If I Only Had A Brain!

Happy Friday!

 

Here is a famous quote from President Calvin Coolidge;

 

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

  

Let me say that I agree...in the absence of smarts, tenacious persistence will make up for a lot of things.

 

Yesterday we built a Calvin Coolidge lengthy quote inspired selling machine...

 

Someone that can withstand all the challenges that comes with sales...to take a licking and keep on ticking - Determined, persistent, ambitious and committed.  What more could you ask for...

 

Some smarts perhaps?

 

Sorry Pres...that is not meant to be hypocrisy or heresy...I'm just saying if I am the Mad Scientist, I want my creation to have brawn...

 

and a brain.

 

My good friend, Jason, always says that "If you are going to be dumb, you better be tough!"  His father said that to him after he shot himself in the foot with a BB gun...on purpose!

 

What if you were tough...and smart.  That's the stuff six and seven-figure sales giants are made of.  Let's review my top 10:

 

Intelligent - While college educations aren't required, the ability to read, digest and disseminate information is vital.  Many sales jobs require licensing, certifications and annual testing.  You have to be able to stay abreast of enough technology to stay connected to what is happening now. 

 

Smart - That is not a repeat!  Smart comes in some many forms.  Street smart, book smart, life smart...you get the picture.  There are some people that don't have a formal education that run circles around their degreed colleagues.  Jim Rohn says, "Formal education will make you a living, self-education will make you a fortune".

 

Innovative- People who are innovative create better solutions.  They see problems or challenges and create processes or methods to get more "horsepower" out of the engine.  It takes very little improvement to see great results.  Get a 5% increase in each area of response rates, close rates, referrals and repeat business and you are likely doubling/tripling your income! 

 

Ingenuity - When others see dead-ends or stumbling blocks, people with ingenuity see opportunity.  As I teenager, I would look in the refrigerator and see nothing...my mother saw a family meal.  For top sales people, what they have in front of them is more than enough for success.  They look at it with the right perspective - and ingenuity!

 

Creative - Like innovation and ingenuity, creativity is born out of the desire/necessity to see better results, more effectiveness and efficiency.  Do you wait for someone to tell you how/what to think or do you build your own ideas of how to proceed?

 

Intuitive- It is the ability to be "in tune" with the circumstances with a heightened state of awareness.  It gives you a sixth sense of insight to turn a situation around - that feeling you have, that prompts you to say the right thing at the right time. To help the client understand that you understand....and secure a sale. 

 

Instinctual - Instinct is the twin to intuition but instinct is about timing.  Knowing when to talk...and when to let silence prevail.  Allowing tense moments to build to fever pitch, the poetic pause, the authentic statements and gestures...knowing when to close.  Top guns have great instincts!

 

Strategic - For sales achievers, time management defines each day and assigns each activity an objective and corresponding tactics.  It is not an aimless "let's see what the day brings" mindset.  It is structured, purposeful and targeted.  Nothing is left to chance or happenstance.  With a strategic mind, if something fails...at least we know why!   

 

Problem Solving - A necessary companion of Strategic.  If the tactics are not generating desired results, then problem solving kicks in to measure, monitor and manage them until a better way can be found. The strategy and tactics will evolve through this skill of building bridges for every barrier that is encountered. 

 

Mental Agility - The best sale people have nimble minds...not rigid.  They roll with the punches, they swim with the tide of process until it delivers them...99 rejections...1 sale - all is right with the world.  Not too high or too low through it all.  They are optimistic but not blindly so.  The glass is half full so they can fill it up!

 

Whether it is a school of higher learning or the school of hard knocks, you have to engage your brain to be great in sales.

 

Again...assess how you do with each of these qualities.  Some are tougher than others and are "natural" gifts, such as instincts and intuition.  It is true that some sales people are "born" and others are "made".  

 

As we started with President Coolidge, if you have only have persistence, you can do well...but oh, how much father could you go...

 

If You Only Had A Brain! (Not insulting your intelligence...I think you know what I mean!)

 

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

 

Next Time: The Golden Rule...Rules!

The Mad Scientist! Part 2

I was a Kool-Aid kid growing up ("where does he come up with this stuff?")...

 

Weren't you?

 

Only problem, sugar was expensive (Jimmy Carter era of high gas, coffee, and sugar prices - and 16% return on CD's!) and we would even have to go next door to "borrow" sugar...aaahhh, how I long for simpler days! 

 

My mom would let me make it and I would pretend to be a research scientist mixing up the antidote for some virus the evil Dr. Doom had unleashed on the world.

