If someone asks you “how is business?” How do you answer?   Do you give an answer based on your production? Or do you tell them about your business?  What is the difference between being a producer and running a business? 

Mindset. 

Taking care of a business versus only writing business means you must get out of the producer or employee mindset and become a businessperson – focused on being highly effective, driving new opportunity, and taking P & L (Profit and Loss) responsibility for all your efforts.  

If you are working for a Fortune 50 company with thousands of salespeople, if you are part of a call center conducting telephonic sales, or if you are a Lone Ranger in the field – you are running a business.  

A word to those that are employees responsible for bringing sales into a company. The next several  Sales Crumbs are for you, too!  

Your employer is making a big investment in you and deserves and Return on Investment (ROI). To receive promotion on the job (and in life), you have to give more than the environment requires. What if it were your business?  How would you want you (as the employee) to be on the job? 

I venture to say you (the business owner) would want you (the employee) to be excellent. That means being on time, smiling, managing your time, being effective and taking a “stakeholders” view of your time on the job. Sure, some of you (the employee) are just passing through, but if you (the business owner) were paying, you would want whatever that time is to be valuable for both parties.  

For those that are independent salespeople, the viewpoint is similar. 

If you were hiring a salesperson to represent your company, what qualities would you look for? How would you write the job description? 

• You would want them to begin work on time, each day. 
• You would want them to be a positive extension of your company – your brand. 
• You would want them to maximize each client interaction and help you market the company’s products, without a dependence on “free leads” (they aren’t free if you are the owner!). 

 The real question for everyone, regardless of where you find yourself in the equation… 

Would you hire you? 

A harder question… 

Would you fire you? 

Ok. That was not very fair so do not answer that one – just yet! I am not trying to play mind games, but I am trying to define your mindset. If you did have a good employee with great potential that was not performing, as desired, you would not just fire them willy nilly. You have already made a great investment in them. 

You would coach them…right? 

That is what we are going to do over the next several  Sales Crumbs – we are going to help you become your company’s best employee – even if you are the business owner! 

It is time to get… 

Back to Business!