Do Something! or Lessons from a Beet Salad

"Collapse Time" is one of my personal core values which every day for the past several decades continues to be more deeply a part of who I am, or at least who I keep trying to become. There are several reasons why I believe through experience, reflection and observation, that this is one of the attributes that separates uncommon and remarkable performers from the pack.

First, among the more poignant discoveries of the human maturation cycle is the realization that time is finite. The world's richest folk, even the world's most worthy folk (usually very different concepts) can't buy or bargain for more. (60/24/7/52/365, hopefully to three score and and ten and maybe some more...that's all there is...best case). Applying this fact to our business endeavors, every moment we use, or don't, during our business day is gone...finito...sayonara! So the quicker we accomplish the task of the moment and move immediately on to the next, the more we get done. If we collapse time well and get substantially more done than the average seller, we tend to be uncommon performers.

Hmmm. The quicker we work, the more we get done; Not particularly profound but very elusive for most people. Why would that be? Some are lazy but we'll move right past them because they are small in number and we can't unlazy them in any event. But some who may seem lazy are not, but are actually at a loss as to how to move forward and are therefore experiencing anxiety. These folk get paralyzed by their fears and insecurities.

Many years ago on a beautiful Fall Saturday, very shortly after I awakened, I became "sure" that I had fallen victim to a serious medical problem. I called a specialist who said he'd be delighted to see me on Monday next and suggested that I relax until then. That was about like telling a mosquito not to bite. So for the next couple of hours I mentally went over my will and more or less whined like a baby to my wife. When her attempts to calm me with rational discussion about the myriad possibilities, other than terminal illness accounting for the symptoms at hand were exhausted, she marched me out to the yard, stuck a rake in my hand and said, "DO SOMETHING! RAKE UP THE LEAVES!" I did and within minutes the anxiety and the dead leaves were gone. I did something...anxiety fled...something was accomplished.

Another paralysis generator is fear of failure. "Seven calls in a row with not one, 'Sure, I'd be glad to see you'. I can't go go through that again. Perhaps I'll just sit here and stare at the phone until 5:00 PM." The solution to this "failure is guaranteed course of non-action" is no different than in the prior case. DO SOMETHING! Re-think your phone approach, call a current client with an industry up-date that you came across last night. Go to your new prospect resource(s) and add twenty-eight new names to replace the seven who said, "No thanks." Call back one of the seven and ask for reconsideration because you are "so sure you can be of help to him." Pick one of these or 38,712 other possibilities without a moment's hesitation and get started. Why? Because time is finite. You can't bank it. When the moment is gone, it's gone forever, and because you are determined to fill your moments productively, because you COLLAPSE TIME, and do more and are uncommon and are on the way to becoming a remarkable sales executive.

Great Selling!

P.S. It was the beet salad at dinner the night before.

Love Your Work and Work Tirelessly
Serve, Don't Sell
Collapse Time
Communicate Honestly and Fearlessly
Teamwork

Available for Corporate and Individual Consultation, Training and Speaking
rsherman@PilotGroup.Biz
212-486-4446

Straight Commission or Decaf?

Don't ever take a job selling a product or service that you don't believe in. It's improbable that you can be more than an average performer in sales unless you are dedicated to helping folk find solutions to their problems and maximizing their opportunities. Helping others by representing products that you don't believe in are incompatible notions, of course. But assuming that you
have found a worthy enterprise and have been invited to join, it's now time to settle your compensation program. So, what do you want? 1) A significant straight salary deal? 2) A salary that covers your bills and a moderate commission override? 3) A high, really high, commission only deal?

If you choose number one, I wish you well, working for someone other than me. If you choose number two, I have a few more questions, and then I'll get back to you. And if you choose number three and have no felony convictions, welcome aboard!

Sellers who truly believe they've a valuable product that could help a number of people, and, who know that they are blessed with a sincere desire to help others, and core values that keep them customer focused, honest and efficient, know that the only limitations to their economic rewards are the hours in the day and a cap on their earnings.

That's why great sellers don't negotiate salaries; They negotiate commission rates.

P.S. Great sellers drink "regular".

Great Selling!

Love Your Work and Work Tirelessly
Serve, Don't Sell
Communicate Honestly and Fearlessly
Collapse Time
Teamwork

Available for Corporate and Individual Consultation, Training and Motivational Speaking RSherman@PilotGroup.biz
212-486-4446

It's Not WHAT, it's WHO that Makes the Difference

When I fall, I fall hard. Mrs. Shellings (my third grade teacher), Mandy (guess who) and my first media sales job, are apt examples. That first job was at WINS, a few years after it changed format to all news (prior format, anyone?). At the time it was far and away the number one ranked radio station in New York. It was always underpriced back then as evidenced by the fact that it was always sold out. It was no different the week I started. No inventory was available; before midnight that is. By the end of my second week overnights were sold out as well and a love affair that has only grown over time was begun.