 

Though the directions called for 1 cup of sugar, she only gave me 1/4 cup...

 

Yea...kind of bitter but still better than water!  My sisters and I would fight over the last glass that had all the crunchy bits of the sweet compound mixture of water, ice, sugar, and red dye #40...a poor man's slushie!

 

It's kind of like when you hire someone for sales.  The resume says 1 cup high achiever...but you only get 1/4 cup.

 

Not today...The Mad Scientist is putting together a complete package. 

 

Where do we begin?

 

Not the brain...but the heart!

 

Here are the 10 qualities that I would look for first in sales people with heart;

 

Energetic - Kinetic energy...a certain "mojo", is necessary to let clients see the passion and conviction you feel about your solutions.  Physically, it takes energy to make it through the typical sales persons day.  Hint: Lay off sugar, caffeine and processed foods - they are killing your real energy! 

 

Work Ethic - Start early, be on time and work toward being effective...not busy.  Professional and personal balance are important, but when you are at work - work!  When the task calls for more energy (see #1), you have to be ready to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes!

 

Passionate - The most successful sales people love what they are doing.  They may not love every aspect, but the love of the payoff keeps them on task.  It is the combination of the product, what the product does and how it serves the needs/desires of their clients that drives them.

 

Ambitious - Not blind ambition that mows over anything in it's path, but a goal-driven focus.  The best sales people set the objectives and use all the other characteristics to meet and exceed it!  This could be the personal perks...the material rewards or recognition of trips and awards.  It could be the higher sense of service to their clients...or all of the above!

 

Disciplined- Procrastination is the #1 killer of sales effectiveness.  The mindset to begin and the mental toughness to see it through to the end is the hallmark of the best sales people.  Remember our earlier definition of discipline? "Doing what it takes, to get what you want...as long as it takes, until you get what you want!"

 

Independent - Nothing shouts independence like commission only!  If it is going to happen...the best sales people don't sit back and wait...they make it happen.  They are self-starters that take initiative.  They don't travel in packs or cliques but develop a work standard and approach that is a true to their independent nature.

 

Adaptable - In most industries, sales is an ever-evolving occupation.  The things that worked yesterday are antiquated today.  The competition is fierce and people are vying for the precious resource of clients.  Top sales people stay on top of changes and adapt to them.  It takes mental toughness not to lament when "the good ole days" are over but rather say, "It is a new day!"

 

Commitment - Consistency leads to results.  Making the contacts, following up on proposals, and the after the sale service require commitment.  The best sales people define and refine a process that works within the framework of their gifts, abilities and personalities...then they don't deviate from it!

 

Courageous - Sales is scary.  Each day will require new action that may take you out of your comfort zone.  A new product, a new competitor, or a client with a major problem.  The top sales persons mettle it tested daily, but they respond with courage and meet each challenge head on.

 

Confidence - The best sales people operate "with faith" in themselves and their abilities.  Sales is not for the faint of heart since rejection is a "minute by minute" possibility.  Successful sales people  have the confidence to take "no" as a part of the process...not a personal rejection.

 

There you have it...the characteristic that I believe make sales people the "heart and soul" of an organization. 

 

If you have 3-5 of these characteristics you are likely already successful or at least on your way.  If not, you can see that most of them can be developed.  If you are missing critical ones, get busy in self-development and improvement.

 

Build a better you...a better sales person...become

 

The Mad Scientist!

 

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!\

Next Time: If I Only Had A Brain! 

 

The Mad Scientist!

I failed chemistry in college. 

 

Before you judge, I made it through 5 levels of calculus.

 

Math is logical and progressive...chemistry is hit or miss.

 

A little of this, a little of that. (Why do you think they have to wear goggles?)

 

Much of sales is a science of sorts - a little of this...a little of that to make the process work.

 

Much of it is an art - idiosyncratic - the snowflake and fingerprint of individual character and personality.

 

I have hired over 400 direct employed sales people in my corporate career and have been a trainer to many 1,000's.  There is no equation that will tell you who will succeed. 

 

Thank goodness, or else all sales people would act the same, look the same, and sell the same.  

Diversity of operation means we all have a fighting chance to make it in this business.  A shy former high school teacher can do as well as the brash former higher school quarterback.

 

I have spent some time pondering the conundrum that is sales people.  What if I could create the ultimate sales person?  Frankenstein of sales (ok, the mad scientists name was Frankenstein but it is cooler than saying "monster"!)

 

An amalgamation of gifts and talents, all taken from the best the profession has to offer.  A seven-figure model of revenue generating possibility.

