BE BOLD

I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might have-been has never been, but a has was once an are.
Milton Berle

This is one of the hardest quotes to read, let alone understand. Yet every time I see it I love it a little more.

For those of you that don’t know, Milton Berle was one of the pioneers of comedy. Like so many other comics, he also had a great business mind and via quotes like this got his message out using his humor.

When I read this the message I get is BE BOLD. Don’t be afraid to go for the gold and try something new. The line, “I’d rather be a has-been than a might-have been, by far” is a strong statement. Like Mr. Berle says, you had to be a winner to be a has-been, and even winning once is better than never winning at all.

You need to BE BOLD when you are selling. No customer wants to buy from a timid sales rep (I once told you about the book I have. It is titled, “Timid Salesmen Raise Skinny Kids”) If you are bold, a customer may not buy from you, but at least when you leave they will remember who you are and what you were selling.

BE BOLD in the way you present yourself to others. NO, I don’t mean wear a bright orange shirt and purple shoes type of bold, I mean a self confident, motivated, and enthusiastic kind of bold. The kind of bold that has people saying you are what they are looking for as a sales rep, an employee or as a friend.

BE BOLD even when you are on the brink of failure. Especially on the brink of failure! What do you have to lose? So many reps back down when it looks like the “deal” is going bad, I say that is the time to STEP-UP and get even BOLDER. A show of strength when weakness is expected will sometimes lead to victory.

BE BOLD when you communicate with your bosses and colleagues. Letting them know how confident you are and letting them see that you are not afraid to show it or say it gives you a position of strength within your company.

BE BOLD when you do anything! Weakness is never pretty. Neither is conceit, but confident BOLDNESS is a beautiful thing to see.

If you have never been an ARE and think you are only a MIGHT-HAVE-BEEN then BE BOLD and change your outlook. BE BOLD and change your attitude. BE BOLD and become an ARE!

Lorin

WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, YOUR WORDS MAY BE REMEMBERED

We have all said things that have come back to haunt us. Here is a list of things that have been said which I am sure have haunted (and embarrassed) these people for the rest of their lives.

"Computers in the future will weigh no more than 1.5 tons." (Popular Mechanics, forecasting advance of science, 1949.)

"I think there's a world market for maybe five computers." (Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.)

"I have travelled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." (Editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957.)

"But what is it good for?" (Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, commenting on the micro chip, 1968)

"There is no reason why anyone would want to have a computer in their home." (Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp, 1977.)

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." (Western Union memo, 1876.)

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" (David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920's.)

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" (HM Warner, Warner Bros, 1927.)

"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say that America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make." (Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting the Mrs Fields Cookies business.)

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." (Decca Recording Company rejecting the Beatles, 1962.)

"Heavier than air flying machines are impossible." (Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.)

"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this." (Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3M PostIt Notepads.)

"So we went to Atari and said, 'We've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts and what do you think about funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.' They said 'No'. Then we went to Hewlett-Packard; they said, 'We don't need you. You haven't got through college yet'." (Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and HP interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer.)

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." (Drillers whom Edwin L Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil, 1859.)

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." (Irving Fisher, Economics professor, Yale University, 1929.)

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value". (Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.)

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." (Charles H Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.)

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." (Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872.)

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon." (Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873.)

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." (Bill Gates of Microsoft, 1981.)

"Fred Astaire Can't act, can't sing, balding... Can dance a little." (MGM talent scout, 1928.)

"What can you do with a guy with ears like that?" (Jack Warner, movie mogul, rejecting Clark Gable, 1930.)

"You ain't goin' nowhere son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck." (Jim Denny of the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, firing Elvis Presley after his first performance.)

"I'm sorry Mr Kipling, but you don't know how to use the English language." (Editor of the San Francisco Examiner, rejecting a short story from author and poet Rudyard Kipling.)

Please make sure that 50 years from now you aren’t on this list!

Lorin

WAITERS ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK

When buyers are choosing between two similar products, they don’t always go with the one that costs less. They will usually go with the product whose sales rep can bring more to the table.

This thought has allowed many a mediocre sales reps to make astronomical sales, not because they were superstar salespeople, but because they were superstar PEOPLE.

Service is the wild card that will help you win. The problem is many reps are not sure what service really is. I have been with reps that have told me that they are going to a customer for a “Service Call”. They make a differentiation between selling and servicing. I contend that selling IS servicing.

A good sales rep is always showing their customer’s ways to either decrease costs, increase productivity, save time, or raise quality by using the products or services they offer. By this definition a sales call IS a service call and vice versa. The trick is to have sales reps embrace this concept.

Why is this idea such a hard task for reps to accept? Simple, many reps view this as extra work for themselves. They feel that if they are making a sales call they should sell and if they are making a service call they should service and if they make a service/sales call it is double duty. NOTHING could be further from the truth. In fact, by making every call a service/sales call a rep can actually call on customers less and deliver more to the customer.

