Social Media Policies and Practice

No doubt all of you at some time or another have heard about the employee who posted a picture like this on facebook and eventually was fired for being an idiot.  No this is not a personal picture but one that was purchased so don't get any salty ideas in those devious little brains of yours. My life is not that exciting.

The recent company I was hired on at, even had me read a 10 page Social Media Policy handbook. Which simply stated don't be stupid and post something that you'll regret.  In the age of Twitter, facebook, and other social media, including blogs, it's best to remain in the dark and keep your company in the dark as well.  There is no point in embarrassing yourself or the company.  Here's a couple of tips regarding social media:

1. Privacy Settings:  Make sure that if you're on facebook, or Linkedin, or twitter that you share only with your friends or people you actually want to see your posts.  Facebook changes settings daily so be careful of this stuff.  In addition, facebook also lists your cell phone number to other parties, so if you don't want people to know this information, be sure to change your privacy settings.  I don't need another scam where people call my cell phone, and tell me that I won a $1,000 Best Buy gift card and all I have to do is hand over my social security number and address....uh right!  And yes that is a scam if you get a call like that in the future.  It's best to be minimal in describing yourself or listing your personal information. 
2. Keep it Relatively Clean - Don't be stupid and post videos like "Two Girls One Cup" on any page.  First of all, it makes you want to throw up, and secondly, I don't post anything I wouldn't want my parents to see. They don't need to see me in compromising positions, or with students that have duct tape over their mouths like the teacher who was suspended in Ohio. Believe me, I share a lot with my parents even though they are old: they still have a sense of humor, and they probably wouldn't be alarmed by a picture of students with duct tape over their mouths. My mom would just say, "Oh look at this silly picture.  First of all that duct tape is not even on straight and secondly he/she's not even a teacher." 
3. Affiliations:  I don't even list my company on my facebook page because I don't want some creep checking out where I work or what I do for a living.  I know that the many people are very open about everything but here's a tip "NOT EVERY STALKER NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO GET TO YOU." Especially if you're a woman.  I wouldn't list shit, and I wouldn't post where I was at, because there are plenty of weirdos out there in the world.  You don't need some person approaching you after you've had a few cocktails at a bar which was posted on facebook, and then he/she slips a "roofie" in your drink.   Remember, even your "friends" can have creepy friends.
4. Personal vs Business:  I believe it's best two have two profiles on facebook, one personal and one business, and the same applies to twitter handles.  If you want to keep your personal life private, I would recommend this for sure.  There's no sense in embarrassing yourself or your company with even the slightest misplaced word or picture. People nowadays are easily offended, and especially online. It's very simple to create a page or a handle as long as you have two email addresses.  In fact, it's a good idea since you don't want to offend any of your business affiliates.   
5. Know Who Your Friends Are: I have some business friends on facebook but only because I trust they have just as twisted and weird a sense of humor as I do.  So I'm selective with my business friends, and I know too that they have just as much weird stuff on their page as well.  In fact, I have one associate who always posts pictures of where she's at during the day, and it's almost always during work hours. She posts pictures of cocktails, the beach, her dog, and then after seeing each post, I'm thinking, "If she's friends with anyone in the company who has a big mouth, she's fired for sure. I'm not going to say anything but someone else might?" Know who your friends are and DON'T POST PICTURES DURING WORK HOURS, UNLESS THEY ARE OF YOU WORKING! Are you seriously that dumb?

Just a few tips to keep you out of hot water...and I'm not even sure they'll work, but it's better to be safe then sorry.  Now I have to go and change a few settings and delete a few friends...

Have a great day selling!

-M

"Is That Your Baby?"..."No It's My Dog"

If you've read any of my earlier blog posts, you know that I have a dog, and I take her to the dog park 2-3 times per week.  So therefore you can label me a "dog person".  However do not lump me in with some of the overly zealous "dog freaks", that I meet regularly at the dog park.  Maybe it's the California sun which has baked their minds,  but some of these people are frigging weird.