Partnering with a marketing savvy owner of a small ad agency, headquartered in Flushing, New York, above JC's pool hall, we strategized a plan for an association of retailers he represented. We rotated three of their dozen or so member chains three or four times an hour, six hours a day, seven days a week. The association was a household name in short order and the campaign ran for years. I imagine that it worked for the member chains, whose businesses it must have been growing. The feeling of potency that success bred was palpable. My first client was better off for having met me and was vocal in his gratitude. My sales manager was delighted, as was my landlord, and I faced each new day enthralled with the prospects that it held.

Before very long I was approached by the 20th or so ranked station asking me if I'd be interested in talking about a change. My interest was sparked when he answered the question about their account executive commission plan. It was high. I was in. (We'll talk about the concept of loyalty between employers and employees another time).

I have to admit I did that one more time after a brief stint at my second station when I was offered a still higher commission plan. This time I would be joining one of the absolutely lowest ranked stations in New York radio. Here's why I made the move. THE PRODUCT, RADIO, WORKED. It ALWAYS WORKED if it is bought, sold and is used correctly.

So any station can grow businesses if the account executive understands his product and cares enough about his client to struggle to identify the opportunity for the client and a creative approach for solving it.

I decided then and believe with even more conviction today, that it is how much responsibility the salesman is willing to take for identifying prospects that can be helped by his product, and how passionate he is to do all the work that will position him to help, that will determine his degree of success. Neither the ranking of his station (in the case of broadcast) nor the reviews of JD Powers in other sectors, is at play. It's only all about you!

Isn't that wonderful news?

Great Selling!

Love Your Work and Work Tirelessly
Serve, Don't Sell
Communicate Honestly and Fearlessly
Collapse Time
Teamwork

Available for Corporate and Individual Consultation, Training and Speaking
RSherman@PilotGroup.Biz
212-486-4446

Never Waste Anything! Especially Failure!

I've always believed that, and a true soul mate and four great additional kids were my reward for acting on that belief.

There are any number of reasons for failure and, sadly, average performers repeat their particular failure "drivers" over and over throughout the course of their careers. This behavior pattern exists for any number of reasons as well: Get right back on the horse, pick youself up, dust yourself off and start all over again, are just two of the reasons. These are nice platitudes and history teaches that they can be crafted into nice ditties, but if you get right back on the horse without giving any thought to why you fell off, uh. you might fall off again?

I mean maybe you should have mounted from the other side, for instance.

"Good morning Mr. Jones, I'm Herman Timmer and I represent Nelson's Winter Wear. I'll be in your area next Monday and would like to visit with you. Is morning ok? Oh, you're booked between now an 2016? Bye"

--right back on!

So- "Good morning Mr. Smith, I'm Herman Timmer and I represent Nelson's Winter Wear. I'll be in your area next Monday and would like to visit with you. Is morning ok? Oh, OK. Thanks anyway. Yes, I'll try next year."

--pick your self up, dust yourself off...

"He's a born salesman" is a meritless cliche. I feel a little less strongly about "he's a born average, salesman," but no one says or implies that they mean that. One is no more a born uncommon and remarkable salesman than he is a born bull rider, nuclear physicist, or ballet dancer. Passion, learning and hard work are the only routes that make it happen, and what better way to learn than while sitting flat on your butt, with the wind kicked out of you and covered in dust from head to toe, wondering how that happened? And it's important also that you don't first get up, shower and change and then go to your study with a cup of cocoa. a legal pad and pens to think through what happened; rested, calm, cool and collected. No, sit there dirty and beaten and figure it out. Learn from the failure!

"Why did I call Smith and Jones?"
"Were they prospects that could really benefit from 'Nelson's' ?"
"Did I give them any reason to commit their time to me?"
"Did I give them enough of a reason?"
"Was I confident in my call, over-confident? Friendly, too friendly?"
" What should I do differently on the next call?
"Hey, I have an idea. What if I called Mr. Smith back and 'fess up that I'm disappointed with myself for the last call. That I called him because I really believe my line will be very productive for him and I want to help. Would he please reconsider giving me a few mintues. What if I did that?"

Who knows? We could try it though and perhaps learn something from the first failed call.

Great Selling!

Love Your Work and Work Tirelessly
Serve, Don't Sell
Communicate Honestly and Fearlessly,
Collapse Time
Teamwork

Available for corporate and individual consultation, training and speaking.
rsherman@pilotgroup.biz

Maximize the Downtime; the Client's Downtime!

