Many military historians consider George Washington to be America’s greatest general. He led a tattered, under-equipped, under-manned, and starving army to defeat the greatest army of the world at that time to win our independence.

He was not always such a great military man.  As a colonel for the Virginia Colony, he made strategic blunders that led to the slaughter of his men and the start of the French and Indian War. After that defeat, the Governor of Maryland described Washington as a  “dangerous mixture of inexperience and impetuosity.” As horrible and humiliated as Washington felt, he did not give up on himself.  He learned from these mistakes and eventually became a great general and the first President of the United States.

Like George Washington, we all have setbacks that feel devastating. He is a great example of not letting those setbacks stop us in the pursuit of our dreams.

Gary

The attributes that he described for the successful are the same ones that are needed for success in our business. Here is a sampling of his comments that I wrote down:

“Confront your fear and push yourself.”
“Courage is the courage of perseverance of willing to do the hard things day after day.”
“People quit when they think how hard it is going to be, but rarely when they are doing those hard things.”
“The Navy Seal challenges are called ‘evolutions’.  Your character evolves until you get to the place where you change who you are.”
“To get the life you want, change the compass just a few degrees and march in that direction every day.”
“If you attempt a challenge and do not succeed, the challenge always remains – the challenge always remains.”

Lessons for all of us.  Eric, we will always be grateful and learned so much from you during the conference. Your words will stick with us now and in years to come.

Cydcor team members also attended an offsite bowling fundraiser, which was donated to EARTHS Magnet School in Newbury Park. The funds were raised through a Queen of Hearts game, which enabled Cydcor to donate more than $600 to the school! Cydcor regularly volunteers time to the school through a specialized tutoring program. Cydcor is looking forward to a great 2012 and beyond!

Almost everyone struggles with confidence. Each of us has to realize that success comes from effort, discipline, work ethic, resiliency, preparation, going the extra mile, student mentality and treating people well.  Talented people sometimes think that there is a magic formula of business skills to learn to become successful, or that you have to be like someone else. The reality is that anyone can do anything with will power.

 All of us need to ask ourselves these questions: How confident are we in our effort? In our discipline? In our work ethic?  In our resiliency?  In our preparation?  In going the extra mile?  In treating people well? In our student mentality? If you are confident in these areas, you should be very confident in your success.

The Cydcor team members only had two weeks to gather all of the food and meet the company-wide goal, and they succeeded. They jumped at the opportunity to make a real difference in the local community. Two days before Thanksgiving, they went to the school and personally delivered the goods so that families could stop by throughout the day to pick up their Thanksgiving feast.

Cydcor is committed to improving the lives of others and consistently donates time and raises money for philanthropic organizations across the United States – most recently, the company, together with its network of independently-owned sales offices, raised $150,000 for Operation Smile – and were able to fund an entire mission!

What’s next in store for Cydcor?

The truth is that most companies do not have the internal capabilities to expand their sales force for targeted face-to-face campaigns. To gain revenue and market share, they frequently turn to partners who do. More Fortune 500 companies have hired outsourced face-to-face sales companies, which has unleashed hunters to better identify prospects and close deals. Well-known companies have turned to outsourced sales vendors like Cydcor to market their services and products to small businesses across the country. In addition to top-line growth, the companies are also experiencing bottom-line value by turning over the management and administration of the sales effort, reducing their need to recruit and paying only for successful conversions.

What is driving all of this success? Well-trained, courteous salespeople, the ability to answer questions and customize solutions on the spot, and the personal touch.

Not all face-to-face marketing companies are all alike. Businesses interested in the face-to-face sales approach should weigh the variables carefully before proceeding. Here are some important things to consider:

Track record of success. Like any business partnership, work with organizations that do not just share a vision for success, but deliver on it. Evaluate potential outsourced face-to-face sales firms on the strength of their clients, industry knowledge and relationships, past results and their tenure in the marketplace.

Strength of their sales teams. Pick firms whose business success lies in their ability to hire and manage the most talented full-time, professional sales people, as well as those firms that know how to motivate and inspire their sales teams.

Training and partnership models. Outsourced face-to-face sales partnerships should be just that: partnerships. Look for companies whose compensation is tied with their ability to deliver results. Importantly, the partnering firm should be able to readily translate and deliver training to its sales teams, and help ensure that the culture of the hiring company is presented well in all cases.

Reach. Speed to market is critical for most companies. Face-to-face sales organizations that have local market understanding, national reach and wide experience in myriad industries tend to be better partners because of their ability to incorporate best practices and limit the need for multiple outsourced relationships.