A few weeks ago, as I was entering the park, I good looking couple was standing near the entrance, and as I let my dog into the park the gentleman bent down and naturally my dog went over to him, because she's an extremely social animal...unlike me.  He bent down and she put her paws on his knees and started licking his face which he seemed to enjoy a great deal, almost too much.  If he had known that she had just ate cat shit about ten minutes earlier, I don't think he would have allowed her to redeposit the cat's fecal matter onto his lips and face.  However, I wasn't going to share that bit of what I considered "useless" information.

"Does doggy like to give kisses?" he kept saying as my dog wagged her tail and lick at his face, "Oh yes doggy likes to give kisses.  Yes oh yes doggy likes to give kisses.", he said in a weird child like but almost Buffalo Bill, "Silence of The Lambs", type of voice.  It was a bit disturbing to me, but his wife seemed to be enjoying this almost vulgar display of human and canine interaction.  I was tempted to ask that the two of them get a hotel room.

My dog continued to dote on him, and he asked, "Is this your baby?"

This question confounded me since I could clearly see that this was a dog, so I answered, "What?"

"Is this your baby?", he said and he held my dog's head in his hands and scratched her ears.

"Uh no.  It's my dog. If that's what you mean?", I said a bit confused by his obvious confusion about the classification of the two species.  Having read dog books I knew my dog was a member of canis lupus familiaris species, while a baby was a homo sapien.

"Oh no. That's what I meant.  Is this your dog?"

"I was confused.  Yes that's my dog.  Yep that's her", I said awkwardly and stuffed my hands in my pockets.

"Such a beautiful baby", he said and kept scratching the dog's ears. I don't know why, but I was reminded of a scene from the movie "Swingers", and envisioned Vince Vaughn and my dog in an embrace.

"That's our boy over there.", his wife said and she pointed to a good looking German short haired Pointer that was running nearby.  "Come here Brody", she called and the dog came running over.  My dog stopped licking the man's face and ran over to play with their dog.  The two took off running together, and all three of us watched the two dogs run across the park.

"Oh their friends already.", the wife said and smiled, "Isn't that cute. Brody will be so much fun for your dog.  All the dogs here love him."  It's hilarious how she kept referring to her dog by his name as if he were a dog park star or something.  I wondered when he would be going "on tour".

"That's great.  I'm sure they'll have fun together, my dog is pretty sociable.", trying to make doggy small talk.

"Oh that's good.  Look at how beautifully they run together.  Awww isn't that cute, Brody is slowing down so your dog can keep up.  Brody is such a good playmate." , the husband said and I was starting to get a little bit worried about where this creepy conversation was going.  After all, who uses the word 'beautiful' to describe two dogs playing.

My dog and Brody were having a good time playing and they were chasing one another around the park and nipping at each others heels, when the wife chimed in, "Look at how smart Brody is when he plays.  He sees where the other dog is going and immediately moves out of the way to avoid her.  Brody is so smart.  Those classes and doggy toys we got him are really helping."

I had to ask, "What?  You send your dog to school?  You mean like a training school?"

She laughed, as if my response was absurd, "Oh no. Not training school.  Brody's such a smart dog he doesn't need training.  It's a school for hyper intelligent dogs. They do tests and training, and play games with the dogs to increase their memory and problem solving abilities."

I laughed, incredulous to the fact that these people would actually send their dog to be schooled on something other than training.  Why do dogs need to solve problems?

"Really?  They have like a school that dogs go to learn to solve problems? Is he going to be a project manager or something? Seriously? Are you hoping to get him into a good college?"

The husband was irritated, "Laugh if you want, but since we had him tested for intelligence and started the courses Brody is so much smarter than all the other dogs here."

I laughed again, "Really?  Well let me know when his book comes out.  Maybe I'll read it."

"Laugh all you want.  I'll bet our Brody is smarter than your dog.", he said angrily.  Obviously my flippant disregard for his dog's genius was upsetting him.

