Death of a Salesman and Xylophonist

Believed!

Back in the mid 1950’s my father was a professional salesman. He taught me that Sales was all about being competitive, caring and competent. These attributes helped him be very prosperous over the years.

As a good Christian, my father believed that helping others was not only a noble goal, but a responsibility of everyone. With his guidance, I began helping others as a Cub Scout. Doing good deeds quickly turned competitive. The Cub Scout’s award bronze, silver and gold arrows for various activities that support their mission and receiving arrows was like winning the Olympics for me. Winning these arrows became THE competition for me. At first, my goal was to win more than Tommy Teachout and then it shifted to literally fill my shirt with the little arrows. Dad taught me to believe that competition was good and healthy. Just as long as winning didn’t come at the expense of another.

As a good father, my dad believed helping others was one of the best attributes a salesman could have. Like my father, I have been a salesman all my life. At a very young age Dad taught me that selling wasn’t about persuading and convincing, but about truly caring for your customer. He always said that if you offer the customer something they need, they will buy it. He also believed that true salesmanship helps the customer understand that they need what you are selling. Dad truly believed that, bottom-line, if they REALLY don’t need what you are selling, care enough to walk away. (But keep them in the Rolodex)

As a leader, my dad believed helping others grow and improve was a critical component of good leadership. Not unlike the young sales people that worked for my father, when we were young, we kids were expected to continuously improve in everything we did. Be it on the athletic field, in the church choir, or our given professions. We always needed to improve.

As a young man, my first commission sales job was selling shoes. I recall one time early on, when I complained about needing to take so long to locate shoes in the confused and cramped “Backroom” that it was hurting my sales. Dad simply told me not to worry about trying to change the system, but to focus on learning the system and deal with it. I did and in no time I was earning more than the full-time employees in only 20 hours per week.

My dad loved music.

He played the Xylophone in church and sang in the choir nearly every Sunday until just a short time ago. His competitiveness came out in everything he did. He wanted to be the best father, husband, salesman and Xylophonist. And, as I recall…he was. Of course, now that I think about it, I never actually knew any other Xylophonists.

Don’t get me wrong. He wasn’t great just because he was competitive, but because he truly cared. He cared deeply about his children, his clients and the congregation.

Finally, Dad was a role model when it came to having and maintaining a high level of competence in everything we did. He not only expected us to continuously improve, but he did it as well. I recall one Saturday evening when I wanted to go out, but dad couldn’t take me because he was practicing the Xylophone for the next day’s service. Now keep in mind, I had heard him flawlessly rehearse that same song what seemed like hundreds of times. He knew that his perfect practice would result in a perfect performance. On the other hand, I just wanted him to take me someplace where I could continuously improve my relationship with my friends (girlfriend) I’m sure. That Sunday morning, as I watched the congregation enjoying my father’s music, I realized just how important competence was in maintaining highly effective levels of performance. Not just in music, but in everything we do.

My father passed away at 5:26PM today 5-26-09.

As I reflect on his life from my perspective and what he meant to me, I am grateful to have learned how to nurture a healthy level of competitiveness, a deep sense of caring and an appreciation for competence in every aspect of my life. Dad has often expressed how proud he was of his children and grandchildren. He was also very proud when I left Corporate America to embark in a business of helping others improve their performance and their lives. In fact, he left a voice mail message for me just a couple of weeks ago telling me how proud he was of me and all the kids. I saved that message, but I can’t listen to it right now. But I will!

In closing, one element I often use in my presentations is to challenge the audience members to think of only one word that they would want on their gravestone. One word that describes who they are, who they were or what they did. Just a few of weeks ago, when Dad was still alert, I asked him what his one word would be. My competitive, competent and caring father said his word is…

Believed!

Thanks for always believing in me Dad!

Love, your competitive, competent and caring Son…TJ

Selling at the Superbowl

Let’s face it many of us enjoy the Superbowl ads as much or more than the game itself. This probably doesn’t hold true this year…that was a pretty good game! But let’s get back to the ads.
In sales, a major focus is on what causes your client’s pain or pleasure and how can you relieve their pain or increase their pleasure. One purpose of advertising is to exhibit how a company’s products or services can help satisfy the pain/ pleasure urge.

QUESTION????

Which Superbowl ad sticks in your mind as the best for establishing or recognizing your need and then providing a solution to satisfy those needs? Was it the Crystal Ball and Doritos? Did the Romantic Horses make you want another Bud? Or was it the Babies talking about whatever babies talk about? If you want some help…check out Hulu.com and view them again.