If every time a rep makes a call they look for areas where the customer can best benefit from the product or service they sell, a few things will happen. First, the customer will see that the rep is constantly looking for ways to help them. Second, the rep will learn more about the customers business. Third, because most “service calls” are made without much interaction between the customer and rep a combined call will allow the customer and rep to get to know each other better. Fourth, as the customer brings in more and more of the reps products or services, the rep will become a more important part of the customers business. Fifth, because the rep is servicing the customer more often there will be less chance of problems between calls. Sixth, and this brings us back to the original thought, when the customer has a choice to make you will have the added value of SERVICE on your side.

I know that this isn’t WOW information. It isn’t even new to most of you. This is simply GOOD information, TRUE information, USEFUL information and the best of all, information that will help reps WIN more often.

I have had sales reps tell me their companies didn’t want them to do any servicing of their accounts. Every time I hear this from a rep I ask what the company means by service. In most cases there is a very high level of mechanical service that is involved. The company doesn’t want the rep doing work that may require professional service people. I don’t believe there is a company anywhere that has ever intended to tell a rep not to perform sales related service to a customer. In some cases the rep may know how to do the mechanical servicing but the company wants their focus to be on sales, and rightfully so. No matter how you look at it, sales drives revenues and profits, having your sales force well focused is the best thing to do. However, a rep doing the tasks that build sales through service is the perfect solution for everyone.

Lorin

PEANUTS AND COKE COLA

I was born and raised in New York. Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island (LongIsland – One word to the locals) I came to Atlanta to attend Oglethorpe University. Right out of school I started my first sales job. It was about 4 years later that I had to sell out of the city of Atlanta. It was a whole new world.

My first trip to North Georgia to sell was an experience I will never forget (and nether will my very first customers), allow me to tell you my story.

I decided to work in a little town called Lafayette (pronounced La-Fay-Ette, not to be confused with La-Fe-ette as in Louisiana) because my wife had an Aunt and Uncle that lived in the town and could give me some leads. On my way to Lafayette I stopped at a small country store. It was an eye opener for a city boy like I was. I walked into the store and there were 4 .. Let’s call them gentlemen, sitting around a small wooden barrel playing cards, dipping snuff, and drinking Coke-Cola with peanuts in the bottle. (I had never seen peanuts in a Coke before) These gentlemen stopped everything they were doing when I walked in and just stared at me as I stared back at them. (At this point Deliverance wasn’t out yet thank goodness or I would have run for the door).

I took a step towards them and started my sales pitch (It was a pitch not a presentation). I thought I was doing great until I looked into their faces and all 4 had “deer in the headlights” looks on their faces. I stopped talking and asked what was wrong. One of the gentlemen stood up walked over to me and said in the deepest southern accent I have ever heard up to that time, “Boy, you are ready to say goodbye and we are just startin to digest your hello”. I didn’t know what to say so I did what I do best, I started laughing. At that all 4 of them started laughing along with me. (I am not sure about that, they might have been laughing AT me not with me)

The gentleman who stood up walked me over next to the barrel and offered me a chair. I sat down and that is when I got introduced to peanuts in a Coke. After about 20 minutes of learning just how S-L-O-W I needed to talk, I started my sales pitch again. I have never taken so long to get to a demo in my life, but yet there I was.

To this day I know that none of these gentlemen needed anything I was peddling, but each one of them bought something from me. More importantly I learned a few things from them;

1)      You don’t need a degree from a University to be smart

2)      You can’t expect your customers to change to your way of doing things, you need to change to theirs

3)      Expect the Unexpected

4)      Never be afraid to try new things (I recommend peanuts in Coke, BTW they need to be salted “Red Skin” peanuts)

5)      Learn to laugh at yourself at least as hard as you laugh at others

I hope you enjoyed this story, what makes it so good (at least to me) is the fact that it happened exactly like this. As a matter of fact, I started typing this post at 4PM today, I am just finishing at 11:30 PM because I am typing it in SOUTHERN…

Real S-L-O-W.

Lorin

AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT

“I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING.”DID HE FIRE SIX SHOTS OR ONLY FIVE?" WELL, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, IN ALL THIS EXCITEMENT I KIND OF LOST TRACK MYSELF. BUT BEING AS THIS IS A .44 MAGNUM, THE MOST POWERFUL HANDGUN IN THE WORLD, AND WOULD BLOW YOUR HEAD CLEAN OFF, YOU'VE GOT TO ASK YOURSELF ONE QUESTION: DO I FEEL LUCKY? WELL, DO YA, PUNK?” – Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry

This has to be one of the greatest quotes about luck ever spoken, but it isn’t the most common. The quote I hear the most is, “Did I ever LUCK OUT today”, and it is said by sales reps after they made a great sale.

I HATE THAT SAYING! Why would a sales rep give luck all the credit for making a sale? Was it luck that made the sales call? Was it luck that did the demo? Was it luck that asked the questions? Was it luck that closed the sale? Is luck going to do the follow-up?

