#inbox. ‍ ‍ bullets ‍ to ‍ a ‍ mag.

[kimhortons]

random tots in bullet

mas excited na ako ngayon mag weekend kasi nadagdagan yung hobby ko—well, sana maging hobby ko nga mag basa. although nagbabasa naman talaga ako before hindi lang ganon kahilig hehe.

siguro kailangan ko nalang talaga mag deactivate ng Facebook kasi minsan dun nauubos yung oras ko kakanuod ng reels hahaha. mag cacatch up muna ako ulit sa pinapanuod kong series—suits. tatapusin ko na 'to kasi natengga nako sa gilmore girls e. haha. mag seset nalang din ako ng time kung kelan ako magbabasa, or kung kelan ko trip.

pag sabado di talaga ako makanuod or makapag basa kasi bebe time talaga namin ni J ang sabado. hehe depende nalang kung tatamarin ako magpa Legazpi. haha. nag reresume nalang ng linggo ng gabi yung me time ko kapag babalik na siya ng Naga.

naalala ko may binili pala akong voucher nung may pumuntang taga angel's pizza sa office. nung kelan pa yun, june pa ata. di ko parin naki-claim yung free. lagi ko kasing nalilimutan pag sabado, sa albay pa kasi yun. pag uwian naman uwing uwi ako kaya di ko makuha kuha haha. bukas siguro kunin ko na, sayang din yun. kala ko kasi yung card, voucher lang pala for 400 pesos. basically, parang bumili rin naman ako ng pizza. hehe. parang nabudol lang ako haha.

lagi ng kusa namamatay yung iphone ko kapag naka charge, need na ata talagapalitan battery nito haha. pinag iisipan ko pa kung ipapa ayos ko pa or bibili nalang ako ng bago, kaso kung magkakaron ako ng big purchase next year, mas priority ko yung laptop. bahala na.

wala kami gaanong tasks kanina sa work. never na talaga bumalik sa dati yung buhos ng inbox. kayang kaya na ng isa tapusin yun lahat e. nag kwentuhan tuloy kami nung isang ka team ko kasi sa dati niyang work talagang madami yung buhos ng invoice nila. same kasi sa task namin ngayon, logistics lang yung kanila. kako namiss ko tuloy yung dati kong work kasi habang nag kukwento ako alam na alam ko parin kung anong trabaho ko doon. hehe. lalang

mas maaga na ko nakakauwi ngayon, kasi hindi ko na inaantay yung mga kawork ko. pagka out lumalabas na ko agad at kung ano maunang sasakyan na dumaan sumasakay na ako agad. pag mas maaga talaga ako lumabas, mas nakaka sakay pa ako ng deretchong terminal e. di narin ako pumipila sa modern jeep sa ordinary nalang kasi mas mabilis makasakay. 5pm ang out ko, ngayon 6pm palang nasa bahay na ako. hehe.

iniisip ko pa kung magpapa Legazpi pa ako bukas or hihintayin ko nalang si J maka uwi. baka kasi matraffic siya at pista ng Peñafrancia sa Naga ngayon buwan e. bahala na bukas.

[distorieds]

tag dump.

[magnuslightwood-bane0414]

⚠️More Malec headcanons alert⚠️

also no one really submitted any headcanon requests so I urge you to do so if you’re looking for something specific I’d love to write some for you :) don’t be shy I literally love getting stuff in my inbox it makes my day!!!

so I think whenever Alec showers at the loft he borrows a pair of Magnus’ fuzzy pajama pants and a hoodie that’s really Alec’s but it smells like Magnus so he uses it anyway. then he’s all warm and he wants his husband so he’ll go find him and wrap his arms around him He gets extra clingy after showers so he’s always finding Magnus and grumbling until Magnus pays attention to him and holds him.

speaking of showers, Magnus adores Alec’s fluffy hair and literally plays with it while holding him because (look to my last bullet) Alec is clingy after showers and he just wants cuddles. Magnus loves loves loves Alec’s hair but especially when it’s all soft and messy and smells like sandalwood.