I looked over and saw Brody eating poop off the ground that another dog had recently deposited on the grass.

"My dog may not go to school, but at least she's smart enough not to eat poop.  Good luck with those classes", I said and called my dog and she came running over.
 
She followed happily, as I walked her over to the "dumb" side of the dog park, where the dogs didn't eat shit. People are absurd.

Have a great day selling!

-M

Tips from Qyoda: ScanBizCards App

Occasionally I, meaning me-Qyoda, will come across business applications that can help all of you out in the field.  Well ScanBizCards is definitely a great tool for reps who don't like taking the time to key in all the information from each business card. The process is so time consuming, not to mention BORING.   ScanBizCards is a wonderful application that allows you to take a picture of a business card with your phone, and then the application scans the card, and enters the information into your contact list.  What's even better, is it enters in about 95% of the information correctly, such as email address, account name, phone number, fax number, job title etc., and it does it all in about a minute or less.  If the contact name has a lot of letters and titles after it, such as King of Prussia, or Imperial Leader of the Galactic Empire, that information won't be transferred so easily.

I wish I would have discovered this app 500 years ago. It would've saved me a lot of time, which I could have spent defending the Jedi Knights against the Empire. At that time, I would rather have had a light saber in my hand then a mouse or a keyboard.

However that's not all you get with this application!  That's right kids, you can export the information on your card to salesforce.com .

"Holy crap Qyoda, You mean I don't have to transfer that information into salesforce.com, because the application does it for me?!"

Yes it does.  Now it is exported to salesforce as a lead but then all you have to do is convert the lead to a contact  and attach it to either an existing account or create a new one.  It's that easy.  I love this application and you will too.  There is a free version that allows you to only scan 2 cards per week, but for my needs I purchased the premium application which is $6.99.  This premium version will back up your cards, allow you to email information, sync your data with LinkedIn, and all kinds of other cool stuff.

If you don't want to be a data entry clerk, I would buy this application now for your iPhone or Android phone, and start saving time today.

http://www.scanbizcards.com/

Have a great weekend!

-Q

Motivating Yourself-Move It Or Lose It!

A few years back I was at a Sales Conference, and yes I do occasionally amuse myself by going to one or two conferences to actually learn something new. Throughout the conference, this particularly pressed, perky, pumped up, little pain in the ass, starting talking about how great a sales rep she was, which naturally pissed me off.  I hate arrogance.  I like confident people, but I hate arrogant people.  If you're talking about yourself and your accomplishments without anyone asking, then you're an arrogant jerk.  And naturally she fit the bill perfectly.  She was constantly getting up and speaking out of turn in the general session, and speaking particularly about what she did, and how she was able to help people, and how she...you get the picture. Consequently, I couldn't keep my mouth shut during our round table session, when she was seated right across the table from me.  Our discussion topic was "What Motivates A Great Sales Person?"

"Terri, you've been telling us all how great you're doing.What makes you such a great salesperson?"

She stood up from her chair to ensure that she would be the center of every one's attention. " Well, uhm, I'm sorry I can't remember your name.", she was obviously blind, or didn't care to read my name tag.

" It's right here on the tag.", I said and pointed at my GIANT name tag.  People in the room started laughing. As a sidebar, I  think conference organizers make tags large enough for a person to read them across a crowded room. Subsequently,  for her not to know my name was absurd, or she was just so involved with herself and her own agenda, she didn't care to know my name. I believe this was probably closer to the truth.   

" Oh right, it's M.  My bad.  Well M, if you must ask.  It's because I'm super motivated everyday, and it's infectious.", and as she said this she made a fist pump, and then actually hopped forward like a well dressed bunny rabbit.  Wow! She was so annoying.

" So if you're super motivated how do you motivate yourself." I asked in the most droll and boring voice ever to illicit a reaction.

" I can see you're not a motivated person like I am M. I can sense it in your voice." she said and then made a frown and continued by imitating me, "How do you motivate yourself? M you sound like you don't want to be here first of all.  That's your problem.".  A few people chuckled uncomfortably, but I just laughed along with her. 

