Sales and Sales Management Blog

January 12, 2012

Are You Too Fat and Happy to be Successful?

Filed under: attitude,career development,motivation,sales,selling,small business — Paul McCord @ 10:24 am
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It may surprise you to learn that I speak to a number of sellers and sales leaders every month who although they mouth the right words, their actions say they’re fat and happy and way too contented to become successful.

What I hear most often in today’s economy, of course, is the complaint of not enough business, no one is buying, the competition is cutting prices to the bare bone or some other form of the statement that business is tough and in order to be successful you have to be sharp, aggressive and willing to put in long, tough hours.

But that’s not the only message I’m hearing.  A few times a month I’ll hear how a seller or company is doing just fine, that although business is down from before the recession, they feel they are doing better than most and they’re still making money.  From others I’ll hear that although their income is down and a new home or new car isn’t in the cards, they’re still doing OK, meaning they’re quite  evcomfortable.

I’m always curious when I hear a seller or a company express comfort and/or satisfaction with their situation when, at the same time, they’re admitting that sales are down, income or profits aren’t where they were, and they don’t expect to see a significant change in the next year or even two.

Really?

Comfortable?

Satisfied?

No sense of loss or itching desire to get back where they were?

Inevitably I find that they either have reached the peak where they have no desire to exert the energy to move beyond or they have accepted the recession as the new norm and believe that their current level of success is all they can expect in this new reality.

Seldom do I get this response from the top sellers and the top companies.  Most often this attitude is expressed by average and even below average sellers and companies, ones that were probably looking for the path of least resistance even prior to the economic downturn.

My experience from years of working with and speaking with thousands of top sellers and top companies is they are never satisfied.  And when they find themselves moving backwards—even if the cause is something out of their hands such as a major economic downturn—they fight even harder to get back to where they were and then beyond.

Once you have reached a point where you’re fat and happy, you’ve peaked; you’ve reached a point where you will not—you cannot—become more successful.

Success demands discontent with where one is at.  It requires a level of dissatisfaction and discomfort.  For top sellers and companies success is an ever elusive goal that can never be reached—and it isn’t quelled and extinguished by an outside force such as a recession.  In fact, those outside forces that seek to kill their desire to succeed only fuel their fire.

Have you reached a point where you’re comfortable and can relax knowing you’re successful?  I hope not, for if you have, you’ve probably reached your peak, and if you have, where can you go from there other than back down?

January 9, 2012

Four Signs It Is Time to Throw in the Towel

Filed under: attitude,career development,sales,Sales Failure,selling — Paul McCord @ 1:03 pm
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A question I’m asked more often now than in the past is “how do I know if it’s time to look for another career?”  With the economy in dire straits it is more difficult to sell now than in the past.

For many sellers who began selling prior to the current economic morass, when selling was pretty easy and many sellers were gobbling up the sales and commissions, they’re having to radically change their thinking as they discover selling isn’t as easy as they thought.

Those who began selling only since 2007, today’s economy is the only selling environment they know.  In a sense, that’s a real advantage.

Although it would seem reasonable to assume that most of the sellers who entered the field prior to 2007 would have adjusted to the new reality by now, I find that many still haven’t and are still having a difficult time trying to get mentally and emotionally adjusted to the fact that what they did in the past isn’t working today.

And, of course, many of the newer sellers are struggling with the traditional problems of learning how to sell which are compounded by having to compete in a very tight and cut throat market.

Thus, I find myself addressing the how to know when to quit question more today than in the past.

I wish I could give a more cut and dried answer, but in reality there are so many factors involved in that decision that for many a cut and dried answer would do more harm than good.  Are the seller’s struggles things that he or she can take responsibility for–or do they lay outside their ability to control?  If the issues are ones they have some control over, are they willing and committed to addressing them?  If they are, do they have the time to do or has their time literally run out?

These and many other questions need to be addressed to really come to a decision on whether it is time to give up a career in selling—for a great many sellers.

However, for many others I think the answer really can be and should be cut and dried.  If any of these five issues apply, you need to make a quick exit, stage left:

  • No Passion or the Passion is Gone:  If there’s no passion for selling or if the passion that had once been there is gone, it’s time to hit the streets.  I’m not talking about a passion  particular products or services (if you’ve lost that passion but still are passionate about selling, all you need do is find a company whose products or services you can get passionate about).  I’m speaking here of a general passion for selling, a desire to provide the goods and/or services that will solve buyer’s issues or wants.
  • A Dread of Doing the Selling:  I’ve known men and women in selling positions who loved the ancillary work of creating selling materials, putting together lists, attending sales meetings, putting together proposals, and attending networking events but who dreaded and hated the actual selling.  For them the fun was in the busy work while the actual work of selling was despised.  If you hate the actual selling, get out and get out quick.
  • Unwillingness to Invest the Time and Money to Become a Professional:  The unfortunate truth is that few companies provide every bit of training a seller needs.  Companies by nature are more interested in providing product training than sales training.  Product training and sales training are not the same, although many sellers and companies want to think they are.

