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Securing Your Future
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Objectives:
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Background:If you can sell, you’ll never go hungry. If you can sell, your potential for profits is unlimited. |
You don’t have to worry about starting a business. You are the business.
Nothing is more rewarding or frustrating in business than sales. Salesmanship is lucrative. It’s lucrative because it’s tough. And, it’s lucrative because, to some extent, every business needs someone skilled in salesmanship. Someone has to go out and find the customers.
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Warrior MindsetDid somebody say tough? As a warrior, if you are ready to bang on doors with bad guys on the other side, you certainly have the nerve to ask somebody to buy a car or a television or a house or banner space on a website. This job takes courage. You have courage. You can make a fortune. |
Could you stand spending the majority of your day hearing, “No, no, no, no, no”? Many people avoid direct selling or try it and hate it because they take product rejection personally. The customer doesn’t want the vacuum cleaner. It feels like the customer rejects you, “No, I don’t want to buy YOUR vacuum cleaner.” The average weak person in sales cringes and slinks away depressed. The extraordinary person in sales will smile and knock on the next door. Do you remember from a prior mission, “Some will, some won’t, so what, next.”?A big advantage to becoming an entrepreneur in commissioned sales is that you can get into the field without any of your own seed money. You work for commissions which means that you don’t get any money if you don’t sell. It’s good old ‘cold hard fightin’ in the pits’ free enterprise. You get yourself a commissioned sales job and the boss says, “You think you can sell cheese. OK, go out and sell our cheese. Here’s some business cards, our price list and an order book. Good luck.” Nothing fancy is needed to sell cheese: a telephone, a car, a pen, a laptop and you’re off. OK, maybe some samples of your delicious cheese.
If the word ‘No’ doesn’t make you quake with fear or self-doubt, you may have what it takes. If you hear the word ‘No’ and the word just makes you tougher, you may have what it takes.
Can you still do research? You bet. Go to the library and you’ll find many books on salesmanship. You’ll find “how-to” books. You’ll find inspirational biographies. Research.
Talk with successful salespeople. Who are they in your industry? They can be active or retired. Ask. Call them up. Be sincere. Be direct. Buy them dinner. Carry their briefcases. Find out what they do. Do what they do. This is not rocket science. This is the simple and direct path to success.
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Warrior MindsetCommissioned salespeople are the Special Forces of business. Yes, they swagger a little. Yes, they are entitled to swagger a little because they know that they are doing a job that few others have the nerve to do. Do you have SF potential? |
You can probably find legendary salespeople who sell refrigerators for Sears, suits for Nordstrom’s and shoes for Macy’s. There are commissioned salespeople who work for companies large and small and who make more money in a year than two doctors’ salaries or three lawyers’ salaries. If you want to be like them, find them.
Finally, commissioned salespeople are almost always people who are optimistic and full of life. They have to greet life with a smile. They believe in themselves and their products. If some people don’t want their wares, they know that others do.
What should you sell? You can get rich selling almost anything: rubber bands, coffins, real estate, cars, coffee, anything. Do your research. Work a little harder and a lot smarter and you’re going to be a success.
If you like tennis, sell tennis gear. If you like to fly, sell airplanes. If you enjoy science, sell laboratory equipment. Who’s stopping you?
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Story:Kirsten Likes TV |
Let’s take a woman named Kirsten and see how she can turn an interest into a profitable, multifaceted sales career.TV fascinates Kirsten. Kirsten may not even know why but ever since she was a kid, she has been fascinated by television. Can she sell television stations? Why not? Somebody does. Can she sell commercial advertising for a television station? Can she sell television equipment to television stations? Can she represent and sell the skills of on-camera personalities to television stations? Can she sell syndicated shows to local broadcasters?
Kirsten can get rich young by pursuing any number of different avenues all pertaining to her interest in television. So, how about Kirsten selling plain old TV sets? Fine. “Kirsten, where are you going to sell TVs?” Most TVs are sold in department stores. Kirsten’s TV buyers will mainly come from in-store traffic. Kirsten is dependent on the department store management to bring the consumer traffic into the store. The managers or the home office make these decisions, not Kirsten.
This is not good. The store managers or the home office may look at their computerized sales’ sheets and decide to promote TV sales aggressively only two months a year, in November and May. During these two months, the store emphasizes TVs in their advertising. During these two months, the sales are great. Now, what does Kirsten do the other ten months?
Kirsten is an entrepreneur, a self-starter. She does not want to stand idly for eight hours a day staring at 65 TV sets all tuned to the same channel. She does not want to spend most of her day dusting TV sets with 65 faces of Geraldo staring at her.