" I didn't realize I had a problem but thank you for pointing that out Terri.  Since I'm apparently a social idiot who needs motivation can you explain how you stay super motivated.", I said loudly, gave her a little fist pump, and then smiled broadly with a great deal of fake enthusiasm cocking my head to the side. 

"I just get up every day and greet it with a smile, and then carry that with me into the field.  People always react well when you smile, and I have a great smile so people just like me naturally.  Smiling is a great icebreaker.  You should try it sometime." , she said and gave me a smile but then rolled her eyes, and at this point no one at the table was laughing.

" Okay well Terri.  I didn't realize this was going to be a personal attack on me, but since we're going down that road.  Can you please give an emotionless loser like myself some better advice than to just smile more.  I  really think there has to be more to motivation than that."

She looked perplexed at first and was definitely confused by my question, "I'm not sure what I do to stay motivated.  It just comes naturally to me.  I greet everyday with enthusiasm. I guess I'm just lucky to be born so perky." And again she gave us all a fake smile.

One of the other participants chimed in, "As you can tell not all of us are born so...perky as you put it.  I'm just wondering what is it that keeps a rep motivated."

"I don't know what is I do each day buy I'm always so excited!", Terri said and jumped up again.

"Cocaine maybe?", I answered and she gave me a dirty look, while everyone at the table chuckled.

"Terri since you have so much energy, grab that white board and we'll all write down what motivates a great sales person.", I said, and I phrased it politely so she couldn't get upset.  She rushed to the white board and grabbed a marker. We wrote down what we perceived were 7 key motivators for reps and why. They are listed in no discernible order because they all seem to motivate people to varying degrees:

• Money - Despite what everyone thinks, this is still probably the key motivator in every one's life.  I know there are theoretical people who will argue that Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose are the key intrinsic motivators to people's work, but they live on the planet Theory and not Earth.  Money makes the world go round, and with it, you can provide a better life for yourself and your family. 
• Family-In the age of "Generation Me", family is still very important to people.  No matter how much we value our own lives, we value the lives of our children more and we want to be able to provide for them.  If you're a rep and you need motivation, take a picture of your kids with you when you're out in the field and that will motivate you pretty quickly.
• Security-In light of the decline of Social Security, Medicare, and pensions, people need to feel secure as they get older, and making a good living with do that for people.  Having a job today in lieu of all the layoffs in recent years in good incentive to keep a rep motivated.  No one wants to be struggling to make ends meet in today's business environment.  People want to feel safe and secure in their current position, and working hard is a good way to start. 
• Recognition-Sales people have egos.  Boy do we have egos!  And when we are recognized for doing well, we let everyone know how great we are.  We party and celebrate, and tell everyone what we did, and if we win an award, you can bet we're going to place that thing where everyone can see it.  Maybe even mount it on the hood of our car.  Recognition is a key motivator for reps. 
• Fear-Fear is always a motivator for any job.  Fear that you're going to fail, fear that you'll be fired, fear that you'll be laid off, and fear of your boss.  It's a sad fact that it still motivates us, but in the wrong ways, and eventually people leave a job where there working with fear as a main motivator.  That type of environment provides too much stress for most people to handle.
• Competition- Many reps I've met are former athletes, cheerleaders(men and women), so they are naturally motivated by competition.  They want to out perform their peers so they can win awards, receive a raise, and be recognized for their achievements.  I remember as a manager, I was motivated to kick this one manager's ass every year, because he was an asshole, and I don't like assholes.  So my goal was to be the best in the region, but mainly my goal was to be higher than him in the standings every year.  And when he was fired, I had to find another thing to motivate me, because there weren't any assholes left in the region.  Weird story, but true. 
• Autonomy-Many people are in sales because of the autonomy of the job.  They embrace it! It allows them to be free with their schedule, and to really take responsibility for their own success or failure. For me, it allows me to virtually run my own business, give myself raises, and partake in my own success.  A lot of reps I've noticed get caught up in what happens at corporate, but for me I try to focus on what I can control and what works.  Plus if you're a good rep and you don't like the direction corporate is taking, you have the autonomy to leave and find a better job.  Autonomy is a great motivator especially in the sales environment.

