by Art Waskey | Aug 16, 2021 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
I enjoyed 47 wonderful years in a career as a sales executive and leader, seeing tremendous business growth during that time. When I reached “retirement” age, I decided to leave my job of 34 years. Rather than retire, I decided to transition to a new business, one that involved pursuing my passions. Today I head up a successful consulting and speaking business based on my writing, speaking, and consulting expertise. In this position, I am constantly asked what it takes to get a start-up off the ground. I always say that passion is the number one tool necessary to grow your business.
Critical Tools and Tips for Business Growth
Along with passion, here are three other critical tools required for business growth.
- Build a network – To sell yourself, your product, or your service, requires an ever-expanding grid of relationships. A sure way to build a strong network is to be cooperative. When you help someone find a new client, they are very likely to recommend your services. For example, a person from my professional past “liked” a posting of mine on LinkedIn. As part of that interchange, I gave him the contact information for one of my clients. Within minutes, he responded by connecting me with one of his clients that could benefit from my consulting experience. This type of exchange is not an anomaly; it happens all the time.
- Learn from mentors – I am privileged to have counsellors who believe in my abilities. They often have more faith in me than I have in myself! Meet with your coaches weekly. Schedule one-hour virtual conference calls. During these conversations, challenging ideas will be presented that introduce you to new ways of thinking and doing. This leads to growth.
- Work with peers – I have a group of 5 business acquaintances I conference with on a monthly basis. Our exchange of strategies, relationships, and industry changes is invaluable to me and my business objectives. Their insights enable me to change direction if needed and adjust my thinking at critical times. Discussions with my peers have allowed me to take advantage of opportunities that I would otherwise miss.
Grow your business
Work continuously on building your network and schedule time to meet with mentors and peers. These business tools are essential to growing a business. Be sure to apply them to your endeavors.
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by Art Waskey | Aug 2, 2021 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Being in a leadership position is an honor we work toward, but once there, you may find yourself unsure of how you go about handling success. Have you ever found yourself proud to be put in charge, but not quite sure how to proceed? As a seasoned leader, I find that the most important place to start is to consider and understand the needs of those you lead.
An effective leader
Here are some of my insights into what makes an effective leader.
Authority and responsibility – Accepting a position in sales, or any other form of leadership, is a choice you make. Such positions mark you as a representative of your company and enable you to expand your realm of influence. This is a large responsibility and one you must treat with respect.
Develop power wisely – Find and master the tools you need to succeed. As you progress in your sales and leadership roles, you will develop additional gifts and talents through “hardwired capacities.” Learn from others in your company and from your manufacturers’ reps. Let “iron sharpen iron.”
Permission – When I proved to my parents I was a safe driver, I was given the keys to the family car. Likewise, as I climbed the sales management ladder, I was given the keys to the businesses I was managing. If you believe in yourself and work hard, there will come a time when you are trusted with permission to lead. That permission comes with an understanding that you no longer have to ask what to do but are expected to know what to do and to report on it.
Life-satisfying privilege – In his book, See You at The Top, Zig Ziglar wrote: “The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job. Success is not a destination, it is the journey, it’s the direction in which you are traveling. The privilege of leading people is that you can get what you want, instead of having to want what you get.
Designed for accomplishment
Handle your success by carefully considering your position of authority, responsibility and power. The permission you have been given to lead is a life-satisfying privilege. As Ziglar would say, “You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.”
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by Art Waskey | Jul 27, 2021 | Art of Sales Weekly
Napoleon Hill posited, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Hill is an example of someone who found his self-confidence later in life by believing in himself. He had repeated business failures, three failed marriages, was charged with fraud, and falsified his education. Yet, he was able to overcome the negativity of his early years and write the classic business-positive book, Think and Grow Rich, at age 54. He died at 87 a successful and respected man.
Overcome Discouragement
We all have to overcome some form of discouragement in our lives. No one gets a pass, so it is important to learn how to deal with negativity. I was named after my maternal grandfather, who told me at age 12 that he was ashamed that I bore his name. He said I was lazy and wouldn’t amount to anything, words I carried with me for too many years. Now I realize it’s better to treat comments like these in the same way as the cat who reacts to his jump on a hot stove. It may burn you once, but now you know never to go near that place again. Move on.
When we free ourselves from negative thoughts, we are able to go forward. Belief in one’s-self enables you to see the needs of others and be opened to serving them. As Hill wrote, “I will eliminate hatred, envy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude towards others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and myself.” The most successful people I know all believe in themselves and have the ability to discern the needs of others.
Find your purpose
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stated, “The greatest tragedy of the average man is that he goes to his grave with his music still in him.” I always believed that God had a great and unique purpose for me. By acting responsibly in the world, we uncover the meaning in our lives and can play our music at top volume.
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by Art Waskey | Jul 20, 2021 | Art of Sales Weekly
The disciplines of an organized executive
Self-confidence
Sales and leadership is more about a person’s self-confidence than the amount of product or a service they provide. Customers and sales people alike are affected by those who exhibit trustworthiness and assurance. You can develop self-confidence by working on the disciplines of an organized executive. I have been coaching a client, who is beginning a career in outside sales, on these disciplines. After just two weeks of sessions, he was able to close three accounts. He attributes this success to the disciplines, which give him the confidence he needs to properly prepare and engage.