    Professional selling has nothing to do with the stereotypical fast talking huckster and everything to do with being skilled in understanding human nature, having strong analytical and problem solving skills, being an excellent communicator who is more attuned to listening than talking, and having the process that will enable you to work with a prospect to analyze and then solve their issues.

    It is the seller’s responsibility to acquire these skills and since few companies provide all of the needed training, the seller must be willing to invest their time and money in becoming the best seller possible.  If you’re not willing to make the time and financial commitment to become the highest skilled seller possible, a new, less demanding career would be an excellent choice.

  • No Commitment to Succeed:  Having a passion for selling does not necessarily translate into a commitment to succeed.  Selling is a tough business.  It certainly isn’t a 40 hour a week business.  For most sellers the selling part is the easy part, it’s the finding and connecting with high quality prospects and then the follow-up and problem solving that’s the hard part.

    Selling takes a great deal of energy, both physical and emotional.  It also demands a level of commitment that few other positions demand.  In a word, whether you’re a top seller making a million or more a year or an average producer making 6o or 70 thousand, selling is hard work.

    For a great many the time demands and the physical and emotional energy needed is simply too much to ask.  They want the rewards without having to make the investment.  They either can’t or aren’t willing to take the passion and put it into motion.  And frankly, unfulfilled passion is more of a tragedy than having no passion at all.

  • Undivided Focus on Money:  Selling can be extremely lucrative.  On the other hand, many, many sellers starve because they don’t have the commitment, passion and dedication.  Unfortunately for some, money becomes the only focus in the sale.  They don’t care about the prospect, the company they are selling for—and in many cases for themselves as they are willing to sell their soul to the Devil in order to get a few bucks with a “whatever it takes” mentality.

    If the only reason you’re in sales is money, get out as you’ll eventually find that you either hate what you do or, more likely, decide that the end justifies the means and you’ll do whatever it takes to pry the dollars out of the prospect’s hand.

    Selling is a high potential income SERVICE business and when the service becomes secondary to the income, ethics and honesty have a way of becoming secondary also.

Do any of these ring a bell?  If they do, it’s time to get out.

If they don’t and you’re still questioning whether or not it’s time to throw in the towel, I advise you to get with someone you trust—a mentor, coach, or maybe your manager—and work through to discover the issues you’re facing and whether or not you can and if you are willing to take the necessary steps to overcoming them.

Selling is tough and you need to be tough to succeed.  But if you’re struggling and are wondering if it is time for a new career, do yourself a favor and make an honest analysis of the situation before you make your decision.  If you decide to stay, you’ll know where your issues lie and what to do about them.  If you decide to leave, you’ll know you made the right decision and won’t be wondering for years to come what might have been if you’d stuck it out.

 

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January 4, 2012

Having a Tough Time Getting Started? You Need a Ritual

Filed under: attitude,career development,motivation,sales,selling,success — Paul McCord @ 3:47 pm
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Do you, like many others, have a difficult time getting yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared to begin certain tasks?  Some have a hard time getting “in the mood” to make cold calls while others have trouble getting themselves geared up for a face-to-face meeting.

Certainly we can force ourselves to make the cold call even though we’re not prepared or we can make ourselves go through the motions of the job interview or sales presentation even though we know we’re neither mentally or emotionally in the right frame of mind.

And what usually happens when we simply go through the motions in order to fulfill an obligation or check off a task to be done?

Most of the time the cold call is crap, we don’t get a second interview, or the sales call was a total bust.

Many a cold caller confronts the phone every day with the same lack of focus, the same mental and emotional dread of what is about to happen.  And they fail time after time.

Many a job seeker goes into job interview after job interview unfocused, stomach churning, brow sweating—and comes out feeling that they couldn’t have made a worse impression if they had tried.

Thousands of sellers hit the streets to make presentations and go into them with nerves on end, thoughts blurred, tongue tied and they know they’ve lost the sale before they’re half way through.

These are not incompetent or lazy folks.  These are not cold callers who have no idea of what they going to say, or job applicants that are in over their head, or sellers who don’t know their products and markets.

Most of the time these are simply men and women who haven’t learned how to slow the process down, to de-stress themselves before the event, to create some action that signals their mind and body to focus for a very specific purpose.

Simply, these are men and women who haven’t learned the power of ritual.

What is a ritual?  Put simply a ritual is a specific action that when performed prior to an event has a calming effect on the individual and helps them focus for the task at hand.

Let me give a couple of examples:

Mike Adams is a pitcher for the Texas Rangers.  Pitching is a high stress occupation that demands a great deal of mental and emotional focus and control.  During a game a pitcher will have to find a way to be able to control his emotions and focus his undivided attention on throwing a baseball accurately anywhere from a few to over 100 times a game.  To make things a bit more difficult, after every pitch there is a break in the pitcher’s action as the ball is fielded, thrown back to the pitcher, and the team gets set for the next pitch.  You focus 100% of your mental and emotional energy on making a great pitch, then you have nothing of consequence going on for a minute or two, and then once again you have to find a way to focus 100% of your mental and emotional energy on making a great pitch.  Try to do that time after time without losing your focus every now and then.