By the way if you're not motivated by any of these things, you're probably an alien, and you might need to consider returning to your home planet.

Have a good week selling!

-M

Homeland Security Or Salesforce Nazi's. What's The Difference?

I just left another company to return to more familiar territory and I am so happy.  First of all, at my most recent employer,  I was in the top ten in the country and not making any money based on some weird commission structure. Consequently I returned to the company I had worked for two years ago.   Smart move on my part.  Why?  I was just informed that my company had implemented a new "Strategic Call Initiative" to all the reps.  What does that mean?  It means "get ready to be micro managed until you quit or get fired."  Fortunately for me, I found another job right when they made this transition so I don't have to put up with the bullshit.  The reps are now required to log all their calls into salesforce.com... from the field!  What's funny is management is not even trying to hide the fact that they want the reps to do this in order to track their sales rep's position.  In other words track them via GPS! What is this an episode of "Homeland?"  Are Carrie and Brody going to show up and arrest a rep who isn't logging in their calls properly?

What is even more bizarre is the message management is sending to the field. "We don't trust you to manage yourselves or your time so we're going to do it for you."

 I think the Communists had more freedom under Stalin than this blatant form of salesforce fascism.  Here's a clue to all sales managers, junior and senior. MICRO MANAGEMENT DOES NOT WORK!  Here's why:

• It Turns Reps Into Liars - If you're a manager and you tell a rep he has to do 10 calls per day or even 20 cold calls per day, they just start making shit up. So why do it?  I'll tell you why, because the manager is an idiot who doesn't trust his/her reps.  If a sales rep doesn't want to work he/she won't make money and will eventually be fired.  Whether they log in 20 calls per day or 2.  If they don't work, they get fired.  Sales is about results...NOT ACTIVITY! If a rep isn't working instead he/she is just going to get creative with the calls they supposedly make during the day.  Do you want people working and telling the truth, or do you want them sitting at home putting more effort into creating a story then Nicolas Sparks.  I would rather have a rep producing sales than producing lines on a page. If management wants screenwriters, just try to micro manage sales reps, and the management team will read more bullshit on salesforce.com than you'll find after the bulls run in Pamplona. 
• Do You Want Sales Reps Or Data Entry Clerks - If a rep is on salesforce.com throughout the day, logging in calls on his/her phone or computer, then when are they selling?  I know that it's getting easier and easier to log these calls but if as a manager, I have reps more worried about keying in data then selling product, they're no good to me or my company.  Logging calls should be short,sweet, and simple, not an arduous task where you have to input who you called on, what was discussed, and what is the next course of action.  If I wanted a data entry clerk I would hire a nerd straight out of high school with an aptitude for computers, not a sales rep. Simply put, logging in sales calls,  IS data entry, and it has nothing to do with sales. The philosophy here is that if you have a lot of activity, eventually you'll sell something.  Personally I would rather shoot a sniper rifle at a sales target then a shotgun full of buckshot.  I can be more deadly with a rifle. If you don't get the analogy please don't ever purchase a gun. 
• It Alienates Your Entire Sales Team - If managers think some reps have a bad attitude and they implement this nonsense, they are sure to piss off every rep in the country.  Why do you think sales reps choose their profession?  For the freedom to manage their own work schedule! Any manager who doesn't know this is a moron.  Ask a senior manager how they would respond if he/she were asked to log in calls from the field, and I guarantee they wouldn't like it one bit!  It's hypocritical for them to ask the same thing of their sales reps.  The reason work in the sales profession is so they can manage themselves and manage their own lives.  If you can manage yourself and your time you can be a successful rep. It's about freedom.  If management takes this away from a rep, then it just upsets the rep and they will inevitably leave the company.  
• Do Not Confuse Activity With Results - When I was a young and inexperienced sales manager, I always assumed sales was about the numbers.  It was about the activity.  So I rode my reps like plow horses to get activity from them...and they hated me.  What's even worse is that I had them focused on all this activity and never on the final result.  So what happened?  My numbers were so bad, I finally had a meeting and I asked my reps, "Obviously our focus on activity is not working.  So what do you think we should do to get better results.  And I want honest answers."  Maybe that was the wrong thing to say but they gave me candid responses:
• "Get off our asses about the stupid call logs.  We can't be writing pre and post call plans for every frigging call.  It takes up time when you're doing ten appointments per day.  Sales reps don't like paperwork that's why we're in sales. " 
• "When we spend 30% of our time logging in calls, when are we supposed to market to our bigger accounts?  When we're sleeping? I need to hit my top ten targets with seeding pieces and I don't have time when I'm logging in calls all day and night."
• "When I sell a big account don't cheer me one minute and then chew my ass out for not filling out all my call log the rest of the day.  It just pisses me off.  I had just sold a big account and one minute your praising me and the next minute you're asking what the fuck is wrong with me, and why can't I fill out an activity report. "
• " Get a new tie.  I hate that stupid brown one you always wear. It looks like a dog took a shit on your shirt.  Go out with me, we will sell an account and I'll buy you a new tie, but please don't wear that thing anymore."  I gotta big kick out of that one.  And I did go buy a new tie.  And the next year, after I eased up a bit, we were #1 in the region.  
• Micro Management Is Micro Minutia - In light of the changes in the sales arena in recent years, and the advent of Sales 2.0, everyone seems to think Sales is now a science.  Sales is a science but activity is not what will always lead to results.  There a many components to the sales process and a happy and engaging sales force is the best weapon to have in you want to increase your numbers.  I can remember as a new sales manager there were times when I was so bogged down with paperwork that I couldn't leave the office!  There was always one more call to make, one more conference call to be on, or one more report to file.  I was buried in minutia, and I never wanted my reps to get caught up in the same type of scenario.  So I made sure they weren't bogged down with entering data, keying in orders, writing up presentations.  I assisted them as much as I could so they could focus on the more important things...like selling!

I am so glad I will not be participating in the "Micro Management Marathon" at my previous employer.  I'm sure there will be a lot of fierce competitors, and many contenders, but unfortunately it's hard to run a marathon in lead shoes.  Because management has just shackled their reps with a bunch of clerical duties and not given them the freedom they need to be successful.  Can you say the word "implosion", because that's what I see in the company's future.  

Have a great day selling!

-M

Corporate Relationships: Signs It's Time To Break Up...With Your Company

I received a text last week from a fellow employee which read, "F#$k corporate!  I hate this f#$king place!"

Sound familiar?  Well maybe the language you use isn't so "colorful", and what's funny is this came from a person who doesn't swear very often.  However, she was so incensed with what was happening to her, that she just couldn't hold back her anger.  To me, that means it's time for a change.

Working with any company is like being in a relationship.  Sometimes it's even more intimate than some of your personal relationships, because you might spend a lot of time at work.  Let's face it, a lot of the same problems you deal with in a personal relationship are evident in your own relationship with your company.  And like any relationship, the road to happiness can be arduous and wrought with hardship.  In many cases the relationship can even be abusive, and at that point it's time to break it off, for your own well being.  Here are a few signs that you're in a bad company relationship:

1. They Don't Pay Attention To Your Needs - Corporations have one thing in mind, and one thing only: making profits for their shareholders.  In the past, people were the building blocks of those corporations and it seemed that this was understood by management and it was very important to keep good people.  Not anymore... with the population level rising, and more people to choose from, job hopping is now the norm, and many companies aren't interested in your needs, they're interested in their needs.  It's like having sex with a partner who's more interested in their orgasm than yours. That kind of sex can be messy, there's a lot of crying, and you need to get out of that relationship.  Find some company that cares about what you need to be successful, and is willing to fulfill your needs, not just their own. 
2. Lack Of Communication - When people refer to a man as the "strong and silent type", they could also be referring to some corporations.  The worst company to be with is one that cannot or refuses to communicate with it's employees.  I worked for a company that would only email correspondence with it's employees.  There were no formal conversations, no exit interviews, and in performance reviews the employees were only asked to fill out their portion of the review; without discussing or having an interaction with their manager. I agreed with everything in my performance review but I called my manager to discuss it in the process. His response, "I just need to get this done, it's year end, so fill out your portion and get it back to me ASAP. It's not really a reflection of how I feel about your performance." I felt like yelling into the phone, "Oh it's not? It's a performance review you freaking idiot!" How would you like to be married to someone who only left you post it notes about how they were feeling and didn't even listen to your feedback. I personally couldn't be with that type of person or company, so naturally I left.
3. Abuse - My friend worked for a company that each month would find some reason or another to take away commissions, and expenses from no matter how well he did.  He could be at 110% to quota and they would discover some "error" in reporting which would put him at 101%; just low enough to screw him out of  thousands of dollars.  Now that's really abuse, on a monetary and psychological level.  So he left, and they were surprised.  What a bunch of morons! However, I know people who are still working for that company and putting up with the abuse. I find it amusing when people stay with companies that just abuse them daily.  They bitch and moan about what a horrible company they work for but yet they stay.  Why? Because they don't want to change.  They rationalize their relationship and say, "Well it's not that bad.  I could be out of a job.  At least I'm employed unlike a lot of people nowadays."  I understand when you're being abused you have a tendency to believe that it might be you're fault but trust me, it's not you. It's them! Corporations can be just as abusive as your parents, your partner, or even your spouse.
4. They Don't Listen To You - If you work for a company that doesn't allow you a voice in the workplace then get the hell out of that relationship.  Or perhaps you have a boss that looks at you in a funny way when you try to add some input into the workplace.  Break up with them NOW!  A manager who doesn't listen to his employees is the worst type of leader, and a company that tolerates that kind or leadership isn't worth your time and effort.  In fact, Gallup polled 1 million American workers and the conclusions were obvious:

"People leave managers not companies...in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue," Gallup wrote in its survey findings. The effect of poor management is widely felt. Gallup also determined that poorly managed work groups are on average 50 percent less productive and 44 percent less profitable than well-managed groups."

So why do poor manager's still exist?  Because companies don't want to listen to their employees and get rid of them.  I received an email from a reader who claimed that her VP had been sued 3 times and yet the CEO continued to keep that person in their leadership role.  My question to that reader was as follows:

"Does your company even have an HR department?  If they don't, they'd better have a team of lawyers!"

Poor management leads to poor results, which may lead to lawsuits.  Regardless of what the Gallup poll shows if your manager sucks, then your company sucks, because they're tolerating poor leadership.

       5. They Never Take You Anywhere - A long time ago, at a company far, far, away, I was the     top sales manager in the Western Region, and how did my company recognize my performance?    They didn't.  That year, because of "profit reduction strategies", they didn't offer me a trip, didn't recognize my performance, and didn't even to send me to Shakey's Pizza for a damn bunch a lunch. Finally, when I mentioned to the VP that I was disappointed they hadn't even recognize how well MY TEAM had done, they threw options at me, to keep me quiet.  WTF? What about recognizing the team? Take us to a nice dinner, or even In-N-Out Burger, but do something!

I was offended that all our hard work had gone unrecognized and believe me it was a lot of hard work.  I had spent 60-70 hours per week at the job, put my marriage in jeopardy, and was stupid enough to think they would reward me for my efforts.  Needless to say, I broke it off with them 6 months later, and I stayed with my spouse.  That was the right decision.