Magnus had an epiphany one day while holding Alec close. Alec was napping, snoring with his face pressed against Magnus’ neck and Magnus gently sifting through his hair. Magnus realized he’s gone decades and years alone. Like physically alone. As an immortal, he’s never felt the need to constantly be around people since they’re more independent and stuff. But as their relationship progresses Magnus finds that he hates being away from Alec, like genuinely loathing it. Alec is the first one to make him feel that way. for example, Alec has to go away to some clave thing for a few days and it’s torture to be in the loft without Alec. He goes as far as to sleep with Catarina and madzie for those nights. And when Alec comes back, it’s like the scene in The Notebook all dramatic and soft and stuff. But honestly neither of them complain because they just sit on the floor and hold each other for like three hours before getting up and going about their normal routine. It’s new to Magnus to want to be close to someone 24/7 but it’s a good new!

after they’re married and things are really really really good, Magnus decides to stop drinking as a coping mechanism. He chooses to save it for fun nights out with family or friends, or dancing with Alec, or even a quiet night in when they just want to get tipsy and cuddle. It isn’t easy since we all know Magnus being an alcoholic was low key canon. Whenever Magnus feels the urge to drink, he calls one of the people closest to him. That includes Catarina, Raphael, and some more warlock friends he’s met along the way and trust. And of course, if the temptation is really bad he’ll call Alec and Alec will either come home or Magnus will sit with Alec in his office.

Magnus and Alec try and go on a date at least one night a week. They try tons of places of course, but their favorite will always be the hunters moon. Maia always hooks them up with free drinks because they’re so cute, and they always stumble out of the bar drunk and laughing and they have the best time there. They definitely make use of the pool table but they can only play for so long bc as the drinking continues the sexual innuendos also continue.

they’re obviously more comfortable around each other now, but I still feel like they would blush and hold doors for each other. those cute little couple things. Alec would tell Magnus how beautiful he looked and Magnus would blush and say alec looked even more beautiful. Alec would hold the door for him and then they would argue over the check whenever they went out somewhere. they would walk home and Magnus would link their arms and it’ll just be the same cute stuff they always do. But they never get sick of it and we won’t either!!

we all know Magnus has an abundance of terms of endearment for Alec, but we never talk about Alec’s terms of endearment for Magnus. I think Alec normally just says Magnus and it’s the tone of voice that conveys if he’s flirty, sleepy, mad or whatever. Sometimes he’ll say Mags if he’s feeling frivolous or causal. But my favorite is babe or baby. I think Alec says that if he’s drunk or sleepy or whiny, when he’s not in his right mind but he doesn’t care either way. Magnus always grins and blushes because it sounds so precious coming from Alec.

as time progresses and the tensions between Shadowhunter and downworld calm some, Magnus feels even more welcomed in the institute. I think people start acknowledging him and even making small talk with him, no longer glaring or staring whenever Magnus walks into the institute. There’s always those few bad apples, but overall the Shadowhunters adore Alec so they would obviously accept Magnus. And Alec has made it abundantly clear that Magnus is just as welcomed as any Shadowhunter. (Magnus secretly loves it when a Shadowhunter starts complaining because Alec gets protective and man is that hot)

[iamtheprotagoneil]

Part I I found a pre-release interview with RPattz about Neil in a Spanish mag. "I'm still not sure what I can say about my character without revealing too much. Let's say he is complex, as the world he movies in, and this complicates his desires, or maybe he sees [his desires] as secondary. There's no ideology that convinces him, and he refuses to reduce the world to what is right and what is wrong. Maybe he doesn't have the time to think if what he does is correct, or what he desires is wrong"

hi, friend. idk if you meant for this to have a part ii, but i only got this one ask in my inbox, so i’ll answer it for now.

