Here’s my take on how we should be working the recession for all it’s worth:

•    Workforce: What a perfect time to get rid of your underperformers. You can’t afford not to be getting the highest return on your investments on your most expensive assets—your people. They say the cream rises to the top. In hard times, other stuff floats to the top. Ever heard the expression “turds in a punch bowl”? I don’t think I need to say more.
•    Training: For your peak performers, now is a great time to give them an edge. Maybe it’s outside training, coaching, or cross training within your organization. Truly turn your team into a lean machine. If you’re not green and growing, you’re ripe and rotting. (I think Einstein said that.)
•    New ideas: Have you been sitting on a new, innovative approach to your market place? Have you been thinking “the same stuff is still working, I’m going to keep doing it”? I would guess the “same stuff” isn’t working anymore. Whip out those new ideas. Take a chance. Think outside the box. If not now, when?
•    Clients: Take care of what you have. When’s the last time you asked your current clients what challenges they have, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with something you can sell them? How can you bring more value to your relationship? Have you surveyed them? Asked them about their dreams and goals? Or, have you been taking them to lunch once per month and talking about your kids because “that’s what we always do.” Tisk, tisk.

What’s your new normal? What’s your strategy to survive and thrive?

I was called on last week by a guy who seemed like an OK chap. But he never stopped smiling. It was some kind of a “put on” smile. Pretty obvious.

He seemed overly enthusiastic–and you know what I think about fake enthusiasm (I hate it!). So, when it came to him asking me some questions about what I was looking for–and any problems I was experiencing with my current vendor–I thought he’d hide the smile.

But No!  Similar to the “tell tale heart” he kept right on smiling!  Smiling right past the pain.

At one point, I felt like saying, “Why are you feeling so happy when I’m telling you my problems?” But I didn’t. I just said “Goodbye.”

Lesson

Come on people…if you’ve bought in to our philosophy that you are a problem finder — then a problem solver, wipe the fake, cheesy grin off your face. It’s not helping me tell you my problems. And it certainly doesn’t give me much faith you’re listening.

Had they been in our sales class-and come to us last week and told us of their opportunity– here is the ONE THING we would have told them.

“Keep Your Intent High”

That’s because most of we sales people fail when it comes to our intent. I describe INTENT as that which is in your heart that governs how you attract or repel prospects to you.

High Intent is when everything is about THEM, YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR PROSPECT, YOUR TARGET.
Low Intent is when everything is about YOU, YOUR NEEDS, YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR DESIRES.

One sure way to “whack up” your sales process and your presentation is to make everything about you. That’s what the Obamas did.

FACT:   There were probably dozens of other issues that got in the way. In fact our rule at Caskey is:  “Never allow the final presentation do the heavy lifting.”

You should know prior to the presentation if you are getting the business.

The reason for that rule is the tendency for us to look needy and desperate in that final “pitch” for the business. And that’s exactly what happened here.

Chicago won’t get the Olympics in 2016. Maybe that’s a good thing–or a bad thing. But never miss the opportunity to learn from the failed sales mistakes of others.

And keep your Intent high.

A stirring salute was done on 60 Minutes last night, but here is my “two lesson” version.

My lessons were:

Lesson 1) Tell Stories

That was his motto–”Tell me a story.” That was all 60 Minutes was–stories. I love this because every sales professional should be good at that very skill–story telling. Make them short, concise, compelling and relevant. But tell them.

He said during an interview, “Why don’t others get this? The reason for my success was that all I did was tell stories every Sunday night. There is nothing magical about it.”

Lesson #2) Control The Details To Everything Important.

You should have seen Don work to make sure every detail came together perfectly–for every episode. Was he arrogant? Of course. Was he right? More often than not. Was he visionary? Yes, every week.

He knew exactly what he wanted each and every episode. He could see it. He visualized it.

Do you pay attention to the details? Are there misspellings in your blog? (I’ve been guilty of that before). Are there mistakes in your presentations? Is your grammar correct in your letters? All are details. But all worth getting right.

