Memorial Day 2010

Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire...

The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo'
No more on life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few;
On Fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread;
But Glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.

Theodore O'Hara, 1847

When we meet thus, when we do honor to the dead in terms that must sometimes embrace the living, we do not deceive ourselves. We attribute no special merit to a man for having served when all were serving. We know that, if the armies of our war did anything worth remembering, the credit belongs not mainly to the individuals who did it, but to average human nature. We also know very well that we cannot live in associations with the past alone, and we admit that, if we would be worthy of the past, we must find new fields for action or thought, and make for ourselves new careers.

But, nevertheless, the generation that carried on the war has been set apart by its experience. Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing. While we are permitted to scorn nothing but indifference, and do not pretend to undervalue the worldly rewards of ambition, we have seen with our own eyes, beyond and above the gold fields, the snowy heights of honor, and it is for us to bear the report to

those who come after us. But, above all, we have learned that whether a man accepts from Fortune her spade, and will look downward and dig, or from Aspiration her axe and cord, and will scale the ice, the one and only success which it is his to command is to bring to his work a mighty heart.

Such hearts--ah me, how many!--were stilled twenty years ago; and to us who remain behind is left this day of memories. Every year--in the full tide of spring, at the height of the symphony of flowers and love and life--there comes a pause, and through the silence we hear the lonely pipe of death. Year after year lovers wandering under the apple trees and through the clover and deep grass are surprised with sudden tears as they see black veiled figures stealing through the morning to a soldier's grave. Year after year the comrades of the dead follow, with public honor, procession and commemorative flags and funeral march--honor and grief from us who stand almost alone, and have seen the best and noblest of our generation pass away.

But grief is not the end of all. I seem to hear the funeral march become a paean. I see beyond the forest the moving banners of a hidden column. Our dead brothers still live for us, and bid us think of life, not death--of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and joy of the spring. As I listen , the great chorus of life and joy begins again, and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers and destinies of good and evil our trumpets sound once more a note of daring, hope, and will.

Excerpted from a speech by Oliver Wendell Holmes given on Memorial Day, 1894.

6.1.4 Code of Ethics

The highest standards of honesty, integrity and fairness must be followed

We are responsible for both the integrity and the consequences of our actions. The highest standards of honesty, integrity and fairness must be followed when engaging in any activity concerning the company, particularly in relationship with customers, competitors, suppliers, the public, and other employees.

ACTION POINT: Practice honesty, integrity and fairness in all activities.

Building Rapport

you need to work at your customer's comfort level, not your own.

What happens in the first few minutes of a sales visit sets the tone for the entire meeting. It helps to break the opening down into three critical steps: Building rapport, confirming the agenda, and moving into the meeting itself.

At the start of the meeting, make sure everyone is comfortable, knows who is who, and has a chance to connect informally. Encourage small talk or a discussion of general business conditions. Use your intuition to decide when to move on -- you need to work at your customer's comfort level, not your own. Here are a few ideas to help you get off to a good start:

• Look around the client’s office for something to trigger conversation, such as a picture or trophy.
• Compliment the customer on their office or facility -- but you must be sincere.
• Thank the customer for their time.
• Discuss something you know about their business -- a relevant news event, for example -- to show that you've done your homework.

ACTION POINT: Be prepared and seek to create a level of comfort with your client.

Opening a Sales Meeting

it must be focused on providing solutions to their problems.

When you make an appointment to see a client -- whether it is your first or your fiftieth -- you are effectively calling a meeting for that customer. For the meeting to run well, you need to take the initiative, while at the same time acknowledging that the meeting belongs to the customer -- it must be focused on providing solutions to their problems.

Surprisingly, two-thirds of all sales calls are made to people who do not make or implement decisions. Salespeople are often reluctant to ask a prospect whether they are speaking to the person who is responsible for calling the shots for fear of sounding disrespectful. The following preamble can help you check if you’re talking to the right person: “I visit many organizations like yours and everyone has their own way of making decisions. To ensure that I don’t waste anyone’s time or leave someone out of the loop, would you please share with me how the process works here?”

ACTION POINT: Make sure you are “selling” to the decision makers.

Getting the Message Right

The key to a successful credentials presentation is to keep it short and to the point.

A good way to build a credentials presentation is to use your team -- not just the sales team, but anyone in the business who would like to contribute. Ask different members of the team to put themselves in the position of a customer of your company, and talk to you about what they would like to hear. As you build your presentation, practice it with the team: discuss how it sounds and tweak it until you get it right.

The key to a successful credentials presentation is to keep it short and to the point. Don’t overload the customer with information -- you will (hopefully) have the opportunity to provide detail later. Give some history about the company and yourself. If you have an interesting anecdote about how the company started, don’t be afraid to share it. In a general sense, aim to tell them the kinds of things you do and the kinds of companies you work with, and briefly outline your success stories. Discuss needs in general, and then explain why what you have to offer can be of value to a company like theirs. Words such as “can” “could”, or “might” are the most appropriate because you have not yet learned enough about your customer to get specific.

ACTION POINT: Use the presentation to give a brief overview of needs you an fulfill and of your product line, but don’t make any assumptions about the specific needs of your customer.