Development

The Heavy Hitter Sales Blog recently reported on the seven types of sales managers.  We wanted to review the types and then ask you what type you may fall under and which manager you prefer to have.  So here they are!

For more detail, read Steve W. Martin's post on the seven types of sales managers over at the Heavy Hitters blog.

One of our sales office owners has made a big impact on me with a mission statement she wrote to capture what the purpose of her business is. She and her statement are such a great example of the best in our business – what makes us unique, and why we attract the best and the brightest.

In her mission, she talks about making sure that every person who comes into her office is given equal opportunity to be successful by creating meaningful and genuine relationships with each individual, constantly working for her people by setting the pace from the front and providing them with time and attention. She also places “importance on transferring knowledge to each person, personally, that’s necessary to open, operate, and grow a business.” Most importantly, she makes a “positive impact on every person that comes in contact with her, her staff, and her company.”

Her perspective on business is one that I feel applies to all of us. A successful business is run by successful people who are committed to achieving great things. In just a short time, she has managed to do extremely well and is one of our top office owners.

Her mission is one that should inspire all of us - good sense for great business.

Listening to a book on tape recently reminded me of George Washington's great vision, leadership, and sacrifice. Every time I learn about Washington, I appreciate his leadership and ability to balance short- and long-term goals. He held true to his vision for our country, which focused on representative government, civil liberties, religious freedom, and each person being able to control his or her own destiny. The biggest obstacle to achieving this vision was King George III and British dominance over the Colonies.

Washington faced a difficult choice. He knew that creating the vision that would prove best in the long-term for our country would require short-term sacrifice. He would have to sacrifice personally by risking his life and all his personal wealth, being seven years away from his home and family. The country would have to sacrifice by experiencing short-term economic suffering as well as the deaths and raids caused by war.

Most people shy away from making such a difficult choice. Knowing that short-term sacrifice facilitates long-term success, however, makes the difficult choices easier. Thankfully for us, George Washington was willing to make the necessary sacrifices in the short-term to ensure a better future for America.

Gary

By Gary Polson, CEO

‍

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

All of us at the recent Keys to Success event, an annual kickoff meeting attended by all sales office owners in North America, were so lucky to hear from our guest speaker, Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL and award-winning author of “The Heart and the Fist.”  The most powerful part of his message was the mindset required to survive the Navy Seal boot camp. Only about 10 percent of these highly-fit soldiers make it. Eric said that it was not the great collegiate athletes that survived. Instead, it was the ones with the greatest will.

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.

During a USC class, we learned about a conference that was attended by 60 top business leaders. The leaders were asked to name their biggest fear. All 60 had the same answer, although not the same exact words.  For each of them, their biggest fear is that people will find out that they are not so good.

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.

As marketing executives focus efforts on the Internet, mobile devices, and other digital avenues to reach or expand their customer base, it becomes easy to overlook one of the oldest forms of outreach to spur business growth – and that is face-to-face sales. Even though face-to-face sales as part of the marketing mix has been successful for many businesses, the approach is often low on the list due to budget concerns and time constraints. It is difficult for businesses to find the staff, training, and resources to execute an extensive sales effort across geographies to target customers in their offices or companies. It is also challenging to find the kind of people with character and follow-through to represent businesses and products well.

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.

Most people make excuses. They are usually very logical and true. Winners, however, find a way to win no matter what the obstacles and difficulties. The U.S. women’s national soccer team exemplified this fact yesterday in its comeback win over the tough Brazilian team.

The U.S. team had many circumstances that could have been viewed as excuses for losing that game. There was a controversial red card given to one of the American players that on replay looked very questionable. So for much of the game, the U.S. had to play with one fewer player. Although Hope Solo, the U.S. goalkeeper, saved the resulting penalty kick, it was retaken because of another controversial call in which the referee said she had left the goal line too quickly.

Being a first player down and having some controversial calls going against them would have been legitimate reasons for the players not to give their utmost. However, the team never gave up. Abby Wambach kept pointing her index finger, indicating that only one more play would tie the game. It happened in the last minute of the game when Megan Rapinoe made a brilliant cross to Wambach, who made an equally brilliant header for the tying goal. It was done.

