10 Things Tradespeople Should Not Do Whilst Visiting a Potential Customers' Home for the First Time

What the partners of Leicestershire based 

Morgan GleaveArt & Design 

have learnt during 12 years of running a small business. 

Actually, these lessons were learnt well before Morgan Gleave Art & Design came into being...

When visiting another person's home to cost a job a significant number of 

trades people forget how to show other people respect. 

This is a little reminder of how to be a respectful guest.


1) DO NOT patronise your potential customer(s).


It does not make you appear more knowledgable. It just makes you seem like a...well a...you know...a...

2) DO NOT stink to high heaven of BO or anything else unpleasant.

Ensure that every orifice is pleasantly fragrant.  

(Especially avoid tripe, baked beans and sprouts.  As for eating them all together, well...)
You fail, and as soon as the front door closes on you, the air freshener will be out and in action.

Leave a trail of stinky haze behind you, and there is little chance of being invited back, no matter how agreeable your quote.

Mmmmm - perhaps this is going a little far.
But then again, maybe not...

3) DO NOT address all your comments to men  and ignore the women - or vice versa.  

It is rude.

You will make at least one person very cross.  

You will be punished.  

You will lose work.

Ignore her at your peril!

4) DO NOT behave as if your potential customer is an idiot. 

If the answer to a query seems obvious to you, take a minute to remind yourself that you have your skills and they have their own skills.

They may not be able to install central heating or whatever you do, but they may be able to prepare a case for court or surgically remove a tumour from a brain.  

What if s/he is a dentist and you find yourself in a surgery, mouth open, syringe coming closer, closer, closer... ? 

Never mind, administering the anaesthetic is always the most painful part of dentistry.  Well,  it is usually...unless the dentist is not in the best of moods...  

Pretty yellow hat for him.  Does clash with her
blue/green one.  Perhaps they should co-ordinate...

5) DO NOT trail mud, dog poo, chewing gum or anything else yucky through someone's nice clean home.

Your name will be mud - or more likely, poo...

Do you think that mud and...er...the other stuff...would
show on this carpet?

6) DO NOT even think of being rude to or about peoples' pets.  

Pets are part of people's families and you will lose serious Brownie 
Points if you diss them.

Who could be mean about these little poppets?
Surely they are both angels and never put a paw wrong...

...  but Evil Kitty on the other hand...
Best not cross him!

7) DO NOT flirt with a potential customer.

You may well lose the customer.

On the other hand, perhaps you will gain a customer and get yourself into a pickle....

Look at them all!  Does anyone listen to advice?  No they do not!  

Well, they will just have to get themselves out of any pickles they get into. 

Oh my giddy aunt!  Look at those two below...well!  We all know what sort of pickle they will be in!

Oh well, this is being loaded on St Valentine's Day...

8) DO NOT suggest that your fee will be lower if you are paid in cash or that the householder could claim from their insurance by lying about the cause of the problem. 

Not everybody is dishonest and you will lose the job.

The rational behind the decision will be that if you are willing to fiddle HMRC or an insurance company, then surely you will be willing to fiddle the householder.

Further, you do not know who you are speaking to.  A tax inspector for example...

Absolutely not!  This is not an imaginative invitation 

to a saucy party with the couple above! 

It is a WARNING

A totally irrelevant image here for no good reason.

9) DO NOT swear or make any -ist remarks (sexist, racist etc). 

It is not big and it is not clever. 

It will offend people and it will lose you work.

Think before you speak!

What is the norm for you may really 

shock and offend someone else

10) DO NOT tell your potential customer your life story. 

They are not interested no matter how politely they listen.

They just want you to complete your task as quickly as possible and then clear off and leave them in peace.

If your potential  customer looks like this, you can be absolutely
sure that you have talked too much.

You may find  10 Things Not To Do at a Business Event useful too.

Do you have any comments?

How about sharing this post?  

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to Morgan Gleave Art & Design's Blog so that you can keep up to date with the bits and bobs we put up.

Morgan Gleave Art & Design is not responsible for the content of external sites

Clear off Cupid! We've Got Work to Do!

Morgan Gleave Art & Design

4 Step Plan to Boost Your Confidence at Business Networking Events: Step 4

What the partners of Leicestershire based
 Morgan Gleave Art & Design 
have learnt during 12 years of running a small business. 

Unless you already have done so, before reading this article, you may wish to look at

 4 Step Plan to Boost Your Confidence at Business Networking Events:  Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3 

Step 4:  Go into Battle – Well, the Opposite to Battle Really...

 (Stop laughing and pulling faces!  We know the analogy has run out of steam, but it was the best we could do.  We are Morgan Gleave Art & Design not Morgan Gleave Write & Publish...)

This is what you want to be like, not a 
great big lump of aggression.

As you leave your car:

• Check your posture - stand tall, shoulders back, tummy in.  Similar, but perhaps not exactly like this gentleman who would probably benefit from a new pair of shoes.

Standing straight, stomach in, shoulders back
and looking confident.

• Relax your face and lick your lips so that you look friendly and are ready to smile.  

• Tell yourself everything is under control and that you look and feel FAB-U-LOUS.

• Think of a person with poise and confidence, E.g. Joanna Lumley, James Bond (without his hands in his pockets!) and imagine that you are that person as you walk in.  (Well, Alan Carr may not be the best choice but if he gives you confidence...)  