Any way you look at it, that’s a tough, tough job.

How does Adams maintain his high level of focus over an extended period of time?  He does it by using a simple ritual to get his mind and body ready to focus only on making the next pitch.  Mike’s ritual is that after each pitch, after the catcher or an infielder has thrown him the ball, he lifts his cap off and then perches it lightly on top of his head.  He leaves the cap that way while he is waiting for the batter and the fielders to get ready.  Once things are settled and it is time for him to make his next pitch he will lift the cap up and adjust it on his head in its final position.  That adjustment is his ritual signal to his mind and body to focus, to concentrate on the job at hand, to block out everything else and focus only on making the pitch.

Such a simple action, but one that he has practiced to the point that the action alone automatically puts him in the frame of mind and prepares his body to give attention to only making the best pitch possible.

Now Mike is not alone.  If you pay attention during the baseball season you’ll find that many pitchers use their cap in one way or another as a ritual action to settle their mind and body into the work at hand.  Likewise, many batters will use the bat or their batting gloves to do the same.

But it isn’t only athletes that use rituals.  Back many years ago, when smoking wasn’t yet a social criminal offense, I had a salesperson, Wes, who was a heavy smoker.  On occasion I’d do ride alongs with him and I eventually came to recognize the ritual he went through before going in to meet with a prospect or client.

As we were pulling up to the office building where Wes’ sales prospect was located, he’d inevitably light a cigarette.  He would take two or three puffs of the cigarette, open his door and get out, close the door, take one final puff and then forcefully throw the cigarette down, take the toe of his shoe and smash the cigarette butt into the ground putting it out.  That forceful grinding of the cigarette butt was his ritual action telling his mind and body what was about to happen and to get ready.  Like Mike’s adjusting of the cap, Wes’ action was very simple, so simple that it could be easily ignored by an observer.  But it was there—and was important for Wes to go through that motion to prepare himself for the minutes ahead.

I’ve known a great many sellers who had some form of ritual action they performed, whether in preparation for hitting the phones, making presentations, giving large group presentations and speeches, or putting sales proposals together.  For that matter, I’ve known a couple of salespeople who seemed to have to go through some kind of ritual before doing anything,

I’ve also noticed that humans aren’t the only ones who rely on ritual behavior.  Our Golden Retriever, Lola, goes through a ritual every time she is greeted by someone.  When she approaches someone or when someone approaches her, before she allows herself to be touched she must reach her front legs out as far as she can and she then bends down and out in a huge stretch.  Once she has stretched, she’s ready to greet the person and get petted.  If anyone else walks up, before they touch her, she has to go through her stretch once more.  I’m not really sure what her stretch does for her, but it is certainly a ritual she has to go through before she’s ready to be greeted.

Although simple, rituals really work.  If you’re having a difficult time with a particular task such as cold calling, conducting face to face meetings, public speaking, or any other task that you do often and need to find a way to help you really relax and focus, try creating a ritual that once ingrained will automatically put you in the right mental and emotional frame to perform at your peak.

November 18, 2011

Sometimes Unconventional is Better than Being “Good”

Filed under: attitude,management,sales,Sales Process,selling — Paul McCord @ 2:58 pm
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Ugly. 

Won’t ever make it. 

Worst I’ve ever seen. 

Pathetic. 

He makes a mockery of football as a game of skill. 

You can’t play the game like that.

I suspect every NFL fan recognizes those as recent statements by various football commentators and pundits about Tim Tebow.  All of these men have a certain vision of what an NFL quarterback should be.  For them there is a set of skills that anyone who wants to be a successful quarterback must have.  There are also accepted offenses that can be successful in the NFL and by extension there are others that are doomed to failure if tried.

Football for these folks is a predictable sport—right skills with the right offense mean success and anyone who deviates will inevitably fail.

These guys recognize that Tebow doesn’t fit their predetermined concept of what an NFL quarterback should—must—be.

But the rookie quarterback has something that doesn’t fit into their nice, neat, predictable formula—he has a knack and a drive to win.

He is a winner—one who finds a way to make the football world bow to his talents and more importantly, his will.  Despite all the predictions of failure, he wins.

Certainly Tebow isn’t the only individual who seems to be able to will success.  There are many in every field—including sales.

Unfortunately many times these natural winners end up losing.  Not because they can’t win but because their coaches and managers try to force them to conform to what they believe a quarterback—or salesperson—should be. 

They try to force them to work with a process or system that the individual’s skills can’t support.  They try to make the individual win pretty according to the industry accepted definition of pretty, and thus destroy the individual’s ability to be successful. 

I’ve seen many sellers who had an unconventional sales style (unconventional, not unethical) fail because their manager forced them to work within a system that they were unsuited for.

Process and systemization is currently a hot topic within the sales field.  I’m a big advocate of process.  I have a disciplined, proven process for almost everything I do.  I think most of us need to work within a system that gives us order and as much control of the outcome as possible and every company should have a universal process for their sales team.

