“The Specialist” Sales and Management Training Blog

Hey everybody! I just wanted to let you all know that the wait is over…the new Sales and Management CDs are now officially in production and available for distribution. These CD’s are a collection of real-world Sales and Management Training scenarios, advertising-free sales and management tips from the national radio show based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, “The Specialist” National Radio Hour. Whether it be door-to-door, in the office, retail, business-to-business, or at a client’s location, these in-depth adventures in leadership and sales strategy, laced with humor and life lessons, provide a real-world approach to improving your sales and management skills.

Purchase any set of CD’s and receive a free printed copy of “The Specialist” Sales and Management Bible , a $14.95 value!

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Hi everybody,

It’s me again! Tonight I want to go over something that is advanced about Pride In Sales and Management. I am talking about Pride in individuals YOU manage in Sales and Management. This will be very brief and to the point.

Before I start, I want you to not overlook that “The Specialist” is very aware that all people have SOME degree of pride. Having said that, whenever you have a legal immigrant working for you it is vital that ALL managers realize that one of the key components of their makeup is EXTREME PRIDE! What you say or do has a lasting effect on their long term relationship with you as their employer. If you value their services make sure that you DO NOT embarrass them in front of their collegues.

Granted you should never embarrass any of your employees, but the sensitivity level of a legal immigrant is much more pronounced. You must remember that they are in a foreign land and they are trying to play by the rules and how they are treated leaves a lasting impression. Treat them with dignity and they will be extremely loyal and stay with you for a long time.

That’s tonights tip from “The Specialist”.

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Hello kind readers,

It’s me again. I have to give all young managers credit for listening to and following the lead of their older counterparts that have literally “Seen the Movie” before!

In my case, being “The Specialist”, I have 40 years of life lessons as well as management lessons stored in my archives. It is almost impossible to encounter a situation that, regardless of the combination of circumstances, I have not only seen and dealt with but now with the benefit of age, can anticipate and accurately give you the outcome!

For those of you great young managers, and you know who you are, if you are blessed with the opportunity to work with someone like this take advantage of this OPPORTUNITY! It may come your way only ONCE in your lifetime. For those of you that are already taking advantage of this opportunity regardless of from whom, I “The Specialist” would like to thank you on behalf of all of us older mentors. It makes our job a lot easier. Remember we really have “Seen The Movie Before”!

“The Specialist”

Hello everybody,

I want to discuss with you one of the most unpopular but frequently used management styles in business today. “The Heavy Handed Manager”!

I see this quite frequently and recently I had an opportunity to go into a business and explain how the NEW leadership would conduct business. It was very disheartening to hear the disbelief and relief in the employees’ comments as I explained to each one of them individually that, instead of the threat of being fired or the threat of being “Written Up” for the smallest of infractions, that “The Specialist” would be spending his time catching them doing something RIGHT!

Furthermore, when I explained to them that I really didn’t care whether they sold anything or not they were stunned. To the person, they wondered what “The Specialist” could possibly expect from them. Then I procerded to inform them that all I wanted them to do was have a blast with the job and make some new friends. I just wanted them to have fun and, while they were letting the customer get to know them, go ahead and show them the products.

The lesson here is that as a manager if you apply pressure on your sales staff to sell you are creating a bad work environment. Encourage them to have fun and let them be themselves, the sales WILL COME! I Guarantee It!! Not only will your staff be happier but they will also be more productive.

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

I hope you enjoyed the radio show today, it was great and the response was terrific, even though there were some technical difficulties with the phone lines.

I mentioned on the show that you DO NOT want to miss the teleseminar on June 25th. An entire hour dedicated exclusively to overcoming objections in sales. Make sure you go to my website for all the information. Now to the post of the night. There comes a time when all managers have to draw a line in the sand. In other words, all the techniques you have learned from this blog are great…

click here to read the entire post…

Hello everybody,

Just a few more days and it’s on. The biggest announcement in this Blog’s history.

Today’s Post is about young Managers being intimidated by overbearing older employees, as well as competition trying to shop your location. YOU MUST make a STAND!
It is no different than when the neighborhood bully tries to intimidate you. Eventually you have to stand up to them. You will be amazed the respect you as a young Manager will earn when that moment comes.

How do you get the courage? First off, you remember who is the employer! Without YOU, He or She has NO job! Secondly, you come to terms that without them you MIGHT lose a little IMMEDIATE volume, but the long term benefit, not only for your team but especially for yourself, will be enormous. People as a whole are looking for someone to follow. You just have to step up! If you are one of the young Managers that does not stand up, you will certainly have large problems.

I have actually seen Manager’s stay away from their location just to avoid confrontation. Confrontation can be very good. Once you have taken CONTROL your staff will follow you anywhere. You will have EARNED their respect. Isn’t that what’s it all about? What say you?

“The Specialist”

Hello everybody,

I have another special post for you tonight. I got a late start.