You will be a superstar...

Off you go! ENJOY YOURSELF!

Later...






It will go well.  

Nevertheless, you may feel that you have failed, which you probably have not that is common response when if you are unconfident and reflect on something new.  

Remember, this is a learning curve for you.  

If you are struggling with real, or more likely, imaginary failings, do read 5 Steps to Managing Failure in Business - and Elsewhere Too.  

This will help you to get things into perspective and to move on as painlessly as possible.

You may find the following links useful:

• 4 Step Plan to Boost Your Confidence at Business Networking Events: Step 1 

• 4 Step Plan to Boost Your Confidence at Business Networking Events: Step 2

• 4 Step Plan to Boost Your Confidence at Business Networking Events:  Step 3

• 10 Things Not To Do at a Networking Event 

• 2 Easy Techniques to Calm and Relax You at (Almost) Anywhere and at Anytime.

Do you have any comments?

How about sharing this post?  

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to Morgan Gleave Art & Design's Blog so that you can keep up to date with the bits and bobs we put up.

Morgan Gleave Art & Design is not responsible for the content of external sites

A Posh Do: A Little Fun Cartoon Tale to Celebrate Annual National Storytelling Week.

Did you know that it is The Society for Storytelling's 2016 annual National Storytelling Week this week?

Here is one of Morgan Gleave Art & Design's contributions to the event.  You can find the other contribution, Creativity, by here.

A Posh Do:

A Warning For Curvy Women Everywhere

Copyright 2016 Morgan Gleave Art & Design

Do you have any comments?

How about sharing this post?  

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to Morgan Gleave Art & Design's Blog so that you can keep up to date with the bits and bobs we put up?

Morgan Gleave Art & Design is not responsible for the content of external links

Creativity: A Short Fun Story to Celebrate 2016 National Storytelling Week

Did you know that it is The Society for Storytelling's 16 annual National Storytelling Week, this week?

Here is one of Morgan Gleave Art & Design's contributions to the event, the other 'A Posh Do:  A Warning to Curvy Women Everywhere' can be found by clicking here.

CREATIVITY

Once upon a time there were some people living in Leicestershire.  Their very souls were seeped in creativity.


They used this creativity every day in their work with Morgan Gleave Art & Design, but often it was not enough.  Nearly every day they had leftover creativity spilling out everywhere.

If not used up properly during their working day, the creativity spilt onto their chairs, onto the floor, onto books and magazines, even all over the cat.  What a mess!

Fab chair.  Looks like a throne 

Do you know what colour creativity is?  Purple.  Just like royal robes.  Ohhhh, it was pretty.  Well, those who were creative thought it was.  Other people did not always agree.  It tended to stain carpets and Pom Pom the cat was not too keen on being purple.

Poor Pom Pom...  Horrid neighbourhood cats!

The neighbourhood cats teased and laughed at Pom Pom when she was purple.  They said that she looked like a Jelly Babyt.  How mean!  

It was not all bad, it helped Pom Pom catch mice.  The mice were so busy staring or rolling around on the floor laughing that they forgot to run away.

Run, Mousie, Run!  It may be purple but
IT IS STILL A CAT!

One day the Morgan Gleave Art & Design partners got bored with drawing, painting landscapes, cutting, sticking and even with making rockets from papier-mâché and buggies from Lego.  

They stopped creating...  

Peep Peep!  Peep Peep!

What to do?  Their creativity really got out of hand.  It was so bad that it was seeping out of the house under the red door.  Oh my word, what a clash of colours!  

Goodness!  It looks like a purple 'red carpet'.

The creativity flowed onto the pavement turning it purple, over the kerb turning it purple, and into the road turning it purple too.  

The creativity kept on flowing, there was so much of it that it turned the post box purple and even the pigeons sitting on a fence got caught!

Would you post a letter in a box that looked like this?

Poor little birdbrains!  They didn't even notice the purple all around them,
never mind that they were purple themselves.

Something had to be done!  Fast!  But what?  Create something of course!  Uh, ha!  A manga portrait!  That would make an exciting change and use up some creativity. 

Out came the acrylic paints.  Out came an easel and a canvas.  Out came a pallet and some paint brushes.  

In came a pretty woman to model.  

Where's the purple?

Busy, busy, busy.  Paint, paint, paint.  Stand back.  Look.  Think.  Paint, paint, paint.  Busy, busy, busy.

All this time the creativity was receding and pouring into the painting.  The pigeon turned white and grey again.  The fence they had been sitting on turned cream again and the post box reverted to red.  

Also, much to her relief, Pom Pom was back to her normal white self again. 

Oh my giddy aunt!  Just look at those silk sheets!
What a floozy!

The road turned back to its normal, rather boring colour, as did the kerb and the pavement.  Eventually, most of the creativity has poured itself into the painting.  Can you see it?

Manga Rock Chick!

Sadly, not all the creativity could fit into one painting and some of it was left over.  Can you see the spare creativity?  It is on your screen.  Look!  You can see it!  It's each side of this blog.  

Aaaahhh pretty...

THE END

Copyright 2016 Morgan Gleave Art & Design

Do you have any comments?

How about sharing this post?  

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to Morgan Gleave Art & Design's Blog so that you can keep up to date with the bits and bobs we put up?