"Look, there's no point in coming to see me," he says, "I'm not doing any advertising. I'm surviving, until things get better." Of those salesmen who have the courage to try to continue the conversation, 90% of them, either as the result of "training" or their own "creativity," will respond along the lines of, "Well Mr. Jones, we should talk about how we can accelerate things getting better with some smart advertising." Or, "Mr. Jones, this is a great time for you to be advertising because most of your competitors aren't, and you can increase your Brand position." Or, etc. etc. These perfectly predictable "overcoming objection" responses will, if pushed hard enough, get the appointment that will never happen because of its cancellation between the hang-up and appointment date.


Let's face it, all the salesman really said was, "Who cares what you think or how you feel Bozo? I can answer any objection you throw my way." The client's reaction: "I get it, young man. No matter what I say, you will have an answer. So I'll just say 'yes', get you off the phone, and you'll get a call from Shirley tomorrow, cancelling."


The uncommon and remarkable 10% might instead reply to the "no interest now" comment this way. "Then this is a perfect time for us to meet, Mr. Jones. We can use this downtime, in a relaxed frame of mind to think through how I can help you grow your business when conditions warrant you getting back in the game." The resulting appointment, and one likely will be made, can be the first of a long or short series of meetings that earns the seller the respect and trust of this client through the expert and caring partnering he (this can be you) demonstrates in helping to forge strategies and plans that bode well for the account. And this client will let you know, sooner than either of you would have guessed, when the implementation of the resulting plans should begin.


The difference between most sellers and the remarkable achievers are no more dramatic that the difference between up and down, night and day or good and evil. The average seller is usually a well-intentioned, hard working, warrior; trained by less than perfectly-trained trainers. He is out to win! Out to successfully answer objections! Out to demonstrate the superiority and benefits of his product or service! Out to SELL!


"What do you think of this sales guy?" one exec asks. "He's a KILLER," the other responds.


The uncommon, remarkable salesman begins his day prepared to help any number of customers, old and new, grow their businesses. He tenaciously adheres to personal core values which include service to others, honesty, and teamwork, among others. He can be short or tall, fat or skinny, get soup on his shirt at lunch and never play a round of golf. But all with whom he comes in contact know that he is knowledgeable, indefatigable and very well intentioned. He let's his client win, and basks in their victory! He is a superstar!



Great Selling!


Love Your Work and Work Tirelessly
Serve, Don't Sell
Communicate Honestly and Fearlessly
Collapse Time
Teamwork


Available for Corporate and Individual Consultation, Training and Motivational Speaking
RSherman@Pilotgroup.biz

Little Ideas Don't Solve Big Problems

I've been immersed in media for close to forty years and I am astounded at how profoundly sellers of traditional media have transformed their ways of doing business over those years. NOT! These advertiser supported sectors have not only allowed the commoditization of their products, but allowed the training of every generation of sellers, once the memorization of features and benefits of a program or format have been mastered, to master the computing of CPPs and CPMs. Because that is all these industries ask of the representatives, that's about all the professionalism they get with the great majority of their AEs. Now the good news, from a career point of view, is that most folk have little trouble meeting those limited expectations.

Many years ago, I began my broadcast sales career with WINS, all-news radio in New York. "WINS" had a remarkable and uncommon senior AE at the time named Jack McGann. While Jack made sure that he covered all the bases, and made media buyers' hearts flutter over lunch at the Four Seasons and Downing Square, he also had a roll-a-dex which included the 411 on probably one-third of the CMOs of the top Fortune 500 companies. I don't know if Jack played golf, with those CMOs, and I don't know if he took them to fancy lunches, but I do know that he behaved as if he were the right hand man, or partner, or, depending upon the matter at hand, the boss or mentor to each of them.

To Jack, it was all about the business he was trying to help...with his mastery of his medium, with a self-trained marketing mind and with an unquenchable thirst for ferreting out the issues his client was experiencing as obstacles to growth. Jack could CPM with the best of them...but most of his business was done with pricing as a formality that had to be dealt with, rather than the determinant of success or failure. The most interesting message I ever got from Jack was over a martini lunch during the first week of my new career. (We did that then, drank at lunch, that is). He said, "Congratulations on getting the job, Bob. If you show up five days a week, you'll have met all the criteria necessary to make a good living in a fun, and for some, prestigious industry, for the rest of your working life. It's like a union card." My observation over the years is that Jack was right on the money.

