Sunday Siesta Archives - The Sales Experiment

October 27, 2014 by Brett 2 Comments

TED, Tucking Kids in, and Time Management

While I’m under no illusion that folks are paying close attention to this blog and my commitment to read or listen to content everyday, act on it, and write about it, I’m personally aware that I made the commitment.

I’ve found it more difficult than first imagined to make good on the writing portion of this commitment. Perhaps I should save the previous day’s activity for the next day’s writing so I can knock it out first thing in the morning.

Right now, I’m planning for a speaking engagement (the result of a commitment earlier in this Dan Miller Challenge process) and, quite frankly, it’s kicking my butt. I’ve had to prioritize that preparation because there will be very real, flesh and bone people for whom I hope to create true value. Prayers appreciated.

I don’t want to get too far afield from this challenge to keeping record on this site. This post is more self-serving than I’d like it to be, but maybe you can find a nugget or two.

TED Talks

In an effort to get a feel for well-done speeches, I power listened to and watched TED talks on YouTube all day on Saturday (two days ago). I was working on home projects, letting the YouTube channel go all day. Great stuff, although I think there’s an over-gravitas-ness of the talks at times. I’m not one to criticize, but a joke or a little levity here and there would be nice.

Tucking My Children In

Yesterday, I listened to a sermon about manhood – what it means to be a man, from a biblical worldview. Matt Chandler of Village Church in Dallas, TX encouraged men that regardless of how worn out, tired, or ‘over it’ we get, that comfort is always our enemy. Getting home from work and never moving butt from couch is a sure way to slowly bring a family into dysfunction.

Not only that, but a man is called to make sure he takes time with his children and wife, to tuck them in, to sit and ask them about their day and pray or sing with them. So… I made sure to take over tucking in duties. Even if we share it, I want to be there for my daughter and my boys, every night to give them hugs and sing them a song if they want it and to dig a bit into their little hearts.

Time Management

On the way to work, I caught a couple Ben Settle Antipreneur podcasts on time management. One of the key takeaways: pay yourself first as it relates to time. So today, I did. I worked on my upcoming talk for the first two hours before the day went haywire with other demands. It helped set the day up to be much more productive.

In Conclusion…

Even if you’re super-busy, try to find crevices of time where you can feed your mind, heart, and spirit with quality content. Pull away early in the morning. Take a walk and listen to something. Stop for 15 minutes and read a book.

Just a suggestion.

Until tomorrow…

October 12, 2014 by Brett Leave a Comment

Why The Sales Experiment Exists

I’m going to take a break from the Dan Miller Challenge and respond to Day 4 of Jeff Goins Intentional Blogging Challenge –

The English Major Youth Pastor Turns Salesman

I was an English major in college. After college, I worked for 2 years as an urban missions coordinator for a small intown Atlanta church.

My next five years were spent earning a Master of Divinity (sort of like an MBA in the church world) and went on to work as a youth pastor for a couple years.

Through a series of events, I landed in the insurance world as a producer in 2004. A ‘producer’ is another name for an insurance agent which is another term for insurance salesperson.

Needless to say, I had no background in sales. More accurately, I never sold anything before, nor had I ever wanted to sell anything. I was like Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything:

Little did I know that I actually had a background in skills that would benefit a sales career.

It took me a good few years to settle in as a salesperson.

The first step might sound strange: I had to come to grips with the idea of being a salesperson. Even seasoned salespeople shirk the title for ‘trusted advisor’ or ‘consultant’ or something else that doesn’t include the word ‘sales’ in it.

The second step was understanding and implementing basic sales habits: making calls, networking, learning how to present and handle objections, and asking for the sale. Most small businesses don’t have formal training programs, so it took me a good bit to cobble together a sales process that works for me.

The final step has been to incorporate my natural skills and gifts and interests into my sales process. While it’s tempting to try to fit the mold of stereotypical successful salesperson, it’s important to find ones own voice as a salesperson. My education, experience in ministry, and talents and gifts should all be incorporated into the way I approach creating value for my clients and coworkers.

I’m still working through these three steps:

1. Strengthening a high view of the sales profession

2. Honing and developing sales skills

3. Working on finding my sales voice.

All professions require continual growth, study, and practice. Sales is no different.

Sales Experiment is for Salespeople (including myself) Who Want to Find Their Sales Voice

I set up this site as a place to curate some of the best sales and marketing strategies, tactics, and philosophies that are bouncing around out there. I’m also using it as a way to sharpen and develop my own sales voice.

Hopefully, in the process, I can help you find yours or at least connect you with resources that might help you on your journey.

Sales is honorable. Selling things that people need in a way that creates value for them is one of the best ways to help others and make a living there is.

The fun part is that one size does not fit all. There’s not a certain personality type or a certain approach that makes a salesperson successful. Experiment.Solve Problems. Create value. Find your sales voice.

October 5, 2014 by Brett Leave a Comment

Finding Help When You Need It (and Giving It When You Can)

Have you ever had a moment where it seems like every thing that could break in your house starts breaking?

We’re there right now. While I’m pretty good at following Ikea instructions, I struggle with the more complex renovation jobs. HGTV and the other stations like it really make installing bathroom tile look like it’s a 3 hour project.

It’s not.

And while you can watch a zillion YouTube videos to get the basic idea about how to do stuff, actually doing those things in an older, out of plumb home is never exactly the same.

It’s not that what needs to be done is difficult, but when you have no experience doing it, you’re not sure what to look out for. You don’t know anything about using fur strips on studs before installing concrete backerboard. You don’t know how to shore up a floor board by cutting it out reinforcing the joists.

You’ve never seen it done before. It’s like walking into a room full of Japanese business people and trying to explain your quarterly reports when you’ve never spoken a lick of Japanese in your life.

At least, that’s how I am. And I needed Phil from across the street to give me guidance. He had the tools (literally). He’s done renovation work before. He could visualize what needed to be done and coach me to get there.

No podcasts or reading today (outside of a couple chapters of Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan).

But I had a refresher course on an old idea.

What I learned is that it’s important to be “Phil” to the people at work or even clients who do not have one bit of experience doing certain things. How can I guide my client into understanding how my product solves problems if they’ve never seen my product before?

Were it not for Phil, I’d still be just standing in my bathroom staring at the bathtub walls scratching my head. I needed his help to give me a place to start to take action.

Perhaps you and I can do that for someone else.