But I also recognize that there are some—a few—who are more comfortable and more suited working within their own unconventional, seemingly haphazard system.  Their sales style may be ugly.  It may not make a great deal of sense to the more conventional sales mind.  It may break all the “rules” of selling.

So what?

If it is ethical and the seller is meeting the needs of the prospect without shortchanging or cheating his company, what difference does it make?

Why managers can’t recognize a winner when they see one—as it appears the football commentary world can’t recognize an unconventional winner when they see one—is beyond me. 

Why must we try to force everyone into the same  box just because it works for the majority?

Is it a misguided need to treat everyone the same?  Well, folks, not everyone are the same.

Is it a need for the manager to be in control? 

Is it a trust issue that if the person is successful outside the “rules” he or she must be doing something unethical?

Is it just laziness since it’s easier to treat everyone the same instead of dealing with individuals?

To date, Tebow’s coaches are giving him enough freedom—at least at the end of the game–to be himself and do what he knows how to do—win.  Time will tell if he can continue to will wins from a weak team. 

Hopefully those managers who have a Tebow on their team will learn the lesson Denver is learning—not everyone is conventional.  Not everyone needs to be.

July 22, 2011

Are Your Roadblocks to Success Really Real?

Filed under: attitude,career development,sales,Sales Failure,selling,small business,success — Paul McCord @ 12:10 pm
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Ray is a seller for a software company that I have been working with for a few weeks.  Although he is a strong seller, he wants to develop more effective prospecting strategies so he can bang on the phone a less while increasing his sales.  We’ve been working on increasing the quality and quantity of the referrals he gets from his clients.

We began by reviewing his then current method of trying to get referrals.  It was no surprise that he used the typical, “do a good job and ask for referrals” method.  It was also no surprise to learn that he didn’t get many high quality referrals.  Mostly he just got names and phone numbers of companies that were either poor prospects or not prospects at all.

He did get a referred sale here and there, just enough to keep him asking, but not enough to really make a difference in his production.

He agreed with me when I explained why the “process” he was using to get referrals didn’t work very well.  He recognized all the problems—clients uncomfortable with the request, clients not having time to think about who to refer, clients not knowing who to refer, him feeling uncomfortable asking as he knew he was making his clients uncomfortable by putting them on the spot.

He also agreed with me when I showed him a much more effective and natural way to work with his clients to generate high quality introductions to prospects that he knew he wanted to be introduced to.

We did some role playing.  We made a list of possible introductions he could get from his clients.  We reviewed all the steps he needed to take and all the potential issues and problems that could arise.

Ray was ready to begin talking to some clients and getting some quality introductions.

Off he went—and quickly back he came.

He had gone to talk to a client he had just finished selling and installing the software and training the staff.  The client was a plumbing company.  The software was a package of accounting and payroll modules.

The sale had gone well.  The software was doing exactly what it should.  The client and his staff were happy.

Ray had identified a great prospect who he really wanted his client to introduce him to—another plumbing company in town.  His identified prospect was one Ray had been trying to connect with for months but couldn’t get the owner to take his calls or acknowledge his letters or emails.  He was getting nowhere—but he also believed this was a great prospect for him.

His plumbing client was going to be the key to getting in.

That is until he went to see his client.

When Ray was visiting with his client, he thought about all the reasons his client wouldn’t give him an introduction to the other plumber—that other plumber was a competitor after all and that other plumber was bigger than Ray’s client; why would the client want to give the competitor anything that would help them?  In addition, Ray knew that his client was bidding on a big project and that other plumbing company was probably bidding on it too.  There were just too many reasons for his client to turn him down, Ray reasoned.

Knowing that he was off to get his first introduction commitment, I called Ray that afternoon to get a report.  I was dismayed with what I heard.

Why again, I asked, did Ray believe his client knew the other plumber and were friends?

Because there was a picture in the client’s office of the client and the other plumber each holding a huge Bass and were both smiling and obviously comparing them.

Ah, I reminded him, they really were friends.

Anything else?

Yes, Ray said, his client used to work for the other plumber.  In fact, they still do some jobs together where the other plumber will sub-contract Ray’s client when needed.

Ah, they’re friends and they work closely together.  In fact, Ray’s client makes money off the other company.  Sounds like cut throat competitors to me.

So why did he determine it would be useless to ask his client for an introduction to the other company?

Well, Ray said, they’re competitors.  Why would his client want to give a competitor an advantage?

What advantage, I asked?  Did his software package improve his client’s quality as a plumber?

Well, no, not really, Ray answered.

Did the package give him an advantage when competing for business?

Sorta, Ray said, in the sense that it made his company more efficient.

Efficient enough to blow his competition out of the water?

No.

If his competition had the same package would it blow Ray’s client out of the water?

No.

So, I asked, what’s the problem?  Give me one good reason why his client wouldn’t recommend to a friend and someone he works closely with something that might help him save time and money if the chances are that that something really isn’t going to hurt him?