Integrity and Trust. Partnering firms will be your company’s representatives in the marketplace. Pick firms committed to helping your company build a strong and profitable customer relationship while maintaining the highest standards of professionalism to preserve trust, loyalty and integrity of your brand.

As emerging technologies and today’s economic downturn challenge businesses to develop creative marketing approaches, outsourced face-to-face sales as part of the marketing mix can be a sound way forward.

Cydcor raises more than $150,000!

I’m constantly amazed at the dedication, perseverance, and commitment of our independent sales offices and internal Cydcor team members, and I’m extremely proud that we have met yet another goal. Collectively, we have raised a total of $150,000 for Operation Smile; the funds will be used for a medical mission to a remote locale in Peru, Cambodia, or Rwanda. Amazing work by amazing, dedicated people.

How did we do this? By coming together and working hard to meet this important goal. In 2010, during our annual R&R event, Operation Smile Ambassador Barbara Majeski announced that all of the independent offices throughout the United States and Canada were challenged to raise funds for Operation Smile, a children’s medical charity that provides free cleft lip and cleft palate reconstructive surgeries worldwide. Barbara had put the program together and introduced everyone to this cause, which she was extremely passionate about. The offices immediately jumped on the opportunity, planning various fundraisers and events to get us closer to our goal. In fact, offices would often compete against each other, showing once again that once they put their minds to something, they accomplish it. At Cydcor, internal team members were working hard as well, raising funds among their family and friends and planning events throughout the year that would help them get to their internal goal.

I’m so happy to announce that we were able to meet the $150,000 goal this month! We did it, and I am extremely impressed by the motivation that each team had to make this a reality. Think about it: Because of the perseverance of our people, we are able to make a significant difference in the lives of children across the globe. They will be able to lead entirely different lives as a result of our hard work. As a people-helping-people business, this is just another example of how we can work together and make tremendous things happen.

Team members test their egg drop devices.

Last week, everyone at Cydcor participated in a team building exercise where we had to create a device that would protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped about 10 feet.  We divided into groups of about 8-10 people and given a box of supplies to create the device. We had a limited amount of time and the pressure was on.  As we were working on our design, gathering all of our ideas and getting all of our brains in the game, we noticed that other groups were creating a parachute-type tissue. We did not have the tissue. We assumed every team got something different in their box.

 We ended up creatively using materials such as straws, string and rubber bands to enable our egg to drop as if unwinding a yoyo. What we learned was this: If we lured down the egg, it would never break. As we had seen earlier, many of the other groups had created parachutes. We realized after the time was up that our parachute material was stuck inside the top of the box and we had not noticed.   

The lesson that was reinforced in the exercise is that it is possible to come up with superior solutions with fewer resources than we think we need.  By putting our brains together, we will surprise ourselves by how creative we can be.

Other exciting highlights: A presentation from one of Cydcor’s top clients, who spoke about growth and the quality sales that Cydcor’s independently-owned offices have demonstrated,  the “Promoting Owner of the Year” award winner, who received a 2011 Range Rover Sport, and numerous recognitions that were given to top performers across the U.S.

“The client excited the crowd by explaining all of the potential opportunity on his campaign,” said Vera Quinn, chief operations officer. “He comes from a sales background and was rejuvenated by the energy of our people.”

The conference was a great opportunity for sales offices throughout the country to learn, network, and be recognized for their contributions over the past year. Each day, in states across the U.S., they work tirelessly on behalf of Cydcor’s clients, going door-to-door and business-to-business to deliver tremendous results.  The exciting, event-filled weekend was just an example of the excitement and passion that each office has for their clients.

Vera Quinn, chief operations officer, Cydcor

Cydcor has been named among the “Best Places to Work” for area mid-sized companies by the

Los Angeles Business Journal! The Los Angeles Business Journal and the

Best Companies Group

worked together to identify and recognize area companies with a strong commitment to workplace excellence. Both publicly and privately held organizations were selected based on benefits, corporate philanthropy, policies, work-life balance, camaraderie and support of employees’ personal growth. Selections were made based on company surveys and employee comments.

“We are deeply proud to be recognized as one of Los Angeles’s Best Places to Work,” said Vera Quinn, chief operations officer. “Cydcor’s culture is one of dedication to the well-being of our team members – including investing in their professional development, as well as to giving back to the communities in which they live. Our commitment to our employees reflects in the results they deliver for our clients and the service work they do in our local communities.”