I returned home last night from Guatemala – unfortunately it was too cloudy to get a shot of the volcanoes while taking off, but here is a hot of the city housing and a view of the GUA airport in Guatemala City. Next time I will plan to bring my SLR camera and plan time to take some real pictures. Big mistake not coming prepared to see this scenic country!
© 2012, David Stelzl
Tuesday was full day, kicking off the morning with several sessions on selling security including, discovering new opportunities, learning to effectively use sound bites, and a review of the security briefing material I have been using at executive facing lunch and dinner meetings. Our sessions were held high in the mountains in a house my client has turned into their company conference center (Pictured on the left).
After a hearty lunch of steak and potatoes we continued working through the House & the Cloud model, discovering the secrets behind effective messaging and marketing approaches. In every country I visit, it is important to understand some of the cultural barriers in marketing and selling – for instance, in Guatemala, there really is no middle class. The barriers between the lower and upper classes make interfacing with higher level executives more difficult than some countries such as the US.
This same barrier may exist in any country when dealing with very large corporations where high-level executives refuse to see the sales person as an adviser regardless of their advisory capabilities. One way to deal with this is to find other people in the organization that are also “Asset Owners” – people with liability, but perhaps not the highest level executives. My book, The House & the Cloud describes an asset owner as someone with real or perceived liability – not necessarily the CIO or CEO. In any case, it would be rare for the IT Director to be counted in this group.
PS. I should have planned more time to sight see and take pictures. This is a beautiful country!
© 2012, David Stelzl
I arrived yesterday after connecting in Houston. Guatemala is a lot different than I expected, with it’s mountainous terrain and volcanoes – pictured left. The weather is great in this city, which sits about a mile above sea-level. My client tells me they don’t need heat or air conditioning in their homes. It’s just perfect all year around. Last night we dined at a nearby upscale restaurant, where we discussed some of the history as well as how my client’s came to be here. I am looking forward to our sessions on Tuesday as we take their sales team through the Making Money w/ Security workshop.
© 2012, David Stelzl
Some photos from my weekend trip to Tsali – Lake Fontana, NC…what a great place for mountain biking!
Heading out!
David riding the Left Loop
Right behind him...
© 2011, David Stelzl
My personal copy!
I was shocked this morning as I reviewed last nights blog traffic on my site – one of the searches read, “Mack Hanan’s Obituary! Almost a year after his death, and I am just now catching up….however, even if I am 11 months behind, it’s important to remember him for his contribution to our industry….
Mack, author of the well known book, Consultative Selling was an icon in the sales world, having written about ROI, value selling, and consultative selling long before his contemporaries – back in 1072 he published this book, and it remains in print today, having been updated at least 7 times, an 8th now in process.
I was fortunate enough to quote Mack in a workshop I conducted several years ago in New York, to which one of my attendees, Tom from Cisco Systems replied, “Do you know Mack?” Only by his writings I replied. I was then invited to join Tom for dinner along with Mack that evening! We dined on the upper east side at Vagabondo, a unique restaurant featuring its own bocce ball court! Mac was more than willing to share his insights on selling, review my materials, and provided excellent insights into what I was working on. In the end he greatly encouraged me to pursue my work with enthusiasm. If that wasn’t enough, Mack insisted on paying, asking me to keep in touch.
Mack was always responsive if I emailed him; he was dedicated to helping others and bringing new ideas to the sales community. Even at 85 he continued to produce new ideas and updates to his initial concepts on consultative selling. We’ll miss him! Take this opportunity to pick up Mack’s book and read it, remembering the contribution he has made to our industry.
© 2011, David Stelzl
Photo Taken By Hannah Stelzl
It’s been fifteen years since our little girl, Elisabeth, went to be with the Lord. She had anencephaly which usually means the baby will go full term but will die during the birth process or will live for just moments or hours after birth before her life is gone. In Elisabeth’s case, she made it until just before her birth.
While off topic for most of my blog posts, this is an important occasion for our family as the 4th is Elisabeth’s birthday – every year we make a trip out to her grave site to remind our children that she is one of our children and while this was a very difficult experience for us, we believe it to be ordained by God.
