I’m proud to announce that Independent Dealer Magazine, a digital magazine specializing in the office products industry, has decided to start carrying my column, “Sell Like You Mean It!”  This month’s issue is now online at www.idealercentral.com.  I’m looking forward to a long relationship with this quality publication!

Lessons learned from the B2B Sales Expo

Once again, the Overland Park Chamber did it up right.  A great B2B Sales Expo today.  And of course, I have been inspired.  Following are a few random thoughts and tips that don’t fit anywhere else.

Again, as I noted, the OP Chamber did it first class.  A good trade show can be a great source of leads for me, and this one was no exception.  When I attend an event like this, I tend to see several situations and types of contacts that inspire content.  The problem is that a lot of these things do not fit within a HotSheet, since they just don’t justify the 700 to 1000 words necessary for a good article.  Hence, here is a collection.

I don’t give away free stuff at trade shows.  I used to; I had the pens and candy like a lot of other people.  What I discovered was that I’d give away lots of stuff to the people who go to trade shows specifically to get free stuff.  That’s OK.  The problem, I found, was that a lot of these people would feel guilty about just grabbing a pen, so they would engage me in conversations to feign interest while having no real interest or reason for discussion.  While those conversations were happening, I’d miss real leads.  So, I don’t give away freebies.  I get less people to the booth, but the interest factor is MUCH higher.  Give it some thought.

Don’t be afraid of B2B Sales

Along with that, I give very little time to those who wish to sell to ME at shows.  I’m spending money to exhibit and they’re not; hence, if they want to try to sell to me, make a quick intro, give me a card, and follow up later.  On a couple of occasions, I had to politely move people along today.  Don’t be afraid to do this; that’s YOUR time that they’re using.  If you’re not protective of your time, who will be?

One such person came by offering a telephone cold-calling service.  At least that’s what I think she was offering; to be honest, getting info from her was like pulling teeth.  Which begs the question:  If she can’t quickly and concisely explain what SHE does for a living, how can she do so on my behalf?

Shows like this are great networking opportunities, and the layout of the room was well set to facilitate good networking as well as good booth traffic.  There weren’t really any “bad” booths.

Overall, it was a great B2B sales show.  I had a good and participative crowd at my 3:30 Networking seminar, and I want to thank everyone with the Chamber, everyone who attended or stopped by the booth.

I’ve been asked a number of times about doing long-term business coaching.  So, in response, I’ve created this coaching program .  If this sounds like you, call me ASAP!

Do you have a hobby?  By “hobby,” I mean something that you enjoy doing enough that it is mentally engrossing, that requires (or gets) your entire mental focus?  If not, you may be performing at less than top capacity.

This was proven to me again yesterday.  I’ve always been a big believer in the need for people to have things in their lives that encompass us when we do them; there are real business benefits to doing so.  I read an article about 10 years ago (and I’m sorry, I can’t find it again), but essentially, a psychologist was suggesting that the existence of mentally encompassing hobbies or activities actually aided our problem-solving capabilities at work.  The idea is that, when you have a problem at work, sometimes the best thing is to get completely away from it and focus on another activity that takes you entire focus.  While your conscious mind is working on your hobby, behind the scenes your subconcious is still wrestling with the initial problem – with the advantage of not having the immediate deadline to take part of the focus.  If you’ve ever been playing golf, playing catch with your kids, etc., and had the solution to a problem jump into your mind, you know what I’m talking about.

This was proven to me again yesterday.  I have a couple of encompassing hobbies; one is bowling and one is working on cars.  Yesterday, I was wrestling with a particularly difficult problem on a car.  Two components essentially wanted to share the same space, and it was impossible for them to do so.  But, I couldn’t figure out how to remount one of them to make the situation work.  After about an hour of positioning and repositioning the components, and finding lots of ways NOT to make the situation work, I stopped.  I went upstairs, had dinner, and then after dinner started working on some training materials for a program I’m putting on next week.

After about a half an hour of engrossing myself in business, bingo – the right solution to the car problem hit me.  It’s simple, elegant, and will require about $5 worth of new steel and 10 minutes of fabrication.  It’ll even look good.  I quickly made a couple of notes – I didn’t even have to look at the car again to know it would work – and then went back to work on the training materials.  This, of course, is an example of the problem solving process in reverse (the work helped me solve a hobby problem), but it has worked the same way with business more often than with hobbies.  Visitors to my workshop are sometimes entertained by me stopping my work in the middle, running over to a pad and pen on the workbench, making some notes, and then getting back to my work.  This is also why, if you see me eating lunch alone, you’ll see me reading the Wall Street Journal frequently.  It’s mentally engrossing, and that gives my mind a relief valve to work on solving problems in the background.

The point of all this is that, sometimes, the least effective people are those who are 100% focused on their work, all the time.  Without a mental escape route, your mind can’t solve the problems that you encounter.  Considering that all of business is about solving problems and inventing solutions, if you don’t have a hobby – consider getting one, or find some activity that can act as an escape valve.

Well, Zack has left the Royals.  What does that mean for them, and is there a meaning for the business world?

