It's kind of weird that basically my whole life I've never really been a question-asker or advice-taker, but now that I'm getting going in my profession, I can't get enough of it. Thought this would be a helpful thread to have not only for myself, but for the rest of the board.

There's lots of posters with years of successful business, so what are some of the general knowledge points that you've found? Or some things you've been told that you've kept with you for a while?

It's easier to save a dollar than make a dollar.

Do it right the first time

No matter how crappy, always tell the truth. You'd be amazed by the power of honesty.

I'm not in sales directly, but am involved with lots of customers. Best advice I had was someone reminding me to listen more than I talk. As an engineer I love to explain things to people, and I have a bad habit of interrupting to correct people. I really appreciated that being pointed out as I realized when making a conscious effort how often I did it.

As the old adage goes, you have two ears and one mouth for a reason. So listen twice as often as you speak. For sales that goes extra.

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No matter how crappy, always tell the truth. You'd be amazed by the power of honesty.

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Once you've lost your integrity, it's almost impossible to get it back.

Running a business goes like this

Revenue - Expenses = Profit

Make sure the R is greater than the L and the P will be there.


Edit for L=Liabilities (expenses)

Already touched on but never underestimate the importance of good ethics and make sure you answer whether or not something is ethical before financially analyzing a deal. If you answer the question of whether something is ethically right or not and stick to making decisions on the right ethical side, not only will people remember that and want to work with you, but it really reduces the numbers of perceived tough decisions a ton.

There is no such thing as an itemized receipt.

Treat your expense account like it's your own money.

The 2nd most senior person a the table picks up the tabs because usually the senior person signs off on that person's expenses and if the most senior person picked it up, his boss would have to see it. Not how it's supposed to happen, but it saves on headaches and raised eyebrows.

Easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

The customer is always right except during price negotiations.

Always have a well rehearsed reason for price adjustments.

You may not have the answer or solution for a customer, but if you're honest and help them find the solution to their problem, they will remember it when it comes time that you do have the answer.

As a sales person,

If you arent helping the customer, then you arent selling proficiently.

Getting money in your company's pocket is what you are judged on--not how much of a people person you are.

Closing the deal starts before you ever even meet the customer--have a clear track on the entire sales process.



Best books for technical sales:

The Challenger Sale

Mastering the Complex Sale



The other two for everyone else in sales:

The Secret of closing the sale (get the audiobook by Zig Ziglar and listen to it in the car)

Spin Selling (undisputed greatest sales book of all time)

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There is no such thing as an itemized receipt.

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I love this one

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It's easier to save a dollar than make a dollar.

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OTOH, spend $ to make $!

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It's easier to save a dollar than make a dollar.

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OTOH, spend $ to make $!

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Really I think they are one in the same from my industry. Automation costs money up front, but it saves money in the long run.

You can sheer a sheep many times but you can only skin it once

What's your personal opinion of Spin Selling by Neil Rackham?

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There is no such thing as an itemized receipt.

Treat your expense account like it's your own money.

The 2nd most senior person a the table picks up the tabs because usually the senior person signs off on that person's expenses and if the most senior person picked it up, his boss would have to see it. Not how it's supposed to happen, but it saves on headaches and raised eyebrows.

Easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

The customer is always right except during price negotiations.

Always have a well rehearsed reason for price adjustments.

You may not have the answer or solution for a customer, but if you're honest and help them find the solution to their problem, they will remember it when it comes time that you do have the answer.

The part of the 2nd most senior person picks up the tab is terrible. I have seen several people abuse that and several fired because of that.

The most senior picks up the tab is the ethical and in most companies the policy. Even though I believe this post was mostly for humor anyway...

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I think I may have just talked my way out of any potential Aggie connections for a job with my response.

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I think I may have just talked my way out of any potential Aggie connections for a job with my response.

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T&P

Be clear and concise. If you can't explain it in less than 5 minutes so your grandma understands, you probably don't understand it well enough yourself.

Don't cover up ignorance with obfuscation. It's better to find out you are wrong sooner rather than later. Be confident enough to say you don't know. No one knows everything, and some people can tell when you are BSing.

Know what you are doing and why. There are a million ways to achieve most things, but none of them work by accident.

Don't make decisions until you have to; retain flexibility.

Follow through and follow up. If you say you'll do something, do it. If someone tells you they'll do something, check on it at non-obnoxious intervals.

Get the basics right and the advanced concepts will follow in time.

Fix root causes rather than symptoms. But be aware that sometimes fixing the symptom is enough, and other times neither the system nor root cause is worth the time to fix. Just know that that is what you are doing and why.