How does one recover from this kind of thing? I don’t know that there is an easy answer. I will never forget the day I got word that this was to be. I was on a business trip on the west coast, my wife in the doctor’s office on the east coast. I am grateful that we learned about this condition early on…since that time my wife has had many opportunities to support others who are experiencing this kind of trial in their lives; this was a significant part of the healing process. She has spoken to woman’s groups on going through hardships and experiencing loss, and has counseled with woman one on one. It was during this time that I saw just how strong my wife really is – and I am grateful for her. You can read my wife’s inspirational comments on our family website (Click)
© 2011, David Stelzl
Photo Taken By Hannah Stelzl
On my bulletin board above my desk I have a card I received from one of the many home school conferences I’ve attended. It lists a set of goals for fathers… in summary here are some helpful things to have in front of you if you are a father…
1. Respond lovingly and wisely to every situation and successfully fulfill the purposes for with God created me.
2. Enjoy a loving relationship with my wife and quickly resolve any conflicts that arise
3. Make all the members in my family “best friends” with each other and help them clear up any offenses between each other
4. Train up sons and daughters to be wise
5. Help each child discover his or her purposes in life so that they will not fear the future or have self rejection
6. To serve those around us as a family – with family goals and vision to help others in need
7. Maintain proper health so that I can continue to meet the needs of my family
© 2011, David Stelzl
Photo Taken By Hannah Stelzl
It takes a few years longer, but hiring my kids to work with me has been the best decision I’ve ever made (not to mention the tax advantages)…It takes about 15 years of dedicated work and mentoring, but in the end, the quality is unsurpassed. My wife and I are raising entrepreneurs!
Some home schoolers are accused of raising socially inept teens. While I have not seen this to be true, no one is accusing me of this. Sometimes I do get comments about child labor laws, but lucky for me they don’t apply to your own children. I know, because I tried using that line when I was a teen.
So meet David, my 16 year old sales rep. Born and raised in our house; he started his first business managing a bee farm about four years ago (still going strong), builds incline stretching platforms for local physical therapy offices in Charlotte NC, and is in the process of rebuilding his bathroom from the studs up (new tub, cabinets, walls, tile, plumbing, etc.) He’s a problem solver, enjoys building, math, science, and gourmet cooking; on weekends we mountain bike together, along with his three younger brothers. One day he hopes to run his own bed and breakfast – perhaps in the nearby Blue Ridge mountains. In the mean time he is learning about business. He sells online classes for me, is studying and working with my accounting system, and attends events I speak at, to assist with logistics, AV, and product sales, while learning to interact with business people. Most recently he attended a demand generation event in the mid-Atlantic and closed his entire table of eight on moving forward with a security assessment (to be performed by the sponsoring reseller). We’re looking forward to a great year together!
© 2011, David Stelzl
Photo Taken By Hannah Stelzl
Don’t forget to sign up for tomorrow’s webinar – Leveraging the Discovery Process! See yesterday’s post for the link to sign up.
We’re back from a week in Nashville – all 9 of us attended this years Nashville Home school conference where I presented two sessions, one on building an entrepreneurial mindset and a second on starting businesses (topics I also recently presented at a Dallas Texas Home School Conference)…Some highlights from my time in TN:
1. I had an enlightening conversation with a family from China. The father’s perspectives on innovation, the US economy, and future business developments in China were very interesting and insightful.
2. I also spoke with another person responsible for the development of China’s junior achievement program and instrumental in introducing Peter Senge, author of the Fifth Discipline, to many businesses in his country.
3. One session I attended provided excellent steps on avoiding procrastination – something everyone needs to take to heart if they want their business to grow.
4. Another session focused on building systems. He talked about the importance of systematizing every aspect of our business and building disciplines around productivity, finances, and even interpersonal relationships.
5. Finally, I enjoyed visiting the pool each night with my children – along with many other families attending the conference.
© 2011, David Stelzl
Photo taken by David Stelzl
On my last trip to India I sampled pizza in Bangalore; now for Mumbai at the JW Marriott…
This pizza gets two thumbs up! I didn’t measure, but it covers an entire large dinner plate. As far as the New York Pizza standard goes, this pizza measures up far better than many hotel pizzas – it has a thin crust kind of like Brooklyn Pizza, although the crust texture is a bit softer. You can definitely fold this pizza to eat it (like you would in NY).
The cheese mixture is authentic! No cheddar on this pizza… the pepperoni is a bit spicy (but not as greasy as a real NY pizza), and the sauce has a touch of sweetness to it – but very good.
The only thing that didn’t stand up – it seems that the cheese was not grated like it would be in NY, so the cheese texture is different. On the crust, under the pizza in NY you would find the texture to be wet – even a bit slippery. This pizza was not like that – so it’s not completely NY. Would I have it again – absolutely. In fact there are nine different pizzas listed on the room service menu…a better selection than I find most places.
Of course I topped off my meal with a bowl of ice cream which you will find in my picasa album…(CLICK)
