The December Burn

It came early this year............the end of the year burn-out.  The Holiday Season brings an interesting mixture of my favorite time of year, combined with the end of the year sales hustle.  Now is the time when we hustle for every last opportunity left for this year, and really begin looking into next year.  Not to mention that we're all running on fumes at this point, with a much needed kick-start.

School is winding down for the semester, kids are home more, the weather is changing, decorations are out, Christmas music is on, extended family is getting together...............all of these things bring a distraction that we're not used to eleven months out of the year.  I always do a mass cleanout of computer and paperwork after Christmas, which leaves me right now with more of a mess than ever since "I'll get to it later."  I think we all go through a similar cycle this time of year.

So why do I enjoy it so much?  First of all, because of everything I mention in the paragraph above.  Second, simply because it's a change of pace.  Something different.  A challenge that I struggle to manage every year but always seem to get a little bit better than last year.  And third, because things are about to start over.  We're about to get a "do over."  January 1 for us means everything goes back to zero.  Everything thats been turning us in circles and consuming our focus gets put in a different persepective.  Some years, going back to zero is like a punch in the stomach.  That is, some years are good, and some years are great.  On the great years, good news turns to old news overnight.  And yes, some years you are happy to get behind you....and the do-over is much needed.

Regardless of the good years and bad years, a clean slate is exciting.  It means we get to start succeeding or start sucking right now, all over again.  It's amazing how a short break over Christmas and New Years can fill your tank, and bring the excitement back to everything we do.  I guess we just all need a good excuse to start over sometimes, to get a clean slate, and to start off better than we did last year.

The Red-Eye Adventure

So we're going to see how this one works, and we're going to see very soon. An unforeseen scheduling conflict has me flying on a red eye that departs from Los Angeles at 1:00am and arrives in Dallas at 6:00am.........just in time for a very important 9:30am presentation.

My objectives for the night are: fine-tune my presentation, sleep when I can, and strategically pump coffee so that I don't crash until approximately 11:00am tomorrow........in no particular order. Perhaps I'll be so wired that I will deliver my best presentation ever? Perhaps I'll win the project and develop a superstition that forces me to pull an all-nighter the night before every important presentation?

As miserable as I may be tomorrow afternoon, events like this are one of the many great things about sales. You just never know where the sales adventure will take you. When it comes time for the presentation, nobody will care how I got there, or what my previous 12 hours were like. They will only care to hear why they should buy from me. Now I just have to go win.

as Mr. T would say.............

I love it when a plan comes together.

This is one of the most gratifying parts of sales. When a big opportunity arises, we round up the troops, and devise what we think is the best possible plan to win that opportunity. Decide who is involved and who is not, and who does what. Not everyone can be in the middle, or at the forefront. Egos get pushed aside, and strengths get utilized. These are big decisions, and will be reflected on..........win or lose. It's known that in sales, we lose more than we win. So we are accustomed to questioning our decisions after the fact.

But we do win. And when we win, we give high-fives, congratulate each other.........and reflect on what a good job our team did. The strategy worked, and everyone did their job. The plan came together. Success like this is why we love our jobs.

At Some Point.......

I've always believed that in sales, there's no such thing as No.  I've practiced it, I've preached it, and I've believed it.............the answer is always Yes.  I'm learning that at some point, you have to say No.  Business is not built by agreeing to everything, it's built by agreeing to the right things.  This is a difficult lesson for me, as I tend to see the upside in everything..........even when an upside barely exists.

Saying No to a client goes against everything a sales person has engrained within them.  It's uncomfortable, and virtually unnatural.  We will avoid this at all costs, and with any luck, will only have to embrace it on an infrequent basis.

Todays marketplace is one where we are all trying to extend the resources that are available.  From a buyers perspective, this means to get more for your dollar, which means negotiate diligently with your vendors.  From a business perspective, this means there are fewer dollars to give out.  Marketing, PR, Entertainment, Incentives, etc.... are all fighting for these dollars.  This has created a dynamic of an increased number of requests and a decreased number of acceptances to these requests.  Hence, an increased rate of having to say No.  It's not easy, it's not fun, and in some cases it's not understood.  But it's business, and we'll learn to get better.

I don't think saying No will ever become natural, and it will always be the last resort.  But, I'm learning what "some point" is, and how to make the best of it.

Give Yourself a Chance

There is enough working against you. The economy. The competition. The dollar. The perception. These are out of your control, but there are many things in your control. When you're in control make wise decions, use logic, cooperate, and pick your battles.

Save your strength to fight the uncontrollable factors that we face every day. Identify the gimme's, and use them to your advantage. Fighting the petty things will only suck time, energy, and morale.

Get out of your own way, and use challenges as a path to success rather than a roadblock to redirect. We must recognize who is here to help, and who is working against you. The obstacles will never go away, we can only make them less effective by maneuvering more efficiently. There is no room for things that bring us down, they must be removed from our daily routine. If the factors that you control in life are working against you, you are setting yourself up for failure. Eliminate them, and give yourself a chance to succeed.

Off Guard

Today's technology allows us to have everything we need at out fingertips. 6+ years ago, it was actually realistic (though not really excusable) to be caught off guard. In those days you may have traveled without your laptop or important files. Then you get an unexpected phone call in which you need to reference something you left behind. It's funny to think back to those times, and remember the different things we would have to do to access resources. Remember having documents faxed to your hotel, scanning them, hooking up to someone's dial up internet and sending them?

Our technology today eliminates the chance of us getting caught off guard. If you invest in the right resources, and learn the current applications available........you will actually "dummy proof" yourself from ever being stuck. There is very little that you're not able to do with a smartphone and a tablet. Of course, sometimes you must be forced to rely on these before you truly realize their power.

Invest, and take time to research the newest apps. This is an ongoing process as new apps are added everyday. Some of them a game changers. They eliminate the excuses.

The Social Animal - by David Brooks

This book hurt my brain, and actually destroyed my reading habits over the past couple of months.  I knew after a few pages that ultimately, this book was over my head.  But, I took it on as a challenge...........something new.  Several times throughout the book I wanted to toss it, but I pushed through, forcing myself out of my comfort zone.  But now, I have conceeded failure.  After 469 pages, out of 569 total..........with only 100 pages left, I cannot tolerate it anymore.  I will not throw good time after bad.

The book is well written, and very interesting, simply communicated on a level deeper than I care to comprehend.  If you're up for a challenge, dive in.  Let me know when you're done, as I'd love to know how it ends.

He Didn't Want It

I interviewed a potential sales rep today.  He was very well-spoken, and I believe he could be a sales asset in most organizations.  But, he didn't sell me that he wanted the job.  Why?  He arrived to the interview 10 minutes late, dressed in an open-collared shirt and corduroy slacks..............for real.

Interviews are the most important sales presentations that we ever prepare for.  If you need a job, or simply want a change.......you should be on your "A" game and sell youself.  If this is how he prepares for an important presentation, how will he prepare for the day-to-day presentations.

Happy Clients

We sell for a living.  Selling a product/service is our source of income, and provides for us.  But selling is not our job.  Making clients happy is our job.

We identify a potential client that has a need that we may be able to fulfill.  We insist that we have the best product to meet their need.  They trust in us, and buy our product.  Then what?  We've only begun...........

If we think that we have won at that point, we have a long career of finding new business ahead of us.  We will now succeed or fail based on the happiness of the client after you have delivered the product.  At this point, nothing else in our world should matter............only happiness.  Success will follow.

If My Team Can't Do It, Nobody's Can

If my team can't win. If my team can't overcome. If my team can't solve. If my team can't perservere. Whatever "it" is, you need to have the best team to accomplish "it."

The are so many different aspects of sales, and it's hard to be the best in every facet. Every team member has their own strengths and weaknesses.......and there's always room for improvement. I don't believe that a team is only as good as it's weakest link, as we're all weak in some respect as individuals. I believe a team is only as good as our biggest weakness as a whole.

As a team, we should all be identifying our weaknesses, and do what's necessary to improve upon them. Perhaps it's focus, or responsibilities, or resources, or personnel. Whatever it may be, it won't fix itself.

The strengths are what will pull you through to victory. Improving the weaknesses will only make the path to victory that much shorter and easier. As each weakness is improved, reevaluate and repeat.

Fair-Play

One of the first lessons we ever learn.  Cheaters never win.  We're not kids anymore, but this rule lives with us every day.

I may be missing something, but I believe sales is the largest platform in which cheating vs. fair play may exist.  For sales people, sales is life. Sales is winning and losing.  A win might mean a nicer car, or it might mean they can simply provide another meal for their family that week.  It's not uncommon to win at all cost in sales.