Kirsten decides to speak with her store manager. The store manager is sympathetic but non-committal. What can he do? The store manager pulls out a copy of the magazine, Chain Store Age, which clearly shows the research that most TVs are sold during two months every year.
However, the store manager likes Kirsten’s initiative. Someday, he may recommend that she become the Assistant TV Manager. At the department store, Kirsten won’t get rich but she may be perfectly happy.
However, our Kirsten feels that her sales skills aren’t being fully utilized at the department store. She likes the job but dislikes the lack of control. Kirsten’s next stop is discount store sales.
Kirsten goes to work for Mid-Central Electronics Warehouse (MEW). At MEW, they generate plenty of traffic. They undercut everyone’s prices. Have they got a deal for you! They don’t even need display space, their prices are so good. At MEW, there are always twenty people waiting in line. Working at MEW is like working at a psychedelic carnival. “You want a flat panel LED TV. MEW’s got flat panel TVs. Anywhere else, you’d pay $1,300 for this set. For you, darling, $750. Now, where is your car parked? How many sets today, handsome? If you wanna think about it for a minute, you’ll have to please step to the side and take a new number. Next.”
In moving from the department store to MEW, Kirsten traded being a salesperson and selling a few TVs to being an order clerk and taking orders for lots of TVs. At MEW, Kirsten sells ten times as many sets as she did at the department store. At the department store, her commission averaged $47 for each set sold. At MEW, her commissions were $4.70 for each set sold.
Kirsten decides that if she wants to make it big in sales, she has to think big. Rather than selling one set at a time, how about selling 10, 50 or a 100 in one go? Who buys in quantity? Stores do. Who do stores buy from? They buy from manufacturers’ representatives.
Kirsten does her research. What’s easy selling? Well, take the top few brands of televisions that everyone carries. They’d be easy to sell. What does that mean? That means that the top brand manufacturers don’t need salespeople because the sets sell themselves. Companies don’t hire salespeople if they don’t need them. Or, it could mean that being a salesperson for a top brand manufacturer is a highly sought-after job. You can’t just walk into Top Brand Company “X” and expect them to offer you a lucrative sales territory. The boss is going to reserve the easy sales jobs for his or her cronies.Kirsten researches the television manufacturing industry. The top five or six brands don’t hire salespeople. Maybe they do hire marketing representatives but getting a sales job with one of these firms would be tough. Would it? Find out.
Kirsten realizes that, to get a job selling televisions in a manner that can return some serious cash, she’s got to learn the business. Televisions are going to make Kirsten rich.
She studies the television manufacturing business. She won’t have to give up her present job. She won’t have to get a business degree or take a single night course. Everything that Kirsten needs to study is already printed or online.
What does Kirsten want to know? Of course, the usual. Everything. She wants to know what’s up in the TV industry. Where are the rising companies? Which companies are on the vanguard of new technologies? Are cable-ready flat screen TVs with built-in stereos and DVD players going to be a hit or a flop? Is it only the top five or six brands or are there some real dark horse candidates poised for success? How are the various sets rated? Are there any dark horse candidates? Where are the trends? There are researchers whose job it is to research, predict and write on trends and rising stars in the television set sales business. Who are they? What do they have to say?
Sales can be a competitive business. Kirsten knows this and she makes knowledge her negotiating edge. She learns the jargon, the language, of her business specialty. She has to know at least as much about the business as the merchandise managers that she’ll be selling to. When making her sales pitch to a prospective buyer, Kirsten is ready with facts and persuasive arguments. She has her facts: bang, bang, bang. What happens? The buyer takes those same facts and presents them to his or her bosses. And TVs are bought and sold. It doesn’t matter to Kirsten that most people who want to sell TVs don’t do this kind of research. She does.
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Warrior MindsetOften to be successful, you’ve got to be different, to work a little harder and be a lot smarter. It doesn’t matter what the mediocre salespeople are doing or not doing. It matters what you are willing to do. Compete with the best, yourself. |
Where else do they do their research on television set retailing? How about Wall Street? All the big stock brokerage houses maintain market research departments. If a client calls up his or her broker at EF Button and wants to listen about buying stock in a television manufacturing company, the EF Button broker has got to have something to say. EF Button has researchers on the payroll whose job it is, as market analysts, to track the television manufacturing industry.
Which companies should you buy and which should you sell? What are the reasons for the recommendation? Simply call EF Button or any larger stock brokerage house. Even easier, go online.