Let me tell you how to tell if LUCK made the sale;

If you are driving down the road and get a blow out in one of your front tires while going 70 MPH and your car goes into an uncontrollable spin, your car spins across 4 lanes of traffic into oncoming traffic and you get hit by a bus, the bus skids off the road into the front of a restaurant, you aren’t hurt, no one is hurt in the bus or the restaurant. One of the restaurants customers walks over to your car looks at you and says, hey by some chance do you sell (and names your product or service) I have been looking to buy some of that for weeks! If this ever happens to you, then I will admit, YOU WERE LUCKY.

The problem is, the reps that say they are lucky are the reps that go into their territory every day, work hard, do whatever it takes to succeed and make sales. Then they give the credit for the sale to LUCK. I just don’t get it.

Dr. Dennis Waitley, the great motivational speaker says LUCK stands for:

Laboring

Under

Correct

Knowledge

In other words, LUCK is doing what you know to be right and doing it all the time. The reps that labor under correct knowledge always seem to be lucky!

We make our own luck by the way we conduct ourselves every day, we either help ourselves become lucky or prevent ourselves from being lucky. Either way, LUCK has nothing to do with it!

We work too darn hard to attribute our successes to chance. We aren’t LUCKY, we’re GOOD at what we do. We aren’t LUCKY, we are successful. We aren’t LUCKY, we are persistent, motivated, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about the profession we have chosen.

Now I want everyone to listen closely, DO NOT START DRIVING AROUND ON BALD TIRES AT 70 MILES PER HOUR HOPING TO GET LUCKY, IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY! IT WAS A STORY, JUST A STORY, I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF IT HAPPENING, IT WON’T EVER HAPPEN… NEED I SAY MORE?

Lorin

PERFECTION

"Strive for perfection in everything you do.

Take the best that exists and make it better.

If it doesn’t exist, create it.

Accept nothing as nearly right or good enough."

Henry Royce – Co-founder Rolls Royce

This quote by Henry Royce, has been the cornerstone of Rolls Royce since its beginnings. This quote is written on a plaque in the lobby of Rolls Royce Headquarters for everyone to see. I have been told it is also written on the employment applications for all perspective employees to read.

This quote is awesome. To me, what makes this quote so strong is the word STRIVE. If the word strive was replaced with “achieve” this quote would have no meaning to me. Why? Because asking someone to achieve perfection, and expecting it, is above anyone’s ability. This doesn’t mean that no one can achieve perfection and we should all STRIVE for it, but it isn’t something that we can put into a plan. If and when perfection is achieved, it is achieved through hard work, trial and error, and usually happens without anyone knowing it until after it has been achieved.

Let’s look at the Olympic Games. There were several “perfect scores of 10. Every athlete started the competition in hopes of achieving the perfect score of 10. Thousands of men and women set out to be perfect, and yet the small handful who achieved it, didn’t know they had accomplished their goal until they were told so by the judges. Not one of these young men and women left the field or floor of competition knowing they had been perfect.

Sales are the same way. Every sales rep I know walks into the customer to make the PERFECT presentation which will maximize the sale and profits. Very few, if any, ever hit the goal of perfection.

Now for the good news, every Olympic event has a winner. Athletes win with less than perfect scores. Even better news, most sales (if not all) are made with less than perfect presentations.

This is why I started today’s post with a quote that says STRIVE FOR PERFECTION. We all need to do everything we can to be as perfect as we can be, but we also need to keep in mind that perfection is almost impossible to accomplish and impossible to plan into your day.

Henry Royce understood this concept very well, that’s why every Rolls Royce comes with a warranty! If a Rolls Royce sells and is never brought in for repairs, then they have achieved what they consider perfection. If a sales rep gives his or her presentation and it goes without any flaws and the customer buys then that rep has achieved perfection as well. Does this mean the car or the sale is perfect? No, it means the car or sale is perfect in the buyer’s eyes. Perception is reality! Who am I to argue?

Lorin

IT’S NOT JUST FOR KIDS ANYMORE

If a year ago you said to me that I would be telling people to post videos on YouTube, I would have called you crazy! Yet here I am today, shaking my head in disbelief, and telling you to post a video about yourself on YouTube.

Social media has become more than just a place to post pictures of yourself on the beach. Today, web sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Plaxo, Google, Facebook, Blogger and don’t forget YouTube are places people look for information. Employers look at these sites to gather information on perspective employees. Companies look at these sites to gather information on consultants. Recruiters search these sites for people to fill openings they have. Customers look at the information on these sites to help them make buying decisions.

Here are a few tips on social media sites:

1)      Although they are supposed to be “FUN” sites, remember employers, potential employers, and customers use these sites to gather information about people they are dealing with.

2)      Don’t just be careful about what you post on these sites, be careful about what your friends and connections post as well. The people looking may assume that because you are their friends you think like the people who post.

3)      Complete your profile and remember this is a selling sheet about you.