Tell us which was your favorite and why? Thanks!

See the comments for my top “influencer”!

Viral Advertising is GREAT!

Many of my clients have made their marketing efforts a very high priority in an effort to generate greater sales revenue. But, at the same time, they are spending less.
Viral ads can be a very effective and inexpensive marketing tool. Here is one of the best viral ads I have ever seen. If this doesn’t make you laugh…I’m truly sorry for you. Trust me, you will laugh so hard you’ll cry. The E-Trade “Baby Outtakes”  has hit a home run with this. Enjoy!

Viral advertising is great, but like everything else in life, you “Don’t Just Do It!”

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Nancy Killefer: Obama’s Chief Performance Officer

At The CPO Institute our research has found that companies (and maybe governments) that have a “learning culture” are 12-15% more profitable than those without. The CPO of an organization must help establish the mission, set performance objectives, support performance improvement efforts and measure results. How in the world can anybody do that, for this or any other administration?
Of course, I’m sure Pres. Obama’s Cabinet, staff and all Federal agencies and programs are overjoyed to have someone overlooking their “performance.”
We only can hope that Nancy Killefer can instill the BYOCPO Process and thinking in every government employee. She must act as a CPO and not as a COP!
More on Obama’s Cabinet
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

POSTED BY THE HUFFINGTON POST BLOG with permission

17 Degrees and Beauty

It’s only 17 degrees outside so I felt the need to put a new background picture on my computer. Whether you are where it is warm and sunny or cold and snowy, this is a work of art.
Not the picture…but the flower itself.   Enjoy!

O for Sixteen?

Well the Detroit Lions just finished 2008 by setting an all-time record for the worst season ever. Sure 2008 had its ups and downs, but the Lions are definitely down.
In the spirit of the Lions, what is your favorite news story of 2008? Is it:

• OJ Simpson’s conviction?
• Obama’s political success?
• Olympic gold for Phelps?
• Ominous economic forecasts?
• Overseas wars?
• Oil prices?

What is your favorite news story from the past year? It doesn’t need to begin with the letter O, but in honor of the O-fer Lions offer one opinion. News, weather, sports, personal…whatever!

Take Negotiations to the Dogs

Whenever I am working with sales teams, the topic of effective negotiations often arises. In my thirty years of sales experience, I have attended many hours of negotiations training. For the record, the best was from the Karrass organization and my friend Frank Mobus, but I digress.
Another rich negotiation experience was when I served as a Labor negotiator for General Motors with (or against) the UAW. Keep in mind, I don’t teach negotiation skills, but I often share several of the best tips I have learned over the years. One of which is what I call “the confused dog look.” Whenever your customer or the “other side” offers a counter-proposal or a concern, just simply tilt your head and don’t say a thing. Most of the time they will drop their issue, recant there statement, or better yet simply agree with your proposal.
Why this topic today?
This morning I saw the best example of how to teach this technique. So thanks to YouTube, here is a great 30 second video example of the “Confused Dog Look.”   Enjoy!
If improving your effective negotiation skill is a high priority for you, and why wouldn’t it be if you are in sales, try this…it works!

On Being Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in America and to all of my readers, clients, friends and family I wish a most thankful day. In these times of financial uncertainty, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotations from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “I am thankful for small mercies. I compared notes with one of my friends who expects everything of the universe, and is disappointed when anything is less than the best, and I found that I begin at the other extreme, expecting nothing, and am always full of thanks for moderate goods.”

I’m not saying I totally agree with Emerson, because I always expect the best, but am thankful for moderate goods.

Be thankful, enjoy, share and love!

Just Plain Fun!

Check us out!

One of the most viewed, and best streaming videos, is the latest craze.
You MUST check it out. It’s relaxing, funny and can actually relieve stress. Just click the Shiba Inu Puppy link and enjoy the rest of you day, it is just plain cool! The CPO!

Why the fish?

Okay…several people have asked why I have a picture of fish swimming toward me on the front of my blog.
For those of you who have been fortunate enough to hear my “Don’t Just Do It” speech, you know that several years ago I nearly drowned in the ocean. Not to minimize the terror I felt at the time, it was somewhat of a “life-changing” event. At that moment, I came to realize that our lives must be managed like a business. Thus the BYOCPO concept.
The picture of the fish was taken several days later. It’s as though they are laughing at the guy who nearly killed himself while snorkeling.

Life is too important…Don’t Just Do It!