If Kirsten really gets into this researching and wants to talk to the television industry analyst directly, can she do that? EF Button isn’t the CIA. It’s amazing. Kirsten calls EF Button and she gets the name of the television industry analyst. She asks direct questions and gets answers. “OK, let’s see, that would be Gail Sutherland in our Newark office.”
Can Kirsten call Gail Sutherland, expert on the television manufacturing industry, with a question? Why not? You can find a wealth of financial information (and gossip) on any large company on the Internet. There are blogs by people who love every company and blogs by people who hate every company.
How has research helped Kirsten? She knows a lot about the television manufacturing industry. She knows about the new technologies. She now knows what people are buying and why, and she can make an educated prediction on what and why people will be buying in two years, five years and ten years. But, our Kirsten still needs a job.
She makes a list of the top twenty television manufacturing companies. These are her target companies.
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Warrior MindsetIt is a lot easier selling a product that people want to buy. You want to believe in the products that you are selling. If you don’t think that your products and services are equal to or better than the competition, you have very little chance to succeed. |
Kirsten goes back to the research librarian. There will be business reference books and websites, which will list the names and addresses for the top executives in each of her target companies. She downloads or photocopies the relevant material for each company. Who is the Chairman of the Board, the President, the Vice-President, the Director of Research, the Director of Personnel, etc.? Can she simply call up each company and get the same information? Yes, she can. Can she research on the Internet? Yes, she can.
Becoming very successful in financial terms may seem like a long-shot fantasy to most people. That’s their problem. Kirsten has a plan. She isn’t a starry-eyed dreamer buying lottery tickets every week. She is doing her own work and buying a winning ticket to her own independent, financial future.
Kirsten starts writing letters:
August 30, 2007
Mr. Philip Ordstein
Chairman Diode Electronics
34 Tech Circle
Wellesley, Massachusetts 02181
RE: Research Report - Diode Electronics, Interview Request
Dear Mr. Ordstein,
My research into the television manufacturing industry has yielded the following information specifically related to Diode Electronics:
In researching the television manufacturing industry, I have confidence in the future of Diode Electronics and would welcome the opportunity to be part of your progressive team. My specific interests are in sales marketing. I would appreciate your assistance in securing a position with Diode.
- Diode should shake the industry with the impending introduction of Model 3454, PDA TV.
- Diode will receive stiff competition in the cable ready market when Omega Industries launches its below $600 Trinolon Series with DVR.
- Wall Street would look more favorably on Diode Electronics stock if Diode writes off its floundering stereo business.
- The tax incentives of building the new Diode Electronics plant in Puerto Rico should cut labor and end product costs considerably.
- End of 2007, Wall Street predictions for Diode Electronics stock: EF Button $26.47 Darrel & Finch $30.50 Edsel & Company $32.75
Thank you.
Best regards,
Kirsten Libby
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Warrior MindsetYou can wait for a job to appear on Monster.com or Craigslist.org or you can take the initiative and go after a job. As a warrior, you take action. Some will, some won't, so what? Next. |
Kirsten is starting to receive a dividend from her research. She can write an intelligent letter that might catch the eye of someone who can forward her career.
She starts by sending letters to the person at the top, the Chairman of the Board. Kirsten gets herself a little notebook and records Ordstein’s phone number and the date she sent the letter.
After three or four days, she calls Ordstein.
Here’s what she’ll hear. “Good morning, Diode Electronics.”
Here’s what she’ll say. “Good morning, may I have Mr. Ordstein’s office, please?”
And, then, “One moment, please.”
“Mr. Ordstein’s office, may I help you?”
Kirsten states the reason for her call. “Yes, I would like to speak with Mr. Ordstein regarding a research report written for Diode Electronics.”
Needless to say, the Chairman has a good administrative assistant who can be counted on to screen unsolicited calls, “I’m sorry, but Mr. Ordstein is in a conference this morning. Can I have your name, please?”
This one’s easy, “Yes, it’s Kirsten Libby. Are you Mr. Ordstein’s assistant?”
“Yes, I am.”
Kirsten boldly counters, “Can I have your name, please?”
The assistant politely answers, “Yes, Mrs. Walker.”
Kirsten goes for the gold ring. “Mrs. Walker, I’m sure that Mr. Ordstein will wish to comment on the research report he received. When would be a more convenient time to call?”
Kirsten offers a compromise, “I appreciate that, Mrs. Walker. If you will discuss the report with Mr. Ordstein, I will call you back on Friday for his instructions. Thank you.”