anyways, this just confirms what we’ve already known, doesn’t it? that neil would always put duty above his desires because that’s just how good he is. but then “there’s no ideology that convinces him” makes me think of how neil didn’t actually do it for the sake of the world. sure it might be his sense of duty that urged him into that turnstile and march down that hypocenter to open the door, but it was his love for his protagonist that rushed him forward when volkov was advancing and took a bullet to the head.

it also makes me think of how he’d be convinced to join tenet. perhaps not by the ideology it presented, but by the man who recruited him – who gave him a better purpose for everything he’s done and would do.

and it would make sense that neil would see the world more in grey terms than just pure black and white. he was an intelligent man, after all. i’m not sure what “desires” rpattz was talking about in that interview, but i imagine it had to do with his growing feelings for the protagonist? the feelings he’d carry with him through the years of inversion, and have to shove down to make room for duty and the greater good when it was finally time to go?

and it’s funny that rpattz mentioned how he didn’t have time to think about his actions and said desires. neil would have the whole mission already layout for him the moment he accepted it – and he would accept it without a second thought, with the incentive of saving the protagonist of the story. throughout the movie, he’d just do most things as planned, in accordance with the mission briefing he’d been given. and he’d just do it; he wouldn’t think too hard on it because what’s happened, happened. there was no point in dwelling, just doing his parts to set everything else in motion.

[erratiomerula]

@ncxilia said; tell us more about saleos being a demon and an absolute queen thank

unprompted || always accepting!

            Oh BOY does this give me great joy to see in my inbox. To quickly get it out of the way for those that might not know, I do have her default verse in a separate bio HERE.

            But listen. Saleos is intimidating as all hell— I'll get that out of the way now. She's a 5'9" drop dead gorgeous woman who knows she's hot and will use it to her advantage at any given chance. She's a DEMON who gets her kicks by parading around as a human, occasionally making contracts, and ( very rarely ) actually getting romantically involved with humans. She's DANGEROUS and anyone that has familiarity with that or has, for example, almost been killed, can pick up on that vibe. ( Like Lei. ) She has the capability to be extremely violent, and can literally take on hundreds of people and still come out more or less, completely unscathed. She has literally started plagues before, several times. She has eaten human flesh and has ingested human blood— toss her in a fire and her skin will melt and regenerate in cycles until the flames are gone or she exits them. She has killed CHILDREN and was far from a saint when she herself was human— may none forget that she is a M O N S T E R despite her godlike appearance, and she KNOWS it. Bullets and knives, by the way, will do very little to her in the long run. You’d have to empty an entire machine gun mag to give yourself even a few minutes, in which you’d best be using it to RUN.

            She's no mind reader, but she's been around a LONG time. She knows what fuels most people and has interacted with enough of humanity to generally be able to predict their actions or words. She knows the shady type best of all, of course. There's been countless men offering to buy her a drink only to spike it with a variety of drugs, which by the way, are as effective on her system as WATER. Saleos is the type to drain it in one go despite KNOWING it's spiked, looking the dude dead in the eye and enjoying the confusion and panic often displayed when she doesn't go down as expected. She will let someone kidnap her and strip her of her clothes just so she can see their expression when she plunges her very hand into their chest. She is SADISTIC at times, MANIPULATIVE at others, but she does have some redeeming features if you’re one of few able to actually earn a spot in her heart. She can be protective ( possessive with some ), lovable, humorous, and surprisingly reliable.

            Approaching her is actually very easy if you’ve the courage to do it in the first place —  approaching her first already garners her interest and makes her far more likely to listen to what you have to say. She’s lived for MILLENNIA and is well versed and skilled in most everything. Saleos is practically a walking history book and guide book for just about anything one could think of. Ask or say anything to her and she’s likely to have a response immediately ready. An opening line with anything NOT pertaining to her appearance is a plus for a genuine interaction, at least upon first encounters. She’s honestly very far from picky in this regard.