The U.S. wound up winning the game in penalty kicks and taught the world a lesson: Regardless of the bad calls we may get or of the obstacles in the way, we must dig deep down to our inner strength and find a way to succeed.

Walter Payton, aka "Sweetness," played with the Chicago Bears from 1975 to 1987 and missed only one game in his career. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in American football history. Hall of Fame NFL player and coach, Mike Ditka, described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen—and the greatest human being he had ever known. Payton’s incredible work ethic and humility earned him the respect of players and fans everywhere.

Payton had a 5-feet-10-inch, 200-pound frame and worked out every day, even in the off-season. He was acrobatic and quick but not fast, so he developed his signature "stutter-step" to help break runs and give him the edge on his opponents. He did not believe in running out of bounds and maintained a “never die easy” mentality. He played hard to win, and his determination led him to become the all-time leader in rushing with 16,726 yards and all-purpose yards until 2002, when Emmitt Smith broke his record. Payton also held the single game rushing record until 2000.

What gave Payton the will to achieve such great success? In the following excerpt from his autobiography, Never Die Easy, he attributes his work ethic to how his parents raised him:

"Competing in sports back then was everything. No matter what the game was or how much older and stronger the other kids were, we were taught to give it everything we had until it was over. Never give less than one hundred percent. If you start something, you shouldn't quit, that is what we were taught.  If you're going to play, you might as well play to be your best.

My mother was a yard person and every summer to keep us out of trouble she'd have this guy to come in and dump this hundred pounds of topsoil in the driveway. She'd want us to spread the topsoil all over the yard.  We had one shovel and a wheelbarrow... It was hard work and we were so small then, I was six, seven, eight, Eddie was a couple of years older. But there we were, trying to shovel and push all of this topsoil everywhere... If you want my opinion, there was no reason to spread all that topsoil except to keep us occupied and around the house.

I look back on it now, though and I think that yard work taught me a lot. I learned about working hard and staying with something even though the project seemed overwhelming... You have to imagine how big that huge pile of dirt appeared to a seven-year-old. I used to think we would never finish. We'd just try to make dents in it every day. Which is how you have to approach any kind of work. You have to take things one day at a time... You work as hard as you can for as long as you can and the small gains you make will eventually pay off. Eventually that mountain of dirt will be gone and you can go play baseball or go hunting."

We can apply Payton’s simple yet powerful formula for success on our own work and lives: Work hard, persevere and commit to do and be our best.

A colleague recently asked me who was the greatest influence in my life. Without hesitation, I replied, “my grandparents.”

I recall that my grandfather and grandmother came over every Sunday to be with my family. This was important to me because my dad worked every weekend. They taught me how to read, helped me develop a love of learning and took me to my first ball games.

It was their example, however, that inspired me the most. They were selfless in how they treated my each of us. They thought the best of everyone, listened well and never judged. They were nurturing toward my siblings and me, and their kindness shaped our characters. They were there for all of us, and nothing was more important to them than family.

My grandparents never lectured us on the importance of these values. They simply lived them and became our role models.

I aspire to be like these two amazing individuals, taking care to remember that the example I set through my character and actions speak louder than any words.

I believe that you may belong to one of the greatest generations of our time. You follow in the footsteps of other individuals who accomplished amazing things before they were 30. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple at age 21. Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft at age 20, and fellow Millennial Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook at age 19.

So be proud of your considerable talents and ambition. Use your mastery of technology, your competitive spirit and intensity, your creativity and your aptitude for collaboration and communication. These gifts prepare you well for success in life and work.

It is important to remember, too, that all great people have had great mentors who have inspired and guided them. Bill Gates views legendary investor, Warren Buffet, as a mentor, and Gates himself has been an important influence on Mark Zuckerberg. Similarly, you should find people from whose knowledge and wisdom you could learn. Buffet said the key to success is to know who to be the batboy for. Good mentors can teach you how to avoid the mistakes and landmines that can harm your reputation and career prospects. Additionally, they can arm you with the knowledge and skills to perform at your best.

Certain concepts are timeless: sacrifice and struggle for long-term success; going the extra mile to reach your goals; if you get knocked down seven times, get back up eight; and so on. Mentors can help you with these vital lessons, especially when you are struggling. They can give you the support and guidance to help you get back on your feet and embrace something Abraham Lincoln once said: “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”