Ray couldn’t, of course, come up with a good reason.

He went back, asked for and got the introduction—and eventually a new client

So often when they can’t find them out there naturally, sellers put roadblocks in their way themselves.

Ray was so concerned about getting a negative response that he thought of all kinds of reasons why his client would say ‘no’ instead of why the client would say ‘yes,’ and that predetermined ‘no’ almost cost him a sale.

How about you?  What are the predetermined reasons you can’t pick up the phone and call that great prospect?  What are the predetermined reasons you can’t close that sale?  What are the predetermined reasons you can’t get that job?

Don’t be Ray—don’t defeat yourself before you even try.  A great many of those roadblocks that keep us from success have been put there not by others but by ourselves.  What roadblocks have you created?  Find them and get rid of them.  Life is hard enough without you defeating yourself.

July 21, 2011

Questioning the Value of Questions in the Sales Process

Filed under: attitude,Client Relationships,Communication,sales,Sales Process,selling,success — Paul McCord @ 10:17 am
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I had the honor yesterday of participating in a roundtable discussion organized and presented by Focus.com about the use of questions in the sales process. Moderated by Andy Rudin of Outside Technologies, the panel consisted of some outstanding sales minds:  Dave Brock of Partners in Excellence, Jack Malcolm of Falcon Performance Group, Dan Waldschmidt of Waldschmidt/Arp, and finally, myself, of course.

Our discussion addressed some of the most fundamental myths and misconceptions sellers have about the use of questions in sales.  In fact, we deconstructed the whole idea of questioning as the central aspect of selling.

By all means, all involved agreed that questions are an essential and important aspect of information gathering and rapport building.  Questions help open prospects up so we can uncover new information and help get to core issues and concerns.  Questions can help focus both ourselves and our prospects to dig deeper and look more closely at what’s really going on in a company.

But in the end, questions are only a tool.  They aren’t the be all and end all of our interaction with prospects and clients.

The problem is that some sellers have walked away from their training on questioning feeling that questions are the secret key to success or that in order to be effective sellers they must be ever conscious of asking the “right” question or the “right” kind of question.

That’s simply bull.

Our object with a prospect or client isn’t to ask questions, even though as mentioned above, questions are tremendous tools.  Our object with prospects and clients has to be to communicate—to connect with them in a meaningful way that helps us understand who they are as well as their problems, needs, and wants.

Communication demands far more than an ability to ask questions.  It requires that, as Dan Waldschmidt pointed out, we care—that we care about the prospect, about the issues, about our reasons for doing what we do, about who we are and who we’re dealing with.

Communication demands that we connect on both an intellectual and emotional level.  Communication demands that we go beyond the gathering of information and actually touch the other person’s humanity (as well as our own).

Yes, we did talk about questions and their importance.  But in the end, it was about one human connecting with another, not about how to ask the perfect question.

The real question ends up being why are you asking questions?  Is it to connect and build a bridge to help solve issues for a fellow human—or to get into someone’s wallet?  That, sellers, is the first question that must be answered.

February 22, 2011

Process: Can Success Really Be Just Mechanical?

Filed under: attitude,career development,motivation,sales,Sales Process,selling,success — Paul McCord @ 9:33 am
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Today you hear some version of the same message almost everywhere you turn:

“What makes a company successful is process . . . . [successful companies] find a formula that works.”

“You simply cannot be successful in complex sales unless you have a solid process.  A proven process is more important than anything and everything else.”

“If you want to be successful, you must concentrate on developing an effective sales process that produces the results you want because that IS the secret of success.”

“Top producers have a repeatable process.  Everyone else has only unfounded hope.”

All of the above were picked from things I have read in just the past week.  And these are far from the only ones, I could go on and on with statements in the same vein from recent articles and forum discussions. 

Process is the concept du jour. 

Process=Success

No process=Fail 

Everyone’s on the bandwagon promoting the current hot topic.

Now, don’t me wrong, I’m a firm believer in process.  I have a process for almost everything I do and I’m a strong promoter of process.  I’ve written numerous articles and two books that are centered on process.  I firmly believe that a proven, effective, repeatable process is one of the foundations to a successful sales career or a successful business.

I don’t, however, think it is the most important ingredient or the one that determines whether or not one is successful.

Important, yes.  Absolutely, positively, 100% critical?  No, not really.

Success in sales or business is far more than simply turning the right mechanical knobs or punching the right buttons.

Don’t we wish it were that easy?  Simply create a formula that seems to work and success is guaranteed.

We can all think of companies who have a formula that works and appears to be the cornerstone of their success.  Let’s take three examples that we all know: McDonald’s, Disney, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  I’m taking these because they are familiar to everyone and the real reason for their success is easy to identify.  We could take examples from any industry and any selling situation, but these three are very simple, straightforward examples of where the cornerstone of success for them lay.  In each instance their business formula helped, but it wasn’t the thing that exploded these companies.

