The Salesby5 Blog

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!

Trey completed his week-long internship at SalesBy5 this past Friday.  Here is the story in his words.

Two weeks ago, my parents would ask me about my plans for the future, concerning college and possible professions, and I would not be able to generate any sort of legitimate response. I was not aware of or concerned with anything besides my present situation. College seemed to me to be a cliché and a pain, which I was considering avoiding… until I had the opportunity to have an inspiring conversation with my uncle, Erik. I’ve always had a relationship with him, due to our family interactions, but never really sat down to talk with him. Within minutes of discussing my life with Erik, he recognized the struggle I was having with taking my life seriously. He then presented me with the opportunity of a lifetime; to come and intern at SalesBy5 for a week. At first, I was concerned I would be wasting a week of my summer to go work for free but after a little debate, I decided I needed the practice.

Immediately after walking into the SalesBy5 office, I was greeted from all directions by Erik and his amazing co-workers, Nan and Kya. Their personalities alone delivered a comfort level cool enough to relax someone going through hell. I was put to work instantly, doing productive things for the company that was surprisingly not mindless busy work (for instance, I was revising and editing client proposals). For the first time in my life, I felt genuinely accepted into an adult environment and I loved every minute of it. Not to mention that Nan hooked me up with an awesome BlackBerry, which I did not want to return when the time came. The SalesBy5 team welcomed me with open arms when I was in a frightening new environment. They introduced me to the concept of following your strengths and how to apply that to my life. Nan, who basically is the coolest computer whiz I have ever met, and his advice—not only on sales and marketing, but also life itself—were an essential part of my learning experience. And Kya was a huge part of the reason I was able to wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work; something the majority of adults would kill to feel. I never saw Kya without a bright smile on her face and something intelligent to say. Sarah rocks too and was very helpful. I didn’t get a ton of time with Sarah, or Q, as they refer to her, but she was equally as appealing as the rest of the crew and a great person to talk to. The SalesBy5 team has the ultimate mix of abilities and personalities that all truly successful businesses should be modeling after.

Come back tomorrow for the rest of his adventures and his wrap up of the week.

Trey and his cousin, Dylan

How many of you grew up hearing that statement or something like it?  My dad, trying his best to help, actually got me to do a year of law school.  It was the most miserable year of my life.  Now you have the opportunity to help people younger than you - your kids, nieces and nephews, neighbor’s children - in helping them find their passion.  This week, Erik’s nephew Trey is joining us.  Yesterday, he had the opportunity to sit in on an exciting new potential client meeting and actually make suggestions.  He’s 17!  It’s likely he’ll never forget this week and surely, it will change the course of his life.  He’s getting a crash course in Strengths, what they mean, and why they’re important to his success and happiness.  Certainly, this is time much better spent than cleaning a grease trap at his local fast food joint.  This experience not only feeds Trey mentally, but it also pays us back. His wide eyed curiosity and excitement gives us a quick reminder about how special our lives are in having found such a wonderful place to call our company.  School is starting again soon, which kid can you grab for a day or two and teach? These experiences don’t exist in books; the responsibility resides squarely on your shoulders to introduce the next entrepreneur to the world.  Will you accept the challenge?

photo by euthman

Playing to your strengths, starting daily huddles, and developing one page plans are all habits.  As you probably know, habits take more than a day to form.  Some research says that it can take between 21 to 30 days to form a habit.  Have you been quietly abused for integrating strengths or gotten the evil eye for bringing “one more meeting” to a busy day?  Take heart!  You’re likely within the time frame of a developing habit.  Here’s a tip for you on huddles - make your biggest complainer lead the huddles and require him/her to make them amazing, without deviating from the framework.  Come back to the comments (after 30 days) and let us know how it worked out.