            A little more into the trivia section and just a FEW of the things she’s capable of;

           She marks those of interest and those close to her with her scent— something humans cannot smell, but it’s a blaring warning beacon for other demons and supernatural creatures. If able to get a true whiff of someone’s natural scent, she can also use that to track them for a day or two if needed. She can speak directly to and hear the thoughts/words of someone she is contracted with if it is permitted, and she is also capable of prodding at their memories and fears— especially with exceptionally weak willed contractors.

            Her body can consume energy from another being, similar to a SUCCUBUS ( though she is NOT one ), instead of food— she also does not REQUIRE sleep, but often indulges in it anyway. She prefers a mix of salty and sweet, as well as spicy when it comes to food. LIQUORS are generally her preferred drink, but their effects are always dulled. ( She’d literally probably half to drink half of a small liquor store to get inebriated at any real level. )

            If it was desired, she could very well pass for a MEDICAL PRACTITIONER, though this has never been something of her interest. She knows the human form in and out, literally, and is extremely knowledgeable with ( and largely immune to ) poisons.

             As I mentioned recently, she DOES have a semi-large set of black feathered wings despite being a demon— she was an ANGEL before anything else. Only in emergencies will this appear or that she use them, because they cause her INTENSE pain to do so. It is not rare for a dull ache and burning itch to crawl just under the skin of her shoulders where they sprout. In some cases, this pain is enough to practically immobilize her.

            Memories of her ‘past lives’ surface in her memory from time to time, but she does not fully remember the times before becoming a demon. Memories of those time are like foggy fragments, occasionally clearing and causing sharp pain to her head— which usually only happens when she stumbles upon something to invoke the memories to surface.

            Saleos is physically strong enough to punch her fist through a stocky, muscle bound human male. Completely, if she’s actually trying. She’s also able to use any magic except holy, aka light or white magic. Similarly, a feeling of unease settles when a person of severe faith has their attention on her. She can still enter churches and things such as crucifixes do extremely little, but having a person of such intense faith gazing at her often incites a feeling of strong rage that she can’t quite explain.

            Personal space is a term that might as well not exist to her. She’s very handsy and touchy, and has no qualms about doing embarrassing things in public. Another reason she is often mistaken for a succubus is her intense tie to the sin of LUST. God save your soul if you become her lover, particularly as a HUMAN, because she will very rarely NOT want sex. That is not to say she wants to fuck 24/7, but a serious partner is someone who has a tendency to bring out her lust even more as she combats her usual habit of sleeping with multiple people whenever the fancy hits her. She will easily become POSSESSIVE of her lover and will do her best to keep the dangerous of being her lover to a minimum. ( This mainly means keeping other demons at bay that might target her lover for simply being a potential weakness of hers. )

            Continuing from above, she is a frequent GIFTER, particularly if her partner is of the POORER variety. While she hardly ever cooks for herself, she will also cook meals and snacks she’s learned to be their favorites. Saleos is also practically INFERTILE and unable to have children unless other means, be it MAGIC or something similar, are involved. This has never been a concern of hers.

            FAVORED animals of hers are crows/ravens, wolves, BLACK cats, snakes, and owls.

            She is not an easy person to shop for when it comes to GIFTS. She can obtain anything she truly wants with her own hands, but always appreciates the gesture alone. If asked what she wants, she’ll often respond with, “Your time.” or something similar. She does, however, like jewelry— particularly black gold and uncommon gemstones.

[batman-studies]

HELLO EVERYONE!! *waves*

My name is Erika, and I just recently made a studyblr to desperately try to save my grades encourage and motivate myself to study more! (and also gain the aesthetic™)

Some stuff about me:

I’m 14 this year!

I’m a Hufflepuff! (PUFFS WHERE YOU AT)

I’m a Sagittarius! (some horse dude which is pretty neat)

I’m not Batman yet

Things I like:

Watching TV and movies! (Riverdale, Agents of Shield, Voltron, Gravity Falls, etc !)