4)      Watch your language, using cuss words, racially biased words or something as simple as bad grammar or spelling can give someone the wrong impression about you.

5)      Use proper punctuation, and capitalization. These sites are not like texting to your best friends.

6)      Show yourself in the best possible way. Let people know when you accomplish something good.

7)      Avoid politics and religion as topics. No two subjects can cause more problems than these two.

8)      Link the sites together. Make it easy for someone to navigate to all your social media sites.

9)      Be consistent with your message and information. Don’t say one thing on one site and contradict yourself on another.

10)   Let your personality show. Yes, you need to be careful, but these are SOCIAL MEDIA sites and the real you should show through.

Branding yourself should be an important part of your social media identity. Develop who you are, what you do, why you are different from everyone else who does the same thing, and what you have to offer someone as a friend, colleague, employee or sales rep. Your brand should highlight your greatest strengths and send the message, LOOK AT ME, I AM THE ONE YOU WANT TO LOOK AT.

As a sales rep you should make a video of yourself making a sales pitch of your best selling product. Post it on YouTube and have the link put onto your business cards. The video doesn’t need to be professionally done and cost you a fortune. As long as it is of good enough quality to show what it is you need to show about your product or service, and the sound is of the quality that you can understand every word when you are watching. This can usually be accomplished with a moderately priced video camera. If you can have it made by a professional, all the better, but it is definitely not necessary.

I have found the best way to understand what all these sites are about is to go to them and surf around. Click links, watch, read and listen. You will see the good, the bad and definitely the UGLY. It isn’t hard to differentiate between what you should and shouldn’t post on these sites.

Go ahead, jump right in and get started today. Don’t be afraid, kids half your age are doing it…OH that’s what you are afraid of.. I SEE!

Lorin

TWO NEGITIVES DON’T MAKE A POSITIVE

What a great day to FAIL! I feel like going out today and falling flat on my face, accomplishing nothing, taking a giant step backwards, and losing everything I have.

How many of you know someone who wakes up every morning and you are convinced say these words, or words very close to these? I know a few people who do. Some people in this world believe that every silver cloud has a grey lining.

You job, if you choose to accept it, is to AVOID THESE PEOPLE AT ALL COSTS!

I know that you can’t answer me, but, how do you think these people would do at selling? I can see it now, walking into a customer and saying, Mr. Customer, My product doesn’t work like I say it does, it’s overpriced, I am awful at supplying service, and I bet you want the product shipped in a timely manner.

I really hope that this doesn’t sound like you! If it does, I hear that McDonalds is hiring. No sales rep would ever say anything that comes close to this would they? Would they? It might surprise you. I have heard reps start the sale with, “I am sure you won’t need this”, or “This isn’t something for you” and guess what. EVERY time the customer proves them right. I was sitting in the waiting room of the shop where I buy my tires waiting for my car 2 weeks ago. I saw a sales rep walk in and from his first sentence nothing but doom and gloom about how bad business was, how much business he has lost in the past year, how process were going up, and he actually said he heard that the customers company was in financial trouble and his boss told him to keep the order as small as he could until they found out what was going to happen. Can you imagine what the customer was thinking? This rep just told him a rumor about his company. True or not, do you think the customer wants to hear it come from a supplier?

What is the overall message for you today? BE POSITIVE, talk positive, present a positive image, never spread gossip, and be a part of the solution not the problem.

Our customers know the economy is slow you don’t need to remind them. Our customers are looking for the breath of fresh air. They want to be given good news for a change. They are starving for positive information. They want to see smiles, hear enthusiasm, and feel excited. Our customers need to be built up, they need to be told they are valued, and they will show their application by placing orders.

The great part about all this is that when the economy explodes again, the reps that delivered the most positive message and helped the customer the most will be the reps the customer value the most and give the most business to.

Right now, today, this second is the best time to start developing your positive attitude and your positive approach to a sale. I don’t usually make promises about a selling technique, there are too many variables that can get in the way of success. I will make an exception, I PROMISE, if you will start presenting with a positive attitude, and saying positive things you WILL make more sales. PERIOD! Put me to the test!

Lorin

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to the fork in the road, TAKE IT”. In his own way, Yogi was telling you a secret to success.

Just about everything we do is linked to making a choice. It starts in the morning just as you take your first breath waking up, you immediately decide if you want to get out of bed or roll over and go back to sleep. Depending on what you decided, your decision will lead you to your next decision. If you decided to roll over and go back to sleep the decision is “how long should I sleep”? If you decided to get up, the decision might be to take a shower or have breakfast first. Every decision you make will lead to your next decision and so on for the entire day.

Life is a series of choices. Very seldom do we have a situation where there is only one choice, and many times we have more than two choices. This is where decision making starts to get very complicated. Or maybe not! It will depend on what you use as the “deciding factor” to make decisions. (Say that 3 times fast). Your personal values come into play. Do you always do what is right? Do you always do what is right for YOU? Do you always do what is right for your company? 3 answers to the same question and none of them wrong answers. So how will you decide?