I understand that cheating in athletics is widespread, by all parties involved.  And a win or loss might mean the coach losing their job, or a player getting drafted.  Stakes are high, therefore cheating is looming around.  But there are far more sales people providing with each win than there are athletes/coaches with jobs on the line.  In athletics, there are governing ordinances which may not eliminate cheating, but definitely reduces it.  In sales, as long as you're not breaking the law you're probably OK.  The medical industry now has strict anti-kickback laws which have helped, but most other industries have nothing.  What prevents a sales person from lying to earn your business?  What prevents a sales person from offering service and warranty's the company will never live up to?  What prevents a sales person from turning their head at foul-play when it benefits them?

The primary mediator of cheating vs. fair-play in everyday sales is our own individual moral characters.  Meanwhile, we have learned that we were lied to as kids, and cheaters can win.  Cheaters can win big houses and nice cars.  Cheaters can win your business.  As long as cheaters are OK being cheaters, they can win.

A successful sales person does not always equal a successful person.  A winner does not always equal a winner.  A loser does not always equal a loser.  Character always equals character.

You Never Know

One of the great things about sales is all of the various people that you come in contact with.  Time spent on the road with colleagues, getting to know them and their families.  With some, you will spend extensive time over the course of many years.  With others, you will have minimal contact on occassion.

After doing this for several years, it's fun to look back and think of the people that I've gotten to know.  It's interesting to think where they were then, where they are now, and where they're trying to go.

You never know the impact that your encounter(s) with these people may have on them long term.  Hopefully a positive one.  To think that your time spent with them may somehow shape "where they go from here" is pretty cool.  I learned early in my career not to burn any bridges, with the mindset that "you never know who might one day be your boss."  But I'm learning to take "you never know" on a different level.

You never know who todays actions are going to impact, in what way, and for how long.  You never know if the time you spend with a new person today is going to have an impact on where they go.  Keep this in mind, as you may have more impact than you think.

Own It

Mistakes happen.  You will be involved, be it majorly or minorly, in these mistakes.  What you do with them is a key in forming the type of person you are, both in your business and in your personal life.

For many, first instinct is to run, duck, or point blame when mistakes are exposed.  It seems that the avoidance process is exhausting, and lingers with you for a long time.

I've found that owning up, regardless of your level of responsibility, is far less painful.  Recognizing a mistake, owning up, and initiating corrective measures builds everyone's loyalty and confidence in you.  If the plumber you hire makes a mistake and does everything necessary to get it fixed, you will hire that plumber again without hesitating.  If the plumber blames the countertop guy and avoids the situation, you will never work with him again.

It doesn't really matter if there are other parties who are also at fault.  If you're name is associated, it's well worth your time and effort to make sure the mistake gets fixed.  All that matters is that things you are involved in end correctly.  Take ownership, and watch things end better than they would otherwise.

Jump

All clients are important. All issues are important. All problems are critical.

Having said this, some need more urgency than others. Some need to hit red-alert status. When it hits red-alert time, some salespeople duck their head for cover and wait until it blows over before resurfacing. These salespeople can have success over the long run, but their level of success will hit a ceiling called "average."

Successful salespeople know that red-alert time means gather the troops, instruct an action plan, and don't let up until the action plan has been executed. Evaluate the plan during the execution, and redirect if needed, but never never let up.

Now, when it's over, maybe your plan worked and maybe it didn't. Maybe you diverted the disaster and maybe you didn't. Maybe your client is happy, and maybe they're not. If not, start over until everything is right and everyone is happy.

When a client says jump, don't ask how high or how many times. Just keep jumping until they smile.

The Good News

It's not everyday that we get to deliver good news.  I mean really good news where you come out the hero.  When the opportunity comes to do so, we learn to cherish it.

Unfortunately we are all faced with such high demands and expectations, that overachieving only equals par.  When all the moons and stars align, you hit the target and keep the peace.  This is what we now expect.  I have no complaints, as it's simply the business environment that we are accustomed to.  With this, the times that you are able to overdeliver in such a way that clients are outwardly impressed are much more gratifying.

It's one thing to infer, it's another thing to promise, but it's a whole different game when you deliver.  And the momentum follows you.

If I Were You

This is one of my least favorite exercises. You know what I'm talking about......"if I were you, I would have done (whatever)." There are some cases where it can be constructive. During a brainstorming session of strategy, if a teammate says "if I were you I think I might consider (whatever)." As long as it's prior to the event, looking at how to approach going forward. I don't think it's ever constructive after the fact.

I catch myself starting to do it every now and then, and very consciously stop myself and re-phrase. Actually, one of the rare times I get defensive is when somebody says it to me after the fact. How do you know that's what you would have done? Do you know all of the surrounding circumstances? If that's what you would have done, why didn't you do it last time you were in a similar situation??

When used after the fact, this phrase can only knock somebody down......I don't think it does anything to build someone up. It's like "I told you so" but maybe even worse because you didn't try to warn me prior to.

Anyone can look at someone else's event and tell them what they would have done differently after the event didn't go well. You don't hear them say what they would have done differently if the event did go well.

I understand the intent, and that it's often meant to be constructive. I think there are better ways to phrase, position, and time it.........in many cases anyways.

Inspiration Lost

Some days it's hard to get inspired.  Hopefully these days are few and far between, and when they do come, hopefully you can point to the root cause of your slump.  When you're having one of these days, what is the best thing to do?  Do something relaxing to pull you out of the slump?  Take a nap?  Fight through it and risk less than quality work?

I don't know the answer, but I tend to try to fight through it.  I do find myself making errors or being sloppy/lazy during this time.  Take this post as a good example, can you tell I don't have much in the tank?  Generally my root cause is lack of sleep, so I think it would be best if I just slept it off............but I don't see that ever happening.

Integrity in a Bottle

INTEGRITY - adherence to moral and ethical principals; soundness of moral character; honesty.

If 7-Eleven sold integrity in a bottle, would people buy it?  My opinion is No, not for themselves anyway.......... and here's my theory why:

We buy Energy in a bottle, Muscle in a bottle, Hair in a bottle, Skinny in a bottle, Complexion in a bottle, Happy in a bottle, etc....  Each of these things represent something in which either: (1) we have little to no control over our ability to achieve these on our own, or (2)  Achieving them is easier with a little supplemental assistance.

Integrity is a personal choice that we get to make every day.  It doesn't take a certain skill, it's not genetic, and there are no real excuses that excuse us from it.  Being tired, stressed, flustered..........doesn't even impact integrity.  We choose whether we want to act upon ethics, moral code, professionalism, and honesty.  Every day we make this choice.  Even someone who has historically not acted with integrity, can change today.

So going back to my question, we would likely buy Integrity in a bottle with the intention of slipping it into someone else's drink.............but never for ourselves.  We already have it, it's up to us to use it.

Disappear and Produce

This an appropriate follow-up to my multi-tasking post from yesterday.  I do better when I'm running.  Of course I get a lot done on days when I'm in front of my computer all day........but my production/time ratio loses efficiency.  I get lost is a lull of going from project to answering incoming emails, back to the project, back to emails, etc...  I find myself staring at my computer looking for something to break the monotony and sparks some creativity.

Days when I can get 1-2 hours of quiet computer time, then attend meetings, back to the computer, back to meetings, and so-on.........are by far my most productive days.  Disappearing for an hour or two to get things done, mixed with colleague/client interaction in between........keeps the business metabolism constantly firing.  By keeping a general list of to-do's, along with an immediate list of to-do's following each meeting............and then crossing them off task by task during the downtime.............you are constantly working toward both short-term and long-term goals.  Prioritize projects, and be quick to adjust priorities.

Disappear, avoid distractions, and get things done.  Otherwise, the to-do list builds up and becomes discouraging to even look at.

Multi-Tasking with Errors

Multi-tasking makes the world go round.  I'm pretty convinced that if I can perform more tasks than you at any given time, I will beat you.  I know this isn't the case if I'm making mistakes along the way while you are doing everything perfectly.  Sometimes, messy and quick still wins..........but I think I bank on that too often.

Yesterday I was hosting a conference call, answering an email, and sending a text all at the same time.  Later in the evening I came across the text I sent and was shocked at what the "auto-correct" function on my phone sent on my behalf.  Luckily, this time, it wasn't sent to a colleague or client.  It was shocking enough to make me realize I need to slow down and proof more often.

It also got me thinking that if I was negligent on the text, I probably was not on my A-game during the conference call or the email communication.  Sure, I got more done.  But, was it counter-productive?

Fundamentals

I am very, very guilty of this.  "Think outside of the box."  This is something I strongly believe in, always encourage, regularly practice, and remind others of.  To stay one step ahead, we must always be foreward thinking and beat our competitors to the punch.  Thinking outside the box is one of the key ways to get there before they do.

Having said this, I catch myself LIVING outside the box.  All of a sudden I realize that the creative approach that I took to get there, was a much longer or exhaustive route to take than the norm.  Next thing I know I either got beat getting there, or I'm beat up when I arrive putting me at a disadvantage when taking the next step.