The perfect is the enemy of the good. Know when you have the time, money, and good will to invest in perfection.

Everything has a cost. Weigh your alternatives. Sometimes getting it perfect is too expensive and good enough will do.

If my boss tells me to pick up the tab while we're out, I'm not going to tell him no in front of a bunch of customers or distributors. That's pretty nitpicky to can someone for that.

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If my boss tells me to pick up the tab while we're out, I'm not going to tell him no in front of a bunch of customers or distributors. That's pretty nitpicky to can someone for that.

Obviously there are exceptions to everything and I agree with you. I would not tell my boss that. Like I said, I have seen it abused etc... as in when customers were not present. Its one of those things. Most companies now seem to drive that point home and the senior guy gets the tab.

The situation I was discussing was several extreme incidents. And I have picked up the tab while senior employees were present because of the same situation. Its basically the concept of someone essentially approving their own expenses if they have a subordinate paying for everything. While most would not abuse it, there are always a few people who do.

Not all that nitpicky in this particular scenario

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The 2nd most senior person a the table picks up the tabs because usually the senior person signs off on that person's expenses and if the most senior person picked it up, his boss would have to see it. Not how it's supposed to happen, but it saves on headaches and raised eyebrows.

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If that's your company's policy, holy crap... that's wrought for fraud and abuse.

If not, I'd have a serious 1 on 1 with these senior people advocating this... because the day will come where your expenses get a serious audit.

Gotcha. Your details put it in a light I've never personally had to deal with.

My instance had been where we had a stellar year and my manager wanted to treat our distributors. After the ''nicer wine' and the meal with about 15 of us the tab was about $3K. He didn't want it go up the chain and the higher ups never saw my expenses as long as it was under $7.5K/month. It wasn't an abuse. Just a don't ask, don't tell scenario kind of.

Business Owner Best Advice:

Surround yourself with people who are smarter than yourself.

Casualness leads to casualties.

You have to weed the garden. There is no static existence. You either grow and you must go.

Sales Advice:

Crystal Palaces have been built by the deals sales people are "working on", but the eviction notice is real. "It's trash until it's cash"

If you seek to become a professional salesperson then approach the accumulation of sales skills, education and experience to the same level as a Brain Surgeon.

What's your business? Nice advice!

In your situation that is exactly what auditors and compliance look for. It was obviously an expense who your boss felt was justified. He just didn't feel that it was justified enough to run it by his superiors. If your team was ever audited you would be the one explaining the expense. Not him.

You also spent $200/person. That is an amount that many groups would question. I.e. the wine expenses.

Yeah I don't think a lot of companies approve $200/person meals without some sort of documentation, higher approval and entry into a t&e registry anymore... The fact your boss had you charge it makes me think it was teetering on abuse.

Was never questioned. Not with them anymore. Sorry, didn't mean to derail with an ethical dilemma. I was only doing what I was instructed to do at the time.

When I went into sales, I asked the best salesman in our company for advice. He said the hardest thing in sales was stopping the truck. Meaning make a call even if you don't think the customer needs anything. It's easy to pass a customer up saying you will call on him in a week or two rather than stop right then. Especially if it is a customer who hasn't given you a lot of business in the past. Always stop and make the call. This is especially true if you are in a smaller market like mine.

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What's your business? Nice advice!

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Much appreciated! In the business of contact centers. Dial that 800 number on your American Express you most likely are talking to one of my agents.

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What's your business? Nice advice!

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Much appreciated! In the business of contact centers. Dial that 800 number on your American Express you most likely are talking to one of my agents.

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Another reason to hate oldarmy1!

Just kidding.

I have U.S. based call centers too! But Obamacare is forcing non-core jobs near shore or off shore, to avoid all the red tape. Real consequences of political policies impacting employment opportunity in the States.

And remember that we still have even more Obamacare regulations to phase in.

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What's your personal opinion of Spin Selling by Neil Rackham?

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It's the best of the 4 I mentioned. It's the best sales book out there and has been since the 1940s. It's worth every penny to read it.

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What's your personal opinion of Spin Selling by Neil Rackham?

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It's the best of the 4 I mentioned. It's the best sales book out there and has been since the 1940s. It's worth every penny to read it.

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this one?
google pdf

I had a sales guy that worked for me years ago in North Carolina. He was very good at building real friendships with customers. He genuinely cared about people. You can't fake that.

He said this one time after seeing his biggest account...

All things being equal, friends buy from friends. All things being unequal, friends buy from friends.

I'll admit I don't think I understand what he means by that. Care to explain?