photo by katerw

We discuss inspiration, strengths, and motivation vs. de-motivation. We blog about many other topics, but the common thread is that it all has enormous amounts to do with sales - internally and externally!  Yesterday we had a customer visit from 400 miles away and tell us all how much we have helped them and have made a giant difference! At the same time several team members sent me emails that completely inspired me as they complimented my ideas and strategy in numerous meetings. Everything matters and yesterday was exceptional.  Use this as stimulus to see how your team is inspiring customers and, of course, one another! One last thought: our goal is to inspire 2008 people in 2008. Why? It fuels our soul! photo by coolmitch

I got two calls in the last 30 days.  One was just last Wednesday.  Both were former employees who worked for me.  One from 7 years ago and the other, 4 years ago.  They both gave me unexpected gratitude for making an impact on their lives, which inspired me, and I am forever grateful.

My purpose (ERIK), and the purpose of my company (SalesBy5), is to inspire others.  When I was working hard to inspire or mentor others, I didn’t even realize what I was doing.  It was natural for me; not driven by money, greed, or fame.  Today, my team inspires me, as do my clients.  And I do my best to give more to them than I receive.  The core reason I get up every day and keep doing what I do is passion.  My passion is for the people I work with, for the ones I will meet around the world, and for using my strengths to help others.  Thank you for the calls Ryan and Leslie!

It was June 16th, another big day in our company’s history, when Bobby the Intern started.  He was a new St. Mary’s grad with a major in General Business.  It has been less than two months and he is leaving us for a MBA with a Greehey Scholarship.

We interviewed about 14 candidates for this position.  Most interviews were 10 minutes, as we knew they were not the right fit for our culture and clients.  Bobby’s interview was unique.  I, Erik, came in late on purpose because I wanted my team to be sold versus me.  They were sending me instant messages during the interview on my BlackBerry that we had a winner.  This team is beyond hard to satisfy, but finally they were sold. Over the last 50 days, I have gotten to see his natural strengths and his ability to give the team his best attitude and talents.  We keep getting interns that change us and we change them.  Bobby, thank you for your talent this summer and may your future be as bright as the sun!

P.S. We promise to give you an update on our past Salesby5 interns, Greg and Carlton, soon!

Today we met with Jessica, who worked with us early this year.  She was formerly the top salesperson at Nordstrom in San Antonio, helping professional men dress well.  We will refer to her as a personal brand expert.  After Nordstrom, she approached us to sell our services.  It was intriguing to her and she knew of our track record.  While in meetings with her, we could see her light up when she would talk about fashion.  It was obvious she needed to grow where she was planted, or most importantly, where her passion existed.  Today, she is a private wardrobe consultant to professional gentlemen and has a client list of CEOs and other big players that is quite impressive.  She is also a client of ours!  She knows how to sell what she loves, as it comes naturally!  Sometimes people you care about, work with, or know need a push to find the right job just by looking inside their heart.  Which employee or friend can you help find their passion so they can sell their skill?

<Begin Rant>  I grew up hearing that I must be a doctor or lawyer to make it.  All of that is extremely false, yet it is still being told by parents.  Stop! <End Rant>

photo by briancarlocknyc

See new people, places and things.  Stimulus rules regarding your brain and creativity!

Stimulus can come from many areas.  The best ones are the areas that give you the most energy, drive and ambition.  Make it a point this week to do something different.  Try one of the items below or leave us a comment on your suggestion:

-Drive a new route to work

-Eat a foreign meal

-Read a new book

-Meet a new person each day

photo by cougar-studio

Are you spending the majority of your day on activities where you are the strongest, where time flies and where you have the most success, but also enjoyment?
To our knowledge, this is not taught in college.  There are all kinds of sales people; the ones who naturally sell what they love, the ones that love the challenge of a cold call, the ones that prefer warm leads and others who love to take care of relationships once they have gained the customers. Where do you fall in this spectrum of sales? And where is your team/group? It is extremely important to have people sell the way they love.  Be sure to leverage your sales team with their strengths to gain the most from them.

photo by - sheriffmitchell