Longtime readers know that one of my afflictions is that I happen to be a Kansas City Royals fan.  I remember the glory days of the 70s and 80s, but I have many more memories of mediocrity and failure.  Following in the footsteps of this is yesterday’s news that the Royals have traded 2009 Cy Young Winner Zack Grienke.  After thinking about it for a few minutes, I’m not sorry to see Zacko gone, and it goes along with my business philosophies.

Let’s look – quickly – at Zack’s positives.  He was a pitcher with amazing control and ability, who had the ability – when he wanted to – to dominate hitters.  The trouble is that Zack really didn’t want to all that often.  True, he won the 2009 Cy Young, but 2009 was basically the year that his potential became reality.  Last season, when it became obvious that the Royals were not going to contend, Zack basically quit on the team by going through the motions on too many nights.  I have a lot of trouble with players who complain about their team not winning when they obviously are not giving it what they have in an effort to win.

The trouble was that Zack had a lot of negatives, from the official diagnosis of “anxiety disorder” to the less commonly diagnosed, but just as present, “spoiled brat syndrome.”  The Royals did a lot for Zack.  They drafted him in the first round when other teams projected him as a second or third round pick, and more importantly, when he very nearly walked away from baseball in 2005 (in fact, he did walk away), the Royals handled him with extreme patience and got him needed treatment, continued paying him, and did not penalize his Major League service time; other teams have simply cut bait in these instances.  Had the Royals handled matters differently, there’s a good chance that Zack would have the best curveball of any grocery sacker in Florida. For that, the Royals were rewarded with Zack complaining about how much the team stunk last year, and how much he wanted to be traded.  In fact, last week, he fired his agents in the belief that they had kept him from being traded.

The Royals, of course, could have kept him under contract for 2 more years – but why?  For the record, I’ve looked at the players that the Royals got in return for Zack, and I’m fine with them.  I’m also fine with the fact that they packaged Yuniesky Betancourt into the transaction, along with his too-high salary and too-low production; this is addition by subtraction.

So, let’s talk about what this means for business.  I’ve always felt that, when managing a sales force, it was best to let my team know the rules early.  Two of those rules are:

1.  I evaluate you by PERFORMANCE, not by POTENTIAL.  Potential gives you a honeymoon, but not a marriage.  I have watched a number of companies hang onto salespeople for extended periods based on what they hoped the person could accomplish, instead of looking at what the salesperson was actuallyaccomplishing.  This gets expensive really fast; had the Royals paid Zack the $26 million owed him for the next two seasons, it’s unlikely that they would have received $26 million worth of pitching performance.

2.  If you say “quit,” you just did.  Nonsense like “I’m thinking of leaving,” “I might quit,” or other such BS is, to me, a resignation.  Too many business owners will work to try to rectify problems and turn the salesperson around when these phrases are uttered.  It’s a waste of time.  Once a person starts to think of leaving (and I can back this up from my own experience), enough energy is expended on that decision that the person can no longer perform at top capacity.  That’s why, for me, this is one of those things that there is no coming back from. I’m always open to fixing problems, but come to me as an adult and don’t threaten me.  On two occasions, salespeople have said in a fit of pique, “Well, I quit.”  Two very surprised salespeople had their resignations processed ASAP.  In the sales world, you’re either all the way in or all the way out.

Which circles us back to Zack.  The Royals did the right thing by trading him.  Interviews with other Royals have revealed that his teammates are not exactly crying in their beer over the quit.  You’ll find the same after a malcontent salesperson leaves your company.

And why is it a great article?  Because it uses me as a source, of course!  Seriously, it was a good study on credibility in selling.  I may expand on this issue in a future HotSheet.

Click HERE to read the article.  I think you’ll find the insights very helpful.

Sometimes it helps to be accountable to someone other than yourself.  I’ve always considered myself to be self-motivated, but I’ve tried something new and I’m surprised at how well it’s working for me.

Not too long ago, a friend of mine put out feelers looking for a new “accountability partner.”  After we talked, her definition of an accountability partner is someone from a different industry who meets with you occasionally, provides outside advice, and helps keep you on track.  I decided that I was game, and so now I have an accountability partner – or an “accountabilibuddy.”  (Note on that name – it’s from an episode of “South Park” where kids worked on the buddy system in a camp.)  I heard the name on South Park and now I can’t get it out of my head.  So, my friend is my “accountabilibuddy.”

Kim Hibdon is my buddy’s name; she’s one of the best realtors that I know (if you have a need, you can reach her at kansascitykim.com), a good friend, and someone with great business instincts.  At first, I wasn’t sure what I could gain from her, nor what she could gain from me, but it’s become a very nice partnership.  One thing that we lose when we become entrepreneurs is the accountability of having someone to report to; someone who keeps track of our progress and keeps us on track.  Having an accountability partner addresses this.  Neither one of us wants to come to a meeting with no progress or accomplishments in the past two weeks, so I think each of us works harder to make things happen.