What made McDonald’s, McDonald’s?  Was it Ronald or the Hamburglar?  Not at all.  Was it the machine like efficiency demanded of each franchise and the requirement that the food taste exactly the same no matter what franchise one visited?  No, that came later. 

McDonald’s success lay in the heart and soul of Ray Kroc.  Kroc was a never tiring evangelist for McDonald’s.  He lived and breathed McDonald’s.  In a sense, Kroc forced McDonald’s success because he wouldn’t settle for anything less. 

McDonald’s successful formula was built and perfected over time.  Kroc’s drive and determination gave him the time needed to refine and improve the system that the original founders of the McDonald’s concept had begun to devise.  It took Kroc three years and a bunch of money to develop his successful process—a process that is still being perfected today.  If Ray Kroc hadn’t had the passion to demand success, there wouldn’t be a McDonald’s, at least not as we know it today.

In the same manner, Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto didn’t create Disney.  Disney was more a creation of Walt Disney’s drive and passion than Mickey’s popularity.  Long before Mickey was born, Walt had to overcome lost contracts, a former buyer of his cartoons stealing his entire staff of artists save one and his at that time one original cartoon character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  Oswald might have been lucky, but Walt wasn’t.  Most would have folded their tent and given up after having everything they’d built torn down—especially by someone they had worked with and trusted.

But like Kroc, Walt had passion and unlimited drive.  He believed in himself and he believed that success was right around the corner—if he just continued to sell his passion.  His dedication and drive paid off.  Shortly after losing his staff and Oswald, he found Mickey.  Although Mickey was a success, he still wasn’t the success formula that “made” Disney—Mickey gave Walt the money and time necessary to find his ultimate mega success formula which was turning cartoons into feature length animated movies and the spinoffs from them that continue to this day.

Likewise, Colonel Harland Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken’s success isn’t due to a business formula but rather to a man who believed so passionately in his product and his vision that retired and broke, he hit the road to sell his chicken formula to cafes and restaurants across the country—and his share if they used his secret recipe?  A nickel for every chicken they sold using it.  It’s hard to make a living at a nickel a chicken—even in 1955.

Process is a tool for a salesperson just as a paintbrush is a tool for an artist.  Put a paintbrush in the hands of an artist with the passion and drive of a Leonardo and it becomes an instrument to create beauty; put it in the hands of someone one who is only looking to make a buck and it is nothing more than a tool used to paint a wall.

The same is true with sales.  Put an effective process in the hands of someone with the passion and drive of Harland Sanders and it becomes an instrument for changing lives; put it in the hands of someone who is disconnected and only interested in making money and it becomes nothing more than a way to make a sale every once in awhile.

By all means, find a predictable and effective process; it will help you make sales.  If you want success, you must marry that process to deep, heartfelt passion and drive because whether we like it or not, success isn’t mechanical; success is nothing more than the outward expression of one’s passion, drive, and vision.

August 19, 2010

On Being an Optimistic Realist

Filed under: attitude,motivation,success — Paul McCord @ 11:02 am
Tags: , ,

Pessimists.  I don’t understand them.  My wife is a pessimist.  At times she drives me crazy.  I get calls and emails from far too many sellers and sales leaders who are pessimists.  I don’t understand why they persist in selling, a vocation that will drive an optimist nuts, much a pessimist. 

I’m an optimist—an unadulterated, unapologetic optimist.  But I’m also a realist.   

That realism part sometimes comes across as pessimism to some.  As I was speaking to a sales leader of a mid-size wholesale company last week, I pointed out that his sales team was failing to take advantage of one of their company’s primary strengths and even though they were on target to chalk up a nice increase in year over year, they were leaving far too much money on the table..

Instead of trying to figure out how his team could take advantage of a significant competitive strength, my sales manager friend became defensive.  He accused me of discounting the achievement he and his team had made. There was no way he said, that he would let my “negative” point of view poison his team members.

I’ve run across many a seller who either accepted personal responsibility for everything that happened to them or refused to accept any responsibility for anything negative that happened in their life.  One group’s attitude is, “I must have complete control of my life.  If I don’t close the sale it must have been my fault; that way I can correct it and guarantee it won’t happen again.” 

The other group’s attitude is, “I’m a winner and if I lose it’s because something out of my control prevented me from winning.  If it weren’t for that, I’d have closed the sale.”

I believe both of these attitudes are attempts to maintain optimism.  I also believe they are unhealthy and detrimental to success.

In fact, I’ve had more than one seller tell me that what I call reality, they call pessimism.  If I point out a potential danger or issue that a client must look out for, to some I’m being pessimistic.  If I include a warning that a particular strategy or tactic might not be appropriate for all or in a given situation, to some I’m being pessimistic.  If I reprimand, to some I’m being pessimistic.  If I point out failure, I may as well have just shot them.

In other words, for some sellers and sales leaders, those of us who don’t wear rose colored glasses or live in la la land are pessimists, bringing them down, stifling their enthusiasm.  There is no room in their life for anything that isn’t upbeat and “positive,” including reality.