They still expect you to have the desire for the car that’s on their lot. They spend no time helping you search for a used car, even though they have a network of thousands of dealers. And they rarely, if ever, call you after the sale is made.

What do these salespeople do all day, anyway?

I just talked to my in-laws yesterday, who had purchased a Cadillac two years ago from the local dealership (Lockhart Cadillac). I asked, “How many times have they contacted you in the past two years to a) see how you like the car and b) offer a test drive in a new or upgraded one?” Their answer: Never. Oh yea, a few mailings here and there, but never once have they picked up the phone and called my in-laws to see how they were doing.

You’d go out of business if you ran your business that way. (Oh, that’s right. They are going out of business.)

CarMax should dominate the car buying business.

If you want a good buying experience, go to your local CarMax used car dealership. If you haven’t heard of them, you soon will. They are today what the car companies could have become twenty years ago. But didn’t and won’t.

Because the mentality is just not there.

What about your business? How is your service mentality? Do you call people after they purchase your product and ask them periodically how they’re doing with it? Do you know that your customers have future problems that you can’t even predict, and that you’ll never hear about them unless you call and keep in contact?

If you’re in a business that requires constant, ongoing interaction, then you probably have this nailed (although don’t ever forget how the relationship is going).

But if you’re in a business where interaction is rare, then you’d better buy a little $20 software package that helps remind you about keeping in touch with them every few months. Don’t let your service level become extinct.

On the resume in the summary it said, “I think differently than most people, and I can bring new ideas—out of the box thinking—to your business.” As I reached over and grabbed it and put it up in the air, I said, “This is part of the problem. A person sends this in on a resume just like the other hundred that you got, but says they’re different. The fact is they aren’t different.

To you, the CEO or hiring authority, all of them look alike.

Which brings me to my conclusion: We all like to think we’re different, but we really are all clones of one another. I know that will piss you off, but think about it. If you’re a marketing person or a salesperson looking for a position right now when the market is crowded with other people looking, you do have to stand out. But you can’t stand out by a longer or more clever resume.

You really stand out by changing the whole dynamic of the hiring process.

I was talking to my friend, Mike Sigers (author of simplenomics), and he went off on a rant about what he would do if he were looking for a job today.

“I would record some of my experiences on an audio-podcast. Then I would hire a high school person to come and videotape me, and I would do three three-minute video-casts that had to do with something I had expertise in. Then I would make a PDF of my resume (include any portfolio samples of work that I’ve done) and put it on a DVD, go down to my local Kinko’s, have them take my picture, make a label out of it, and that would be my handout.”

“I would never hand out a resume, an application or a letter of introduction. All I would do is say, ‘Here’s a sample of the kind of thinking I do and the work that I’ve performed. Why don’t you take a look at it? If you want to talk to me further, I’d be happy to take your call and meet for coffee.’”

Mike has something there.

What about salespeople?

Are your really different? Do you really look different when you show up in front of the prospect? Is your sales process so different that a prospect can pick you out of a group and say, “I want to do business with that company because of how they execute the sales cycle”? Probably not.

So we’re almost halfway through 2009. It’s been a tough year, but still there’s a lot of business out there. So I challenge you over the next 30 days to think…really think…about your business and how different you really are. You can’t say you’re different, you have to demonstrate it.

You see, Koeppen has been at coaching for 37 years–and he won, are you ready for this?–23 Indiana State Championships in both track and CC.

Tonight, I sat through a retirement party, where most of his past runners attended. Many spoke. Some cried.