Just about everyone has their own idea as to how to make decisions. As a matter of fact I have my own idea, the good news (at least for me) is, because this is my blog I get to share my ideas. Whenever I have a decision to make, I first think past the decision. I try to think about all the consequences that “COULD” happen with each decision I can make. By looking to what some call the next level, you can sometimes see what works out to be the best decision to make.

If the next level doesn’t help me I then look at each decision from the customer’s point of view. I ask myself, “If I do this, what will it look like to my customer” or “What will the customer think”? By looking through the customers eyes you can sometimes see your best decision very clearly.

Finally, if everything is equal at the next level, and through the customers eyes, I think, which decision will give me BRAGGING rights? In other words, which decision will give me the best story to tell to my other customers and perhaps persuade them to buy more from me? Which decision will make me a better “Sales Story Teller”? I have always told the reps I train that if you do something for a customer and they don’t know that it was you who did it, it is like not doing it. For instance, if you go to a customer and rearrange their displays without them knowing it, you may as well not have done it. They will never give you credit for it, they will think that one of their people did it. You need to toot your own horn, and having a GREAT story to tell is a very loud TOOT!

Now let’s look at absolutely the worst decision you can make. Do you know what the worst decision is? The worst decision is NOT MAKING A DECISION! Without making a decision there is no progress, there is no movement, and nothing is accomplished. No decision means that things are left unfinished, or half way done. No decision may tell a customer that you are not sure of yourself and that can make them loose confidence in you. Since I already used a Yogi Berra quote, let me stay with the baseball theme. Any coach will tell you, there is nothing wrong with striking out swinging at the ball, but to strike out standing with the bat on your shoulder is never acceptable.

I wish I could tell you decision making was fun. To be truthful, it seldom is fun, what I can tell you is decision making is crucial and the best decision makers seem to always be the most successful people.

Am I right? YOU DECIDE!

Lorin

A TALE OF PERSISTENCE

Last night I finished my regular reading of See You At The Top by Zig Ziglar and was looking at my bookcase for something good to read. I saw a book that I haven’t read in a few years. I pulled it out and started reading it. I was about 4 pages into it and I started to remember the movie about the hero of the book. I thought about the man and what it must have been like to walk in his shoes. I was moved.

The book I started reading is “Ten Things I Learned From BILL PORTER” written by his long time assistant Shelly Brady. For those of you who don’t know who Bill Porter is allow me to give you a brief background on him, and then you can Google him and read more about this remarkable man.

Bill Porter IS a salesman. He is also a gentleman who was born with Cerebral Palsy. Most people don’t put these two things together, and there is a reason, most people with Cerebral Palsy can’t do what Bill Porter did for decades, WALK! Bill Porter would walk over 10 miles a day peddling Watkins Products door to door in Portland Oregon. The story of what he did just to get dressed in the morning is enough to make most people without a handicap cringe, yet day after day, decade after decade, he did what he loved to do SELL.

Bill Porter takes the phrase “NO EXCUSES” to a new level and the word “PERSISTANCE” can be defined in his work ethic. He has accomplished more in his life than most people could ever hope for, and yet remains a SALESMAN first and foremost.

Today’s post is going to be short. Nothing I can write comes close to the true description of this remarkable man. I ask you to please take some time and look him up on the internet. Search for the movie “Door to Door” starring William Macy, search “Ten Things I Learned From BILL PORTER”, search “Life of a Salesman” an article in the Oregonian 11/19/1995, search BILL PORTER and read for yourself about the man who should be the hero of every sales rep alive.

Then go to his web site http://billporter.com and read his words and get an insight to what makes him what I believe is the best of the best.

I will end with a line from the 20/20 TV feature about Bill Porter, “The world needs more Bill Porters, we all need a little Bill Porter within us”

Lorin

GIT ALONG LIL DOGGIE

Today I went to visit an old friend of mine who used to be a bull rider on the rodeo circuit. Every time I go to see him I walk away with another bit of WESTERN WISDOM. I want to share what I learned from him today. I believe if you went to Harvard Business School you wouldn’t get better advice than what I am going to pass along.

THE CODE OF THE WEST

                10 PRINCIPLES TO LIVE BY

1)      Live each day with courage

2)      Take pride in your work

3)      Always finish what you start

4)      Do  what has to be done

5)      Be tough, but fair

6)      When you make a promise, keep it

7)      Ride for the brand

8)      Talk less and say more

9)      Remember that some things aren’t for sale

10)   Know where to draw the line

As you read these 10 principles, don’t just read the words, search for the meaning. From talking with my friend I have become aware that sometimes you can learn more from reading “between the lines” than you can reading the written words.

Here are my thoughts and ideas about these 10 principles:

1)      Live each day with courage – to me this doesn’t mean be brave, it means that you need to courage to face the everyday problems that life throws at you.

2)      Take pride in your work – don’t just do a job, do the BEST job you can. Don’t do it for the boss or the company, do the best job for your own pride and self worth.