Of course, the opposite is also true.  True pessimists have little or no room in their life for reality either.  For them, if it isn’t doom and gloom, they want no part of it.  They simply aren’t happy unless miserable.  If I point out opportunity, they counter with the obstacles to achieving success.  If I give encouragement, they complain about yesterday’s rejection.  If I suggest a new strategy, they point out the failure of their last strategy.

For one group there is no such thing as failure; for the other, nothing but failure.  For one group, hope is the strategy; for the other, there’s never hope.  For both groups, reality is the enemy.

In my world there are positives and negatives.  There is hope and expectation—based on preparation and training.  There is success and failure.

I expect good things to happen, but take proper precautions to deal with the possibility that the results won’t be everything I hope for.

I acknowledge and learn from my failures (yes, there is such a thing as failure). 

I rejoice in and learn from my successes.

I recognize danger—and opportunity.

I control what I can—and acknowledge what I can’t.

I know my limits—and reach beyond them—and willingly and knowingly accept the risk.

Unfortunately, I know of some managers and trainers who wear rose colored glasses; who refuse to acknowledge to themselves or others that reality exits; who are doing a terrible disservice to the sellers they train, coach, and mentor by intentionally or unintentionally teaching them that optimism is a denial of anything negative or not “positive.”

These rose colored glasses optimists tend to be poor to average producers—but always “on the verge” of a big month.  They just need a little more time.  They always have a prospect who is about to make the giant purchase.  Their big deal is always just around the corner.

They aren’t very teachable (after all, there are no problems to be overcome).  They aren’t well prepared (they’re already prepared, everything’s great). Many don’t work very hard (don’t worry, I got everything under control).

Although I’m sure this perverted view of optimism has been with humans since time immemorial, I do wonder if the “there is no such thing as failure, “everyone’s a winner and gets a trophy,” and “I’m OK, you’re OK” attitude of the past three or four decades has infected more than in past generations?

Although you might not be able to eliminate this perversion from your existing sales staff that has it, I’d certainly advise any sales leader to actively seek to avoid hiring salespeople in the future who have a perverted sense of optimism.  It may seem gung-ho during the interview, but it won’t produce the results you want in the end.

June 14, 2010

A Short Lesson in Attaining Excellence

Filed under: attitude,sales,selling,success — Paul McCord @ 12:54 pm

Like most sales trainers and consultants, I am always looking for new lessons to learn and effective ways to communicate those lessons.  Sometimes the lessons are learned by watching and analyzing others; sometimes the lessons are far more personal.  Often the personal lessons provide great examples for communicating the lesson to others.  Such a lesson took place a couple of days ago.

My wife and I have just moved into our new home and that, as anyone who has ever moved knows, demands everything be cleaned as it is unpacked or as it is being arranged in the new home.  While cleaning a large curio cabinet, Debbie, my wife, had the opportunity to remind me of just how little it takes to go from satisfactory to excellent in one’s work.

Curio cabinets are about three quarters glass and have a large mirror in the back of the cabinet to boot.  Cleaning all of this glass and mirror was my job.  I spent about 20 minutes spraying glass cleaner and then wiping with paper towels.  Paper towel after paper towel gave its little life so that the curio cabinet might shine once the light inside it was turned on.

A few minutes after I had declared the curio cabinet done, Debbie went over to inspect my work.  I was off blissfully going about my business when I heard a voice bellow, “Would you come here a minute?”  Why that didn’t sound like the voice of my sweet petite bride at all.  It wasn’t.  It was her cleaning perfectionist alter ego.

When I got back to the den, Debbie was standing at the cabinet, glass cleaner and paper towel in hand.  I knew what was coming. 

“How can you call this clean?” she asked.  I knew that whatever answer I gave would be wrong, so I chose to assume it to be a rhetorical question.

“Are you blind?”  Now this one was one I could handle since I am, in fact, blind in my left eye.  I knew, however, if I answered “yes,” I was simply asking for more trouble.  Again, the right answer was no answer.

“Can’t you see those streaks?” Debbie demanded as she was attacking them, taking her frustration with me out on them.

Now I had spent 20 minutes dealing with the glass and mirror of this cabinet.  I had dealt with finger and palm prints, tape residue, and what appeared to be some dried coke spots.  I had put in the effort to get the cabinet 95% clean.  My efforts for most people would have been satisfactory.  Debbie isn’t most people.  She expected excellence and I hadn’t delivered. 

OK, I admit I had stopped short of cleaning excellence and deserved to have it pointed out.  But the real slap in the face was that when Debbie attacked the problem it took her only a minute or two to take my work from satisfactory to excellent.  I had done all of the hard work.  I had put in the effort to get the cabinet to the point where it was right on the verge of being perfect.  Then I stopped.  When Debbie came behind me it took her only seconds to attain cleaning excellence.

So what has cleaning a curio cabinet to do with sales?  Everything—and not just about sales but about life.

That little extra effort Debbie put in really is the difference between being average and being exceptional–no matter the task you’re engaged in. 

Most of us in sales do a quite satisfactory job. 

