by Kirby Hasseman
If you are in sales, you need to read this. If you are not in sales, remember this…everyone is in sales.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at the PPAI Expo in Las Vegas several years ago on education day and had stepped into a class led by Greg Muzzillo from Proforma in hopes of being educated and enlightened. Greg did not disappoint. Years later, I still remember a question he asked. “In every business there is $15 an hour work, $50 an hour work and $500 an hour work. How many of you want to do the $500 an hour work?”
Without exception, the room full of people (including me) raised their hands. “LIARS!” he yelled at us. “All of you say you want the $500 an hour work, but every day you go straight to your desk to start on the $15 an hour work.”
For me, at this moment, this was a wake up call. His point was, there is nothing wrong with the administrative tasks in a business. They are vital. But as a salesperson, you bring the most value to your organization by getting in front of clients. When you are meeting with clients, you get the most return on your time. He finished with this statement, “There is no money behind your desk! Stop looking there!”
I love this. The fact is, it is easy and comfortable (as a salesperson) to do the non-sales activities. As I said above, they are important. They need done. But they are not the activity that brings you and your organization the most value on YOUR time. And that is the key, I think, regardless of what role you play in the organization. What is the role that you do that brings the company the most return?
*If you are in billing, it might be sending invoices.
*When you are at the front desk it might be answering the phone quickly and with a smile.
*If you are in sales, it is most likely meeting (face to face) with clients.
Anything you do instead of that is costing you money. In his new book, Clockwork, Mike Michaelowicz explains a concept called the QBR (Queen Bee Role). The idea is, the QBR is the most important role in a business. That needs to get done. Everyone needs to either serve the QBR or protect it. Figure out your QBR and focus your time and attention on that.
And remember sales team…there is no money behind your desk!
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by Kirby Hasseman
I love to go to educational events. Whether in or out of my own industry, I enjoy digging in and getting new ideas…and getting inspired. So this week, when the Commonsku gang put on their 2nd Annual SkuCamp event, I was in my element!
Skucamp was a 2 day intensive event designed to entertain and inspire entrepreneurs in the Promotional Products business. I know the goal was to provide great education and networking opportunities. I know their goal was to have a packed house, with a cool vibe and an awesome environment. That’s every event’s goal, right? But the culture of people around this event might be it’s real special sauce.
The Commonsku team has created a sandbox where some amazing industry pros want to come and play. But what did I learn? The answer is…a lot.
Here are just a few key takeaways from #Skucamp2018.
There is no “one way” to do it
There are many people doing really cool things in our industry that gathered at Skucamp. But it was amazing how different each business and business approach is. Some people were super focused on e-commerce. Some business owners had no interest in that. Some businesses were diverse and some were niche. There is not one formula that leads you to success.
Vulnerability is cool
You never learn anything (or at least anything good) when you think you know everything. Skucamp was a place where a lot of really smart people admitted that they didn’t know everything. It wasn’t a weakness. It was a strength.
You Grow By Saying No
You don’t have to be for everyone. I talked about that here. Opening speaker Mike Michaelwicz talked about this in his opening talk. He discussed the idea that you don’t need to be for everyone…in fact that might be a bad thing!
Bring A Big Idea
I love this concept from speaker Caryn Kopp. She had a great session about getting the door open to companies and opportunities you wanted. But this simple idea really resonated with me. If you are meeting with a client, bring one BIG idea that could be huge for them and you. Are you doing that consistently? When I asked myself that honest question, the answer was “no.”
Nice People Finish First
In a world where we are under a constant barrage of negative, it was a wonderful reminder that good people are out there doing amazing things. One of my biggest takeaways was just that…good people are doing great. You don’t have to be a jerk. You might not be perfect (I know I am not). But you can be a good person and grow an amazing business.
Finally, it was a true privilege to get the opportunity to speak with my buddy Bill Petrie about the power and importance of Content Marketing. Thanks to the gang at Commonsku for having us…and thanks to Bill for making me look better than I deserve.
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by Kirby Hasseman
It was early in the morning and I just needed to grab one thing in my closet. The thing is, I had everything ready to go. The bag was packed to head into the office. The lights were off. But I just needed to grab a sweatshirt. I knew basically where it was because I just saw it when I picked out my shirt. So I headed back into my closet to “quickly grab” this last piece of clothing.
In the dark, I felt around for the piece where I thought I remembered it. It was a full zip, so I felt for the zipper. Found it! I began to unzip the sweatshirt in order to take it off the hanger…and it stopped. This was only a quarter zip! Damn…this was the wrong piece!
And there are I stood…in the dark.
Finally, I took two steps and turned on the light. It’s amazing how fast I was able to find the sweatshirt I wanted! I was just too consumed with doing it “really quick” so I was not using the tools that were right in front of me.
It’s absurd. It’s stupid. And those of us in the sales profession do it all the time.
We thrash around in a world where time is literally money. We try to do it “our way” or the “old way” for entirely too long. Meanwhile, our organizations arm us with CRM’s, blogs, websites, order management, email systems, and more. They spend endless time and dollars to help us increase our efficiency and, ultimately, our sales.
And much like me, looking for my sweatshirt in the dark, we stubbornly keep thrashing. We believe we are right. We think it “will take too long to learn” and keep trying “one more time.” Folks…turn on the light. Use the tools. Take the time on the front to save the time on the back. The tools are there to shine a light on your business. All you have to do is flip the switch.
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by Kirby Hasseman
I love to read. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not because I love the feeling of “curling up with a good book.” That’s fine, I guess. But my personality does not really lend me to a curling up kind of guy. I love it because I feel like reading pushes me. It makes me think. It inspires me to push harder. But sometimes it’s hard to recommend books because your need depends on your area of interest or need.