3)       Always finish what you start – it’s not someone else’s job to clean up after you. If the job was worth starting it is worth finishing to your best ability.

4)      Do what has to be done – to me this has 2 meanings, the first is go the extra mile if need be to get the job done. The second is put forth the effort, no matter what it takes, to get things done. ALWAYS WITH HONOR AND PRIDE!

5)      Be tough, but fair – don’t take the easy route, sometimes the decisions you need to make are the hard, MAKE THEM but be fair and just in how you decide.

6)      When you make a promise, keep it – a cowboy may have said it this time, but as a sales trainer I have said it a thousand times.

7)      Ride for the brand – just like the product or service brand you represent the cowboys had a ranch and each ranch had its own distinctive BRAND that they placed on what they owned. A cowboy always defended and represented their BRAND with PRIDE, HONOR, and DIGNITY and would defend it to the end.

8)      Talk less and say more – This is another one that is a cowboy saying here but is a sales rep saying as well. Think it in 10 words, but say it in 5. (It wasn’t until today that I realized something, when sitting in a meeting with my friend I would sometimes hear him mumble “Number 8” I now know what he was saying)

9)      Remember that some things aren’t for sale – I interpret this as to mean that your integrity, honesty, and reputation should always be beyond compromise.

10)   Know where to draw the line – The line being the values you will not set aside or are willing to ignore.  Draw the line and never cross it. Allow yourself to be pushed if need be, but only to the line.

These by no means are the only way to interpret these principles, they are just my way. I will end today’s blog repeating myself.

DON’T JUST READ THSES WORDS, SEARCH FOR THE MEANING!

Lorin

WAS IT AS GOOD FOR YOU AS IT WAS FOR ME

After 4 days of not venturing out of the house because of the ice and snow, I finally went out today. It felt good to be out and about. I had a few errands to run, one of them was to Radio Shack. I walked into the Radio Shack and I couldn’t believe what I saw, there had to be 12 people in there and they were all buying flashlights.

My first thought was, hey the storm is over what do you need flashlights for now? My second thought was why would you buy a flashlight at Radio Shack? They cost twice as much here as they do at the Target across the street.

It didn’t matter, there they were talking to the ONE salesman in the store about which light is brightest, which flashlight will last the longest, which flashlight costs the least, had the widest beam, went the furthest, and every other question you can ask about a flashlight.

The lone sales rep answered each question as he helped the customers. He definitely knew his flashlights. As he rang up each sale (and if you know Radio Shack you know ringing up a sale is a process all by itself) and the customer paid he said thanks and went onto the next customer. People started to come into the store faster than people were leaving. After about 15 minutes of waiting there had to be at least 20 people, me being one of them, waiting for this one salesman.

When my turn came I bought the jack and plug I needed, paid the bill and left thankful to be out of there. Then it hit me, the lone sales rep in the Radio Shack never once asked anyone, including myself, if I wanted anything else. He never offered or suggested anything else. As a matter of fact, he NEVER even offered batteries to the people buying the flashlights. I am not an electrical engineer, but I know a flashlight without batteries is worthless.

I wanted to go back and say something, but thought better of it. That poor guy had enough problems and way too many customers to appreciate my two cents. But it did get me thinking about how many sales calls I have been a part of, either making them myself or with another rep, where the customer bought a product or service and were never offered another product or service.

This is something that goes deep in to the sales rep psyche. I call this the “thief in the night” syndrome. A rep swoops in, makes a quick sale, and runs like a thief in the night. WHY? I have no idea, but I can tell you I have done it myself.

I have asked reps about this syndrome and have been told some really strange and funny things. I had a rep tell me that he was afraid that if he asked the customer to buy another item the customer would cancel the first item. I had a reps tell me that she felt customers would ask her if they wanted another item. I had reps tell me they were uncomfortable showing the customer more products. I had one rep, and this may be the funniest answer I have ever gotten, tell me she got so excited about making a sale that she couldn’t concentrate enough to ask about another product. (she was serious) When I tried to think of why I didn’t ask all I could think of it I simply forgot to ask.

It doesn’t matter what the reason, not offering additional products is simply UNPROFESSIONAL! Think about the rep at Radio Shack, imagine the customer’s disappointment when they got home with their new flashlight, only to find out that it didn’t work because they forgot batteries knowing full well that Radio Shack sells batteries and wondering why the salesman didn't offer them.

A sale that isn’t complete isn’t a good sale. I have said it before in postings, a sale needs to be good for the customer, good for the sales rep and good for the company before it is a good sale.

By the way, has anyone reading this blog ever had a customer tell them to cancel an order for a product because they showed the customer another product? It has never happened to me either!

Lorin

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

As I was surfing around the internet today I came across a few new stories that I have never read before and wanted to pass them along.

The Rock

An old farmer had plowed around a large rock in one of his fields for years. He had broken several plowshares and a cultivator on it and had grown rather morbid about the rock.

