Category archive for ‘Goals’
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Pistachio Nuts and Sales Opportunities
Sally and I love pistachio nuts. We always race for the meaty ones bursting out of the shell. They’re the easiest, best tasting, and give the most for the least effort.
When the best picks are gone, we fish through the bowl and pick the promising nuts. They take a little more work for a little less meat.
Finally, only the tough nuts are left, the airtight sealed nuts that take more work. Out of desperation we may try cracking some to the disappointing hint of pistachio mixed with shell. -
It’s National Sales Day!
Back in the 80’s, I was fortunate enough to spend the evening with an icon in the machine tool industry at our monthly association meeting. Jay was an old school, NY sales pro in his 60’s. When I saw him, I told him I liked his tie. He immediately took it off, handed it to me, and invited me to sit with him. Jay turned to me and asked, “Do you know what day it is?” As I shrugged my shoulders he said, “National Sales Day”. As I pondered how that escaped me, he quickly asked, “Do you know what tomorrow is?” In New York harmony we both said, “National Sales Day”.
Barring Sundays, holidays, and vacations, every day is “National Sales Day.” The purpose of Sales Du Jour is to help you achieve your sales and marketing goals every day.
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I Want a Sales Force of Derek Jeters
Courtesy Robert Sabo/News
Queuing up the Yankee ballgame on my iPhone, in hopes of seeing Derek Jeter hit number 3,000, evoked childhood memories of my very first mobile device. My father cashed in wrappers from the countless cigars he smoked to give me the most popular electronic communication device in history.
I was 8 or 9 years old when he called me into the living room to watch him set it up. He opened the back and loaded the batteries before sliding it into the tan leather case. He turned it on, tested it, and said “Here’s the ear phone” as he handed it to me.
The transistor radio changed the world in its day, it made entertainment portable. On a sunny day, you could go to the beach or park without missing a game. It was the beginning of mobile life. We listened to our favorite announcers talk about Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays in a way that made you feel like you were sitting in the ball park.
Now I was sitting on the patio of a local restaurant, overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains, waiting to have lunch with my daughter and “watch” a Yankee game from a “phone!” The glass of wine I sipped was extra crisp and meaningful when we watched Derek Jeter’s 2,999th hit. Before we finished eating, Derek put one over the fence for number 3,000. He’s the 28th ballplayer to do it and only the second to have done it with a home run.
A few days ago, I remarked that I would love a sales force of Derek Jeters. The choice has nothing to do with his celebrity and everything to do with his character, personality, and attitude. The crowd would have cheered for hours because they love him, and with good reason. Even the Rays and ex-teammate Johnny Damon joined the standing ovation to honor #2.
Although Jeter was on the disabled list with an injury until last week, and has unexciting stats this year, he made the All Star team for the twelfth time. So what makes this guy so special?
Despite the constant leveraging of free agent status for more money that sends ballplayers to different clubs at a staggering rate, “Jete” has been a Yankee for his entire sixteen year career. Loyalty means more to him than making a few million dollars more. Loyalty is the cement of great teams and that’s one of the many reasons he has the rare honor of being the Yankees 13th team captain.
In a sport rocked by steroids, a litany of scandals and controversy, you never hear a bad word about this scandal-free guy. He’s never in the tabloids for anything scandalous. After his weak performance last year, with his contract expired, there were concerns about the Yankees resigning him.
After the Yankees publicized the negotiations all he had to say was “I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t angry about how some of this went; the negotiations were supposed to be private,” a class act. Nevertheless, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of the Yankee captain: “If you had a daughter, you’d want her to marry Derek Jeter. He’s a great person.”
He finished this historic game with 5 hits including the game winning RBI, but as always, this gentleman never glorified his accomplishments. Here are some quotes from the post-game interview with Yankees announcer Kimberly Jones:
“The most important thing is we were able to win and I was happy I had the chance to contribute.”
“I wasn’t trying to do it (3,000 hits). I just come out here and try to play hard every day and if you do that, I guess good things happen.”