My life in sports from Kindergarden through College, my coaches always harped on fundamentals.  We get lazy, cute, confident, lethargic........and the first thing to go is our fundamentals.  "This is too easy, anyone can do this, I can do this in my sleep, I need to find my own way..........a better way" are common thoughts at some point.  Fundamentals are the practices that you learned and mastered early on, that got you where you are, and that will continue to take you where you want to go.  When you take the fundamentals for granted, you get beat.

We must keep within our fundamentals of business.  Keep doing what we do well, what got us here, and always continue to try to improve on those things.  Thinking outside the box is crucial to improvement.  But don't go so far, or stay so long, that you lose sight of your fundamentals.

I Want I Can

We all have a million reasons why we can't do something, or more specifically, why we can't sell something.  Every product and every company has limitations.  Those who focus on the limitations will not go anywhere.  You must make the most out of your strengths, focus on your benefits, and be confident in why you can sell.

I believe it's a defense mechanism, a built in excuse.  It's not my fault, it's the fault of the challenges in which I'm up against.  Wrong.  We can't let our limitations and challenges hold us back.  This is an endless spiral that leads to repetitive failure.  I want to hear why you can.  I know I can, and I have a million reasons why.

Company Politics

Any company with 3 employees or more will experience some form of company politics.  These politics can be one of the greatest limitations that prevent your company from achieving the next level............if they're not managed properly.  But when handled in a correct manner, they can actually provide a great platform to prove yourself.  Politics are a drag, and likely my least favorite part of the corporate world.  But they will always be, and must be embraced.

You don't have to be a politician to survive company politics.  You must simply decide what you stand for, what your goals are, what your beliefs are, where your loyalties lie, and what manner you wish to represent yourself................and then stick with it.  Those that waiver or perceive to be following the popular direction may see short-term success, but will have an uphill battle to leadership.

An abbreviated formula to succeed in company politics is:  BE YOURSELF + BELIEVE IN YOUR DIRECTION + LEARN WHO YOU CAN AND CAN'T TRUST

Oh yeah, and try not to get caught up in company politics..........they take time away from selling.

Time Well Spent

None of us have enough time.  In sales, running out of time can cost you big.  Because of this, time management skill is one of the biggest factors that will separate the best from the rest in sales.  In fierce competition, every second counts.  Every phone call, every email, every appointment............will lead to either an advantage or disadvantage against your competition, depending on the results.

We get caught up in traveling just to travel, and seeing people just to see people.  Somehow that turned into "what we do."  This is counterproductive in so many ways, if the reason for our visit doesn't have a substantial objective towards business in sight.  Consider this, each time your scheduling a meeting or trip.  What is your objective?

With todays economy this is even magnified.  Not only do we have the time justification, but now add the tightening of expenses to the equation.  Every dollar must be accounted for, and attributed to winning business.  There is no time to waste and no money to burn.  The sales people who make the most of their resources will win in the end.  And, they'll be happier doing it............as good time management equals happy lifestyle.

The Scramble

Some mornings get out of control, and I find myself scrambling just to get done the things I must get done and get out the door. To a lot of people this may be common and a part of their daily routine. But for me, this is far from normal.....and is a sure fire way to get me off my game.

For those of you who read my post from a few months ago titled "The Agenda" you can tell I'm a little anal about accomplishing tasks in a methodical fashion. Mornings like this morning don't flow with my plans. For sure, it is more likely to happen when I'm on the west coast due to a heavy workload coming in from the east coast and central.......which was the case this morning.

Some mornings I thrive in the scramble, and some mornings I get buried. Regardless, these mornings are generally productive, and provide an extra boost of wake-me-up. I just wish I could find a way to prepare for them. But then I guess I would no longer have to scramble.

**. Note to self: walking through the Las Vegas airport in flip-flops is a risky move. This means you must walk on the nasty carpet at the security checkpoint barefoot.

Evaluating Stress

Outside of work I'm not much of a worrier. I can take things in stride. It's a good thing since I do enough worrying inside of work to last me for a while. Sales and management both bring enough challenges that can present stress if you allow them to. It's interesting that the majority of stress that has historically gotten the best of me is not related to winning or losing a sale. It's actually the execution and customer service after the sale that will get to me. I'm not sure why this is? I can't say there are many cases in which execution and customer service have gone down a negative path. I think it's me being a control freak, and I don't have full control of these aspects of the job. The lack of control likely brings on the stress.

So, recently I have found myself stressing less than I have in the past. Not taking things likely, and not placing less importance. It's actually the same intensity of stress, but for a shorter period of time. In the past, I would have lost a week of sleep. Recently, it will only be two days. After these two days something happens subconciously where I just release the stress (or control) and keep faith that things will work out for the best. I don't walk away, I still work as hard as ever to see it through........I just stress about it far less. I haven't decided yet if this is a good or bad thing.

In evaluating it, I come up with only a few possibilities for the reason this change is occurring:

1. I have full faith that my team will do whatever it takes to execute positively
2. I've learned that effort is the only thing that makes a difference, and stress does not help
3. I've subconciously tried to decrease the amount of stress in my life for the health of me and my family
4. I care less about the final outcome than I used to

I don't know the answer. I can pretty confidently say that it's not #4. I would love for it to be #3, but I'm not so sure. I think it's really a combination of #'s 1 and 2. It's on my radar now, and it will stay there until I can figure out the cause for sure. Sometimes stress is a bi-product of passion. And passion is a competitive edge that I will never be willing to sacrifice.

The Advantage of Tenure

Some of the most inspiring sales stories that I hear include the words "I've been buying from that guy for years."  This simple phrase has so many complex implications that can be used for motivation.  We know how difficult it is to overcome, last, thrive, and excel in the marketplace of sales...........and to hear of accounts where salesman has achieved this is impressive.  Sure, it happens all the time.  But even these countless cases are the rare exception to the cases where a salesman jumps around from company to company or gets chewed up and spit out of the intense sales world. 

The sales people that are able to overcome all of the challenges year in and year out have such an advantage over everyone else trying to sell into their market. Years of proven success and happy clients can be the silver bullet in their bag of weapons.  They have proven themselves time and time again, and will always be the safe choice.  In many cases, they now have a long list of friends that will always come to them first.

I admire these sales people with long tenure in their field.  Being one of these people is a long-term goal that we should all strive for.

Everythings Better with a Smile

Subconciously, we are always going steer in the direction of a person smiling rather than a person not smiling.  A smile has some sort of gravitational pull that pulls people in, and has them wanting to smile when they get there.  They want to know what you're smiling about, and if it's something that they may want to smile about as well.  If a person seems to always be smiling, then we actually want to be around that person as often as we can because something going on around them is worth smiling about...........and we want to be a part of it.  If you want to meet people, all you have to do is smile at them and the introduction becomes much warmer.  Things are always better when I'm around the smiling people in my life.

**  On our family (of 5) vacation a couple of weeks ago I tried to get Marriott to upgrade my family to a 2-bedroom suite.  I worked every angle, and it just wasn't happening due to being a holiday weekend.  This week, while traveling alone, they were very excited to inform me that they had upgraded me to a 2-bedroom suite.  Awesome.

Day-to-Day

Some days ideas, thoughts, energy, emotion...........just comes bolting out of you uncontrollably, and affects the room around you positive manner.  Other days, it's as if you no longer care enough to have a constructive conversation, and you bring everyone around you down.  The strange thing is that the passion for your objective can be the exact same on both days........it's actually just a difference in your physical or mental state from day to day.

Luckily, I don't have many of the negative days, but they do happen to us all.  I'm sure it has to do with lack of sleep, poor nutrition, or some other health related factor.  Today was actually a great day, but for some reason it made me think of time wasted during past days that weren't as great.

So, when will we be able to buy creativity in a bottle?  Will somebody please invent this jolt of productivity that we can grab at 7-11 whenever we run out?  I love these days, and need the formula to re-create them at will.

Out of Sight

Social media is making it easier to overcome one of the factual challenges of sales.  "Out of sight, out of mind" is real, and it's true in all aspects of our life.  In sales, this poses a huge challenge because we stay so busy trying to touch so many different people through so many different avenues.  It can be argued how much luck, timing, preparation, etc.... play a role in your everyday sales success.  But, nobody will argue the out of sight factor.

In "old school" sales, the only ways to stay in front of multiple clients all the time was through advertising, phone calls, and mail.  When I started in sales, email was already a common tool, which created an efficiency in staying in touch that was lightyears ahead of years before.  Now with social media, if you truly want to stay in touch..........you have no excuse not to.  It is so readily accessible, and everyday it gets easier.

Of course, social media does not help with client relationships, and will never replace the live phone calls and written letters.  These types of personal communication will always stay at the root of all sales.  But, it does help overcome the "out of sight, out of mind" factor that only advertising used to.  We should all learn how to utilize social media better, because all of our competitors already have.

Be Successful Sooner

Yesterday I completed a conference that I attend each year, which is always lead by one of my favorite speakers, Mike Hajek.  One of the many things he said that got my mind racing was "Be Successful Sooner."