The Disciplines
What did my client learn in two one-hour sessions that created such an impact? Here are some of the disciplines that helped him.
Clear the Mind – Most of us try to juggle too many things at once. This often prevents us from doing meaningful work. In his book, Deep Work , Cal Newport states, “Shallow Work is non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted.” To clear your mind and become less distracted I recommend writing down all of your tasks. I prefer doing this in a journal rather than on a tablet because it is easier to view the unfilled tasks. A journal also offers none of the distractions inherent in an electronic device.
Develop Focused Concentration – Once you have cleared your mind, focus on a few important goals and set aside everything else. Narrow your attention to your most critical tasks and stop trying to do too many things at once. Focused concentration must become a top priority to maximize your effectiveness.
Practice Organizational Skills – Get organized. Note all meetings, important goals, and next steps as appointments on your calendar. Color code each category of work so you can quickly identify tasks. Address your email as it comes in and keep your Inbox empty. Build permanent computer folders annually. Have a goal of finding anything in your office or on your desktop in less than 15 seconds.
Share your skills
The salesperson I worked with mastered and put to use these basic skills. Today he exudes self-confidence, which has been noted by those he works with. A fellow salesperson has already asked him what is behind his early success. The disciplines of an organized executive can become contagious. Be sure to share them with others.
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by Art Waskey | Jul 13, 2021 | Art of Sales Weekly
I have a client who is concerned about her intellectual growth. She asked how I came up with so many ideas for my weekly sales tips. I shared with her that reading was my greatest resource. One of my favorite quotes is from Margaret Fuller: “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” Margaret Fuller, a nineteenth century American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women’s rights advocate, read her way to success. Stephen Covey, in his book The 8th Habit, discusses the importance of reading today. He emphasizes that this activity is a core way to stimulate the mind, which is the center of learning.
Three reading disciplines
There are lots of ways and reasons to read. To get the most out of this important resource, I find it valuable to break reading into these three disciplines.
Breath of Knowledge – A varied range of reading material creates a strong knowledge base. If you find the classics or more technical works hard to read in print, listen to them on audio. A couple years ago, I helped teach a course on language in which we listened to the Harvard Classics . Since then, I have been learning from the great works of Cicero, Dickens, and Melville, to name a few, via audio books.
Pure Enjoyment – Reading your favorite books and authors is a good way to relax and be inspired. eBooks readers put a vast amount of material available at your fingertips. I keep a collection of my preferred contemporary writers, like John Grisham, David Baldacci, and Michael Crichton, on my Kindle.
Read to Learn – The best way to learn from a book is the good old fashion way — read it in print. Purchase books so you can highlight your favorite passages. I also recommend writing down a collection of your thoughts or meaningful quotes from each book and saving them. I call this practice, reading to own.
Build castles of possibilities
Reading is an important resource. Business writers I especially admire include Stephen Covey, Jim Collins, Malcom Gladwell, and Patrick Lencioni. Whether in audio, electronic, or print format, reading fuels the imagination and develops the mind. Through words you can learn so much in a short time. As the Nigerian poet Ben Okri so beautifully writes, “It [reading] takes the raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.”
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by Art Waskey | Jul 7, 2021 | Art of Sales Weekly
Getting the Price Right
The pandemic has disrupted supply chains, resulting in shortages of goods and rapidly escalating material costs. Suppliers and distributors have had to adjust their pricing policies (see related article: best-pricing-strategies). When considering a price increase, all customers are not the same. Both suppliers and distributors have asked me how they can determine if the customer is getting the right price.
Customer segmentation
To determine pricing levels, I suggest you create a pricing strategy based on customer segmentation. Consider these elements:
- Order frequency – Customers that purchase weekly are loyal, core accounts and don’t shop around. They are your base. You don’t want to lose them through overly aggressive pricing. Consider moderate and measured price increases for this group.
Buyers that come to you only because of an urgent need or because their normal supply channel is out of stock are infrequent customers. Assign maximum pricing to this group.
- Size of orders – The cost of processing an order is the same regardless of size but large orders from core accounts receive perks like free delivery or other special considerations. For smaller orders consider charging for these services as part of your pricing strategy.
- Breadth of products – Core customers buy a mixture of high and low volume products frequently, and sometimes non-standard items. Be sure to price each item accordingly, with best buyers receiving best price. Maximize your sales by using your eCommerce technology to upsell and cross sell more products.
Review your accounts
When considering price increases, I recommend reviewing all accounts by sales rep or store assignment. This review should list the current pricing for each item (breath of products purchased), order frequency, and annual sales. You will find that customers with contracts are often getting prices that are too high or too low. Make adjustments. Infrequent shoppers may have been given special pricing that’s too low. Take the time to correct those.
Intervals of price increases are a good time to increase your profit margins, if handled correctly. Review your accounts for proper segmentation, remove inappropriate pricing, and engage in positive interactions with your customers. In this way periods of price instability can become valued, rather that dreaded, occurrences.
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