“No excuses.” It’s the mantra of almost every top Southwestern salesperson out there. We’ve all been told that to reach our goals, we can’t make any excuses—we have to be unconditionally committed. But I AM unconditionally committed, you say. I don’t make excuses, but I still haven’t reached my goals. What gives? The answer [...]
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In a Southwestern Advantage blog I wrote long ago and far away, I talked about the power of questions. In fact, Tony Robbins, famed author and mind trainer, asserts that questions are the answer! So what if you’ve experienced some recent setback? Perhaps some of you Southwestern Advantage student managers have returned from spring break, [...]
Why is the Southwestern experience so valuable? One reason is the program gives students so many opportunities to fail. Yes, fail. There is value is stumbling! Failing can be useful long term. I ran across this bNet blog from Suzanne Lucas, entitled “Why Failure is the Secret of Your Success”. Here are the main bits [...]
A review of one of the main themes from Southwestern’s Sales School is that persistence is paramount! We stressed that the answer to your problem lies behind the next door. That going to one more house could make the difference between a good day and a bad one. That there is value in enduring hardship. [...]
I just read Geoffrey James’ Sales Machine blog for Nov. 9 entitled, “How to Bullet Proof Yourself from Rejection.” I think of the many times I encountered the feeling of rejection my first summer selling books with the Southwestern Company. There were some pretty painful moments. Here’s what James suggests to “bullet proof” yourself: Step #1: [...]
I’ve heard from many of you that Matt Atchison’s material is helpful. He is doing an outstanding job as one of the Southwestern Company’s top District Sales Managers. I hope you enjoy his treatise on rejection…. Let me tell you about the worst rejection of my first summer. I ran up to this house and [...]
“You take your luggage with you. ” This is something I probably say 50 times during each checkout season at Southwestern. During that time, hundreds of student salespeople are finishing their summers and are considering returning for another summer. Or not. “I think I could learn this stuff somewhere else.” “I don’t like selling.” “I hated [...]
Whether you sell books with The Southwestern Company, or you sell cars, or medical equipment or Coke products, or real estate, you’ve experienced failure. All of us in sales have survived setbacks, slumps, and difficult slow periods. Question: were we thankful for these challenges, or did they just make us upset? When I was selling with Southwestern Company [...]
Well, the season ended rather abruptly a couple weeks ago with a close and heartbreaking loss to the Ravens. I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to be there live. All the air seemed to leave LP Field as Kerry Collins, the quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, heaved his final pass to try and get a [...]
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