So I usually default to some of the books that I have enjoyed lately.
That’s cool…but I thought it might be helpful to break it down via “area of interest.”
So here are 7 sales books that I have loved and have helped me grow.
1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: You might be saying “but this is not a sales book.” You would be wrong. It’s a “better human” book. If you follow these principles, you will be a better sales person. Period.
2. The Ultimate Sales Machine: I loved the overall sales process that Chet Holmes outlined in this one. It inspired me. And if you look at the life of selling results (regardless of industry) Chet had the goods.
3. High Trust Selling: This book changed my business. I love the concept of the 80/20 rule of sales that Todd Duncan lines up in this book. For me, this is when I took the “next step” in my sales career and hired an assistant. It was a leap of faith for sure. And I took it because of this book.
4. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion: If you want to affect people’s behavior, you need to understand their psychology. Why do we do what we do? This book, originally written as an academic text for psychology, has become a sales “must read.”
5. The 10X Rule: If you need a red bull style kick in the pants, Grant Cardone has you covered. I love goals. But Cardone takes it to the next level. I listen to this one and he gets me fired up to attack the day.
6. Fanatical Prospecting: This book was another book that really grabbed me by the collar. It tells you things that (as a salesperson) you might not want to hear…but you need to hear. If you want to have more sales, you need to do Fanatical Prospecting.
7. The Sales Acceleration Formula: This is one that taps in the science of the sale when it comes to the basics of content marketing. From one of the early leaders at Hubspot, this one will make you think of your sales process…and how to turn it on its ear.
This is hardly an exhaustive list. But there are some really good ones here that have inspired me at different times on my sales career! What are your favorite sales books? Let me know! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for the VIP newsletter here and we send out a weekly wrap up of everything!
by Kirby Hasseman
Some people just don’t like me. I am not for everybody.
I was having this conversation yesterday with Josh in my office. It’s a reality that everyone faces. No matter how hard I try to be a good person, or how much I want everyone to like me, it’s not going to work.
Some people have good reason not to like me. I might have done them wrong. I am not perfect. Some people have have heard something about me that they don’t like. Maybe from the group above. Some people just don’t like my face.
For whatever the reason, not everyone will like me. And that’s ok. I am not for everyone.
The same is true of your organization. No matter how hard you work to take care of each and every customer, some people will not like you. Because despite of your best efforts, there will be times when things go wrong. You (or your organization) might mess up and frustrate a customer. You won’t mean to…but it will happen. Those people might tell a few friends…so they won’t like you either. And some people will decide they don’t like your logo (your face).
But here’s the good news. You don’t need everyone to like you. Because if you are working hard and showing up every day, you will find people that LOVE you. You will uncover people that are fired up about your services (and you) and are excited to tell others about them! They will have a great experience. They will tell their friends. And they will love your face!
This is the group you (and I) need to focus on. We need to spend all of our time, money and energy on this set of people. They are the ones that we can build a business (and a happy life) on. This is also the group we can best serve.
This sentence can either frustrate you or set you free. I am not for everyone.
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by Kirby Hasseman
Delivering Marketing Joy is one of the pieces of content that I am most proud. Why? Probably because it was one of the first consistent pieces I produced…and it helped put me on the map.
Now, nearly 250 episodes later, it’s still rolling. As you might expect from a journey like this, I have learned a lot from Delivering Marketing Joy. But what can it teach you? Here are a few lessons I am proud to share.
Don’t Listen To The Voice: I have talked about this before here, but it’s worth mentioning again. The hardest voice to overcome when starting something like this is the one in your own head. For Delivering Marketing Joy, I had to overcome the voice telling me that no one wanted to talk to me on an interview show. Who was I? I am so glad I pushed through that. Most people were more than willing (and generous) to spend the time.
Share Platforms: One of the reasons I think the show worked (early on) was because I was sharing platforms with other people in the industry as I grew my own. In my first episode I talked with Mark Graham. He was already an influencer in the industry, so I was able to leverage his audience too! Obviously, the goal is to provide value. So by sharing platforms you get to share the goods with more people.
Stay With It: When I was about 20 or so episodes into the show, I was kind of tired. I was proud of how many shows I had done…but I did not know whether it was worth it to continue. Insert Seth Godin. I got the chance to interview him (with Mark Graham) and Seth mentioned that he had seen the show! Wow! Then he said something I will never forget. “Stick with it. In 3 years you will be glad you did.” At the time I did not have the next episode lined up! But I did keep it up. And Seth even agreed to be my guest when I got to Episode 100. Watch that here.
Be Consistent: This is something I preach a lot…because I think it really matters. If you want to build an audience (and I am still working on it), you need to be consistent. It’s important to the audience. But I think it’s important to you too. It sets a deadline. Otherwise, it becomes really easy to “just miss one.”
Start With A Few in the Bank: This leads nicely to Start with a few “in the bank.” When I started DMJ, I heard that the average web show never makes it to Episode 5. I have no idea if that was true. But I was obsessed with starting with 5 shows done! That bank of episodes gave me some confidence and gave me time to get more going!
Don’t Worry About the Metrics (at first): It’s not about creating a “viral video.” It’s about creating value. Way too many people get really focused on the numbers too early on. It’s a recipe for frustration. You are (likely) not going to have a big audience at first…so the numbers are not going to be impressive. That’s fine. It will build. Plus, I have found that despite the numbers, you never know who is watching. Keep focusing on the value…the numbers will take care of themselves. Delivering Marketing Joy is a weekly class for me. I learn something all the time. But these are just a few lessons that I am reminded of as I look back.
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