Reading books! *hugs books lovingly*

Memes 

Recess

Making new friends, so please go ahead and sLIIIIIDE INTO MY INBOX 

Looking at my Bullet Journal then crying because I have to spend more time on it to make it pretty again

Classes I’m currently taking:

Biology

Physics

Chemistry

Language Arts

Math

Geography

History 

Higher Chinese

I made a studyblr I feel super inspired and it encourages me to quit procrastinating and work harder! The studyblr community is such an encouraging and welcoming place and I can’t wait to join y’all in studying and working hard and not dying!

There are a LOT of amazing studyblrs out there that have inspired me, but here are some: @sootudying @lychiestudies @gridnotebook @studyquill @mangostudies@mousethatreads @ittybittystudyblr @rhubarbstudies @ghiblistudyy @studyblr@juniorincollege @julstudies @coffeeforcollege @caffenotes @studyign@emmastudies @tbhstudying @optomstudies @mag-studies @arxticstudy @studentsandlattes @studentstoolbox @purelystudy @the-girlygeek @architstudy @flowerynotes @sadiesnotes @tedstudies @kat-studying

Thank you guys so much, and please like or reblog this if you are a studyblr so that I can follow you!

Have a great day everyone!! 

[krystelprado]

OUR BAD DAYS. 💔 Relationships aren't perfect, there will always be bad days. And we cannot exempt ours from the rest. Many of our friends would say, "Since you two got back, seems that you're always in good terms." Or, "You two are so sweet, do you even fight?" And others would even dare to say, "You two are perfect." - thank you for all those kind words and appreciation, but we'd like to let you know, we're human. We're not perfect, we fight and sometimes would hurt each others feelings over petty things. But here's what something I can share whenever we're on our bad days. Petty fights. -We had LOTS of this. Actually, most of the time, the cause of our fights are over petty things. Thing about petty fights is that, this kind of fight can be caught and resolved easily. Once we started arguing over something petty, one will always initiate to shut up and let the other talk. That person is me. Once you start arguing with RJ and he really thinks that he's on point (which sometimes, he's not! That's basically why we would start arguing.), he won't stop raising his opinions and won't even let you talk. So, I shut up. When I say shut up, I would literally treat him like he's not around and no one's talking. During my silence, I act like I'm not listening, but the truth is, I'm hearing every words he say and would mentally put questions in bullet forms in every statement he said and in every point he raise. You'll know when he's done because he'll start making lambing and would start talking to you like there's nothing happened. He would ALWAYS start it this way, *he'll hold my waist or hands or would look at me in the eye* "Baby, ba't tahimik kana?" Little did he know that, him asking me that is my cue to start my side of argument. I just don't normally talk to him, I sometimes give him my resting bitch face and would start asking him all the questions I've come up while in time out. And ALWAYS, his answers to my questions will only be , "Oo na lage baby. Oo na. Mali na ako. Oh, tama kana." Or, "Sssshhh... oh na babe, oh na." And my favorite of all, "Opo. Di nata mag away. Ssshh na.." 😂 Krystel - 1 RJ - 0 Late replies. -I, particualrly, hate late replies. Who wouldn't hate it by the way?! This can fall into "petty fights" but I'd like to explain something about this. Okay. Let me get this straight, RJ replies fast. Really. It's just that sometimes, I'm impatient. Especially whenever we're txting and sometimes he'd say, "baby, brb. I'll have to do this blah blah.." First 10mins I'd totally be fine but whenever it would take more than that, I start to evolve into something inhuman. 😂 So, thing about me, I'd flood him short and kind messages. He'd reply to that and would say, "baby, dali nlg ni. Hapit nako mahuman." So, okay. Sure, I'll wait. But there are really times that the network itself isn't cooperating - delay messages. I'd literally cry my madness out. I am the most impatient person when it comes to waiting for his replies. Really. I'd cry! I'd cry because I'm upset regardless of what is the reason of the delay. May it be in the network or his replies are really late because he's still busy, I'd cry. Me, being impatient, would really lead me to anger and would let it all out on him even if it's not his fault - it's the network's fault. How will you know that it's the network? The messages will come flooding in your inbox with different message-received-time. So, RJ, becoming the victim here, would rather chat than txting me. Because in chat, you'll see if the other person has read your messages or you'll know if they're already typing. So right now, this petty reason has been minimized because we come up to something that can somehow resolve it. Again, RJ hates calling and I'm not a fan of telebabad too. Krystel - 1 RJ - 1 Serious arguments. -This one sounds the toughest and hardest to resolve. But for me, this is the best kind of fight. Why? Because we end up learning something and would really tend to not do it again. As I can remember, since late last year, we only had two. And we get through it, together. This kind of fight would really draw us stronger. This kind of fight is the one thing we look back and would say, "Diba tapos na tayo dito, please di na nato to balikan. Lisod to and we don't want to get through it again. We've learned." Yes, this is the toughest. Our first one took us 1 day not talking nor txting/chatting each other. And the latest one took us more than 12hrs. You'd probably say, "Grabeh. 1 day lang/ 12hrs lang serious fight na agad." Yes, that's a very difficult fight for the both of us. Because whenever we fight, we always make sure that we can sleep and go to work or go through our day without heavy feelings. We make sure that we'll make up for the sake of each other's feelings. That's the reason why 1 day of not talking to each other is already hard. It's 1 day wasted, 1 day running around with heavy heart, 1 day not knowing how each other's day went and it's 1 day of not talking where in fact you should be saying I love you's. But again, we hardly have this. And hopefully won't encounter as much. Krystel - 2 RJ - 2 Yep, we both have points for this because we both work our way out from that kind of fight. Bottomline, one should really take a step back. No one's winning if you'll continue arguing with hard heads. You'd rather lose an argument than lose the love of your life. ❤️ Petty things are petty things, it's cute and that's essential. Just know when to put an end into it. You don't want to waste a minute over some crap, do you? Be patient. Impatience won't bring you anywhere. You'll end up disappointing yourself because you overthink the things that upsets you. Learn from the things that once caught you on fire. Remember, only YOU did put the flames out and the burns aren't bad at all. Always learn from the things you once stumbled upon, that what makes who you are today. Fights won't define how incompatible you are to your partner but it rather defines how well you go along to surpass it. You're always a team, one wins then you two wins. No one lose. PS: Red days don't count on this. Red days aren't bad days. And, RJ always, ALWAYS takes a step back for me. 😂 I love you, Mister ko. ❤️😘