Traditional media has a real problem on its' hands now. With the proliferation of new platforms that technology has created to reach consumers, radio and television's share of the total advertising buy is unstable, at best. The sellers of new media have the advantages of both a new story to tell as well as ad agency and marketers insecurities about missing the boat by letting competitors gain a foothold with the new consumer channels. The still unmatchable roles both radio and television play in the marketing of goods and services is now often getting lost in the excitement over the "new." And these traditional industries, whose sellers had already settled for commoditized rather than value based rewards for its work, and goals of in-sector market share improvement over growing the market to be shared, find themselves in a tough place. Needless to say, the extraordinary economic position all industries find themselves in now, greatly exacerbates the problem.

So what are the new solutions being entertained by radio and television sales teams to meet these challenges head-on? What are the cultural changes these industries are adopting that will break through the traditional ties that bind? What are the transformative undertakings that will spotlight the remarkable ability of television and radio to build and enhance brands and encourage on the spot transactions? And thus greatly and appropriately, for the good of the advertiser, increase spending.

Let's start with what won't do it:
Health fares won't do it.
Two for ones won't do it.
Remotes won't do it.
Discounts for long term commitments won't do it.
Anybody have a good promotion for an insurance agency won't do it.

These are little--and very, very old ideas. They are though, the calling cards of most (and therefore average) sales organizations.

What will move the needle, at first slowly but surely, but then profoundly and quickly, is a shift in culture, strategy and planning that focuses on sales teams that work together to build customers businesses. Focus on that, not the competitor, not the CPP, not the share of business.
All of that takes care of itself when you are the sales executive (part of a sales organization) that works in partnership with the clients to help them grow their businesses. When you become the de facto CMOs, ad agencies and partners, working hard to identify opportunities and effectuate routes for their maximization on behalf of the client: When that becomes the reality of the team's work life, it will crack the code and solve its own problems.

Great Selling!

Love Your Work And Work Tirelessy
Serve, Don't Sell
Communicate Honestly and Fearlessy
Collapse Time
Teamwork

Available for Corporate and Individual Consultation and Training, as well as Motivational Speaking,
RSherman@PilotGroup.biz

"Shine-Em-Up...For Free"

That was the sign in the American Terminal at LAX a few weeks ago. So I did. It cost me $7.00 and I'm pretty sure that's at or near the top that I've ever paid for a shine. I looked up from the paper I was reading while he was slapping on the polish at one point and asked, why he didn't post a price for the shine? "Well first of all," he began, "the free offer attracts attention, don't you think?" It certainly had gotten mine, I had to admit. "Second, most folks do what you just did, and ask why I say the shine is for free. And I tell 'em what I'll tell you now. If you think I've done a good job when I finish, pay me what it's worth to you."

I then asked this artiste (it was starting to look like this was going to be a killer shine) if he'd ever been stiffed? "Nah, not yet." When he finished he looked up and smiled as I went to the wallet and pulled out all the bills I had smaller than a twenty. That happened to come to $7.00. If I'd had another two singles I probably would have forked that over, as well. How great a businessman/seller is this guy? First he's a magical marketer. He's decided that his USP is free shoe shines. Hmmm. Talk about separating yourself from the competition. He's also figured out that "advertising that USP" would would "stop traffic," literally.

And how about his pricing strategy? The man's a genius! If he tried to lure customers in with under market pricing (a different USP), let's say $3.00, he'd get good traffic, and likely as not, a fair measure of $2.00 tips. Total $5.oo per shine. If he put a $5.00 price out there, it'd be about market for a major city air terminal so he would be undistinguished from his competition. No big deal unless he gets pretty busy in which case arriving passengers might continue walking toward "baggage" while looking for a less crowded shine parlor. Moreover, with a $5.00 cellar price he's probably psychologically capped his "tip" opportunity at $2.00, and more often than not, I suspect, the tip would be a buck.

His zero based pricing leaves the decision entirely in the hands of the customer. And I suspect the decisions made on payment include elements not even in the game in a normal shine transaction. For example, "This guy took a risk but worked hard to give me a great shine, and he did. He should be rewarded for that and even if I pay more than I normally would. What the heck, it's not going to change my retirement date." Or how about the "fun" or the "that was interesting" factors. That's worth a buck or two extra right there. "

So let's take a look at his selling business plan.
1. I will develop a unique selling proposition for my service: free shines
2. I will advertise my services
3. I will give great service and
4. Trust that I will be appropriately rewarded for my customer focus.

Where would you bet he ranked in gross income of his peers at LAX? Me too.

Great Selling!

Love Your Work and Work Tirelessly
Serve, Don't Sell
Communicate Honestly and Fearlessly
Collapse Time
Teamwork

Available for Corporate and Individual Consultation and Training
RSherman@PilotGroup.biz
212-486-4446