We're always planning, preparing, strategizing, developing............for the future..........and we should never stop doing that.  But being successful in the future does not do much for our concerns today.  We should always have a plan, but we shouldn't be satisfied with "having a plan."  I'm guilty of this.  If I can answer "No, I didn't achieve that yet, but I have a plan," I somehow feel that I've justified not accomplishing my task yet.  I'm buying time.

We need to hold ourselves and others more accountable on today's success.  Why are we putting it off?  Don't plan to plan today, plan to succeed today.

**  I'm extremely loyal to American Airlines, but what is up with every single flight having some sort of maintenance delay these days?  Every flight, it's getting irritating.   

Bonehead Move

How is it that we face important decisions, crucial conversations, and game-changing meetings everyday..........yet we can still make the biggest bonehead moves regarding elementary tasks?  I'm talking about the tasks that are second nature, that should have no impact on your day...........they should just happen, naturally.  Yet, you can lose your mind for a split second, give an answer that you (by nature) know is incorrect, and then carry on your business without thinking about it.

My guess is that this doesn't happen often to any of us.  But, when it does, it will knock you down a couple of notches as you recall how you let that happen.

Yep, it happened to me today.  All I can say is sometimes we move too fast, with our focus on the big picture, and our minds on strategic growth, and goals of business development, and many other "important" responsibilites...........we let little things slide by without much attention.  Here's to more attention on the little things!!

**  Here's what happens when my 6-year old helps me pack, and I ask him to match some black dress socks for me.  I should check next time before leaving town............but, I guess it could have been worse.

The Gut Feeling Roller Coaster

I find that important opportunities, whether because of their $$ impact or their prestige......always come with a roller coaster of emotion. Especially in my case where I try to read into every act, every call, every email, every bit of communication pertaining to my chances of winning the business. What does this mean for me? What can I do now? Are they pleased? Are they disappointed? Are they closer to the competition? All of these questions rush through my mind with every conversation. Part of it is me being paranoid, part is me being a control freak.....but the biggest factor contributing to my anxiety is the fact that I want to find any hint within context that can initiate my next move that may give me a leg up.

Throughout this roller coaster, one thing remains my measuring stick......my gut feeling. It is always present, and always obvious. But, it changes every day, and sometimes every hour.....even regarding the same opportunity. I adjust my next actions based on this. I call in the troops or lay low depending. My aggressiveness, passiveness, and overall strategy are ever changing along with my gut. It's not always right. In fact, I can't even say that it's usually right. I just know it guides me, and I always follow, regardless of the direction it's leading me.

With this comes the low of the gut feeling roller coaster. This is the worst feeling, where every ounce of your gut says you're not going to get the business, though it's not yet been confirmed. This is the equivalent to a non-violent stomach flu, where it's not possible to get comfortable and you can't even think about eating or drinking. The only way the discomfort subsides is to receive the confirmation that you either won or lost. When the hope is to get that call, knowing that the news may be bad news, the impact of the gut feeling is put in perspective. Now I'll say this is all part of the fun and intrigue of sales. This stage is usually the predecessor to the celebration of the victory or the reflection on what went wrong.

**. A vacation is not the only way to recharge your battery. Sometimes just hanging out with the right people having the right conversations will do the trick.

For Granted's Sake

Here's one of my biggest weaknesses...........I take things for granted.  This is true for me in all aspects of life.  I tend to either:  Identify, accomplish, move on............or Identify, delegate, forget.  Both pose a problem in the long run.

Where's my follow up?  In sales specifically, without following up, I'm negelecting one of the easiest controllable factors in gaining an edge.  When I accomplish the task I move on, usually don't give it a second thought, but even when I do..........I rarely do anything about it.  I convinced myself a few years ago that "no news is good news," but I now know that's incorrect and was simply and easy way to justify my own lack of follow up.

When I delegate, my removal from the task magnifies.  I take for granted that the task is going to be accomplished to everyone's satisfaction.  My justification that "no news is good news" is now once removed, and I even convince myself that others are following up.

I am now on a mission to change this.  Not because I've recently been burned by not following up, or because my team is not satisfying every request............but because I can't continue to take things for granted.  I always talk about follow up, it's importance, and it's impact.  The fact that it's in our control and there's no reason to not use it as a key weapon in our arsenal.

I've caught myself not practicing what I preach, and that's reason enough to change.  So, I'll need to change my system of saving/deleting/red-flagging emails and voicemails........obviously my current system needs to be tweeked.  No more taking for granted, it does the same as assuming.  We'll see how this goes, I'll report back (or you can report for me).

**  Latest celebrity spotting was Mike Modano, sitting near me on a flight last week.

Friendship Through Business

The best type of relationship in sales..........is a friendship.  Master of the obvious, I know.  But, I can't stress the impact this has.  Not only on business and success, but on the overall pleasure of your job.  In sales you meet tons of people, thats your job.  The hope is to build a repor, and ultimately trust.  But when it turns into a true, genuine friendship.........it stops being work.  Sure, you still need to work to service, honor, and live up to the trust that you've earned.  But things change as you visit, share, laugh, and care as friends do.

These friendships don't come around everyday, and should be treasured when they do.  To me, these friendships are the most gratifying part of sales.  Yes, the most gratifying.  Not every profession allows you the opportunity to meet people from all over and build friendships through business.

**  Facetime on the Iphone is one of the many technological advances that has greatly improved my life, as seeing the family face to face while traveling is priceless.

What's More Important than Sales?

There are not many days that go by that I don't think about sales, in some form or fashion, at some point during the day.  Whether it's specific to opportunties that I'm working on, what I have in the upcoming days, or what I can be doing to get better.  And, you won't find many posts on this blog that are non-sales related.

Family..........that's what's more important than sales.  And sometimes for a stubborn guy like me it takes something excessive to slap me in the face and open my eyes to this.  Earlier this week my 6-year old son was admitted into the hospital.  And for a day or so, it was fairly serious.  Wow!!  An eye opener.  Suddenly, work didn't matter, sales didn't matter, nothing mattered..........except for him.  It was a true stop-down, shut everything off, pray, and love.  There was nothing else.

Times like these bring you back to reality.  It exposes the lack of control to a control freak like me.  Helpless, with nothing but faith and doctors to rely on.  My family is so blessed to have the friends and support system to pull us through times like that, we were overwhelmed by the blessings.

Thank you to everyone for the prayers.  Jack is back to being Jack, happy, healthy and 100 miles per hour.

**  Airport celebrity spotting of the day:  Calvin Hill (again) and Joe Buck.

A Sales No-No

I witnessed an unbelievable sales blunder today.  We're talking a career killer.  An established supplier moves an existing account rep into a new territory.  The new account rep walks into the office of one of the top clients in the territory and proceeds to explain how they will and won't do business, how he is an extremely busy guy, and that he may or may not be able to respond to requests within 24 hours.

Hmmm.  This one is almost not worth writing about, but it makes me think that if this guy believes that is OK......other people may think this is OK?  Surely not.

I've written about this time and time again, but we must remember that the hardest part of our job should always be:  finding a client who has a need for our product, that can afford our product, and that is willing to spend the money for our product.........period.  Earning their trust and finding a way to help them purchase our product is the easy part.........for any salesperson. 

Nobody wants to hear how busy we are, how hard our job is, or how you need them to do business.  They only want to hear what you are able to do to make their life easier.

**  Einstein Bros free wifi is terrible.  Tried to work on it for an hour, and it kicked me off every 10 minutes.  Nice effort, and I like the food..........but going to have to do better to turn into an office spot for me.

Strength of a Team

I talk a lot about team, I know it gets redundant.  But, I feel that strongly about it.  Perhaps it's because I played team sports my entire life?  Perhaps it's because I recognized that I'm stronger with others than I am alone?  Perhaps I need the camaraderie?  I'm not real sure why exactly, but I can't imagine that this will ever change.

I do realize that not everybody values or understands the dynamics of teamwork equally.  I sometimes take for granted that everyone feels the same that I do, but I come to realization sooner or later.  We are stronger as a team.  I am stronger with you, and you with me.  We can accomplish more, touch more, satisfy more, overachieve more, deliver more, and ultimately...........sell more.  The key is to learn how to utilize each other efficiently.  Recognize how our strengths and weaknesses can be used in tandem.  Identify our roles, and never, never, never........take them for granted.

The minute that you begin working towards your own personal agenda, rather than the teams.........we lose.  The minute you forget that that I'm working for the betterment of the team.......we lose.  The minute that any team member doubts one's intention..........we lose.  When the team is put before the individuals........all of the members win in the end.  I have to take pride and root for your success, as if it's my own.  A team like this is very difficult to beat.

In sports one team will always thrive in a scenario where teammates on the opposing team begin fighting amongst themselves.  Teams that don't root for each other are at a heavy disadvantage.  I know I'm getting into an area of many cliche's.  But, a team of solid role players rooting for each other will almost always beat a team of individuals rooting for themselves.  We win, we lose, we celebrate, and we persevere together.