[olivereliott]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 17 September, 2017

Bare metal cafe racers from Spain and Italy are spinning our wheels this week, plus a Honda XR600R tracker conversion and a fluoro orange Yamaha FZ-09 from Australia.

Honda XR600R by Vintage Addiction Crew The Crew are no strangers to these parts. They’ve impressed us couple of times before with their attention to detail and expert level of execution.

And they’ve done it again with this transformation of a Honda XR600R into a scrappy looking street tracker. Given its Baja-winning roots, the Barcelona guys were originally thinking a vintage enduro build would foot the bill. But after some reminiscing over old flat track photos, the thumper’s new identity was forged.

But first they needed the engine to fire. Moto Racing Canet helped with the rebuild, as things had actually seized solid. And while the internals were being seen to, the V.A. Crew went to work on the rest. A Sportster surrendered its peanut tank, which was reworked to sit so pretty on the Honda’s spine. A new, 2-piece subframe was fitted and the obligatory fiberglass flat track tail bolted on. The suspension was rebuilt and lowered to nail its new stance on those 19-inch hoops and a gorgeous coat of HRC paint dressed everything up. [More]

Honda CB750 by Bolt Motor Co. I’d like to say it’s not every day we see a Honda CB cafe—but that would be a lie. Truth be told, the inboxes are inundated with them, so it takes something special to truly stand out. This time around, that standout comes with a bare metal finish, from Valencia’s Bolt Motor Company.

