Back to Basics

Almost every time I ask some of the finest sales managers that I ve had the pleasure of working with, how they re doing, they say, ok. When I ask them about the key to their success, they ll emphasize their reliance on doing all the little things correctly, paying attention to details in the sales process, and in particular, not skipping steps in the sales process. Three such sales managers comes to mind immediately:

• Shawn Kane, Claricom (recently acquired by Staples, Inc.), Milford, CT

• Michael Reichert, ESI, Minneapolis, MN

• Ken Holder, Williams Communications, Richmond, VA

All three are tremendously successful in the Telecommunications Industry and they attribute much of their success to hard work and paying attention to the basics.

The Parrot Story

Lou relates the following story about a guy that bought a parrot in a pet shop.

The guy goes into this pet shop and sees and hears this incredible talking parrot...and before long with a little bit of persuasion from the salesperson; he parts with $895 dollars and takes the parrot home.

After a few days the guy notices that the parrot isn t talking...so the guy goes back to the salesperson and says...

Hey I bought the parrot a few days ago and he s not talking.

The salesperson says well... did you buy it...