**  Now that the Mavs are done (CHAMPS!!) I can get back on my normal sleeping schedule.  I have been amazed at how different I've felt the past 3 weeks with losing 1-2 hours of sleep a few times a week.  Already feeling better...........

The Natural

We all know the many characteristics that make a good sales person.  You don't have to be a natural in all of these characteristics to be successful.  You can learn and improve on some weaknesses, and hide other weaknesses by overcoming with your strengths.  The key is desire.  Without desire, your natural abilities don't matter.............and I would also say that with desire, your natural weaknesses don't matter.

Obviously sales people with more natural ability and desire have a shorter path to success than the rest.  You know these people when you come across them, and I love to observe them as often as I can.  These people don't have a choice of profession, they will always be in sales because that's what they're drawn to.  People love to buy from them, and they are always selling whether they know it or not.  They don't have to sell to make a living, they sell because they enjoy it and it comes very easy.

I'm always looking at salesmanship.  What do they do that I can learn from?  What can they change that would help them significantly?  How is the client responding?  How would I be responding if I were the client?  It's fun to watch.

**  I was running through a grocery store in Council Bluffs, IA yesterday when an elderly man waved me down to ask how to use the item in his hand............an onion cooker.  What the?  I have no idea, but tried to figure it out for him .  I was laughing because out of all the people in the store to ask, he chose the guy sprinting with a laptop in his hands running late (long story, but I needed wifi).

No Love Lost

Every now and then, it's brought to my attention that an account (buyer, dealer, distributor, whatever) simply doesn't like a sales rep.  I don't mean doesn't like them like they wouldn't choose to hang out with them on the weekends.  I mean doesn't like them as in would prefer to never have contact with them again.  This type of dislike is not brought to my attention very often, but it is every now and then.  Luckily it's most often brought to my attention as a rep from a different company, but I can't say that I'm completely immune to being in the middle of it.

When it does come up, it always crosses my mind that there are two sides to every story.  What is the reps defense, and was there a misunderstanding along the way?  But, in the end, it doesn't matter.  It is a sales reps job to build enough trust and repor with clients that they will want to buy from them.  The sales rep should adjust to the client, not visa versa.  If they make a mistake, mending the broken trust should become Mission #1 in life.  Mistakes, mis-judgements, bad decisions, misunderstandings.............they all happen.  But with the right approach and care, nothing is irrepairable.

If it's a personality clash, well that's where I come in.  The initiative of this post is totally unrelated to the initiative of yesterdays post "The Square Peg"...........but the correlation is there.  If it's a personality clash that can't be overcome, then the team member is in the wrong role.

**  I think I was meant to live on California time.  Phone starts ringing at 4:30am, slows down by 3:30pm, all televised sporting events are complete by 9pm.  Perfect.

The Square Peg

When a sales team is formed, each person is tasked with a specific role.  Often times, you have a need, and you find the best person available to add to your team.  But too often, we place that person in the role in which we have a need, rather than in a role in which their person is best suited.  It's similar to the common dilemna that takes place for NFL owners on draft day.  Do you draft for position needs, or do you draft the best available.  I'm a fan of drafting the best available with the hopes of obtaining a superstar.........and often times that's the direction NFL owners go.  But, if the team needs a quarterback, and the best available is a running back...........you don't then try to fit the running back into the quarterback position.  Why do we think we can do that in sales?

If you hire the best available, and they don't fit the mold of the exact need you have, you're the one that needs to adjust..........not them.  If you try to fit the so called square peg into a round hole, you only set them up for failure.........yet you're the one that failed, not them.  I'm guilty of this, of course like anyone I don't recognize my own short-comings as quickly as I recognize it from others.  I still believe in hiring the best available, as a superstar is a superstar, and I'd rather them be a superstar on my team.  If you can't adjust the team accordingly, then you should pass on the superstar and recruit based on your needs.  Find a role player that can fit the role you're looking for, and you will put your team in a better position for success.  Easier said than done, I know. 

**  For all you mavs fans - TAKE DAT WIT CHEWWWW......................

Quick Turnaround

There are many opportunities in sales to keep momentum moving in your favor.  Many ways to increase your chances of getting the business.  Obvious ways such as best product, best price, best relationship.  Controllable factors such as presentation, appearance, and follow-up.  Luck such as good timing.

In many cases the best way to keep the momentum is quick turnaround.  This is an extension of follow-up, but contains substance that can close the business or move it on to the next step.  At the conclusion of any successful meeting, there will always be something that you owe the client to move forward.  Hopefully, it's a contract proposal.  The quicker you get this in the hands of the client, the better your chances are of moving into the drivers seat for the business.

Today I met with a client around lunch time.  He's very urgent to get moving, and asked when we could get a proposal to him.  I answered "by lunch time tomorrow" and he was surprised and excited about my eagerness to help keep his project moving.  The stars and moons aligned, and we were able to get a proposal in his hands before the end of business today.  It's too soon to know if we're going to get the business or not, but based on our response I've got to believe that we're in a good position.

We spend our time analyzing the controllable factors in sales, we strictly evaluate the intagible traits of our sales force, and we game plan for new markets in which we can develop.  But we often forget the low hanging fruit of increasing sales..............do a better job with the opportunities which lie in front of us.  We take short cuts and rush through the deliverable busy work.  I know that if we all just execute more efficiently, and a produce with higher quality...........success will follow.

**  cheap italian food + cheap glass of wine = idontfeelsogood

Live in the Now

Sales is about now, recently, lately, today. There is no way to sugar coat this, but the sales world lives by "what have you done for me lately?". This may not be fair, or right, but it's the truth. I have always sold and managed according to this. I know that it doesn't matter what I did 5 years ago, or even last month. In a just world, sales reps get the credit, commission, and accolades accordingly.......and then everyone moves on. EVERYONE forgets, and is only focused on what is next.

As a sales rep , it will work in your favor to initiate the next step, the vision, the goals, the acknowledgement that the past is past. Nobody wants to hear about what you have done, only what you are doing. Generally, when you hear repetitive comments about the past, it's because the present looks vulnerable.

So, as cold-blooded as it may sound, to succeed in sales, you must embrace the "what have you done for me lately" way of life. If you're as good as you think you are, then you should be able to answer that question with pride and confidence. Don't grow complacent. When you land a big deal, congratulate your team, pat yourself on the back, and then start preparing for your next opportunity. Complacency will set you up for defeat.

**. The Texas heat has arrived. The season has begun where a Texas salesperson must take multiple shirts to make it through a day of presentations.

Potential

I think we've been trained to hear "potential" as a compliment, or a positive trait....... I don't believe this should always be the case. Potential must be taken in context. "This new movie has the potential to win an Academy Award"........is a compliment. To be proclaimed as the "potential next CEO of a company" is a positive. And, there are a million other cases in which potential should be used as a positive.

But, to be described as simply "having potential" can be viewed as a negative, or an insult. Pertaining to sales reps and employees, when I ask for feedback from a trusted source regarding a person........if they respond "he has potential" I'm ready to move on and hear about the next person. In this context, potential means he's not quite there. Maybe one day he'll be there, but it's not right now, and we don't know when it might be. Every organization has needs for teammates with potential. These positions are usually entry level or support roles, which will give ample opportunity to grow into their potential.

Don't ever be satisfied when somebody says you have potential. Everybody has potential to do something great. Great people are the one's that exhausted every resource to reach that potential. Potential is a reality check. Potential can be a slap in the face or a warning shot that says "you know what, you could be, you're not yet, but you're not far from it, maybe one day, just maybe.". Having potential should be all the motivation you need to find areas of improvement. Be great, not potentially great.

**. I've missed a week of blogging, and I've truly missed it. My mind has not been as flexible, sharp, and open. I need this brain exercise as often as I can get it.

Recognize Timing

When we're in front of a potential client, there is a point when we reach a determination of whether or not the client is truly a potential buyer at the present moment.  In many cases, a potential client will always be a potential client.  But as is the case with most things in life, timing is everything.  Once you reach a determination that the timing is not right, and the client is not in a postition of interest at that time............it is in everyone's best interest that you conserve time and move on.

The only thing worse than spending time in a situation that will not produce business, is spending additional time scratching and clawing to make something out of nothing.  Everyone's time is extremely valuable.  There is no sense in wasting your time, or the clients time, in a situation where progress cannot be made by either of you.

Suspending your efforts in a polite way out of respect of time is something that will always be appreciated by your clients.  Sensitivity to time and the situation at hand is generally noticed and remembered, and will allow you future opportunities with these clients as opportunities arise.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with pointing out that this is not time well spent by either party, and identifying that you wish to stay in touch and continue these conversations when the timing is more appropriate down the road.

This falls into the category of "it's not all about you."  As salespeople, we all have an agenda that we would like to achieve.  We get lost in trying to accomplish our agenda, and too often forget that it is our job to help the clients achieve their agenda..........not ours.  It's evident when we dig too deep to sway the situation back into our favor, and it rarely works to our favor.