Working with a late model 1994 CB750, Bolt’s craftsmen had a bit of plastic to strip down before they started this build. But they didn’t stop there. The tank that Honda spec’d in the mid-nineties had an aero treatment that just wasn’t going to sit right for a cafe racer, so the flowing OE unit was swapped for one from a 77’ K7. From there, all of the electrics were tidied and the airbox was ditched to deliver one of the cleanest triangles we’ve seen. But it’s the seat and tail unit that steals the show here. To perfectly match the shape of the K7’s tank, Bolt’s designers took to some 3D modeling before fabrication and absolutely killed it. [More]

Ducati cafe racer by Affetto It’s hard to go wrong with a custom Ducati when you draw inspiration from Paul Smart. Which is why this tribute in raw metal from Affetto Ducati is making me drool.

Of course, there’s a bit more going on than some fancy metalwork and a painted frame. Leo Fleuren, the Dutchman behind Affetto, has a thing for transforming old and rare Italians, so the base for this bike begins with an 860 Bevel. To ensure everything would work flawlessly, the frame was fettled and the swingarm from a late-model Sport Classic was fitted. But it too needed modification as the drive chain on the Bevel churns rubber from the right side, not the left. The wheels are from a Ducati Scrambler, and the brakes from a 996.

Wiring has all been re-worked with some help from Motogadget and a lightweight, lithium battery hides in the hump. Speaking of which, all of that gorgeous bodywork—the tank, tail and front fender—was hand beaten by local wizards at Labro Carrozzeria. [More]

Yamaha FZ-09 by Ellaspede The Brisbane, Australia shop seems to nail that balance of performance and style with every build. What started out as a riotous city-mouse from the factory has been transformed into a country-mouse machine that’s just as comfortable scampering along the beachfront as it is heading into the Outback.

Starting with a bone stock 2014 FZ-09 (or MT-09, depending), a quick consult with its owner revealed a desire for some dusty path work. That meant the asphalt-friendly suspenders at both ends needed to go. Öhlins were units were fitted up on both ends to soak up the rough stuff without elevating the seat height into the stratosphere, and a set of Continental TKC 70s found their way onto the mags.

Since the Yammie already had a competent layout, the tank and seat remain untouched. But Ellaspede put some tidy work into the 3-into-1-into-2 high-mount exhaust system, guarded by a set of custom side covers. The rumor is those mags may soon swap to spokes, and with them an upgrade to TKC 80 rubber. But we’re liking the looks on this thing as it sits. [More]

Triumph Thruxton R by Alo’s Cafe There’s rarely a day that goes by where I don’t ponder plunking down on Triumph’s new Thruxton R. Of course, that doesn’t mean things can’t be improved.

The Italian Triumph dealer and custom shop Alo’s Cafe was approached by watchmakers Meccaniche Veloci to build a cafe racer that would reflect the intricacies of their timepieces. ‘Bullet Time’ is the result.

Working with aluminum—for their first time, I might add—Alo’s team put over 100 hours into the bodywork fabrication alone. The dolphin fairing, side panels and hand-rolled fender were all left with a raw, brushed finish that’s echoed by the stripped, factory tank. The seat is a completely bespoke unit that was contrast-stitched in Alo’s workshop. That stitching mimics the style found on Meccaniche’s watchbands, and the aluminum stripe atop the hump is form-fitted. Finishing things off, a custom exhaust snakes through whatever negative space it can find to keep a slim profile, and is capped on both sides by Zard cans. [More]

[lydiamarshall92]

Nine powerful daily habits of the best salespeople

We’ve probably all either worked alongside or even been the client of a truly exceptional salesperson. Many people put what they do and how they do it down to some unique quirk of nature. Many pass it off as simply saying they were born with the ‘gift of the gab’. But I’m not sure that’s true.

I’ve worked alongside many exceptional salespeople and they are all very different personalities – some are even highly introverted – but they all share some very common daily habits which make them successful.

Through observing and coaching these outstanding salespeople, I thought it might be useful to share some of the ‘secrets’ from these observations, so you can start to build their habits into your day-to-day sales routine.

