Center officially began in February 1967. The north tower was completed in December of 1970, and the south tower was finished in July of 1971, but construction continued for the next two years until the outdoor
the next eight years, the company spent $700 million on renovations, including added safety features such as
The Secret to Lead Conversion It’s All About the Relationship
FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP
In the business classic“How toWin Friends and Influence People,”Dale Carnegie showed us that the secret to sales success builds on showing a genuine interest in other people and rests in the relationship that develops from there. The concept may not be much of a secret anymore, but it’s as important as ever in the sales cycle—and toomany people aren’t following through on it. It turns out that Carnegie was onto something. Did you know that just 2 percent of sales happen during the first touch? Two percent . Let that sink in. That means 98 percent of sales happen sometime after that first touch. In fact, ample research supports that 80 percent of sales happen after the fifth follow-up. If your sales team isn’t following up past that first touch with a prospect, there’s a slim chance they’ll convert. With the direct correlation between touches and conversion, it’s clear how important it is to follow up and nurture relationships with leads. We can look back to our good friend Dale Carnegie and thank him for sharing his wisdom about relationships. If you want to nurture and convert your leads, you’ll want to instill Carnegie’s principles into your sales team. Considering howmany quality leads get away, there’s always room for improvement in developing relationships. How can you start building that lead relationship today?
It’s all about the follow-up—or lack of follow-up, if you’re wondering why your leads aren’t converting. You’ve probably experienced it yourself: You have a great interaction with a company and express interest in their product, but then you never hear from them again. That company just lost you, a hot lead. You can’t buy if you’re not presented with the opportunity to do so. Make it easy on your consumer base by implementing a follow-up system. The habit of nurturing leads stems partly from company culture and partly from systems and processes— it’s something of a chicken-egg situation. If you don’t have systems in place tomake follow-up part of your sales process, it’s not going to be a priority for your team. And if you don’t have a culture of determination and relationship-building in place, the systems and processes don’t matter. Entrepreneur and business transformer Robert Clay recommends a five-no strategy— follow up with a lead until you’ve heard no at least five times. IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM
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The Pullman Strike and the Origin of Labor Day How a Railroad Protest Laid the Foundation for a National Holiday
Today, Labor Day mostly means a day off and the closure of public pools. But when it was first created, it was a president’s desperate attempt to curb the tension after one of the most violent strike breakups in American history. In the late 19th century, the workers of the Pullman Company, which manufactured luxury train cars, all lived in a company-owned town. George Pullman, the owner, lived in a mansion overlooking houses, apartments, and crammed-together barracks, all of which were rented by the thousands of workers needed for the operation. For some time, the town operated without a hitch, providing decent wages for the workers while netting the higher-ups millions of dollars. But after the economic depression of the 1890s brought the country to its knees, everything changed. George Pullman slashed his workers’wages by nearly 30 percent, but he neglected to adjust the rent on the company- owned buildings in turn. As a result, life became untenable in the town, with workers struggling tomaintain the barest standards of living for themselves and their families.
But Pullman, stubborn as he was, barely acknowledged the strike was happening, and he refused tomeet with the organizers.
The tension increased when Eugene Debs, the president of the American Railway Union, organized a boycott of all trains that included Pullman cars. The strike continued to escalate until workers and Pullman community members managed to stop the trains from running. Eventually, President Grover Cleveland sent in soldiers to break up the strike. Violence ensued, with soldiers making a great effort to quell the strike at its core. By the time the violence ended, 30 people had lost their lives and an estimated $80 million in damages had been caused throughout the town. A fewmonths later, President Grover Cleveland declared Labor Day a federal holiday. Many experts believe that this act was an effort to build rapport among his pro-labor constituents after handling the incident so poorly.
This month, as you fire up the barbecue and enjoy your day off, take a moment to remember the workers who fought for labor rights in our country.
In response, the workers began a strike on May 11, 1894. As the event ramped up, it gained the support of the powerful American Railway Union (ARU).
Take a Break!
Inside-Out
GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE Ingredients
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8 slices of bread (Pullman works best)
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8 ounces ham, thinly sliced
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1/2 pound Swiss cheese, sliced
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4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano)
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2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
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1/4 cup apricot preserves
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Directions
1. Butter each slice of bread on the outsides and sprinkle with Parmesan. 2. Layer ham and cheese evenly on top of 4 slices of bread. 3. Spread apricot preserves and mustard across the other 4 slices. Press sandwiches together. 4. In a cast iron skillet or large sauté pan over medium heat, grill sandwiches until golden, about 3 minutes per side. 5. Cut in half and serve.
Inspired by Food & Wine magazine
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Karen PAGE 1 The Hopeful Beginning and Catastrophic End PAGE 1 The Secret to Lead Conversion PAGE 2 Why Labor Day Is Indebted to the Pullman Strike PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Inside-Out Grilled Ham and Cheese PAGE 3 Can You Say No to a Client? PAGE 4
WHEN YOU CAN’T SAY YES 3 Ways to Say No Without Losing a Customer
Has a client ever asked you for something you didn’t have the resources to provide? Have you ever had a request to do something that’s against company protocol? Do clients want you to bend over backward on a task that isn’t worth the ROI? On these occasions, you are perfectly justified in saying no. But clients rarely like being turned down, so it’s important to learn to say no without losing a paying customer.
what they need. This way, you get to say no while still being the person who helps the client get what they want.
possible. Clients can be more accepting when they understand something better.
MAKE CLIENTS FEEL HEARD
ASK FOR CLARIFICATION
In every interaction, people want to feel listened to. Even when you have to say no to a client, making sure they feel heard and respected can go a long way towardmaintaining that goodwill. Acknowledge the issue they are having, empathize with their frustration, andmake sure your client knows you are listening by using their name and saying,“I understand.”You can’t say yes to every request, but you can remind clients that you value their support and appreciate the effort it took for them to contact you. Saying no is not bad customer service. When you take the time to say it the right way, you’re actually doing the client a favor because it means you aren’t wasting their time.
If you have changed anything in your company, be it the software interface on your website or your pricing structure, youmay have frustrated
clients who demand things go back to the way they were before. Since that’s not an option, try to determine exactly what they are upset about. By asking a client why they prefer the old way, youmight learn that they are having trouble accessing
OFFER ALTERNATIVES
Maybe a client has asked for something you don’t traditionally offer. Unless this is a rare opportunity to branch out and begin offering a new service to all
important information in your new software or that the new price increase is beyond their budget. Armed with this information, you can hopefully find a solution for what’s really troubling them. This is also a good time to explain the reason behind the change, if
clients, it doesn’t make sense to run yourself ragged fulfilling a niche request. Avoid the fear of letting your client down by referring them to another place where they can get
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