When I was 19, my dad made me production manager of his 75-employee kitchen cabinet factory. Before I officially took the job, I worked in the shop at each job and set production standards based on what I could produce at each station.
On my first official day as boss, Ozzie, our superstar cabinet assembler, came to me and asked for a 25-cent per hour raise. I went to my dad for advice and he said, “Give it to him, son.” So I did.
A week later, Ozzie returned and demanded another 25-cent raise, and he said he would quit if he didn’t get it. I went back to my dad for advice and he said, “Fire him, son.” I went nuclear, “You can’t fire Ozzie,” I pleaded. “The place will fall apart.”
“Fire him, son,” he repeated. So I did.
I dreaded the next day. But to my surprise, four guys came forward to claim Ozzie’s position. We had a contest to see who would get it. Production was up 25 percent, and “Mr. Irreplaceable” was replaced in less than 24 hours – and he was never missed.
How irreplaceable do you think you are?
If you’ve ever said these statements, know that they’re warning chants the end of a job is near:
• If it wasn’t for me, this place would fold.
• This place couldn’t survive without me.
• If it wasn’t for me, we’d be out of business.
• I do all the selling so this place can operate.
• My sales built this place.
There’s a misfire in the brain with this thinking. Closely related, here are 9.5 early warning signals that your sales brain has stopped functioning.
1. You think sales reports are a waste of time.
2. Everyone else does wrong things except you.
3. You get blamed for things you’re certain are someone else’s fault.
4. You think your sales production could be better – if you just got a few breaks.
5. You don’t listen to sales information in the car, or do anything to further your sales education.
6. You’re way too cocky, cynical and critical.
7. At night, you socialize or watch TV instead of read and plan your next day.
8. You go to sales calls unprepared (no personalized ideas for the prospect or information about the prospect).
9. You think most prospects and customers are dumb (or at least not as smart as you).
9.5 You think your boss is stupid.
Many salespeople are failing or doing poorly and claim they don’t know why, or blame everyone and their dog. Many more salespeople get fired and claim or blame the same way. Truth is they can’t or won’t face themselves. They blame others and things instead of taking personal responsibility.
If you’re doing poorly and you blame “circumstances,” take a look in the bathroom mirror.
If you get fired and you leave thinking it’s someone else’s fault, you’ll likely repeat the process at your next job.
If you get blamed and you think it’s someone else’s fault, think again.
It may take one face-down spill in the gutter to wake you up. But it’s a whole lot easier (and less costly) to catch yourself before you fall.
Success strategies
Here are a few positive steps that will lead to better personal and team responsibility:
• Look at your belief system. To succeed at sales, you must believe that you’re the best, your company is the best and that your product is the best. All three are needed to succeed.
• Rededicate yourself to be more customer focused – not me focused. Customer dedication eliminates a lot of the ego problems. When you’re busy helping customers, your time to brag and complain diminishes.
• Rededicate yourself to get more educated. Listen to attitude and sales information an hour a day.
• Work longer hours. Get there an hour before everyone else. People who struggle to get to work “on time” never seem to make it.
• Become more help oriented. Help others get sales. Help others succeed. Help customers get what they want and need.
• Transition from cocky to self-confident. Show it with deeds, not words.
• Transition from blaming others to taking responsibility. Most of the time when things go wrong, you could have done something to prevent it. Admit fault. Take the hit without a bunch of defensive whining.
• Read (and re-read) “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie, and “Think and Grow Rich,” by Napoleon Hill. These two are the bibles of business and sales success. Rededicate yourself to those success principles.
• Admit the truth to yourself. Admit fault. Then document what you could have done to prevent the problem or made things better. Then make a daily (morning) plan to make a change for the better.
In order for the things and circumstances of your life to change, you must change first. Not much will happen without a change in your thought process, your attitude and maybe eating a piece of humble pie. Admit it starts with you.
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of “The Little Red Book of Selling” and 11 other titles, is president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer. He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at Gitomer.com. He can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.