Having a relationship like this also divorces the accountability – and its related occasional kick in the pants – from the boss/subordinate relationship; we can be honest with each other in a way that most people rarely are with their bosses.  Even if you are working for someone else, I would strongly suggest forming this type of a relationship.  You’ll find that the outside input is very helpful.  If you want to go down this road, here are a few hints:

Your accountabilibuddy should be GOOD.  Make sure that your buddy is successful at what they do.  I see some of these relationships that are just two unsuccessful people blowing smoke at each other.  Successful people keep each other successful, motivated, and moving forward.

Pick someone from a different business.  It’s tempting to hook up with someone from the same company, or even the same industry.  Don’t.  One of the things that makes this relationship powerful is the outside perspectives that come from two people who make a living in different ways.

Have an agenda.  We started out with a “state of the business” address, and then worked from there.  We set goals and objectives, and then monitor them from meeting to meeting.  We get together, have a nice lunch, and then review objectives from the last two weeks.

Set short term action items.  We leave each meeting on an action-item. In other words, we set up at least one major accomplishment that needs to be done by our next meeting (if you haven’t guessed already, we meet every two weeks).

Don’t be afraid of the other person.  In our short time together, Kim and I have both applied a gentle kick in the pants to each other to make sure that we’re getting where we need to go.  It’s only through this pressure that we can help each other achieve our objectives.

A relationship like this isn’t easy, but it can be rewarding.  I would encourage all of you to give it a shot.

Pardon me for getting on my soapbox a bit (of course, you’re probably used to it by now), but I’m getting tired of hearing people talk about “creating jobs” who have never created them.

The creation of a lasting, productive, private-sector job is very simple.  A businessperson decides to take a risk because he/she feels that the resulting profit will be worth the risk.  That’s it – simple.  It doesn’t matter whether the person is a manager, a salesperson, or a shipping clerk.  More reward than risk = new employment.  More risk than reward = no new employment.

Businesses increase management staff because they believe that the new manager (for instance, a sales manager) will help make their subordinates productive enough that they will not only pay for the manager, but produce profit beyond simply paying for the manager.

Businesses hire salespeople because they believe that the payout in profit from the rep’s effort will be multiples of the compensation.  Same with shipping clerks, invoice processors, or anyone else in the building.  The size of the business doesn’t matter; no business – no matter how large – employs addtional people without the expectation of an expansion of profits or capabilities in return.

Hence, any “job creation” strategies should seek to reasonably adjust the risk to reward mix in favor of reward.

OK, off the soapbox.

Every now and then I watch Undercover Boss, and the show is getting ever more formulaic.  If I could talk to the producers, I have a few questions:

Question 1:  Why no “undercovering” with the salespeople?

Question 2:  What about the other employees?

See, these episodes always end up following the same formula.  Here’s the basic recipe:

• The “Undercover Boss” goes to work at remote locations of his/her company.
• The “UB” does the lowest jobs on the food chain; production, janitorial, etc.
• The “UB” invariably works with people who have sob stories.  Single parents tend to top the list, but it seems that everyone has a story.  This isn’t meant to put down the people working at those jobs.  Some of them (Julie at UniFirst Oklahoma was very impressive to me) are very sharp and capable people, but none live what we might think of as a complete life without significant trauma.
• The “UB” resolves to make changes to make life easier for the people he worked with.  Some of those changes are good, smart management (better communication of benefits to employees), some are a little more questionable (softening of attendance and tardy policies).  The “UB’s” quest at this point is to not appear hard-hearted to a national TV audience.
• At the close of the show, the “UB” reveals himself to the employees he worked with, and then makes some sort of special individual gesture to reward them and help them overcome their particular economic issues.
• Everyone applauds, there’s some crying, and everyone feels better.

It’s a great TV show, but of course, the company still has to open for business on Monday morning, and I always wonder what the repercussions of the “UB’s” special rewards are.  Let’s look back at my questions, and I’ll present my own answers.

Question 1:  Why no “undercovering” with the salespeople?

I think there’s one big reason for this, and it has to do with the evocation of sympathy for the workers that is such a big part of the show.  Salespeople, by their very nature, are probably perceived as less sympathetic than a production worker, and may be less prone to the type of individual issues that are the meat of the show.  After all, salespeople dress nicely for work, who would believe that they have issues?  It’s too bad, though; I think the show would be very illuminating if the “boss” were to shadow real live salespeople.  I guess that will have to wait until I produce my own show, huh?

Question 2:  What about the other employees?

This is probably the bigger issue to live with.  The company profiled tonight – Unifirst – has over 10,000 employees.  That leaves roughly 9,995 employees that may be just as deserving of special treatment, just as challenged economically, and just as hard working as the people given (tonight) college money, cash to see relatives, a trip to the Super Bowl, and a Hawaiian honeymoon, among other things.  It’s not illogical that some of those people are going to go into work tomorrow morning thinking, “Hey, what about me?”  I wouldn’t want to be one of the plant managers that would have to deal with that issue for the next few weeks.

As always, neat show, but one that ends up being more like a game show crossed with an episode of “Oprah” than anything else.

Corp! Magazine has just published my own take on Social Media and Prospecting.