Blog Archives
Have A Laugh Fridays – Everyone Needs A Vacation!
Everyone needs a vacation, even Terry Tate! You just know that you have to watch all 3 minutes.
Have a great weekend!
Have A Laugh Fridays – Incredible Toastmasters Speech!
Think back to those times when you laughed so hard, you had a hard time breathing for a moment, and even cried a little?
I had that experience in the fall of 2012 when I attended the regional Toastmasters Conference in Edmonton, Canada. Andrew Legg blew the audience away and won the humorous speech contest giving us his take on the “Different Stages Of Laughter”.
Please take a moment to share this one with his network, it is a truly remarkable job by a Toastmaster, not a professional comedian!
Have a great weekend!
Lessons Learned At Front Doors “Down Under”
I must admit something. “Hot Calling” is not a new and improved way to cold call. I took a door-to-door sales role in the summer heat of Australia on a backpacking trip in 1998. I called it “Hot Calling” in my head to make it sound more appealing! Everyone I told about this job after the fact thought I was crazy, but I explained to each of them how enjoyable the experience ended up being.
I needed some extra money when I was traveling the South Pacific. I ended up getting a job with a company promoting children’s encyclopedia programs. I did not realize the amount of door knocking and setting up of appointments that I would be required to do. My job was to secure follow-up visits with families, then more experienced sales reps would come back later and try to close the sale on a complete set of books. Yes, Google was still very new at the time!
A fellow backpacker told me the day before I was to start the job that they had a horrible experience performing this role, and I should quit immediately. I ended up giving it a shot anyways. I was planning on making new friends and having a great time. I went in with a positive attitude, and hoped for the best.
I trained at head office in Sydney and soon realized that I was in for an interesting journey! Thoughts of my stutter were front of mind, due to the nature of the role. What better situation to get nervous in then when somebody opened their door, and I had about 10 seconds to convince them that they should invite me in. I sucked it up, and continued with the training.
The managers made a point of having us role play door-to-door scenarios every day before we went in to the field. Initially I thought it was a waste of time, and I was disappointed that it took me away from the pool. It was our warm-up period, and would typically be done in the mid afternoon. We would walk the neighbourhoods later in the day when it “cooled off”.
The most important lesson I learned from this experience was how to handle rejection; and there was a lot of it! I had to be quick on my feet, handle their objections swiftly, with the goal of being invited in for a conversation. It was a positive step for them to open their door, but an entirely different challenge of getting them to commit to a future presentation.
Other skills like persistence, keeping positive and being enthusiastic were pivotal too. Each door was a new one, so I always put the previous one out of my mind quickly. A sale could be waiting for me at the next house, and I always had to be at my best.
Another key attribute that I worked on was focus. It was difficult to stay focused when it was still 30 degrees Celsius or warmer when I was working, but I made it through. I would often ask people for water, run through sprinklers, and wear a large cricket hat to protect me from the sun. In 6 weeks on the job, only one person would not give me a glass of water when I asked!
The team lived just like a big family. On a weekly basis, we all had specific chores to fulfill like cleaning the pool, buying groceries, and cooking for the team. Whatever needed to be done, we all pitched in to get keep the house and our “adopted family” running. You can bet that we let team members know when they slacked off from their responsibilities.
As I look back now, the daily role play for warm up was the key to success. It was like athletes preparing for a game. They need to warm up to get physically and mentally ready. As I practiced regularly, and knocked on more doors, I became more comfortable by the day. As time passed, my stutter was less of a consideration as I spoke to people during the pressure packed opening greeting.
The management team did a wonderful job motivating a group of young adults from around the world to do a less than glamorous job. We learned how to do one of the most difficult sales roles by staying positive, plugging away, and most importantly co-existing with team members that were strangers when we moved in together.
To this day, every time somebody says, “You did what?” when I describe the job, I am more than happy to share the story of my “Hot Calling” experience “Down Under”.
