Don’t Quit! Double Down!

Bill Gillespie

If you follow me or read my stuff you know that I think Selling Is Simple. It’s damn hard, full of rejection and loaded with “why am I doing this” moments but it is simple. If you’ve ever had a date, debated an issue, entertained friends or pleased a loved one, you’ve successfully sold. You know HOW to do it.

In business selling includes these steps. Who do I want to do business with? Who are the decision makers? Who do I compete with? How/Why do they have the business? Introduction, ask for appointment, keep at it, win appointment, make business case, listen, improve business case, win an opportunity, successfully execute, win more business, become number 1 and ask for a contract.

These will always be the steps. There are tons of tips available but all of them exist to assist you along the stated path. I refer to these tips as “situational guidance.”

Let yourself off the hook. You know how to sell. You just have to do the work. Don’t look for or expect shortcuts. Keep track of where you are on the map and do what it takes to move the needle daily.

I remind you of this hoping you’ll focus on the right thing. I take so many calls from reps and sales managers thinking a job change will fix numbers. The salesperson is convinced a new business card will make sales happen. The sales manager wonders if the rep in question will ever succeed.

Sometimes change is warranted but, in my experience, most of the time it’s the wrong answer. Managers dump reps and bring on new candidates without addressing the selling environment. Reps jump ship and take their excuses with them. Both have to get their baggage straight before they can succeed.

I was on the receiving end of this once. Early in my career I called on an Atlanta advertising agency. The printing was controlled by a woman in her 60’s. Her son owned a large printing company across town. He enjoyed most of her work but I managed to earn a little.

Apparently, she shared my name with her son. He called, took me to lunch and asked that I move to his company. He had a big reputation and, to me, was controversial. I declined.

My career advanced. The lady retired. I earned more of the agency business. He called again. I declined.

Fast forward: This went on for fourteen years. I met with him, his partner, his sales manager and several of his sales staff. I didn’t want to be part of his company.

Eventually, my situation changed. I needed a job. My phone rang and it was this dude. It was another of my semi-annual calls from the company I didn’t want to work with.

The interview process and some of our “why won’t you do this” conversation deserves a story of its own. I’ll write that at some point. Let me simply say that after fourteen years and more than twenty meetings I said yes. He never quit selling and eventually I came around.

Now let’s flip it back to my selling and not his. The assignment wasn’t giftwrapped. The company was financially successful but totally broken on the service side. If you weren’t an owner, you would struggle to get work produced. Every internal system was constipated.

My job was to grow sales. The company was in its own way. The owner allowed and even empowered obstacles to successful selling.

I didn’t quit. I shared what I saw with the boss. I sold my solutions. It was hard. It was frustrating. It took time and involved lots of tension. But it worked. Being committed and consistent moved the needle.

Fast forward yet again: We doubled the size of his company in five years. Reps called me monthly from other printers. Everyone wanted to work there. We were the “printing country club” everyone wanted to be part of. We could and did hire anyone we wanted. Volume, price points and margins set records.

Moral of the story: Fixing is better than quitting. Quitting only kicks the can down the road. The steps required to be successful are still required. A new employer won’t change that.

The guy that hired me knew who he wanted. He called me at least twice each year for fourteen years. When I got on board, I decided that solving the problems we faced was better than jumping ship in hopes of finding a perfect home.

You know how to sell. Grab a mirror and examine what gets in the way. Fix yourself first and respectfully share goals with leadership. The numbers will come if you do the work.