Years ago I managed a sales rep who was probably one of the nicest people I will or have ever met. Let's say his name was John. John was a great person. A hard worker, a family man, with a wife and 2 kids whom he had supported since he was in college. He was originally a professionally athlete but a knee injury ended his career and he had been working ever since to support his wife and children.
As I mentioned John worked hard, very hard. He would be the first one to the office in the morning and the last one to leave at night. When everyone else would get 20 cold calls in for the day, John would have 40 cold calls. When everyone else was at home with their kids, John would still be out in the field trying to sell. Simply put, the guy worked harder than anybody on my sales team. But this hard work never translated into sales success. John was always at the bottom in sales in our region.
One day he came to me, "Heh I can't do this. I'm just not cut out for this kinda job. I thought I could sell. I was the number one sales person at 7 up. Why am I not number one here? I can't figure it out. I do what you tell me, I do twice as many calls as everyone else, but I'm not making any money. What's wrong with me?"
"John. There is nothing "wrong" with you. You're a good person and a hard worker. Here is what I can do to help you. I'll ride with you and see if together we can't figure out what's going on. Just keep working hard and we'll figure it out. Don't get down on yourself."
He nodded his head and we agreed to go together on Thursday of the same week. John made all his appointments and set up a pretty good day. 5 appointments and we planned each one of them, analyzing each potential customer and what their needs might or might not be. So as I mentioned before, he worked very hard. He had my ass out in the field at 7 am. I get up at 6:30 am, I'm not in the field at 7 am. Who the hell is ready for a meeting at 7 am? Now I know there are plenty of deals closed early, but unless I have a planned appointment at 7 am there is no reason to be out in the field. Nothing is open, and if they are open they don't want to be bothered by sales reps when they just unlocked their doors. In fact, it really pisses people off.
We cold called 5 accounts all of them not happy to see us. John left his card with each one, and he is such a nice person, they were happy to take it after initially giving him a hard time. So building rapport was not really an issue with John, people liked him. His activity was good but really was it productive? 5 cold calls, no appointments, and 5 irritable potential customers, all before 8 am.
We got to our first appointment at 8 am and it was a tire shop. The "lobby" was full of people and the owner looked to be the guy behind the counter. And by "lobby" I mean a 10'x 10' area, with a couch made from the backseat of an old car, and two chairs that used to be bucket seats from a Datsun 280z. The counter person was talking to people, writing estimates, and directing employees.
"Is that the owner?" , I asked John.
"Yep. That's him", he answered.
The customers asked questions and milled around, while the owner spoke to everyone and seemed very helpful. He answered politely but curtly, almost with an anger in his voice that belied his experience. Sometimes as people get older they run out of patience, especially for stupid questions like, "Do I need to have the stem in the tire?" (Trust me the answer is "yes" to that question)
We waited patiently and the owner was finishing up with the last customer.
"John. Why are we standing here? He does know we have an appointment right?"
" Yeah, he's just kinda grumpy some times is all. We better wait."
" John, the day's a wastin. We can't wait for the right time to tell this guy we are here and have an appointment. Why are we waiting?"
" Just hang on a second. I don't wanna piss him off."
" Piss him off? We have an appointment. Can I say something to him? Can I wave at him?"
" No that's not a good idea."
" What the hell John? Is he gonna shoot me."
" Maybe.", he said and laughed, "He's a mean bastard some times."
Just as I was about to say something else the owner came out from behind the counter and as he was walking past us said, "Just a minute guys." He headed outside with a customer. To me that was our cue. He knew we were there, and he knew we had the appointment.
"John. Please get some balls and go out there and talk to him. Just let him know we're here and if it's incovenient we'll come back. But let's not stand here like a couple of idiots."
" Okay, I'll go talk to him.", John answered, shrugged his shoulders and walked outside.
I followed John outside and noticed the owner talking to a customer and then looking at a car. He bent down, checked a tire, wrote something on his note pad, and then walked to the other side. John approached him from behind and seem to be saying something to him, but the owner did not respond. He didn't even move his lips. I saw John was mouthing something but still the owner didn't respond. I thought maybe he was deaf. Not one single movement in John's direction. John followed him around the car slowly, all the time it looked like John was talking but it was a monologue. No response from the owner. Finally John came back over towards me.
" What's the story John?"