- Have you ever door knocked during your sales career?
- If not, have you have cold called face-to-face or on the phone?
- What did you learn from the experience as you reflect back now?
Have A Laugh Fridays – Boss or Leader?
Thanks to my good friend Dean Belanger for emailing this to me earlier this week! Love it. Have a fantastic weekend!
Tough Love Lessons – Are You Just the Life of the Party….
Or Do You Actually Bring Something To The “Business Party”?
I am going to have a recurring theme on my blog called “Tough Love Lessons”. I will warn you in advance, they tone of these posts will be “in your face”, and may not apply to you. But there are people out there who need wake up calls in a variety of areas. If you know anyone who this applies to, please share the post with them.
For those of you who are already in the sales profession, or are thinking about a sales career, there are many opportunities to entertain customers and/or prospects. Events like lunches, dinners, golf tournaments, and trade shows are very common.
These are excellent opportunities to get to know people better, but there is also the potential to embarrass yourself! If you have consumed too many refreshments (or whatever else), you are going to look very silly.
Many people have gotten a “pass” at least one time in their careers for foolish behaviour, but if it becomes the rule that you are the “life of the party”, your credibility is thrown right out the window.
During my career, I have often laughed at the comment,
“He’s a great guy (or she’s a great girl)” for one reason……
But there is usually a “BUT” after.
In this scenario, the sales rep is great to socialize with, but they don’t really bring anything to the “business party”. This is a horrible stigma to have during your career. They are fun to be around, but they are not doing their job! OUCH.
Doing your job to the best of your ability is why people should remember you first.
This is not a 9-5, Monday to Friday type career; so if you are thinking about the profession for “free fun”, think again. There is so much more to it than that!
If you get a bad reputation early in your sales career, you are done. I have seen it happen, and don’t think that you would not be blacklisted as a “party-rep” too.
Oh yeah, one last thing….
You never want to be remembered as “that guy” or “that girl”.
This is the person that was a “memorable fool” at a business event, and people talked about them for years later when recalling the stupidity that transpired.
Never be that person who is late for a trade show or training sessions that management has paid good money for you to attend. Drag yourself to the event no matter what, or you may be looking for a new job sooner than later.
I’m out!
Do You Have “It”?
All I wanted to do early in my sales career was manage the team that I was working on. I was young, I was new to the industry and I thought I knew it all! I was confident that some day I could handle the role. Unfortunately changes happened within the company, and I turned down my dream Sales Manager role when it was finally offered to me. Even with that setback, I have continued to follow sales and executive management throughout my career.
I did have some experience managing a team before I was ever interested in Sales Management. I was a Branch Manager in the car rental industry straight out of university. It was a great experience, and certainly taught me a lot about managing a diverse group of associates at a young age. Some of the employees were more than ten years my senior, and I learned very quickly how difficult being in charge could be.
The Sales Manager is arguably the most important person within the organization. They have a direct line of communication with the sales force; the associates who drive most of the front line revenue.
It can be very easy to get in to a rut with your day-to-day role. Sales reps certainly do, and it happens to managers as well. It is valuable to take a step back and think outside the box sometimes, from how you typically manage.
Great sales managers use enthusiasm and excitement to their advantage. They celebrate their team’s wins, while proudly announcing personal and team achievements. They may high-five team members in the office, or keep it simple and just pat everyone on the back when there are reasons to celebrate. The positive energy does wonders for everyone.
I have always been keenly aware of my manager’s actions, and I focus on a few areas:
- how they lead the team
- how they treat me
- how they treat other reps
- how they handle adversity within the team
- the relationship they have with their immediate supervisor and others on the executive management team
If they excel in all the above areas, they probably have “it” with their team. “It” is hard to explain, but it can be summarized as the group is firing on all cylinders, and no issue is too great to break the cohesiveness within the group.
I have reported to a total of 16 assistant managers, sales managers and branch managers during my career. I have also had close working relationships with 12-13 executive managers. This has provided me a rich foundation of experiences.
