You get what you ask for
I removed my post because Ryan said it was beneath me to post what I did.
My point was BJ received 28 votes after 8PM on Sunday night, obviously a campaign job on his part. He ruined the spirit of the competition by doing this, at least for me.
If he would have publicly campaigned for votes it might have been fun or funny, but he didn't. Instead he privately campaigned to gain an unfair, untrue advantage then posted to us about playing fair, which he obviously didn't. This was tough to stomach, and I felt compelled to call him on the carpet for it, even though I knew people such as Shannon would run to his defense and call me a sore loser.
There is nothing at stake here so it doesn't matter, but it should be pointed out that this kind of behavior is the very reason I despise organizations and one-upmanship clubs such as AIFD.
There's a saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything"
I should probably follow that advice more, but sometimes even if it's not nice it needs to be said. I felt the need to say it.
RC
RC, I'm really glad you reposted your thoughts. This is something that should be discussed in the open. To you, I directly apologize if you felt I somehow ruined the spirit of the competition for you. The key word for me is that word you used: COMPETITION. It was indeed a competition. If someone can't be competitive during a competition, then I guess I don't understand the point of competing.
I broke no rules. I did nothing underhanded. I twisted no arms. I had no unfair or untrue advantage! I did nothing that wasn't available to every other member.
There were many people who voted for me immediately after I posted my picture. ALL of those votes got removed for being too early, but many of them never came back to re-vote. I ASKED them to repost the votes that had been taken away from me.
What I did was ask a few members, whose opinions I respect, how they would rank my piece. The contest wasn't on everyone's radar, and I knew I'd never hear their opinions if I didn't ask.
The lesson I hope florists will take away from this is that one of the BASICS of salesmanship is to ASK for the sale. That's how you're supposed to close. ASK FOR THE SALE. But many sales people finish up their presentation and they walk away, never directly asking for the sale. Then they wonder what went wrong.
In politics, during exit polls, when asked why they voted for a particular candidate, a very usual answer is "because she asked for my vote."
At the end of a bridal consultation, for example, I ASK the bride if she'll honor me by entrusting her wedding with my company. I ASK for the job. I ASK for the job.
Lori042499 said:
I would have never asked for vote, but that is how I am...I have that same problem in business, if you do not want to shop with me, I will not beg you to...Although I am finding that with some people you need to do this to get the biz.. Lori042499
Lori, I respect your passive approach to business. I could never do that. I wouldn't sleep at night. I am aggressive when I go after business. I have too many families depending on my business for their survival for me to approach business any other way. Especially during tough economic times, I need to get every bit of income I can so I can pay their salaries. If my business goes down, then I have to lay off employees or cut back hours or cannot give raises. It hurts me to do that because I know there are children involved.
SO- I ASK people to buy from me. I ASK them (sometimes BEG them) to shop at my store. I let them know that I WANT their biz and I am HONORED when they choose my shop.
I
never do anything dirty, underhanded, unethical, evil or wicked. I respectfully disagree with RC that ASKING friends for votes somehow flies in the face of the spirit of competition. I strongly believe the opposite: that it is exactly in the spirit of competition. I worry about the floral industry if we all sit back and wait for business, afraid to ASK or BEG, while those disposable dollars are going to other home decor and gift providers who aggressively take away the sales that should rightfully be ours.
I fear that the passive approach to competition is contributing to the shrinking of the floral industry. SO many flower shops going out of business. The number of flower shops now is less than half of the number that existed when I started in this business in the mid-80's. That's scary.
Instead of getting mad at me for being a natural competitor, which I am, I think we as florists should all get more competitive!