If your company is abusing you, not listening to you, giving you the silent treatment, and not treating you like the "trophy employee" you are, then dump them.  They don't deserve you anyway!

It is best to be in a relationship with some one or some company that appreciates you!

Breaking up is hard to do....but it may be the best thing to do. 

Grumpy Gus

After being in sales for many years, I've learned to love and hate my customers. Yes HATE them.  I know that's a terrible thing to say, but it's true.  So many sales "gurus" preach that you should love your customers at all times, but let's be honest, do you always love your wife, husband, or child.  NO! There are times when you want to grab your kids and just yell "Shut Up!"  Or you don't even want to look at your hubby let alone talk to them because you're mad at them.  So why would you not hate a person you don't even know as well as your family.  Your customer can be just as deserving of hatred as any other person in your life.  Some customers you either love or hate, depending upon the day and the circumstances.

 Remember there's a thing line between love and hate.

Last week, I was visiting one of my oldest customers and introducing a new product.  Now when I say old, I mean it.  This person must have trained with Florence Nightingale that's how old he is, and what's worse is he's a grumpy bastard.

"So Dr. G we have this new product that will help you heal patients quicker and reduce their amount of time in the hospital.  Do you want to hear about it?"
"Not especially.  Why would I want my patients to heal quicker?"
"So you can reduce the cost to the hospital?"
"Why should I care about hospital costs?"
"Because you're the medical director for the hospital's MCO?"
"Not by choice. Why do you keep answering my questions with a question?"
"Because I'm wondering when you're going to blow up and get pissed at me."
"Too late for that, I'm always pissed at you."
" So do you want to me to cover what the product does, or would you like me to just shut up."
" Do you really want me to answer that question? "
" Yes I do."
" I would prefer you leave the product with me and just shut up."
" That's what I thought you would say.  Here's a sample I need you to sign for, and here's some clinical studies for you to review.  I'll be back in a week and you know what I'll be asking."
" Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get out of here and I'll see you in a week."

Nearly all my interactions were like this with Dr. G.  But I think he was just a "Grumpy Gus".  One of those people where no matter how successful they are, or what they really have to look forward to, they are just miserable bastards.  It seems that even though they have this great life they can't enjoy anything.  I told my friends that if I ever get that bad, just kill me because I'm not really living anyway. Here's how you know when you're dealing with a Grumpy Gus.

1. You tell them their office pool has won the lottery and their response is, "It's about time.  I must have spent more than $10,000 on tickets. How many ways am I splitting it with you bastards?"
2. You offer them lunch and their response is, "Thanks but nothing cheap. No Subway or Jersey Mikes. Take me some place nice like Olive Garden."
3. For Christmas you bring them a bag full of goodies and they chime in, "I never eat this shit.  Where the hell is my gift card?"
4. They get a promotion, a new car, and a raise, and they respond with, "Took them long enough.  I've been working my ass off for this company.  And now I have to drive a Malibu!  Cheap asses!"
5. They have a beautiful wife or husband, and they make the comment, "Yeah I don't know how long it's gonna last.  Beauty is only skin deep and he/she has issues."
6. The sports team they support wins a game in overtime, and they add, "That game shouldn't have even gone to overtime.  We suck. Now we're just 4 games ahead of the second place team."
7. They get a free meal when they find a small plastic fork in their restaurant food and they make a comment to the manager like, "Good thing you gave me that free cause I was going to sue this place.  Hell I may still sue this place."
8. After the birth of their second child they make the remark, "Great!  Another alien mouth to feed."
9. When they have a tumor tested and the tests turn up benign, they ask the doctor, "Are you sure?  I could have swore it feels malignant."
10. They are not a glass half full or a glass half empty type of person.  With them, there is no glass! They'd rather have a pitcher.

If you're dealing with a Grumpy Gus don't try to point out how great life is, but they just can't see it.  Make sure when you deal with them, you're just as miserable as they are, and if do this, they will actually listen to what you have to say!  Misery loves company.

Have a great day selling!