One young lady from Russia piped up and said [read this in a thick Russian accent], “The second summer would be better than thees one, because, as vee say in my country, ‘The first pancake is always bad.’” 

I liked it.  Her proverb is true isn’t it?

Anything worth doing, is worth doing badly, at first.  The first pancake you create generally is over or undercooked and may not be the best shape either.  So it is with the first go-round at Southwestern: over or underdone summers.  Sometimes students come out of their first experience in different shapes.

If you’re selling, more than likely it’s going to take some time to master the skills–probably more than one summer!  If you’re recruiting, you may blow the initial conversation with a friend.  Your first series of phone calls to prospect may be largely crappy.  Your first interviews will probably not be ideal.  (The first group interview I held, I was 0-5–not the best “closing percentage.”)

Get beyond the first try.  Get to the second pancake. 

I would love to mandate a two year minimum stint at Southwestern once a student joins the team.  Why?  Because it takes time to get good at selling!  Some students catch on right at the end of the summer–then there’s no time to excel.  A second go-round would be better.  If you’ve ever re-taken a class, generally you do better the second time.   Why?  This time you’re familiar with the prof, the class, how he/she grades.  Odds are you improve.

So remember, all things are difficult before they are easy.  “The first pancake is always bad.”

So here’s a question for salespeople: what music motivates you?  Do you get fired up before your sales day with some old time Rock & Roll?  or with some heavy-duty rap?  Or do you like to get centered, focused and calmed down with a dose of Brahms (classical), or even some Dave Brubeck (jazz)?

I’m conducting the most un-scientific study ever. The poll is in the margin to your left.   Vote for the music genre that inspires you to be your best!  That puts you in the mood to sell.  Also, feel free to comment if you want to get really specific with a group or performer.  (Eg. “James Blunt really gets me jacked up!”)  Let’s see how we use music to get into a peak selling state.

The grass is green.  Birds are chirping.  The weather is warming up (no, I’m not talking about climate change) and I can leave the windows open at night.  It’s time again for Southwestern Company’s annual Sales School!  This year we’re slated to have nearly 2,800 students in for sales training from all over the world.

So here’s a question for Southwestern Company students and alumni: at this time of the year how do/did you feel going into a summer of selling?  Everyone I know has a different emotional reaction to the notion of selling books.

What is the best emotional state to be in prior to a sales challenge? 

Think back to a time you competed, or remember a time you had to perform.  Got it in mind?  When you performed well, you probably felt a mixture of positive anticipation and light anxiety.  When did this go away?  Most athletes will tell you, “when the gun went off” or “when the competition began”.   Most performers say their anxiety left when the show began.

If you are all jazzed and excited, but haven’t “counted the cost” and thought through the challenge properly, you’re overconfident.  If on the other hand, you throw up every time you ponder your upcoming event, you’re taking it a bit seriously.  Worry is rarely a productive state to be in.  There is a happy medium. 

Before a good summer, I visualized what I wanted to happen.  I reviewed my goals.  I got excited about the long range outcome of what the summer sacrifice would entail.  I pictured my team in checkout, the awards banquet, where I would be in the superstar book…. 

I also remembered (briefly) how difficult a Southwestern summer was, how hot it got, how heavy the bag was, how taking a team to the field would pose a multitude of  frustrations, how tired I felt….  I’d say I was about 85% excited about the summer challenge and about 15% anxious.  It seemed to be a mix that worked for me.  I felt ready.

What’s your proper mix?  How do you get emotionally prepared for a sales challenge?  Think!  Is it a vague sense of impending doom or is it an experience you’re leaning into?  How can you get excited and prepared to perform?!  Share your thoughts and help others.

–Tryon Edwards

“I’m getting ready to commence to begin to start to recruit.”  This isn’t an exact quote, but I’ve heard several excuses from Southwestern Company student managers over the years regarding recruiting and getting their teams started.  Confusion and procrastination are often just cop-outs (“cop-out”, for my international friends, means “excuse”). 

Usually we know very well what needs to be done and we even know how to do it.   As we’ve often said, “Recruiting/selling is simple—but it’s not easy!”  Oftentimes, if we’re honest, we have to admit the “what am I supposed to do?” isn’t the real question at all. 

Any young athlete knows what to do: you don’t miss practices, you sacrifice video games after school, and you drill new techniques over and over until they feel natural and automatic.  Good students, too, understand that they need to hit the books no matter how they feel.  They practice good study habits until they have good study habits. 

Achieving your sales goals, reaching your recruitment goals, having an improved new year consists of conscientiously repeating positive actions—nothing real mysterious or confusing about it.  We must be willing to exercise the discipline if we want to reap the rewards. 

Today, I will welcome the patterns that lead to success, and this will lead to a very Happy New Year.   As always I welcome your comments!

I thought about it for a moment.  And replied, “First, you have to prepare, then you have to visualize what you want to happen, then you have to practice.”  

Before giving a talk at The Southwestern Company Sales School or anywhere else, I had to know everything I could about the audience: who they were, what their expectations were, what the main message should be.  In other words, I would adapt my message to the audience. You can’t deliver the same talk to a group of college students and to a group of Estonian real estate agents (more on that in a future blog). 

After drafting and redrafting, I would visualize the audience-how they would receive the talk-engaged, taking notes, laughing, enjoying themselves.  I would spend a few minutes picturing what I wanted to happen. 

Finally, I’d practice.  Sometimes in front of a mirror, sometimes outloud in my office. Always, I would look for opportunities to speak.  You have to try finally; you have to get in front of people and execute to improve. 

Later I thought this little 3 step formula for success in public speaking also applied to the art of selling.  First, you have to prepare-you have to spend time with your product.  It would be a great idea if the Southwestern students would read through and use the books they sell before the summer.  Also, knowing their sales presentations would be key.   Obviously, a good salesperson would sell books to a wheat farmer differently than to a university professor. In other words, they would adapt to their audience. 

Second, before each sales situation, it would be wise to visualize what you wanted to happen.  So many salespeople run the wrong DVD (or Blu-ray) in their heads before they knock on a door-instead of picturing success, they run a video of what might go wrong…not the best mental strategy.  We don’t get what we want, we get what we picture. 

Lastly, to be successful in sales you have to actually talk to a prospect-you have to try!  I can read lots of instructional books on golf, but until I actually pick up the clubs and attempt golf, well, it’s all academic.  Surely, you make mistakes, but these provide feedback as to how you can improve as you practice.  As Ken Blanchard said, “Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions.”