Recognize when the timing is not right, identify that you wish to stay in touch, and move on.  Your clients have more important things to get to, and you have new opportunities to pursue.  Your opportunity to present real value will come.  Stick with it.

**  Today I gave a presentation in a conference room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking an unbelievable view with the backdrop being the "HOLLYWOOD" sign.  This is familiar picture to me, but always from TV and pictures, but so familiar that I felt like I've been there before.  Yet it's always been set apart in my mind as a paradise or a fantasy land.  It raised this question to me:  "for the people that sit here everyday and see this view as normal life, what is their fantasy land?"  It's likely not my hometown.

Positivity

Positivity breeds positivity.  Positivity breeds creative thinking.  Positivity breeds collaboration, momentum, happiness, health, work ethic, team work, willingness, incentive, and atmosphere.  Positivity breeds sales.

In the world of unteachable traits, positivity is among the most valuable.  Sure, isolated from other characteristics lending to sales, positivity doesn't bring much other than a person that others enjoy to be around.  But, combined with other salesmanship qualities, positivity is the trait that binds it all together that makes it a pleasure for clients to call on you for help.

Positivity is fully in our control.  It is our choice how we view and treat various situations, and sure, not all situations can justify a positive spin.  But when presented the opportunity, approach each situation with a positive outlook, and it will greatly benefit the outcome and the environment in which you create around you.

**  6am flights shouldn't really be allowed.  The security lines are only half way open, no airport restaraunts are open, except for Starbucks.  And that lady insisted that she wasn't really open...........she was just taking orders for anyone paying by credit card, which was the entire line...........then she would tell everyone that ordered that she wasn't really open, but was trying to be nice.  She did that all the way up until the time that they were officially open..........with a big fake smile.

So Much More than Selling

It absolutely amazes me when I sit and think about the tasks that we take on as salespeople.  The conotation that comes with the title "Sales Representative" is one of traveling around pitching your product, schmoozing, trying to peddle product to anyone that will listen.  This just isn't the case.

I know this is not isolated to my industry, my product, my markets, or me personally..........and I feel confident that every sales rep will relate to this.  We provide solutions, and are willing to perform whatever tasks are associated with that.  Today I acted as a warehouse broker to try to find a place for product that we sold last year.  Not long ago I spent days collecting pricing on products that I don't provide, from suppliers that I sometimes compete with, in order to increase the chance that my product would be used in a portion of the project.  These are a couple of examples of what we do in sales, that is very much "outside the box" of selling our product.  I sell flooring, it's fairly straight forward.  Yet for some reason my job of selling floors has allowed me to:  become a conisseur of double-faced tape, know what it takes to get a shipment across the border without raising a red flag, continually attempt to sneak a utility knife onto an airplane, lose a corner of my thumb (you'll appreciate that one Jerry), know how to run my house with solar power if desired, learn how many times a tennis ball can be used before not being good anymore and then be used on chair legs............and the list goes on and on.  And all of this comes from attempting to sell flooring in a round-about way.

Having said all of this, I believe that the experiences referenced above are truly why sales people love what they do..........I know it's why I love it.  Of course, I love the golf outings and nice dinners.  But not knowing what curveball I will be thrown tomorrow, or what role I will need to play.............is what truly makes sales enjoyable.  Sales Representative may be your title, but the truth is that you will be whoever you need to be in order to provide solutions to your clients.

**  We all know that airplane food is terrible.  The cheese omelete and the quesadilla are both terrible on an airplane..........how is that even possible?  But surprisingly, the salmon has proven time and time again to be fairly decent.  So strange that they can figure that one out.

I Can't Stop

I'm obviously on a kick about teamwork, accountability, and direction.  These factors are literally consuming my thoughts these days.  This doesn't come as a surprise as we are in the midst of our busiest time of year when business is coming to fruition to either be won or lost.  To be able to send multiple requests to multiple teammates and watch everything come in within a deadline and in perfect detail..........is priceless.  Really, there is not a value that you can place on this.  I'm seeing it happen everyday, and it continues to make everyone better.

This all relies on factors that I've posted about recently:  good people, teamwork, and shared importance.  All of this is necessary to secure the big business.  Small business is easy to come by on a daily basis, without too much outside coordination.    Big business is different.  Every competitor is fighting for the big business, tapping all of their resources, and presenting their A-game.  To compete here, you must have the right people in place to deliver quickly and perfectly.

I am so proud to be a part of this team.  This time of year plays a huge role in our outcome for the overall year.  Seasons like this can build momentum, or leave you wondering where you missed and what you can do better next time.  A month from now I'll have a better idea of how we fared through this season.  For sure, my priorities will be shaped and adjusted based on the outcome.  Until then, I can't imagine having much else on my mind.........other than continuing to utilize the strengths and capabilties of the team.

**  It's taken 4 months to get 1,000 hits on this blog (almost there), that's pretty weak.  What do I need to do to get 1,000 hits in the month of May?  Help spread the word!!!

Is it Important?

Sales is no different than any other team sport, we are only as good as our weakest link.  Every team is made up of multiple individuals, sometimes it's a lot of people............and sometimes only a couple.  Regardless, we all count on each other.  The performance of others carrys a great impact on our individual success.

Within every team, there is a roster of team members, and a line of team leaders.  Each one plays a key role.  In some cases, the entire roster affects the success of the entire roster.  In other cases, individual team members are only impacted by the line of team leaders.  Regardless of the scenario, one factor lies true to the formula of success.........It must be as important to them as it is to you.  If not, you're fighting an uphill battle.

If you find yourself in a position where the overall objective is not as important to your teammates or your team leaders as it is to you, you either:  1) have the wrong objective, or 2) are on the wrong team.  Assuming you aren't mislead by your objective, and are simply on the wrong team.............you are in a situation in which you will never reach your full potential.  We can all work towards everyone else's objectives to be good.  But striving toward the objectives in which we feel passionate about will make us great. 

When evaluating the strength of a team, a leader must ask the simple question:  Is it as important to them as it is to me?  If the answer is yes, then everything else can be worked through to reach the common goal.  If the answer is no, then you are likely on your own in this task, with minimal support.  The same rule applies for team members evaluating their leadership.  That doesn't mean that your objective can't be met, it simply means that you will exhaust more resources in trying to accomplish it.  Once you identify the people that can help you achieve your goal, create a current of momentum that can help carry you..........and bypass the people trying to swim upstream.

**  Renting a car with an expired license is no easy task, but I have successfully gotten around the rule twice in one week.  It seems like the agents at the counter will only put up with my bartering for so long before they move me along.  I don't think company policy is as important to them as it is to their bosses!!

Speech Flaw

I attended a banquet tonight in which I was asked to get up on stage to say a few words regarding my companies business relationship with the host organization.  No problem, rememember a few bullet points, say a few words, smile, and move on.  I went over my bullet-points in my head over and over leading up to, again.......no problem.  I went up to deliver my message to a room of 300+, and I'm sure if you asked anyone in the audience, my 20 seconds on the mic was fine.  As I was walking off the stage, I would have told you the same.  So why is that once I sat down, I realized that I only hit 2 of my 4 bullet points?  Are you kidding me?  I so wanted a do over.  I didn't mess up, I simply didn't take full advantage of a great opportunity.  What a bonehead move.

It puts a great perspective on my post from yesterday, I won't make that mistake again.

I identified tonight that when I get up to speak about a subject, I'm totally comfortable.  But when I get up to say thank you, I'm not comfortable at all.  But why?  I need to figure it out.  Until I do, I'll learn to prepare for the "thank you" speech differently than others.  Lesson learned.

**  I can't figure out this Kansas City Downtown Marriott.  It's connected to another Marriott that sits caddy-corner, but yet neither seem to have a gathering place (restaraunt/bar) in the lobby.  It's like 2 dissapointing hotels joined together hoping to create a mirage of a happening spot.  Not impressed.

Own Up

We're not perfect, we all make mistakes.  What we do with those mistakes determines the final outcome........long-term damage, or negative turned positive.  In sales, it's not different.  I make mistakes everyday, and will make more tomorrow.  Mistakes are not OK, but addressed and corrected mistakes are.  The defitition of a mistake is different to all of us.  In many cases, we get to determine what is a mistake and what is not, and we will justify our position accordingly.

As a sales person, it is not my goal to convince a client to trust me with their business, execute, and be done with it.  It is my goal to gain a clients trust with business, execute, and provide such a positive experience in the overall process that the client will want to trust me with all future business opportunities.  To set the bar to such a high standard that my competitors will have no choice but to fall short if given the opportunity, this is my goal.  When I don't meet this goal, I can generally point to a specific mistake that I made during the process.  Learning from and correcting those mistakes plays a big role in my growth.