" He said for me to come back tomorrow."
" Really cause I didn't see him open his mouth. Really? We're you even speaking with him."
" He was kinda ignoring me."
" Did you even say anything?"
" Yeah I reminded him of the meeting and asked if now was a good time to speak."
" And?"
" And he said no."
" John, you were running your mouth for like 2 minutes and all you got outta him was no."
" I know, I know.", John said and put his head down.
" You have to have more respect for yourself than that. You're a person too John. Don't be overly polite. It's fine to be respectful but don't over do it. The customer will not treat with the same respect you give to him. He'll walk all over you."
" I know, I know.", he said and hung his head again.
" John, don't hang your head. You're better than that. You were a professional football player for god's sake! Be respectful, but don't coddle to people. It's demeaning and it makes you look bad."
" I know."
" Don't say I know John. Say I will. I will not let people be rude to me. I am a person, just like them."
" I will. I will.", and he picked his head up a little bit, just for my sake I think.
" John, don't see yourself as a salesman. You like helping people right?"
" Yes."
" So helping people is what we do. We don't sell, we find solutions to problems. Think of it that way. And if by helping them you have to be a little more forward, let's do it. It's for their own good."
" So it's not rude to bother them?", he said as if he was surprised that I perceived our job this way.
" You had an appointment right?"
" I did. And I confirmed it yesterday with a phone call."
" You confirmed it? Then it was rude of him not to acknowledge it."
" You're right that was kinda rude.", and for the first time I saw the light bulb go off in his head. He didn't seem irritated but determined.
" John, you are a person and I see what's happening here. You do all this work, make all these appointments, and people are just blowing you off."
" You're absolutely right. They do!"
" Be polite, be sincere, but don't get run over. Work smart, not hard."
" Got it."
" Make them count John. I rather you had 3 good appointments than 7 crappy ones."
" Got it."
" And last but not least. Don't confuse activity with results. You can be out here all day seeing people who are rude and don't treat you with respect without closing one account. It would be better to have 1 account you close than 10 you don't close. Otherwise it's a waste of time. "
" I get it now. Work smarter, not harder."
" John, I've seen you with your wife and kids and you love them don't you?"
" Best things that ever happen to me."
" You want to see them more don't you?"
" Then you need to start being a little more assertive and close accounts. Do it out of respect for them and yourself. I know that sounds like bs but it's true."
" Work smarter not harder?"
" Exactly! Now I want you to go over there and talk to that guy."
He looked shocked. " Now?"
" Yes now. This is the best time to start."
" Okay.", he slumped his shoulders and I grabbed him by the arm and turned him towards me.
" John. You are just as important a person as he is, and you are offering something that will help him. All the rest is bullshit John. Now act like you deserve his respect and he'll treat you with respect."
" Okay, I'll give it a shot."
" No don't try. Do. Do it for your family. Now get in there."
He looked me in the eye and I saw the determination in his face. He turned, walked over to the owner who was now looking at a different car, and this time I heard John's voice. It was not loud but loud enouugh for me to hear, and there wasa no doubt the tire shop owner could hear him. And again the owner ignored him, and so this time John tapped him on the shoulder. The owner turned around and John in a forceful voice explained that he wanted to reschedule his appointment when the owner was willing to make time to speak to him. He apologized for interrupting his day but I heard John say, "I know you're really busy sir but so am I, and I really think I can help you." The owner nodded his head and I couldn't hear what he was saying but he actually smiled, and slapped John on the shoulder. The two then shook hands and the owner returned to the car he was looking at. John turned and came walking back with a big smile on his face.
"Wow that actually worked!", he said to me.
" See John, I'm not always full of BS. What did he say?"
" He said come back in the morning and I'll set aside some time at 9 to talk. And, and he apologized for ignoring me!", he looked happy and shocked at the same time.
" Awesome."
" That was friggin amazing. I'm gonna do that with everybody from now on. I wasn't rude, I just wanted him to respect my time, just like I respected his. That's what I said."
" It's all about respect."
It truly was awesome to see the change in John from that point forward. And with that incident he turned it around and became one of the best reps in the region. Just a slight nudge of encouragement and a little self respect go a long way. Too often we see ourselves as sales people and not as people. Our time is just as important as anyone else and we need to use it wisely.
Remember, activity doesn't always lead to results.
-M
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