The Salesby5 Blog

Does your company maintain a culture open enough to lead upward?  Leading upward means that the people above you, whether in actual or perceived rank, allow you to lead them as well.  Not only does your culture need to be in proper form to allow this, but the leaders above you need to be at a stable enough level to allow you to speak freely.  This can often be a scary proposition, but if it is done with respect and compassion, both parties get stretched to a higher leadership level overall.  What would it take for this to be acceptable in your organization?  If you are at the top, are you allowing this type of leadership?  What is stopping you?  Please share with us in the comments.

photo by timabbott

Today, I read a great article in the San Antonio Express News. We watch “The Dog Whisperer” at our house, due to two small young dogs we have that are out of control most of the time. Mary Rauch wrote this article for the paper:  “‘Dog Whisperer’ is a Leadership Primer.”

The article summed up some great points about leadership! I like the way she made it easy to understand, as studies have proven that communication at a 5th grade reading level is best understood by the masses. My biggest takeaway was how much it has to do with sales. At the beginning of the article, she mentions that “fear of public speaking is nothing but an old habit.” For some in the sales industry, the fear of not getting the sale or the fear of dead air (no talking) can kill the deal. As much as this article was useful to leadership and sales, I also learned what the dogs do, and how they win over our hearts! Even though my two micro dogs have eaten or damaged thousands of dollars in carpets and items in the house, I love them. What kind of sales and leadership lessons can we learn from these sweet canines who are unconditionally dedicated to us, always happy to see us, and offer us forgiveness fast?

photo from wopico.blogspot.com

Core values serve the purpose of defining who we hire, fire, promote, de-mote, etc. They are behaviors and tell your employees, managers, and leaders how to behave.

When we are unsure about what next steps to take, looking to our core values leads us in the right path. A few of ours are:

• Always deal with fact. Never assume.

• Do what is best for the customer.

• If you do not know, ask.

• Follow your heart, but… if you are ever in doubt, shout it out.

• Deliver more than what is promised.

These values guide any of us in the right direction with clients and each other. They are the guide – a roadmap for action that lives every day in your organization. If your company has not identified your core values, let us know. We can help you identify them and bring them to life in your company.

Today at 5pm, there will be a rehearsal dinner for the wedding of our CIO (Chief inspiration officer) and Co-Author of the SalesBy5 blog, Nan Palmero. He earned his title long ago, long before I met him. His friends will also attest to his incredible ability to help, lead, and inspire. When I met him, he was looking for a new career with 2 requirements; he did not want to be in sales and he did not want to be in accounting. Today, he writes for Blackberrycool.com, Salesby5, his own blog, and is a contributory writer for some of north Americas top growth gurus. Nan sells everyday! He sells our customers on the best technology to help communicate better with customers and employees and he sells our team on working smarter and not harder. There are actually too many things that he sells to mention in this blog. This man is special to us and many others. My point: Sometimes you may think you do not want to do something that is actually a real strength of yours. Pay close attention to what activity you feel strongest doing, and to those that make you feel drained. Nan uses his strengths to help our team and our customers win better and faster than their competition!

Nan, Thank you for being in our lives and congratulations on your new life with Ashley!

How do you treat your co-workers or employees? Your actions can sell or unsell them. Remember, it isn’t about motivation, it is about not demotivating your team.

“You have to treat your employees like customers.” - Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines

photo from 37signals.com

My father in law is spending his last days with his family. He is 71 and has outlived his 3 month death sentence by 10 months. Yesterday, I held his hand and listened to his wisdom. Six months ago, he was at my house staying, during cancer treatment, and was sad and worried about the family. I asked him, what message are you going to leave us? What is it that you want and I will help fulfill your wish? He said he wanted us all to be close - there are 23 of us including grand children. Today, he reminded me of this, although he did not need to. Bob McEntire sold me on his vision years ago; today, he reinforced it and has every day I have been near him. He has no poster on the wall for this vision, but his words and wishes are loud and clear. Thank you, Bob, for the memories and selling us on what is right.

With love and respect & God bless you!
ERIK

What if you told people they were wonderful when they were?  What if you told people they looked great when they did?  What if you helped people where they needed help?  What if you told people that they were not the right people in their organization and why?  We do and it works.

Transparency- it works for windshields because you can see where you are going. Mirrors tell you where you have been and, perhaps, what wrong turn you took.  Quarterly strengths sessions, telling us where we can depend on you the most and where we can depend on you the least, are windshields to a career.

Do you have a GPS for your career, so your team can know where you are and where you want to go?

photo by The Joy of the Mundane

When things are great, everyone is on board. When there are problems, who is left?  That’s when you know who is really on your team.  Everyone wants to win, but how you work and act in the harder times is how you know the character of your team.

photo by Larry He’s So Fine

I hear people whining about not being able to get to the decision makers or not knowing who they are. Here are a few tips you need to know, if you are selling.

You know someone who knows them.  You can find out how to reach them. Google is your friend!  You can meet them at events - what organizations do they belong to?  You can send them something that benefits them! Now, you have made a deposit in their bank.

Before you use any of these tips, I want you to know that you must have the right tool, software, problem solver or pain reliever. This takes effort.  You can send out shotgun style messages, but it won’t pass the gate keeper.  It is much easier to find me if you know where I am and what I want! The savvy are using twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other tools to connect to the people that can change, inspire or impact their sales and/or their lives.

Now the surprise: Decision makers are not who they used to be!  At Salesby5, I do not make decisions on any technology device or service. Can I introduce you to the right person?  Absolutely! But only if I feel like you will not waste his valuable time.  I also don’t make decisions on who we hire; the team does. If one person has doubts, the answer is no.  In fact, as CEO I am completely focused on driving my clients’ businesses forward and leading my team to greatness.  In our clients’ and friends’ companies, very few of the decision makers really make decisions about what most of the sales people are trying to sell to them.  Today, people are influenced by multiple factors, and as time goes on, they are influenced even more by a team.  How can you change the rules? This is the future of sales.

For a few years now we have helped a Fortune 150 company, Tesoro Corporation, increase their ability to recruit Generation Y by over 400%. Today the Salesby5 team all went to a job fair at a local university to see what was new or better to attract talent.  We found that our methods from 3 years ago are still 10 years ahead of what is being done.  We have new tactics that have not yet been implemented by our customers. Companies not using a recruitment website - which can be a part of or separate from your corporate site - are falling behind. This recruitment website must be controlled by Recruitment not IT!  Recruitment is marketing, and it is also sales. In the next 10 years, recruitment will be as important, if not more important, than marketing.

Here are a few more tips that these companies need to know about: RSS feeds for people interested in jobs, blogs regarding jobs, texting, twittering, and keeping it real and simple. No folders packed with your annual report.  No big brochures with financial figures.  No tradeshow booths that are full of words! The booth is a lure, not a book. The brochure is a hook, not a book.  Make the photos in your booth and on your materials reflect the people at your company.  Do they wear suits to work?  Show that!  Do they wear jeans and flip flops?  Print that!  Your new hire should not be confused by a culture disconnect between the fairs, interviews, and daily operations.  Recruitment is selling! Does your Marketing or Corporate Communications department know what they are doing or are they picking pretty pictures for a pretty tradeshow booth?

photo by heraldpost