Mission Not Impossible -- DeWese
HOW MANY times have you heard someone say, “Never say never?”
A print salesperson told me, “Our pricing and poor quality will prevent me from ever selling $1 million in a year. I can never do it.”
I asked the salesperson’s boss (owner of the company) how many salespeople she had who sold more than $1 million annually. She replied, “Seven of our nine salespeople produce more than $1 million. Three of the seven sell more than $2 million.”
Get that? Seven out of nine never said “never.”
Think about some of these completely improbable statements:
“All of my money is invested with Bernie Madoff. My money returns 10 percent and is totally safe. Bernie is a genius who’s as honest as the day is long. There will never be any threat to my money.”
Whoops! Fifty billion dollars has disappeared, and Bernie Madoff has confessed to the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.
Twelve months ago, a wealthy business owner told me, “America will never elect an African-American president.” On January 20, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first African-American president.
Here are two more mundane impossibilities:
“The Arizona Cardinals lost all five East Coast games during the 2008 season. The Cardinals can’t handle the jet lag thing. The Carolina Panthers are undefeated on their home field this year. The Cardinals will never beat the Panthers on their home field in the playoffs.”
Whoops! The Cardinals dominated the Panthers 33-13.
A Philadelphia TV sports reporter said, “The Eagles are out of the playoffs. In order for the Eagles to qualify, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers must lose to Oakland, the Chicago Bears must lose to Houston, and the Eagles must defeat the Dallas Cowboys. It will never happen!” There’s that word again—never.
The Unexpected Happens
Whoops! On December 28, 2008, Tampa and Chicago lost, and the Eagles squeaked by the Cowboys by a score of 44-6 to become a wild card playoff entrant. And then, on January 11, 2009, in the Meadowlands, NJ, the Eagles completely defied all odds and defeated the Giants on their home field to advance to the NFC Championship game!
And, finally, there’s another classic case of “never say never.” Only 10 months ago, an economist told me, “The U.S. economy is rock solid; we are in no danger of a recession and certainly not a depression. Never. Never.” Today, that same economist is writing about how he warned of this impending worldwide financial crisis. It is amazing how some economists can be so forgetful and self-serving.
Our PI research team tells us that 78 percent of my readers are smart enough to see the relevance of these improbable situations to their jobs in print sales. If you are among these smart readers, you can stop reading and go write up one of the many orders stacked on your desk.
Are you among the 22 percent who are dumb enough to have said, “How the hell does this stuff about Madoff, Obama, the NFL and the economy relate to my lack of print sales success?” Madoff’s clients were victimized and lost it all because they lacked vigilance. Bernie Madoff looked good and was well-spoken, and he faithfully sent monthly statements that reported 10 percent profits.
That same lack of vigilance can lead to the loss of a big account. You are enjoying strong margins. The work just keeps coming in, and you hardly have to see the customer. You rarely ask the client about his level of satisfaction with your service and your quality.
Then BAM! It’s gone. You lost your biggest account. Maybe it was your only account. That major account was so good that you never prospected. There was nothing else in the pipeline.
From now on, I’m calling lack of vigilance the “Madoff Syndrome.”
Then, we have the Barack Obama phenomena. He was elected because he showed up. He was well-prepared. He had a plan. He was well-organized and well-spoken. He was a superb listener to the opposition, even when his opponents were attacking him. He was an attentive listener to voters. He did all these things each time he showed up, and showed up, and showed up. He was there, and he performed well, and he always outperformed his competition without rancor.
Is there a sales message that led to Obama’s improbable victory? There are seven of them. I’m going to call them the “Obama Mandates.” Count them with me: 1) Show up. 2) Show up well-prepared. 3) Show up with a plan. 4) Show up organized. 5) Show up and be well-spoken. 6) Show up and listen. 7) Keep showin’ up.
The Cardinals’ and Eagles’ unbelievable playoff victories are examples of why I never bet on pro football. You’ve heard commentators caution that the winner is usually the team that makes the fewest mistakes or, in this example, the team that makes the fewest turnovers. So, the lesson here is making sure you have heard, and then communicated, the job specifications accurately to your plant coworkers.
The Eagles and Cardinals showed up with a plan, executed that plan, and they did it with a fire in their bellies. They wanted the win. That fire in the belly in football—and in sales—is always a critical determinant for success.
The economist who told me there would never be a recession only proves that you should never say never. If the lousy events of 2008 have you believing that you will never succeed in print sales, then memorize the “Madoff Syndrome” and “Obama Mandates.”
The Madoff Syndrome is lack of caring and vigilance, where you take your customers for granted. The Obama Mandates require showing up well-prepared, well-organized, well-spoken and with a plan—and continuing to show up more than your lousy, unworthy competitors.
And, finally, show up with a fire in your belly. Then, get out there and sell something! PI
—Harris DeWese
About the Author
Harris DeWese is the author of “Now Get Out There and Sell Something” and “The Mañana Man, Books II and III,” available through the PI Bookstore at www.piworld.com/bookstore. He is chairman and CEO of Compass Capital Partners and is also an author of the annual “Compass Report,” the definitive source of information regarding printing industry M&A activity. DeWese has completed 141 printing company transactions and is viewed as the industry’s preeminent deal maker. He can be reached via e-mail at HDeWese@CompassCapLtd.com.