Few of us are excellent.

 In most cases it isn’t a difference in skill or knowledge or resources.  It’s a difference in attitude—between those of us who are willing to settle and those who insist on investing the extra little bit to go from satisfactory to excellent.  The time and effort differential is relatively small—a few seconds in essence—while the effect difference it enormous.

Are you satisfied with being satisfactory or are you committed to being excellent?

March 14, 2010

Has Your Joy Been Drained?

Filed under: attitude,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 7:12 pm
Tags: , ,

Two years isn’t a very long time.  On the other hand, the last two years have been a very, very long time.  I know of few companies, big or small, or sellers that haven’t struggled over the last months.  I’ve also noticed that a lot of us have become preoccupied with coming through this recession in one piece; some have even become sullen and fearful.  I know a great many, me included, have become so focused on our business struggles and taking care of the opportunities that arise that we’ve lost sight of why we do what we do.

I can’t speak for others but I don’t do what I do simply for the money or because it’s what I know to do.  I do what I do because I enjoy working with sellers and sales leaders, seeing them grow, seeing their businesses change, helping them increase their skills and changing their behaviors.  I do it because I enjoy the change I see in them as they grow.  I enjoy the positive impact I can have on them.  I enjoy the opportunities I have to learn more about sales, management, human nature, marketing, and business, and to grow. 

For the past months—heck, not months, it’s been two years since business started to dry up and eighteen months since business really crashed, so I guess I shouldn’t be talking about months but rather years—I’ve done nothing but focus and worry about work—where my next contract would come from; will I have to lower my rates; do I need to expand the areas that I specialize in; what else can I do to market; what new markets can I work into;, and a million other concerns.   Talking to prospects, talking to other trainers and consultants, writing, developing training programs, experimenting with new social media, and a whir of other things consume my attention while working 16, 18, 20 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Lots of work. 

A great deal of worry.

In the past, my dogs, Mr. B.J. and Ms. Chloe, have taught me a bit about selling.  Recently they’ve taught me about what I, and many of the men and women I work with, have forgotten—why I do what I do.  

Let me explain.

Whenever I go outside and leave the dogs inside, whether for two minutes, two hours, or two days, when I re-enter B.J. and Chloe are thrilled to see me.  They jump up and down, B.J. sits up, Chloe jumps up on my leg until I get down on the floor where they greet me with kisses and whimpers. 

When we fix their dinner every evening they’re in the kitchen watching.  They sit quietly watching whichever one of us is making their dinner.  They know exactly the steps necessary to fix their food and once we get to the point of heating their dinner up in the microwave, they begin dancing around and playing with each other in anticipation. 

Each evening after dinner we take them for a walk.  As with everything else, we have a routine.  After I’ve eaten and move into the den they begin asking to go out.  B.J. asks by sitting up, begging, and Chloe asks by getting up in my lap and pawing my hand.  If this goes on for longer than they think it should, the begging and pawing becomes more insistent barks and whimpers.  When I begin to get off the couch they know what’s coming and the excitement really begins.  B.J. begins rolling on the floor and stretching.  Chloe jumps up on the chair and stands on her back legs, her little arms pawing the air as she works to keep her balance.  Once they get hooked to the leash they can barely contain themselves as they rush for the door.

Later comes treat time.  It starts with B.J. begging and barking.  He’ll sit up in a begging position and stay there for several minutes if he has to.  Once he has my attention I’ll tell him to “show me what you want.”  He and Chloe run to the laundry room where their treats are kept above the dryer.  Both dance and jump around until the treat is in their mouth.

What does any of this have to do with anything?

Well, for me, a lot.

Mr. B.J. and Ms. Chloe’s day is full of what I’ve lost over the past couple of years—joy. 

B.J. and Chloe find great joy in the smallest things.  Their life isn’t consumed with what’s going to happen tomorrow.  They don’t dwell on their problems and issues.  They live life for today and are thrilled with the simplicity of living such as going for a walk, getting a treat, or just having Debbie or I come home.

Life isn’t perfect for them.  They have their share of doggie problems.  They’re not happy all of the time.  They get on one another’s nerves on occasion; they don’t get all the treats they want; they don’t their way all of the time. But they don’t hold on to their problems and they bounce back quickly.  They spend far more time seeking the good things in their life than dwelling on their problems.

I’m sorry to say that hasn’t been me for many months; seemingly forever.  Worse, that hasn’t been a very large number of my associates, clients, prospects, and acquaintances. 

It took my dogs to remind me that the economy and a tough business environment aren’t the determiners of my joy in life.  I love what I do.  I love working with sellers and sales leaders.  My joy comes from what I do and from my family, friends, clients, prospects, and the great folks I work with, not from the accident of circumstances I find myself in.

If you’ve found like I did that the circumstances of the past couple of years have slowly drained the joy out of you, I encourage you to take a lesson from B.J. and Chloe—there’s more to life than tomorrow.  Love what you do and drain the joy out of everything.  As for me, I think I deserve a treat and a walk.

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