When asked what he would say to the fans, “I’m glad I did it here. Thanks for coming, thanks for the support throughout the years. I’m most happy that I hit them all in this uniform, playing for this organization.” -Derek Jeter
George Steinbrenner was known as being one tough boss. He paid his players more than anyone else, demanded a lot, was outspoken about it, and rarely paid a compliment for what he felt was due him. Yet here is what he said of his team captain:
“I have always been very, very careful about giving such a responsibility to one of my players, but I cannot think of a single player that I have ever had who is more deserving of this honor than Derek Jeter. He is a young man of great character and has shown great leadership qualities. He believes, as I do, what General (Douglas) MacArthur said, that ‘there is no substitute for victory.’ To him, and to me, it’s second only to breathing.” – George Steinbrenner
Real heroes and heroines aren’t perfect, but they share certain qualities that make them who and what they are: commitment, consistency, courtesy, discipline, enthusiasm, friendship, helpfulness, honor, humility, kindness, loyalty, passion, optimism, teammanship, and a tremendous work ethic.Even fans who hate the Yankees love Jeter. That’s the kind of person I want selling on my team.
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Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way: The 7 Traits of Great Sellers by Ron Karr – Book Review
More sales books, blog posts, and articles are published monthly than all the material available when my sales career began in 1971. Finding the gems can be daunting, so I was fortunate to find “Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way.” I met the author Ron Karr on Twitter, enjoyed his conversations and posts, and liked what he says about selling. A Fox TV interview with him finally piqued my interest enough to read his book. (more…)
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How to Exceed Your Sales Quotas
The company set my quotas, but I had goals. Quotas and goals are not the same thing. My Goals exceeded the company’s expectations. The company’s vision was bottom line numbers, but I had a vision for my entire life and my sales goals were set to achieve that vision. Their quotas became irrelevant.
In 1983, the vision for my life was compacted into a short list, penned on the back of a photo of my future wife, and placed in a glass stand where I could see her and the list. Every item on that list has been accomplished or surpassed.
- Have a family
- Work out every day
- Save $1,000 per month minimum
- Generate $40,000 per month in gross profit
- Open my own company
- Buy a farm
- Build a home
- Work with children
Sally and I married in 1984. She had a five-year-old son from a previous marriage who became my son and has my name. We were blessed with two daughters born in 1985 and 1986.
Until Sally’s pregnancy with our third child, I belonged to a gym and worked out six days a week. Then I gained weight and became fat and happy; not the worst thing. Everyone said I had a rough pregnancy. So I built a workout room in our newly renovated home, got heavily into mountain biking, and worked out regularly until my first illness. That’s a story for another day.
I saved more than four times $1,000 a month and we moved into our first home in January 1985.
After reaching $40,000 per month in gross profit in my second year, I doubled that mark until I left the company.
In 1989, after looking at property for over a year, we bought a farm in Albemarle County VA, just west of Charlottesville.
In 1991, we moved into the old farmhouse and I opened my own company. Our offices were 100 Yards away in a rustic but charming white, clapboard sided feed store circa 1910. It has a green, standing seam tin roof with red shutters and a porch. The company operated at a profit from the first year and became a cash cow.
In 1996, after more illness, we built a home with a 2 ½-story carriage house for our offices.I coached baseball at every level from T-ball through high school for fifteen years and was president of the 16 to 18 year old league for five years. All three kids played baseball. The games were a family outing and we had a ton of fun flipping burgers and running the concessions stand. Whatever the kids were involved in, we were involved in.
Our home was the place the kids came to hang out. Twenty or more sleeping bags in our great room were common. Sally would make three-foot tall stacks of pancakes or French toast and our country kitchen would fill with hungry, giggling kids enjoying breakfast on the floor.
Sally danced for the Joffrey Ballet for five years during the 70s. In addition to being an incredible mother, she is a phenomenal teacher. While the kids were growing up, she operated a part-time ballet school. In 2005, I opened a dance school for her in our modernized Mayberry named Crozet.
Over 100 kids come through her school every week. Sally teaches children with special needs and is God’s gift to children. Last year we awarded over $10,000 in need-based scholarships and nearly $40,000 since opening.My duties encompass everything outside of the studio; I’m a walking hat rack. Yes, it was a huge career change, but my reward is having the kids here where I know they are having fun in a safe and loving environment. My favorite time is Saturday mornings when the preschoolers are here squealing in the studio.
List accomplished. I mentioned illness. Bad things happen like near death, bad enough to make you want to quit. Faith and goals kept and keep me going. Now there’s a new list that includes SalesDuJour, but the old one remains on my desk. It’s a beautiful photo with my list that reminds why I work and never quit.
So forget about the quotas. Why are you in sales? What are your life goals? What do you want your life to look like? Who do want included, do you want to have a family? Where do you want to live? How do you want to spend your time? What do you want to accomplish with your life?
Make a list and place it prominently. That’s your quota. Now do it and never quit
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