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.