Jiffy Lube Magic, Sales Adaptability and Plagiarism

Perhaps you’ve noticed that while driving past a Jiffy Lube during (slow times for them) your commute there may be a mechanic out front, holding a sign, offering a discount, hoping you’ll pull in.  I don’t know about you, but I am not particularly moved by a guy in a jump suit waving for me to stop.  But it made me wonder, does this work?

This morning I stopped by the Jiffy Lube next to our offices and asked the manager about this practice.  I learned that this is a corporate initiative but it’s up to the local store as to how they implement it.  I asked whether the guys who get people to pull in are compensated for their efforts and was told it is “part of their job”.  I asked whether some were better at it than others and learned that the more animated and memorable folks who really put forth an effort, dance rather than wave, and have their heart into it significantly out perform their peers.  There’s a surprise…

Salespeople who are more memorable and animated tend to be more successful too, but it goes further than that.  Flexible salespeople, who aren’t wound so tight can adapt to their prospects and are more successful.  Some prospects just need to be right.  Some need to be told.  Some need to figure it out by themselves.  Some need to be in control.  Some need their questions answered.  Some need to be answering questions.  All need to feel they are being heard.  In baseball, this would be comparing the hard throwing one pitch thrower, to the craftier pitcher that mixes it up, changes speeds, and keeps hitters off balance.  Salespeople with several pitches rather than one will have more success.

Simply put, figure out what works and duplicate it!

Unless duplicating infringes on somebody’s copyright.  I have long been frustrated by those on the web who take my articles and call them their own.  I’ve contacted them directly and demanded that they either take them down or site the source.

Well, one of my friends and colleagues has had it with plagiarism and is declaring war.  Jonathan Farrington, a prolific blogger and sales expert, wrote the following article and I include it here in its entirety.

When Plagiarism Is NOT Flattering

I would like to introduce you to Michael J. Roman – Michael who? Exactly. But after today, I suspect so many more people will be familiar with that name, as it flies around the “Blogosphere” and becomes the topic of much “Tweeting”

Here is how Michael describes himself:

“Michael is a POLISHED BUSINESS EXECUTIVE with a proven history of success including nearly fifteen years of successful leadership experience.
Michael is highly skilled in effective, strategic management of sales, operations, administrative, and consulting professionals in addition to full operations and profit and loss (P&L) management…..” Etc. etc.

You can read more here.

You may also be impressed by Michael’s “core values” particularly this one:
“Integrity – The most important of all values. Michael’s belief is that integrity is not optional, nor is it situational.”

Michael posts to his site virtually every day, and the articles are of a very high quality – he goes to great lengths to protect “his” copyright:

“©Copyright 2010 Michael J. Roman. All rights reserved.
Except where specifically noted, no information within this blog may be copied, duplicated, stored in a retrieval system or reproduced in any form without the express written consent of Michael J. Roman. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact me at the following email address: .”

Nothing unusual about that? Well, yes actually. Why does someone go to such lengths to spell out their copyright statement, when they have total disregard for everyone else’s?

You see, Michael doesn’t actually write his own material – he steals it from other people. He copies it from other people’s sites and claims it as his own.

On his first page alone, there are seven of my blog posts, and in total, I found twenty!

Sometimes he leaves the title and the text wholly intact, other times he changes it to suit himself, here is an example:

I posted “So, Just What Are The Essential Leadership Qualities?”
“I have been “leading” since I was eight years old – my first soccer captaincy – and I have been leading for most of my life.”

He posts “What Are Essential Leadership Qualities” and changes the text to:
“I have been “leading” since I was twelve years old – being the lead drummer for my grammar school jazz band – and I have been leading for most of my life.”

I am not the only “victim” – several of my colleagues and friends have also had their work pirated, and to say the least, they are not happy.

On Thursday, I took the unusual step of adding an additional copyright notice to my post – I placed this at the foot –
“The moral right of the author, Jonathan Farrington, has been asserted. © Copyright 2010 All rights reserved.
This article or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system or otherwise, unless this notification of copyright is retained.”

But that did not deter him – he not only stole my post, he also stole my copyright notice and replaced my name with his!

If that were not enough, he has now re-published an article, which I first published on Ezine Articles on October 27th 2006 –
http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-The-Different-Influencing-Styles&id=340096
And claimed it as his own –
http://www.about-personal-growth.com/influencing.html

This week, I celebrated my 900th post on this blog. Each of those posts took time and effort to craft. Each of the 200 articles that I have written and published on various sites over the last four years has also required a huge investment of my time. Why have I bothered – after all, I know lots of people who write so much better than me?

You know the answer to that question.

So, what to do now? I am going to let nature take care of itself for a few days, and then I will be in contact with Michael. Or maybe he will do the decent thing and contact me first.

I would have willingly given him all of my work to re-publish, if he had asked – as long as he placed my bio underneath them, and not his own!

I will of course keep you fully updated as events unfold.
There is a chance that by the time you get to read this, he will have taken the site down, so you can download a PDF of the front page here.

Awesome article Jonathan.  I hope the many frauds like Michael are exposed for what they are and are prevented from conning unsuspecting readers,  clients and colleagues for good.