After breaking another plowshare one day, and remembering all the trouble the rock had caused him through the years, he finally decided to do something about it.

When he put the crowbar under the rock, he was surprised to discover that it was only about six inches thick and that he could break it up easily with a sledgehammer. As he was carting the pieces away he had to smile, remembering all the trouble that the rock had caused him over the years and how easy it would have been to get rid of it sooner.

So many times we see our problems as being so much bigger than they really are. The problem is, until we examine them closely and decide to do something about them we never know. - Lorin

Never Give Up

Sir Winston Churchill took three years getting through eighth grade because he had trouble learning English. It seems ironic that years later Oxford University asked him to address its commencement exercises.

He arrived with his usual props. A cigar, a cane and a top hat accompanied Churchill wherever he went. As Churchill approached the podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. With unmatched dignity, he settled the crowd and stood confident before his admirers. Removing the cigar and carefully placing the top hat on the podium, Churchill gazed at his waiting audience. Authority rang in Churchill's voice as he shouted, "Never give up!"

Several seconds passed before he rose to his toes and repeated: "Never give up!" His words thundered in their ears. There was a deafening silence as Churchill reached for his hat and cigar, steadied himself with his cane and left the platform. His commencement address was finished.

You are never beaten until you stop trying. – Lorin

Mount Everest

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts.

He even made American Express card commercials because of it! However, until we read his book, High Adventure, we don't understand that Hillary had to grow into this success.

You see, in 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members.

Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform.

He made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. He said in a loud voice, "Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I'll beat you the next time because you've grown all you are going to grow... but I'm still growing!"

With every attempt we get closer to success. Learning from the past will lead directly to the successes of the future. – Lorin

I hope these inspire you as much as they did me.

Lorin

BARNYARD WISDOM

I would guess that most of you have heard the story of the PIG and the CHICKEN.

The Chicken and the Pig

A pig and a chicken are walking down a road. The chicken looks at the pig and says, “Hey, why don’t we open a restaurant?” The pig looks back at the chicken and says, “Good idea, what do you want to call it?” The chicken thinks about it and says, “Why don’t we call it ‘Ham and Eggs’?” “I don’t think so,” says the pig, “I’d be committed, but you’d only be involved.”

This story is the short version, but it gets the point across.

As sales reps we say we want to “PARTNER” with our customers. We want them to think of us as an unpaid employee and we want to help them by supplying the best product or service we can. The problem is we are involved, the customers are committed.

It doesn’t matter if your contact works for the company or owns the company they are usually dependent on the business for their entire living. Most reps earn their living making a little from a lot of customers. No one business will make the difference between success and failure.

I have seen sales reps that have really come close to being committed to a customer. These reps have very few customers and each one is an elephant account. If the rep looses one of these accounts the rep is ruined. In today’s business environment, with companies that were flying high a few years ago and today they are closing their doors, the rep not only has to worry about them continuing to place orders but they need to worry about the management making the right decisions to keep the doors open. Being committed in this way is NOT a good thing!

Like the chicken we need to stay involved with the customers. We always want to be a part of their “MAIN COURSE” but we want to make sure that we will be around to help ALL our customers not just the elephants.

I know this almost sounds like I am saying that customers don’t matter. There is nothing further from the truth. EVERY CUSTOMER MATTERS, I have repeatedly stated this in my blog, but no customer is worth failing for.

It sounds all warm and fuzzy to say that you are committed to a customer, but we all know that if it comes down to you or their business the customer will choose their business, and they should! You need to be equally as committed to YOUR BUSINESS. Here is where COMMITMENT comes in on your part. You commit to every customer you have to be there for them, help them, do what is needed so they can succeed. You commit to your family that you will work hard and do all the right things to earn a living so you can support them. You make a commitment to yourself to be as successful a sales rep as you can be.

A commitment in business needs to be self focused. NOT SELFISH, self focused. Please notice I am saying IN BUSINESS, there are other places in your personal life where being committed is just as important, don’t ignore these.

Like the pig, making a commitment isn’t the problem, making sure his partner is just as committed is.

Now I think I want my eggs over easy and a thick slice of country ham.

Lorin

THE MOST EXPENSIVE WORD IN THE WORLD – FREE

“And if you order this today, we will throw in 2 more just like it for FREE”, “I can give that to you for FREE”, “With this package you get 6 of these for FREE”.. It doesn’t matter how it is said or what it is you sell or service, someone in your industry, your company, or maybe YOU are telling customers they can get something FREE!

I HATE THE WORD FREE, even if I am buying something and I am on the receiving end, I HATE THE WORD FREE!

Does anyone reading this blog believe for one minute that what you get is really FREE? I hope not. We should all realize that anything that is given as FREE has already been figured into the price. Please go to Thursdays (1/6/11) blog and read it. THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE AGES.