- As a manager what is it like to have “it”with the group of reps that you lead every day?
- If you have “it”, you can probably describe “it” in general terms, but it may be hard to explain overall.
- If you have never had “it” with your team, would you not like to know how to get “it”?
As I continue to discuss Sales Management in the future, I will build on the theme of having “it”. I will leave you with one other thought to ponder….
Are you just a boss to a group of employees, or is their much more depth to your relationship with the team?
Outside vs. Inside Voice – You Can’t Take It Back!
I had a run in with the District Manager at a large retail account of mine many years ago. We had “philosophical differences” regarding my coverage of one of their stores, and one incident in particular upset him.
My relationship was less than solid with that location’s management team, and I received very little support from the sales associates. During my third year working with the account, the senior manager requested that I conduct another product knowledge meeting for his team on a Saturday morning. I had done that type of training before, but had become frustrated by their lack of support.
I will never forget what I said to him in response to his request that I take time out of my weekend to do training. My wording was all wrong. I said that I would not receive the “bang for the buck” to go and train his team now, and would wait until I received more support from them.
I did not mean for it to come out that way, but it did, and I had to live with the consequences. I remember the rest of the story like it was yesterday. I was numb all over and I felt like I was going to throw up! He stormed in to his office, and started dialing the phone to my regional office. I swear there was smoke coming out of his ears! It was after 4 pm, and my General Manager had typically left by then. But as fate would have it, he was still in the office that day!
By this time I had walked in to his office, I was pleading for him to get off the phone so we could work through the issue together. He was requesting a new sales rep from my General Manager (while I was standing right in front of him). To my General Manager’s credit, he was able to calm him down, and I was able to talk things through with my boss the next day. My management team knew this man quite well, and was aware that he was not my favorite person. I explained my side of the story, and eventually was able to convince the store’s District Manager to keep me on as the rep for both locations.
I was not worried about losing the underperforming branch, but was terrified to lose the local branch that I had worked so diligently to grow over the years. To say the least, I choose my words very carefully in the future, to avoid other conflicts. I retained both branches, but the weaker place never met my expectations.
It is difficult to keep your emotions in check and not say what is on your mind in certain situations. But using your “outside voice” instead of your “inside voice” can have negative ramifications, especially if you catch somebody on a bad day! I learned that the hard way. I will never forget that feeling deep in the pit of my stomach when I almost lost one of my biggest accounts right before my eyes!
- Have you ever wished you had used your “inside voice” rather than your “outside voice” in a specific situation during your career?
- If so, what were the results of you speaking out loud?
Email me at TimMushey@gmail.com to share your story, and I will post the best response on my blog next week!
Some Awesome Zig Ziglar Quotes!
I was flipping through the latest edition of the Toastmasters International magazine earlier this week, and stopped in my tracks when I spotted a Zig Ziglar article.
The late great motivational speaker, author and sales expert was known for many things, including creating memorable quotes. They included five awesome ones at the end of the article:
- “If you go looking for a friend, you are going to find that they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.”
- “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”
- “Your attitude, not your aptitude will determine your altitude.”
- “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”
- “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
Make it a great Thursday!
The Five Star 5 – Why I Am Loving Toastmasters!
You should stop by a Toastmasters meeting if you are interesting in developing your speaking and leadership skills. The best way to find out what this organization has to offer is to see for yourself!
Here are the top 5 reasons that I am loving Toastmasters:
- Practice public speaking in a very positive environment
- Develop as a leader
- Meet new people (network within your club and district)
- Hone organization, preparation and time management skills
- Have fun and laugh!
If you want more information on Toastmasters stop by http://www.toastmasters.org/
I have started a Facebook page for my Toastmasters group. If you have any questions you can post them at:
Or email your questions to:
TimMushey@gmail.com
I will let you know about my personal experiences as part of this fantastic organization!
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 