 

What would they look like?

 

To begin, they would be a blend of the science and art of selling. 

 

Science of selling:  These are the things we all have to do to be successful - they are process focused activities.  They can usually be measured (quantitative) and will work along predicable lines for an industry.  Science will tell a CFO that if there are 1 million prospects, how many of them will buy and generate a certain amount of revenue.  That defines how many sales people they need and that is where your quota comes from!

 

Science is about the process of finding that client and converting them into revenue for the company.  From the sales person's perspective, that sales process would include;

 

Prospecting, Building Rapport, Questioning, Demonstrating Value, Handling Objections, Closing, and Post Sales activities. 

 

No one can escape these basic elements.

 

The Art of selling can be summed up in one word - style (qualitative). 

 

In the classic Kung Fu movie "Enter the Dragon" a man from New Zealand asks Bruce Lee,

 

"What's your fighting style?"

 

Bruce answers (man, he was cool!)...

 

"The art of fighting...without fighting."

 

What's your selling style?  Laid back, hard charging, focused, persistence, consultative?

 

Remember I asked you the other day if you would hire yourself?

 

As we take a look at some characteristics, gifts and abilities of top sales people, review them against your own.  We will look at them high level.  Then we will come back and work on the development of areas where you may need improvement.

 

Ultimately, there are many ways to "skin the sales cat", but we are going to look at what I think is the best way (after all...this is my blog!) over the next few sessions as I play...

 

The Mad Scientist! 

 

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Next Time: The Mad Scientist! Part 2

I'm Ready, Put Me In Coach!

I was quite the athlete when I was young - football, track, but my real sport was basketball. 

 

They called me Dr. Clay in homage to Dr. J!  I had another nickname, but that will have to wait until another time.

 

Each summer, there would be tryouts for the team.  Those of us that were already on the team would sit on the sidelines (wearing our varsity jackets in 89 degree weather!) and watch the dozens of people trying to make the team.

 

The tryout would begin at 8am sharp.  The coach padlocked the door and no one could get in and no one could get out. He would put them in two lines and have them shoot layups - the easiest shot in basketball.  It would be the only shots they would take.

 

The rest of the tryout was a series of drills.  He would pair them off and have them do a chest or bounce pass.  They would have to stand in a squat position with their hands up moving their feet pretending to play defense.  Then they ran...and ran...and ran some more.  I was tired just watching.

 

Two hours later, he blew the whistle and sent them home and told them to look for their names on the list tomorrow morning. 

 

I went up to the coach and asked,

 

"That's it?  No scrimmages...no game simulation or even a free throw?"

 

 "I have seen all I need to see," he replied.

 

He must have seen the look on my face.  I was team captain (hey, I have always been a leader!) and insightful so he gave me a little more;

 

"Ok Clay, I will tell you my secrets to identifying who would be an asset to the team; 

 

Can they be on time.  I don't care if George Gervin (its the 80's!) is on the other side of that padlock, if you can't be on time for something that is supposed to be important...I don't need you!

 

Can they do the fundamentals.  Shooting a layup may not show me they can make a longer shot, but it shows me their form - their potential.  They can develop the other shots through coaching and practice. 

 

Can they master what matters most.  For every shot taken in a game, 6 passes are made.  I want to be sure they can do the majority activity with accuracy.

 

Can they dig deep when challenges come.   Running the suicides tells me about their heart.  I can tell when a kid is acting tired when they have more to give...and I can tell when someone is giving me everything they have got.

 

The next day, we all ran to look at the list on the school bulletin board.  The guy that transferred from another schools team didn't make it. 

 

The guys were shocked and surprised...

 

I wasn't.

 

We had played pick-up games with him and he was very talented, but didn't always "play hard".  

I remembered that coach had told me,"

 

"Heart is 1st...talent is down the list".

 

The following summer I coached a little league team for the Boys Club (I was only a few years older than the players...hey, I have always been a coach!).

 

The first practice?

 

Layups, passing, laterals...and running, running, running.  I made my list and checked it twice.  Now that I have been doing this for 35 years...

 

I'm Ready, Put Me In Coach!

 

Are you ready?

 

Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Next Time: The Mad Scientist!

Back to Business!