In any business, everything has a cost, it may be very small, but everything has a cost. When a rep gives something away for FREE what they are actually doing is adding the cost of the object to the total cost of the items being sold without raising the selling price. Does that sound complicated? Let me make it very simple: the rep is lowering the PROFIT of the total sale. This is a good reason for any company to not like FREE and if you work on commissions and they are figured on profits you should HATE THE WORD FREE!

Now let me ask you this, HOW MUCH IS FREE WORTH? An interesting question isn’t it? If I give you something for FREE what value do you place on it? I just told you it was FREE so most customers think it has no value (at least not to you or your company). Let’s now look at the big picture, I give you something for free because I want to build “VALUE” to what I am offering, because I tell you it is FREE you perceive it as having no value, anything I give has a cost and will reduce profits… GIVING SOMETHING FOR FREE REALLY DOESN’T DO A REP ANY GOOD!

Any rep that has been selling for a period of time has fallen into the trap of telling a customer something is FREE and the customer, because they perceive it as having no value, asks for more of the free stuff. OOPZ, there goes more profits!

I believe that in the market today everyone knows that nothing is FREE, so why say it? I contend that many customers are actually turned off and some even offended when a sales rep says something is FREE. It is insulting the customer’s intelligence. From now on replace the word FREE with INCLUDED. Say that you will “include at no extra charge”, it makes the entire sale seem real instead of a flim flam infomercial for some super appliance on TV.

Always remember that what you say and how you say it makes the sale. Every word counts and you can never take one back once it leaves your lips. It has been said that, “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD”, then it is also true that, “THE WORD IS A NUCLEAR BOMB COMPARED TO THE PEN”.

Lorin

WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET (OR PURSE)?

There is about 5 inches of snow in Atlanta, with sleet and freezing rain coming down on top of it. Needless to say I am in my house with my fingers crossed that the power won’t go out. The one good thing about the weather is it gives me time to do things that I usually put off. One of these tasks is organizing my desk.

As I was cleaning things up on my desk I gathered all the business cards that I have received over the past few weeks from meetings and seminars I have attended. As I started to put these cards in my file I was reading them and made an interesting discovery. About 7 out of 10 cards were BORING! What does this say about the person and company that the card represents?

If you think about it, your business card is your brand. Your card should be your billboard. While you drive on the highway and see all the billboards what do they all have in common? (I keep forgetting that you are reading this and can’t answer me) They all have a message that is stated in VERY few words but everyone who reads them knows exactly what the meaning is. Advertisers can’t write long copy for billboards, the people reading them are driving at 55 MPH (LOL) and by the time the billboard is in focus to the time it is behind them is about 15 seconds or less.

Your business card needs to work the same way. The average person will glance at a business card for about 5 seconds or less. Your card needs to convey your BRAND at first glance.

Let me help you a little. It seems that one company who gives away 250 free cards at a time is getting the vast majority of the card printing business. This company does a GREAT job, but you need to invest just a little in your pocket billboard.

1)      Select one of the “CUSTOM” backgrounds for your card. The free backgrounds are used by thousands of people and the layout is the same. BORING! The cost is between $4 and $9 dollars depending on the background you choose.

2)      BRAND yourself. Don’t just put name, number, and e mail. Every card has that information. What is your “distinguisher”? What separates you from everyone else? Mine is “TRAINING EXPERT” When people read it they immediately know what I do.

3)      Do you have a “TAG LINE”? A short phrase that tells something about you and what you believe. Mine is “TAKING PEOPLE FROM WHERE THEY ARE TO WHERE THEY CAN BE” This needs to be more than a task, it is a mission statement.

4)      Don’t forget your card has a back. This is usually kept blank, however it is a great place to have a short message. On the back of my card is the information about this blog and how to log onto it. Just be careful, I have seen people put bullet pointed lists on the back of their cards and the print is so small it can’t even be read.

5)      What stands out? On so many cards your name is the only thing that stands out. Think about business cards and how you use them. What the person does is even more important than the name. When I search through my card file I may know I am looking for a HR person, if I knew the name I wouldn’t need to be looking at the cards!

6)      Pay the extra and have the printing companies name taken off the back of the card. Everyone knows this company, why tell people that you didn’t invest in yourself and ordered FREE business cards? (This may be a good tactic for finance people, it shows your frugal)

7)      Remember the billboard concept, KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Get your idea across in as few words as you can.

Having a unique and memorable card works let me tell you a quick story. I received a phone call a few weeks ago from a recruiter who I used to fill positions within the company I was with. I had not heard from him for about 3 years because when he left his last company he had to stay away from existing customers for 3 years. When I answered the phone, and we were talking for a few minutes he told me that mine was the only business card that he kept and the reason he kept it was my card was so unusual. The business card he had was a folded card, this made it unique by itself, but the card was also in the shape of a 55 gallon drum and was printed to look like the drums my company used. This made it a ONE OF A KIND!

Business cards are an inexpensive way to assure people know who you are, how to contact you, and what it is you do. The RIGHT business card will also help them REMEMBER you when the time comes that they need your services.

Lorin