As a coach of business people, I’m always interested to understand the phenomena of success, regardless of the endeavor. So did these people honoring Chuck give me any clues? Here they are, in no order:

1. 1. We Are Family. I always thought cross country was an individual sport. Not so on Koeppen’s team. I heard over and over how a runner would slow down temporarily and help a teammate if he was struggling on the course. That was Koeppens’ rule–you are a team. When’s the last time you reached out to a fellow sales person if he was in a slump? If not, do you wonder why no one reaches out to you?
2. Emphatic About Training. During the off season, he would have his runners up at 5:30 every morning to do “the loop.” No one loved it–but they all did it, including Koeppen himself. Every morning. Do you train like this? Do you role play? Do you practice? Do you ask your clients why they use you so you can get insight into their motives–thereby helping you to understand prospects better?
3. Being Tough When You Need to be. On one occasion, he made his runners run home from an Away meet because they performed so terribly. (Probably couldn’t do that now. Not politically correct. Parents would surely come unglued.) But everyone remembered that. It made them better. Are you tough with people when you need to be?
4. Total Sharing of Secrets. This guy epitomizes the concept of Abundance. Anytime another – competing – coach called Chuck to ask a question, Koeppen was always forthcoming about his technique, training regimen etc., Always felt that by raising others, he raised himself.
5. Saw The Best In Others — Even When They Didn’t. Too many stories about people who transferred in — who were mediocre at their former schools–who blossomed when they got to Koeppen. You sales managers/ RVPs–are your people blossoming under you? Are you their inspiration–or just a manager? Do they thank you for bringing out their best?

Thought you might like to see a champion outside the sales/business world. We can learn a lot from coaches who care about their teams–who inspire them to greatness–and who devote their lives to those around them.

At the end of the interview, the CNN reporter said, “We’re not recommending you go to these lengths to get a job. This is just what one person did.”

Oh, Yeah?

I actually think you do need to go to some length if you’re unemployed and looking for a new career. I also recently heard people lamenting that “I send out hundreds of resumes and get no calls back.” What were you expecting? Were you expecting someone to sift through the stack of resumes to find yours, and be so impressed with your bs that they would immediately have their HR person get you on the phone and schedule an interview—or maybe hire you on the spot. Not likely.

What “lengths” are you willing to go to? The fact is that putting up a website with some of your work/portfolio/contact information/resume/video/audio/insight/expertise/knowledge is not any great length.

When I’m looking at candidates, I want to know a little bit more about them than what’s on a self-serving resume.

I want to know if they can deliver a cohesive and eloquent reason that my company should hire them. Yes, I do want to know what they look like and how they carry themselves. And yes, I do want to know what’s behind the facade of a resume. Do they have thoughts that are original, or that are intriguing or profound, or merely bland?

So “going to these lengths” is really not all that extravagant. It might be the only way you get a chance to differentiate yourself from the pack.

As a sales professional, you probably are reading this blog fully employed and content. But it could be that sometime in the next five years you grow discontented with what you have or are forced out. At that point you’ll need this post, so keep it handy.

And the economy runs when people are selling. When sales people get spooked–or prospects are afraid, everything grinds to a hault.

Sales people. You will lead us out of this malaise. And let me speak for everyone (including that part of the population who believes government makes the economy run) and thank you.

Caskey

At the same time this is true, I also hear my clients who are in hiring mode (naturally, because of the great sales training we do) that they have yet to find too many people who can demonstrate the competency in the job they’re applying for.

In other words, they are very well schooled in getting a job, and very poorly schooled in doing the job.

Advice to Employers

Don’t hire someone based on the impressiveness of their resume or how well they interview. That won’t make you any money, and, chances are, you’ll be looking to fill that same position within a year. Hire someone who can demonstrate to you their competence level at the job that you’re asking them to do. And, who can demonstrate the “behavioral competence” of how they get along with people, how they inspire others, how they work on teams, etc. It’s not just about knowing how to write a marketing plan—it’s knowing how to get it implemented through peer leadership.

Advice to Employees

Spend about 90% of the time you invest on how to get a job with “how to do the job.” If you have done similar jobs in the past, bring to the interview examples of your work (not just claims of sufficiency—no one believes those any more anyway). Bring a portfolio of examples of how you’ve written letters, created new business, established joint ventures, followed up with prospects on large sales. Stories are okay, but data is better.