Plan your day early. I remember one of my very first sales directors back in the late 90s taking me under her wing and saying to me, “Do you know what I’m doing when I’m walking my dog every morning at 6am? I’m planning the day ahead, thinking about new opportunities and client follow-ups, that way within the working day, no time is wasted.” Now you don’t have to get a dog, but get your day organised before you arrive at work and your productivity will soar.

Make time for prospecting. This is simple, and yes, it’s effective. Thirty minutes a day is plenty, because when you have an established base of regular clients and they are actively spending with you, that’s when your pipeline is most at danger. It may seem counter-intuitive but it’s true. Because if you just farm your existing clients, at some point it is likely the work or revenue will dry up. This may well then put you into panic mode as you try to gain new customers in a hurry. So, take time every day to plan who you want as customers, start the early parts of researching and then – most importantly – contact them. Making this a routine takes a lot of the fear away, as in time it just becomes part of what you do.

Learn your ABC – Always Be Curious. Great salespeople listen, and ask great questions to find out more. Not just questions to try and find a problem that their solution can solve; they ask more rounded questions about the other person and their business. They genuinely want to know how things are and if they or their network can help their customer or prospect with these issues. They have a natural thirst to learn and discover more about their customers. Every day, they are curious.

They know who they want to talk to most. This is more than just an organisation you desire to have as a client. You can’t actually converse with Mr Microsoft or Mrs Spark. Understand the clients you want to work with, of course – but beyond that, know who the people within that organisation are that you need to build a relationship with. Do they have organisational power or influence? If not, find out who does.

Share things of interest. One of my early sales mentors used to photocopy stories of interest and post them to his clients, with a short handwritten memo. It was something I copied, very quickly. It was amazing how quickly this built trust and meant that clients looked forward to your calls, rather than dreaded them. These days it’s much easier to share stories online, but the key is to still make them relevant and helpful to your client. So do your research and ask great questions to understand what is actually important in their world.

Make your client’s success your priority. I remember chatting to a top product salesperson many years ago, and she said one of the best statements I’ve ever heard. “I really don’t want to work with unsuccessful or struggling clients. I mean, if they aren’t doing well, and if our product or our help and advice can’t help them become successful, then really what’s the point? We’re just taking their money for no good reason, and you can’t build a business on that.” So true, so eloquent and it was hardwired into her DNA. So, start to think about how you can help your clients become more successful.

Follow up promptly, and I mean promptly. Recently I had a meeting with the MD of a major NZ engineering firm. On leaving the meeting, just as I was exiting the car park, my phone buzzed and the follow-up note had arrived in my inbox. The speed of the follow-up blew me away and was impressive.

Make your follow-up notes collaborative. One of the most simple and successful tools I share with my clients is what we call Confirm & Clarify (CC) notes. In sending a post-meeting or post-call follow-up, we bullet point the main area discussed, with the next steps as agreed in the meeting below that. However, the main twist we give is starting the note with something like, “Below is a summary of what we discussed and the next steps. Please let me know if I’ve misheard or misunderstood anything, or if you have anything further to add?” It’s simple, it engages the other person to participate and maintain the conversation, and it’s not only good manners, but it demonstrates your reliability.

They never cut and paste the company spiel. Only this week I received one of the worst prospecting emails imaginable. “Hello (insert name) I want to set up a call with our Director, to discuss these awesome things our product does…” Next came the long list of technical features and wizardry that meant nothing to me at all. So, clearly I won’t be taking that call. There was absolutely no indication whatsoever that they had any idea who I was or what I do.

Great salespeople make targeted calls that engage the other person and get them talking. Or they email something they have thought about that is tailored differently to every client and prospect, and most likely doesn’t mention their own product. They offer value through help or shared insights, which means you want to meet or engage with them further.

If I was to summarise these main habits there are two key areas to focus on: 1) Organise your day. Have time set aside for key sales tasks. 2) Think client first; your product or service second.

Ben Paul is the Director of The Business of Trust New Zealand, and has over 17 years experience in both NZ and the UK in business development, sales and as a coach/facilitator/mentor.

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