Redefining What It Means To Be a Champion

by Bill Caskey on May 18, 2009

Not a big fan of using this blog space to celebrate people I know. But I must tell you about Chuck Koeppen, the retiring Carmel High School Cross Country coach.

picture-4You 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.

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Finding a Job–It’s Not About Sales, Or Is It?

by Bill Caskey on May 16, 2009

Recently, I heard a lady interviewed on CNN who was so frustrated at her husband’s attempt to find a job that she decided to create a website called www.MyHusbandNeedsAJob.com. On it she had posted his resume with video clips of her and of him talking about his qualifications.

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 job-searchlooking 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.

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In this week’s podcast, Bill and Bryan address a common question they get, “Does my message change depending upon who I call on in the organization?” The answer is YES. But hear some of their counsel on how to think differently when you’re in front of different people.

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Joe Kelner Is Your Competition

by Bill Caskey on May 13, 2009

You don’t know this but Joe Kelner is your competition. Well, to be fair, Joe is just graduating from high school—but four years from now he’ll be competing for your job.

And lest you think all Gen-Y’ers are slackers, Joe will surprise you.

Here’s the story.

Joe is our media intern at Caskey. He started when he was 16 and takes care of all of our video shooting, editing and some podcast work. No one knows his way around the Mac like Joe. No one can edit video quicker than Joe.

But last week, a big thing happened to him. With his partner, Erin Meyer, he won the national DECA competition in Anaheim. DECA is a society of high school marketing students. (If you own a company, go right now to your phone and call your local high school and create an intern position as soon as you can for a DECA student. They rock.)

If you were to meet Joe, you’d say he’s a typical HS student—a little sloppy in dress—a little too laid back for some—and not a big “detail” person—grades OK, but not great.

But he makes up for all that in substance. He created a marketing plan for Thrifty Car Rental that blew people away.

Joe is testament to my belief that we all have enormous potential that sits inside us waiting for the right time to erupt. For most, it never comes. For others, it comes so rarely that we actually forget how it feels to be “at the top of our game.”

In our leadership practice, we call that Alignment—when the job at hand is totally aligned with your interests and skills. For Joe, it was when his interest in business aligned with a marketing contest.

High Powered But Seldom Taxed.

I conclude we’re all like a high-powered race horse that jogs around the track most of our life—never really taxing our system to bring out our best performance. Like a huge engine that merely idles all day—never really doing what it could do.

But sometimes, we are called upon to rev the engine—to get all horses moving—and that’s when we’re at our best. When the demand arises, we rise with it.

Bob Knight said [paraphrasing]: “Our competition is not the other team. It is ourselves. The other team is simply our partner in this effort to bring out our best. So play up.”

So the Joe lesson here is: Find something that jazzes you—that juices you—that you lost track of time doing—that you want to come back and tinker with—not because you want to be the best in the world at something—but because it nourishes your soul.

Find that thing and do it all the time.

Congratulations Joe. Good luck at Xavier next year!

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Sunk Sales Costs Killing You?

by Bill Caskey on May 12, 2009

Are sunk costs sinking you? Seth Godin blogged today about that very topic. I’ll address it to sales people and sales organizations.

Biggest problem is when you have invested hours/weeks/ years in a laboriously long selling cycle and nothing is happening. But rather than pull out, you persevere—thinking that maybe, just maybe, you’ll get lucky.

Pull Out and Move On

I tell clients all the time–you know by the middle of the cycle whether a prospect will turn into a client. Your gut screams this at you. But why don’t you listen? Well, Seth hit it. We get emotional.

We get so ‘bound up’ in what we’ve put into the sales process, we neglect to consider that every extra hour we put in on a losing deal, is an hour we DON’T put into a new one.

Look At Your Funnel

So, as you spend this Friday night reviewing your sales funnel, ask yourself the question, “How many losers am I working on?” You won’t like the answer—but it WILL make you money.

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The Horror Story of Training That S***ks

by Bill Caskey on May 6, 2009

Just got a note from an old friend who was complaining about the sales training experience he was having in his large company.

They hired a “Positive Mental Attitude” guy who creates no value other than saying to everyone, “HEY, ISN’T IT A GREAT DAY?!!”

Do you believe there are actually trainers still around like this? Getting big bucks from companies who know no better?

Yep, there are.

Death By Powerpoint!

I heard from another past client who said the PowerPoint number for the day in sales training just eclipsed 150! Awful. Wasteful. Soulless.

Good Sales Training Components

So what should good sales training look like? Here are a few tips:

  1. Detailed survey upfront about what all constituents think they need to learn and grow. It can either be positioned as “What problems do you have that we should solve?” or, “What would you like to be profoundly better at in the sales cycle?”
  2. Detailed Curriculum Plan laid out so everyone knows what to expect.  It doesn’t have to be ‘down to the minute’ but everyone should know before the event begins.
  3. Attention to each participant. How will each participant interact with the trainer? (There should be a chance for that). If you’re not giving your team a chance to ask private questions of the trainer, then they aren’t getting much.
  4. Role Playing - and other learning vehicles. Even on phone calls, role playing should be used. It’s the best way for the trainer to know what work needs to be done.
  5. Lessons Learned. At the end of EACH section of training, the trainer must leave time to  discover what lessons each person learned. To not do this sucks the life out of the learner.
  6. End of Day Lessons. Everyone should leave an event with a to-do list of things to take back to the field and try.
  7. Survey. There should be a post-event survey so the trainer can learn what worked and what didn’t. If your trainer doesn’t do this–or doesn’t verbally check back in to see how it went– find another one. He probably doesn’t care–as long as your check cleared.

Sales training might be exactly what your team needs right now. But don’t blow it by bringing in a clown.

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It’s not the sales funnel that’s important…it’s all the stuff “above” the funnel. So what action can you take to the suspects that are orbiting the funnel? In this episode, Bill and Bryan walk through the Top 5 Techniques (you can email us for the other 5 at listener@advancedsellingpodcast.com –subject line: FUNNEL).

So if you don’t have enough in your sales funnel, you may not be practicing the right Rules, Tools and Attitudes to fill it up.

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Ben Stein’s Article

by Bill Caskey on April 27, 2009

Have had many people send me the link to Ben Stein’s article in NYTimes on Sunday. It as quite good. My favorite part was the graphic I stole from times. picture-10 The fact is that nothing happens until someone sells something.

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

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This episode of the Ultimate Sales Chick Podcast is a conversation with Lynn Schleeter, Director Center for Sales Innovation, College of St. Catherine; Christle Ledo, Senior (graduating may ’09); Lauren Dunlap, Junior (graduating May ’10)—both are healthcare sales majors.

The College of St. Catherine is committed to the development of effective, ethical leaders. Through study, practice and life experience, individuals have opportunities to enrich the knowledge, refine the skills and clarify the attitudes essential for responsible action.

How does getting a degree in Sales help you prepare for the “real world”? In this conversation, you will hear about the unique Sales Program at St. Kate’s and the journey of a couple of its students.

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In this economic time, how you communicate your value—and WHAT it is—will be very important. Here, Bill and Bryan pick up on a topic they began a few months ago—what is your personal value to your customers and how does it show itself in the sales process? All sorts of goodies here.

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