Specific to my day today, I took personal ownership in a past mistake, which has left one of my clients with a bitter taste.  My past mistake has put future trust and future opportunities with this client in question........and for good reason.  In a "too-little-too-late" circumstance, I approached the client and let them know that the circumstances experienced were of nobodys fault but mine.  My mis-management allowed the circumstance to escalate to the point of a bad experience.  It was not my hope to earn back future opportunities, as that type of trust takes far more to earn back.  It was not my intention to list challenges faced that were out of my control.  It was only my intention to apologize for the grief caused, to identify that my mistake was at the core of the issue, and to express my regret in how I handled the situation.  I ended by telling the client that I'm better than that, and that I'm sorry that I didn't prove it when given the opportunity.

This initiation of owning up to a mistake was one that I don't have a lot of practice in, and that the client was appreciative of.  I felt that we both sensed a relief from the conversation.  I don't know if I'll ever get the opportunity to work with this client again, but I do believe that the client would answer my phone call or honor a meeting request.  I can say that in full confidence I will not let that mistake happen again.

I disregard many of the mistakes that I make, and discount them as "no harm done."  I learned a lesson in this process...........that no mistake should go unaddressed, as they each present a learning opportunity.  And, the best way to address the mistake is to own up, and set the expectation and accountability that it will not happen again.

**  I see a lot of celebrities in airports, and I'm not really in awe of the celebrity.  But, I am very interested in how they carry themselves when traveling with common-folk.  Do they try to blend in, or try to isolate themselves?  Do they give off a "greater-than-thou" stigma?  This morning I was in the airport Starbucks line with Kevin McHale.  Other than the fact that he is super tall, I would have never noticed him in a crowd.  He seemed like a very nice, very normal guy.

I recommend

REWORK was recommended to me as an "outside of the box" business book.  I thought it was a great read, and kept my attention very enthusiastically.  You must go into it with an open-mind, and be OK with the fact that you will disagree with a large portion of the suggestions.  Simply by reading the introduction you will get an idea of the attitude of this book, with chapter titles such as "Meetings are toxic" and "Good enough is fine."

Regardless of the points that I didn't totally agree with, it was great brain exercise and lent different perspectives that I don't generally consider.  Plus it was entertaining.  Strongly recommend.

Friday Evenings

There are so many gratifying things within what we do.  I'm sure I share the sentiment of many people when I say that one of my favorite things is Friday evenings when I'm in town.  The more challenging the week, the better Friday evening is.  It is the best sense of decompression.

For my family, Saturdays and Sundays are filled with events that keep us running and leave us tired when it's all said and done.  Friday evening for me is the time to put the phone and computer away, sit back, and simply enjoy family and reflect on the week.  I wish I could stay awake longer to enjoy, but I normally crash from exhaustion fairly early.

Now that it's 3pm on Friday afternoon, I already feel more relaxed.  I'm sure every person and every profession feels the same way about Friday evening that I do.

**  Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack all in the same chair at the same coffee shop..........equals........a very productive day catching up on computer work.

Birthday Blessing

In past years I have taken a small portion of my birthday (day) just for myself.    I will normally turn my phone off for an hour or two (something I never do), grab a cup of coffee and a newspaper, and just relax.  It's perfect.  It even seems that I've been out of town on my birthday the last few years, which is fine............because I have still found time to relax.

Today was different, and I wasn't really looking forward to it.  Amy had to leave town for a funeral, which left me on Daddy duty.  Of course I didn't mind, especially during the circumstances you simply do what you need to do.  But, this wasn't the way that I would have chosen to spend my birthday.

Now that I successfully got all of the kids where they needed to go on time, to the right location, and received them back...........successfully............I suddenly realize that this is exactly what I wanted to be doing on my birthday.  I loved hanging out with the kids this morning and taking them to school.  My daughter presented me with a birthday card when I picked her up from school, and her and her teachers performed a rehearsed rendition of "happy birthday" to me.  It was a birthday present that I will not soon forget.

I received so many blessings today from the time with my kids, that I can say it's one of the best birthdays I've had.  It's amazing how these things can creep up on you when you least expect them.  There's no way that I could do the work that my wife does every day, but I think we all had fun with it today.

**  My 6-year old son telling me how to pack his lunch this morning was comical.  He was getting frustrated with me and tried to take over.

I don't make the rules

I was reminded today that clients get to make the rules, not me. As a salesperson, the challenge is finding a buyer who is willing and able to buy your product. Once that is accomplished, following their rules to execute the agreement should be the easy part.

Once they say, "I'm leaning towards giving my business to you, but here are the next steps you must take"..........assuming these steps are within reason.........the hard part is now over and the steps should simply be details.

It doesn't always proceed that easily. For some reason as salespeople we think we get to make the rules. We get caught up in how it's "usually" done, and we don't remain flexible to meet the needs of the client. Then we must get slapped into shape, and reminded that it's not our job to make life difficult, but to appease every reasonable request that makes our clients lives easier. Hopefully, it's a coworker that's slapping us into shape, and not a client.

There are enough challenges in sales, following the rules of a willing buyer should never be one of them. Stay flexible, and remember that you are a solution provider.

**. Remember dinner at the Courtyard last night? Breakfast was much worse. I think this was a new Courtyard with a new design.......and I did not dig it. Hopefully it's a trial design and it gets nixed soon.

Travel Pains

The family life of a traveling salesman is not normal. There is a long list of pro's and con's, and it's definitely not for everyone. One of the con's is not being available to be home when needed unexpectedly. I needed to be home today, my family needed me. There was no reasonable way for me to make that happen. Last night, we didn't even have a hint that I would be needed today........this morning, it was very clear.

90% of the time, it's not a big deal that I'm not in striking distance to home, on the whim of a phone call. We can plan out when I'm absolutely needed, and when I'm not. Today fell into the other 10%. Today was painful, not so much for me, but my family.......and specifically my wife. There is a lot of give and take that comes with this profession, and it's painful when the family takes the brunt.

Like anything, you must measure the value obtained at the end of the pro and con evaluation. Is it worth it?? My family has experienced it for long enough that the question no longer really needs to be discussed, it's nothing new........but that doesn't help during the painful times. When it sucks, it sucks........and there's nothing you can do other than hope that it doesn't suck too often.

There are huge sacrifices being made by every traveling salesman, and especially their family. The sacrifices are the biggest reason to make sure that time on the road is time well spent, and it is our responsibility to make sure that these sacrifices are not being made in vain.

**. When this Courtyard in Fountain Valley told me that they serve dinner downstairs, I was assuming something decent. I'll know better next time.......a very disappointing dinner. Not that it will necessarily change my mind, after all it was the only place in walking distance.

Juggle from the Top

Sure, all sales are different, with different sales cycles, seasons, closing rates, and sales duration. But, we all face similar challenges. Your industry may only call for closing 3 deals per year, or possibly 10 deals per day. I believe it's all relative. We all manage, balance, juggle, track multiple projects at once. Whether you balance 5 or 500 projects at once, the challenge remains. How do you stay on top of everything hot? How do you determine what's hot? How do you prioritize so that nothing falls through the cracks? The answer is.......you don't. Even the best lose track. It's a matter of positioning yourself so that the fewest amount of low priority opportunities are the only ones that are at risk of neglect. For successful, fast-paced salespeople, setting the expectation that nothing gets neglected is an unreasonable request. Just pick, choose, and place your priorities.

Managing projects is often associated with juggling........don't let any opportunities hit the floor. The better the salesperson......the more opportunities.......the more balls in the air to juggle. To prioritize, you must juggle from the top. Look at the big picture from above. Analyze each opportunity carefully, determine it's priority, and decide how much of your time should go into keeping this ball in the revolving circle. From the big picture, what does this opportunity mean? Is it key in you success, your development, your network of opportunities? If not, give it one last good toss and let it remove itself from the circulation. Choose the opportunities that are most important, and put all of your efforts there.

This is not a new or a foreign concept. The 80/20 rule has been preached for years. We just all need reminding, as we all lose focus. Juggling never gets easier, we just get better at it. Like anything, it takes practice, concentration, and your full attention.

** it's funny how the most important thing to me when eating on the road is convenience to my hotel. I'll pick a restaurant that I would normally never choose, if I can walk to it from my hotel. And I'll choose a hotel based on what restaurant I can walk to. Tonight is BJ's, I can work with this.

Wardrobe Edition #1

I've posted about my packing tendancies before, and the importance that I place on my packing efficiency.  Wardrobe issues overall are of huge importance for a traveling salesperson, so I'm starting a Wardrobe Edition to this blog, here's Edition #1:

When packing for a 3 day trip, what is the proper number of pants, sportcoats, ties to take?  First, in my mind these are the only items that bear discussion.  Shirts along with unmentionables must never be re-used......and on the flip-side, the same pair of shoes can be worn every day (keep in mind I'm striving for efficiency to carry on a suitcase rather than check it, and size 12 shoes take up a lot of room).  Here's my strategy:  For a 3 day business trip, you must have 2 sportcoats, 2 pants, and 3 ties.  If - you never see the same person on more than one of the days - you can get by with only 1 sportcoat and less than 3 ties.  You can never take less than 2 pants, and the only variance is to take 3 pants.  On the days you wear the same sportcoat, do not wear the same pants.  And when in doubt - it is possible to get 3 coats, 3 pants, and everything else into a carry-on.........it's just not pretty, and you definitely can't wiggle on the shoes.