Kirsten calls back Mrs. Walker on Friday, who tells Kirsten that Mr. Ordstein suggested she call Mr. Fenton. Who’s Fenton? Isn’t he Vice-President for Personnel? That would be a nice coup. Maybe Fenton is ten steps below the corporate ladder from Ordstein. That’s OK, too. The further down the list Fenton is, the more intimidated he will be by the mention of Ordstein’s name.
Kirsten is on a roll. She calls Mr. Fenton.
“Good morning, Diode Electronics.”
“Mr. Fenton’s office, please.”
“Good morning, Mr. Fenton’s office.”
Now, Kirsten is talking from a stronger position, “Good morning, my name is Kirsten Libby. I recently completed a research report for Mr. Ordstein and Mr. Ordstein suggested that I follow it up with Mr. Fenton.”
Is Mr. Fenton’s assistant going to put off a caller who is using the Chairman’s name? No way.
“Certainly, Ms. Libby. Mr. Fenton is in conference. If you wouldn’t mind holding for a moment, I’ll get him for you immediately.”
Kirsten could already be on her way to a job interview.
But what if the call to Mr. Ordstein drew a blank?
Well, who is the president of Diode? Kirsten can retype and send the letter to him or her. Why give up easily?
Kirsten can work the letter report system through the Diode chain of command. Will there be a bite somewhere along the line? Kirsten can be using the same letter and call system with the other fourteen television manufacturing companies on her list.
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Warrior MindsetMost people looking for jobs start at the bottom with a clerk from personnel. You can attack from both ends with the executive branch and the personnel office. |
Kirsten gets her sales job at Diode.
Kirsten becomes the marketing representative for Diode Industries in St. Louis. What does she do? Of course, she researches. What has been Diode’s prior position in the St. Louis market? Which retailers are currently buying Diode products and why? Which retailers aren’t buying Diode products and why? Who are the people who make the buying decisions for each of the retailers? You want peoples’ names and not company names. You sell TVs to people.
Kirsten is selling the store buyers on quality, features, service and price. Kirsten sells fifty sets the same way she sold one set. Why are Diode TVs known for quality? What features do Diode TVs offer that others don’t offer? How does Diode Electronics stand behind its products as few other manufacturers do? Why are Diode TVs a good value for the buck?
Kirsten sells.
If Kirsten hears, “No,” she has to figure out what that “No” really means. Does the “No” in one case mean, “Yes, we’d like to buy 50 sets but we only have the money for 30.”? Or, does the “No” mean “Yes, I hear what you’re saying, but, what you’re saying about Diode doesn’t jibe with our experiences with Diode in the past.”? Or, does the “No” mean, “Yes, we’d buy 50 if the price were better.”? Or, does the “No” mean, “Yes, we’d buy 50 if we had the warehouse space for them,” or, does the “No” mean, “Yes, we’d buy 50 if you’d finance the order.”?
Kirsten has to find out what the “Nos” mean and then sometimes she can find a “Yes” in the “No” answers. Can she personally guarantee better service? Can she offer a better price? Can she offer warehouse space or staggered deliveries? Can she offer financing? Kirsten finds out.
Kirsten works with the retailer to solve his or her problems. Can she offer a sales seminar for the retailer’s sales personnel? Can she offer practical suggestions to better showcase the Diode TVs in the retailer’s electronics department? Can she work with the retailer to develop a more effective print advertising campaign? Can she offer to participate in the advertising campaign with the retailer? Kirsten can sell 50 sets by proving to the retailer that he or she can sell 50 sets.
Kirsten knows that the retailers are on her side. They want to sell TVs. Kirsten puts herself in the retailer’s position. If she were a retailer, what incentives and assistance would she expect from the manufacturer?
Kirsten makes an effort to work with each individual retailer. It may seem like a lot of effort when she may be working with 50 or 100 different retailers. How can she possibly give personal attention to each?
Kirsten, by constantly talking with and monitoring the needs of her retailers, finds common concerns. How can these common concerns be addressed? Kirsten can become an important link between her retailers. By observing and listening to her clients, she may find that store “X” has developed a workable strategy to build sales or solve a problem that, if appropriate, she can share with stores “A,” “B,” and “C”.
Kirsten’s job boils down to keeping the 50, 100 or 200 people who are buying her sets happy and productive. The little shops that sells 10 sets, how can she help them to sell 20 sets? The chain that sells 200 sets, how can she help them to sell 400 sets? Maybe Kirsten calls the chain store buyer every two days and the little shop owner once every two weeks. Sometimes, Kirsten’s message may be simply, “I care.” Is Kirsten doing more than her competitors? She’ll know, because she’ll ask.