What I would like you to do or imagine is two straight lines drawn on a piece of paper about 2 inches apart. At the top of the 1st line put the letter “E” and on the bottom of the second line put the letters “PK”. Now if you want what “The Specialist” calls the “Perfect Storm” in your career, in other words the perfect peak performance, pay close attention.

When someone starts a new position the “E” at the top of the first line represents Enthusiasm, (by the way one of the 8 basics), the “PK” at the bottom of the other line represents Product Knowledge, (another part of one of the 8 basics, self confidence). At the beginning of the new position the enthusiasm is at the very top of the pinnacle and the product knowledge is at the very bottom of the pinnacle. As your product knowledge goes up the enthusiasm goes DOWN. Eventually the product knowledge will be at the top and the enthusiasm will be at the bottom, or at the very least at the half way point down the line.

Eventually the person leaves the job and starts over somewhere else. “The Perfect Storm” in Sales and Management or any other profession is to keep the enthusiasm at the top of the line and let the product knowledge catch up to the top. Then and only then do you have the ultimate scenario.

You can speak to almost any employer and they will tell you, regardless of the profession, that the employee was a lot more enthusiastic the first month or two on the job then the current state. Just another important tip from yours truly,

“The Specialist”

Hello kind readers,

Tonight I have a post that is designed especially for advanced managers.

This subject pertains to the traveling team that invades offices or businesses that are not living up to expectations. The dreaded moment when corporate sends in their team of so called experts to FIX the problems. I have repeatedly seen these so called teams of experts come into locations only to leave it worse then it was when they arrived.

I was visiting with the leader of one of these so called teams recently and was appalled by his planned course of action. After quite a bit of discussion the leader asked “The Specialist” for some tips. First let me tell you his opening strategy. He proudly went on to inform me that since no one knew his appearance he was going to hide and hang around and find out all the mistakes they were making and then inform them it was going to be his way or the highway. He spoke very confidently.

The obvious problem that “The Specialist” has with this right off the bat is that I prefer to catch people doing things RIGHT! What I recommended to him was perhaps he should take another approach…for example, why not positively introduce himself, let everyone know there was a clean slate and establish a great relationship with everyone. I suggested that after everyone trusted him and realized that he was not a hatchet man, they would feel more comfortable. Then as the first few days progressed he could gradually slide in his changes. Instead of being afraid of massive change, the employees would be much more receptive to change.

I have done this countless times, in fact I even take it further and meet with the individual employees and let them know that I was there to advance their career and if there was anything I could do to help them I would be glad to. This approach works wonders, and the results are staggering! Instead of blowing everybody out and having to build from scratch, you have done what was expected of you and that was FIX the problems.

You in fact have endeared people to you and dispelled the notion of being an INVADER!

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

In a past post I was discussing Nurturing young managers. Today I want to relate closing a sale to closing an employee.

People have often asked me how I retain employees for so long? One important way is to KEEP CLOSING. How many of you breathe a sigh of relief when someone becomes a manager? You know the feeling of relief when you don’t have to be around so much. I am always trying to find a way to build the confidence and self esteem of my employees and do not hesitate to give a compliment. Too many employers try to sneak away from the business and the only real quality time they spend with their employees is when they are doing something wrong.

Just as you are continually closing the sales prospect you MUST also continually close the employee!

You are probably curious as to how ? Sell them on the opportunity of your company! The growth of your company certainly is a great selling point. You may also close them on the increased pay that awaits them for a great performance. If you want longevity with your employees, KEEP CLOSING!! Remember you are aspiring to become a true professional salesperson/manager. A real professional manager always has his hand on his employee’s pulse. If you don’t compliment them, or help build their self-esteem, if you don’t recognize your employees and give them tons of positive reinforcement, SOMEONE ELSE will!

That short time you got a breather from doing everything will turn out to be exactly that…a SHORT TIME BREATHER, and you will be back doing everything yourself!

“The Specialist”

Hi everybody,

What we are going to talk about is nurturing young managers.

A common mistake made by small and large businesses is the inability to nurture young managers. This is for advanced managers. When in any business we stumble on that self starter that excels in our business, we have a tendency to think automatically think they can become a good manager. What most of us forget is the amount of time and training we invested in developing their expertise to the point in which they have achieved above average results. Doesn’t it stand to reason that an equal amount of time should also be invested in their new position of management?

Think about it…What was the new employee like when you first hired them? They more than likely knew little or nothing about your profession. When that person is promoted into management, you MUST flash back in your memory and realize even though you are familiar with this person, once again they are brand new in THIS part of your profession which is management. So many corporations make this critical mistake and the end result is, for no fault of the employee, they fail to live up to the expectations and feel like a failure for letting their employer down. Worst, the employer gets frustrated and believes the employee just isn’t cut out for management.

The corporations need to realize that the cost of starting completely from scratch with a new employee is staggering, not to mention the amount of great talent that slips through their grasp.

The golden rule for people in a position of authority is to remember how long it took them to become where they are? More importantly, how many people and how much training did it take for them to reach that plateau? Before you advanced managers pass judgment on other people’s management potential, ask yourself, how much time have I invested in their management training?

“The Specialist”