Happy Monday!   If someone asks you "how is business?"   How do you answer?   Do you give an answer based on your production?   Or do you tell them about your business?   What is the difference between being a producer and running a business?   Mindset.   Taking care of business means you must get out of the producer mindset or employee mindset and become a business person - focused on being highly effective, driving new opportunity, and taking P & L (Profit and Loss) responsibility for all your efforts.   If you are working for a Fortune 50 company with thousands of sales people, if you are part of a call center conducting telephonic sales, or if you are a Lone Ranger in the field - you are running a business.   A word to those that are employees responsible for bringing sales into a company.  The next several Daily Sales Crumbs are for you, too!    Your employer is making a big investment in you and deserves and Return on Investment (ROI).  In order to receive promotion on the job (and in life), you have to give more than the environment requires.   What if it were your business?   How would you want you (the employee) to be on the job?   I venture to say you (the business owner) would want you (the employee) to be excellent - that means being on time, smiling, managing your time, being effective and taking a "stakeholders" view of your time on the job.    Sure, some of you (the employee) will just be passing through, but if you (the business owner) were paying you would want that time to be valuable for both parties.    For those that are independent sales people, the viewpoint is similar...   If you were hiring a sales person to represent your company, what qualities would you look for?  How would you write the job description?   You would want them to begin work on time each day.   You would want them to be a positive extension of your company...your brand.   You would want to them to maximize each client interaction and help you market the companies products without a dependence on "free leads" (they aren't free if you are the owner!).   The real question for everyone, regardless of where you find yourself in the equation...   Would you hire you?   A harder question...   Would you fire you?   Ok. That wasn't very fair so don't answer that one...just yet!   I am not trying to play mind games, but I am trying to define your mindset.  If you did have a good employee with great potential that was not performing as desired, you would not fire them...you have already made a great investment in them...   You would coach them...right?   That is what we are going to do over the next several DSC (short for Daily Sales Crumbs)...we are going to help you become your companies best employee - even if you are the business owner!   It is time to get...   Back to Business!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Next Time: I'm Ready, Put Me In Coach!

The Journey - The Best Is Saved For Last!

When you think of Dynamite...who do you think of?   J.J. from Good Times?   Or Alfred Nobel?   Nobel was the inventor of dynamite and also the Nobel Peace Prize for which he left the majority of his estate to ensure that he had a positive...   Legacy.    For you and I, legacy is about what we are doing today that will outlast us...it will inform the generations to come about the past that made their future possible.   It is a "pay it forward" mindset. When Passion, Commitment and Something Worth Fighting For come together, it will take you through the first three stages and mandate you make it better for the next group through legacy.  You can't make the challenges go away but you can blaze a path for them to follow.   Like sales.   LeRoy as been with Guardian Group the last couple of years mentoring the future sales leaders.  He does it tirelessly and I have witnessed them coming to see him, after hours, "2 by 2" for the words of wisdom he can impart. He never rushes and sometimes takes hours to make sure they can implement the concepts.   He treats them all like "powerful champions" and those moments are not forgotten by any of them... During the recent Guardian Group awards, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, two of the highest young achievers recognized him as a major contributing force to their personal success.    He is truly the LeRoy from Sales Crumbs from the Master's Table.   Legacy.   When he initially told me about his induction into the Hall of Fame, I had the inspiration to commit more of his wisdom to paper... I told him,   "It is one thing to have your picture hanging in a corporate museum, it is quite another to have your words living in someone 100 years from now."   Thus, Lunch with LeRoy was written.   Legacy. This is how most of us will leave a legacy.   Children...grandchildren...great-grandchildren.   College tuition, giving hands away in marriage and a shoulder to cry on at the critical stages of life...   Moments and memories that define who we are as people.   Legacy.   For me, for LeRoy and for you...the Journey Continues...   The Best Is Saved For Last!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!  P.S.   Passion, Commitment and Something Worth Fighting For also remind me of a very special group-   Mothers.   I no longer have my mother with me physically, but she is here mentally and spiritually...she lives in me.   My sense of humor and ability to connect with others - my momma.   The ability to bounce back after something crazy happens - my momma.   The love of people and a willingness to help anyone - my momma.   I am her Legacy.   While my dad is a great guy that gets credit for many of my gifts (and my hairline!), my mother was the day-to-day warrior that held it all together.   I know the sales mothers out there are pulling triple duty to build a career and a family and while not easy...passion, commitment and something worth fighting for will see you through.   Happy Mothers Day to my wife, my moms and all mothers...you are amazing. Next Time: Back to Business!

Available On Amazon! Available on Amazon! Allow LeRoy to conduct 20  lunch time sessions with you in the new release Lunch with Leroy! Read First 3 Chapters Read the classic sales parable Sales Crumbs from the Master's Table...inspired by LeRoy Shuffler! Read 1st 3 Chapters!