Kirsten is also learning to spend her time well. She may think that Gramps at Gramp’s TV is adorable and Bradley Florshein at Jupiter Stores is an overly ambitious jerk. However, Gramps is having a good month if he sells four Diode TVs, while Bradley sells 300 sets. Who should Kirsten be spending more time with? How smart would it be for Kirsten to gossip with Gramps about Bradley?
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Warrior MindsetAs the warrior, ever alert and aware, you keep your eyes and ears open. You don't argue or gossip. You are professional. |
When Kirsten is seeking new accounts should she spend more time with Jason of the five-store Frontier chain or spend as much time wooing Herbie at Snailville TV and Radio Sales?
For any salesperson, it’s important to keep careful account of his or her time. Time is money and time should be spent productively making money.
Kirsten is a whiz. She never stops researching, analyzing and thinking. What’s happening in the TV manufacturing industry? What’s happening in the retail industry? What’s happening in her local sales territory economy? What’s happening with her time? She sees the big picture and the little picture. She learns by herself and from her company and her competitors and from her buyers. Is it possible to become the world authority on television set sales in St. Louis? Yes, it is; Kirsten did it. Kirsten has a knowledge, which is unimportant to most, but a knowledge that could make her rich.
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Operational Limitations:
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Action Plan:
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Jargon:Blog - Personal, interactive online journal.Commission - A percentage fee paid to an agent for services performed. Dividend - Earnings and profits of a company distributed to shareholders, usually quarterly. Free enterprise - Business conducted without direct government interference. In the black - Profitable. In the red - Running a deficit. Intrapreneur - An intrapreneur is an entrepreneur working within a company. It’s a jungle out there– There is a lot of tough competition. Jargon - Specialized language of a business. Market research - Examination of the size, characteristics, and potential of a market, usually before developing or introducing a new product or service. Permission e-mail – Getting a recipient’s permission to send them emails. The opposite of spam. Spam - Junk e-mail. Venture Capital - Money used to support new or unusual undertakings; equity, risk or speculative investment capital. This funding is provided to new or existing firms which exhibit potential for above-average growth. |
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Questions & Answers:Ask your questions on the BillFitzPatrick.com Forums. |
Why are business cards so important?
The master of business card usage is the “World’s Greatest Salesman,” Joe Girard. Joe wants to be sure that everyone he meets knows that he sells automobiles. He hands them two business cards. Two cards? Yes, one to keep for themselves and a second to give to someone else. Or, Joe will joke that he gives a person two because he knows that they’ll want one to throw away.
When Joe goes to a restaurant in his business area, he’ll often leave a slightly larger than normal tip along with his business card. Joe also has a habit of leaving his cards everywhere on the top of vending machines and on counters near cash registers. People know that Joe Girard sells cars and you know that he sells more cars than any other salesperson in the world. Make sure that everyone knows what you do for a living and wait for the referrals to follow.
You talk a lot about creating new business through the use of FREE promotion. I give piano lessons. What ideas would you have for me?
Plenty. Why not start giving a few FREE concerts at nursing homes, hospitals, schools? And make sure that the local press is aware of your activities. Where is a gathering spot for most of the people in your community? At the mall or at a superstore? Then ask the mall or superstore if you can put on a FREE mini-concert or demonstration. Of course, you’ll also be offering everyone a FREE half-hour lesson. And, don’t be shy about writing articles to your local newspaper on the joys of music and offering FREE advice to readers on music topics.
Do you have a podcast or a video on YouTube? You may also want to check into opportunities to offer a FREE performance on your local cable channel. Maybe even begin a FREE series of lessons on cable. Don’t forget the candelabra on top of the piano!
You can use most of them. Become an intrapreneur. An intrapreneur is an entrepreneur working within a company. Say you offer a quality service repairing computers. You keep track of your competitors to make sure that your pricing is fair. If you deal directly with the public, make sure that your staff appreciates each customer’s business and knows that the customer’s primary concern is to get the job done in an efficient and timely fashion. The customer’s business wants to be back on line as quickly as possible. If you tell a customer that a repair will take two days, and then you find that the parts don’t arrive and the job will actually take three or four days, pick up the phone and call the customer before the customer has to call you. Apologize for the delay even if the fault isn’t yours directly. Thank the customer for the business.
You may suggest to management that you start a monthly permission e-newsletter regarding new products and services, and maintenance tips, and coupons for upgrades, etc. If you don’t deal directly with customers, then your employees are your customers. As always, make them feel appreciated and part of the team.
Finally, copy success. Find the leaders in your industry. Study what they are doing and do what they do.
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