Sales Genius

Credit: Tiffany Fox

I talked with a true sales genius yesterday. This guy has been a mentor of sorts since the early 80s. Our careers have intersected more than once and each crossing motivated me to up my game. Yesterday was no exception.

He's wrapping up a very long and stellar career. He's balanced management and sales like he invented both. If one was ever served at the expense of the other he kept it invisible to anyone watching. He's in a class by himself.

It would take volumes of posts to share the many things he's taught me. Maybe I'll create a series dedicated to his teachings. For now, I'll simply share this one. It's a favorite!

"Get up every day and try to put more distance between you and your competition. They want your business. They will try to duplicate what you do so invent something new. If they're running 60 miles an hour you need to run 70."

Many will say they do this but experience shows very few really do. Instead, they try to be just as good...as good as they were yesterday. This dude is saying something different.

I watched this guy invent and install fulfillment systems to bolt onto the print he was already doing. I watched him design stocking programs on behalf of his clients. I watched him harvest data on use and obsolescence that the clients needed but weren't doing themselves. I watched him look at bid requests and suggest buying programs that saved his clients money and sewed them deeper into his company's fabric. While I was boasting millions he was booking tens of millions.

He always ran 70 to everyone else's 60. He never measured himself against himself either. Excellence was client defined. He would say, "Billy, the client's opinion is the only one that matters."

The industry is going to miss this guy. He never accepted anything for what it was. He insisted (yes he was demanding) that things be what they could be. He made his clients, peers, his company and even his competitors better.

I make this statement every week in one fashion or another. Don't stop with what your clients ask you to do. Learn why they are doing it. Get neck deep into their objectives not their specs. Help them with their business objectives and you'll sell more stuff. Run 70...not 60.