**  Along the same line of Starbucks being my comfort-zone...........I'm sad to say that I get very excited when I find new efficient packing/wardrobe ideas.

The Old and the New

If you are selling for a reputable company, you likely benefit from your companies history, references, and existing client base.  These are benefits that we inherit by default, but ulitmately did not have any involvement in.  When evaluating companies to sell for, one of the major factors that we (as salespeople) consider is the companies history and reputation.............for this very reason.  We all know it's easier to sell a product for an established company, as opposed to a start up company.

But guess what else comes with it?  Negative experiences from a past regime.  Things don't always go perfectly, and particularly, things are not always handled correctly.  Turning these past experiences around is much more difficult than earning new business from scratch.  There is an art to recognizing and admitting to past short-comings, presenting an approach that will resolve and prevent this from happening again, and then delivering with perfect execution while under the microscope.  This is a process that takes patience and desire, and you will only succeed if you can outlast the odd's............which are stacked against you from multiple angles.

You have no choice in this approach but to be anything less than genuine, sincere, and grateful.  You may actually find some of your most redeeming sales skills hidden deep within while going through this. 

**  A colleague jinxed me last week when he said "I haven't had an American Airlines flight leave on time yet this year."  I found that odd as I was having pretty good luck.............until he said that of course.  My last three flights have been delayed by an hour or more.

Stick with it

So often, sales/clients/accounts/opportunities.........come your way simply by staying the course.  It's a natural reaction for a sales rep to cut bait and move on when a sale or client is lost.  Hopefully, when you're on the losing side you are able to remain in a state of professionalism and respect, and you don't go down by losing your cool and burning bridges.  This topic is for another day, actually it's an entire book in itself.

It's not a prophecy to say that nobody likes to lose.  But it takes control to lose with class, wish success to the other parties, and move on.  Once you do this, you have set yourself for the follow up.  Stay in touch periodically.  Make yourself available as a resource, and display an eagerness to earn another opportunity.  Sales people move very quickly day-to-day, but successful sales people know that this profession is a marathon rather than a sprint.  A sale lost should be just that, a sale lost.  It shouldn't be a client lost, a market lost, or an item to scratch off of your list and forget.

I don't like the theory that there is enough business out there for everyone, as that sets an expectation of regular failure.  But, I do believe that losses can be embraced, learned from, and cycle into future business.  Most sales reps cut bait, great sales reps leave their bait in the water and throw more lines out (OK, I don't fish, I really need to find a new analogy.  That one got away from me.)

** Through my years of travel, I have managed to never step foot in the state of Georgia, which is home to the busiest airport in the country (Atlanta).................until today.

Momentum

Momentum occurs when several factors combine to move in a positive direction towards an objective.  This is my own personal definition, now let's see what the dictionary says:  "force or speed of movement; impetus, as of a physical object or course of events."  Not too far off, specific to the course of events. 

In sales we have the opportunity to create and win with momentum.  The keys to this are, in order:  create the opportunity, identify building blocks, assign tasks, execute the game plan, follow through, and finish.  The one that we miss the most often is the second key............identify building blocks.  Our sales building blocks can come in many forms, such as:  pre-existing relationships that can contribute toward your efforts, past success stories, six-degrees of separation, neglect of a competitor, right place at the right time, and innovation..........to name a few.

Momentum begins to build once we are able to identify the combination of building blocks related to your specific opportunity.  What separates the bad, the good, and the best..........is the ability to assign tasks within your team that will best exploit the building blocks in which you've been presented.  The wrong person on the wrong task will kill your momentum.  Once your game plan is in place, the last three keys are the gimme's for any seasoned sales person.  Momentum will carry you through at this point, and all factors will meet at the finish line...........hopefully in victory.  It's important to understand that this approach does not guarantee victory, it only guarantee's that you are putting yourself in the best position to be victorious.  If victory is achieved, another building block has been established, and momentum continues.

Momentum comes in spurts, and only lasts for a short period of time.  The sooner you recognize it and the longer you sustain it, the more victorious you will be.

**  I find it sad that Starbucks is my comfort zone.  No matter what city I'm in, or what culture I'm trying to adjust to, I can find my peace and comfort at the Starbucks on any random corner.  I'm not proud of this by the way.

Anchor Down

In my business there is a big difference between anchoring yourself to a product that you win and lose with day in and day out, versus affiliating yourself to the product that you believe gives yourself the best chance to win on that particular day. When you anchor you create: loyalty, credibility, stability, constancy, and believability in both your company and the product in which you're anchored to. Competitors envy you and strive to one day be like you, and potential business partners line up to join you.

There is something special about a business relationship joined this tightly. Sure, it has it's ups and downs and good and bad days........as any close relationship both in an out of business does. But the uniqueness of this relationship allows it to not waiver.

We see glimpses of these partnerships in the common marketplace. One that comes to mind is the early partnership between Apple (and their life changing IPhone) and AT&T. Tons of consumers switched phone carriers simply to own the iPhone. Now, this was unique in that AT&T was not exclusive to Apple, which later ended their exclusivity as Apple was made available through Verizon.

This is one example, and each has it's own unique structure and agreement dynamics. But in the end, its hard to argue the value in choosing a company to live and die with, and staying true. A truly loyal partner will make you more successful than the "company of the day" strategy ever will.

** New Orleans is unlike any other city that I travel to, and I can never make up my mind whether I want to spend more time here or not. There are so many things that I like and dislike about it..........but there is no doubt that the food alone is worth the trip.

Waiting........

How can we get anything done when we're always waiting on others? We definitely can't increase productivity by doing everything ourselves. Herein lies the catch 22. I need to increase productivity, though I can't do what I need to at the moment because I wait on others...... So, I start a new project, move onto another task, reply to a different message......and I wait. Now, with multiple tasks partially complete, I juggle and prioritize and wait and plan and prepare and theorize and assume and imagine and initiate and predict.....and wait.

Quality people with clear objectives and good communication - that's the answer. I have a great network and team, but even then, this process is unavoidable. And I'm as guilty as anyone (maybe more so) of keeping people waiting.

When looking for ways to increase efficiency and productivity, look no further than the turnaround time and decision making willingness from your team members. Right or wrong, turn it around, make a decision, and keep moving. Juggling unfinished business costs big money.

** I've taken time away from blogging for the past week and my brain misses the exercise. I'm sure the lack of sleep hasn't helped, time to get back on track.

Packing Hint

I take packing for trips seriously. I always carry on, and have become efficient whether packing for 1 day or 1 week. There are no extra clothes, there is no "just in case the weather gets bad" plan in my suitcase. Only exactly what I think it will take to get me through my trip.

On every trip, I have 1 pair of dress shoes and 1 pair of running shoes...........no more......no less. Size 12's take up a lot of space!!! Sure, this decreases the life of my shoes, but it's a small price to pay to save me from checking bags.

I made a crucial error on my trip this week. I took a brand new pair of dress shoes that I had never worn on my 3 day trip. I'm smarter than this. I know better. And, sure enough by then end of day 1........the blisters had arrived. The end of Day 2 was excruciating. And this morning, well let's just say I had a noticeable limp and was moving slowly. I won't make that mistake again.......for a while at least.

**. Yeah that's me. The guy sitting on the plane wearing running shoes with his suit!! What's up?

The Agenda

Almost every night that I spend in a hotel, the last thing I do before crashing is create an agenda the next morning.  I realize how crazy this sounds, and even more so, how crazy it looks.  It's a problem, I admit.  I am governed by this agenda when I wake up, and get nervous if I get off task.

My hotel rooms all look so similar, and when I wake up, it generally takes time to realize exactly what city I'm in.  Rather than trying to remember exactly what time I need to be on the road to start the day, I simply refer to this agenda that I made the night before.  It allows for one less thing to worry about.

Aside from just this strange exercise, I have allowed myself to be run by agendas.  They act as a checklist of tasks, combined with time management tools...............that help my productivity and drive me crazy at the same time.  I stress when I'm running behind, and I'm thrilled with the moments that I'm running ahead.  Do they make me more efficient and more productive.........or do they hinder me by not allowing me to vear and adjust as necessary?  One thing is for sure, I need to add relax/regroup/reevaluate to my agenda.

I see moments of OCD during my day, and I'm definitely a creature of habit.  The pre-planned guidelines of an agenda bring me a peace of mind.  I see myself driving others around me nutty by always thinking about the next event............even during weekend activities with the family.  Surely I can find a happy-medium where I stay on task while living in the moment.

** Hotel rooms with adjoining doors to strangers (locked) are one thing.  Adjoining balconies with no wall seperation crosses the line.