“The Specialist” Sales and Management Training Blog

Hi everybody,

I have a great management story to share with you this evening. Years ago when I was 100% involved in the daily routine of hiring and training sales persons I will never forget this great human being affectionately nicknamed GONGA JIM by me and my entire staff. We even used to have this saying that we all chanted when he came into the room. “When things are bleak and looking dim, can we count on GONGA JIM?

The unique thing about this story was that Jim’s brother was a judge and he was broke and without a car, and it was obvious something went wrong in his life. He walked to and from work everyday and NEVER missed a day! I have often, when talking about management, discussed the little things in life that mean so much to each employee yet are often overlooked by management. First, this gentleman Jim was older than me by a long ways and in another post I will discuss the art of being a young manager and yet finding yourself in charge of older personnel.

For this post I want to concentrate on the little motivational things that are so often overlooked. I remember as if it were yesterday when GONGA JIM finally won representative of the month and won the 13″ color television. It was snowing horribly outside and Jim was so proud of his accomplishment, I couldn’t help to notice as I looked out my 2nd floor office window seeing Jim walking home in the snow with his award plaque and his 13″ color television.

What a sight! Of course I gave him a ride home but the point was this man had to write his presentation on cheat notes! He couldn’t even remember the presentation! Yet we made him part of something and recognized his accomplishment!

For the 1st time probably in his life he was the best at something! He didn’t care about the money…it was totally about the recognition! AGAIN, it is the little things that make people excel.

I just thought I would share a great management story with you. Months after that contest we still could always count on GONGA JIM!

“The Specialist”

I thought I had it today. I was all prepared for today’s blog and then on the way home something happened that made me change courses. I am going to try to address both issues tonight. Lets start with what happened on my way home. My loving wife called me and asked me to pick up some milk at this high end grocery store known for outstanding customer service. Not uncommon when I arrived at the store my wife called again and asked me to also bring home this special kind of band-aid for blisters. I went over to the medical counter and there were tons of band-aids. Well with my old man eyes I enlisted the help of these two bag boys that were nearby and asked for help. With my wife on the phone helping to describe the special band-aids the two young men were unbelievably helpful in our quest. We finally found the elusive product and I thanked the two young men very enthusiastically. After I checked out I saw two women that looked like they were possibly management…I stopped, introduced myself and started to mention the two young men and their above average performance. As soon as I started to talk and mention these boys the lady cut me off, introduced herself as the customer service MANAGER and blurted out “were they acting weird to you”? I was taken back by her response and told her in no uncertain terms that it was not the case at all. Quite the contrary, I found them to be unusually helpful and tremendous ambassadors of their store. The manager’s face turned red and she realized the enormity of her mistake.

The reason this story is under the heading of “Management tips for beginners” is because she broke some of “The Specialist’s” basic fundamentals. 1st, she didn’t listen or even give me a chance to finish my sentence! 2nd, instead of thinking positive of these young men and catching them doing something right, she was all too anxious to TRY and catch them doing something wrong! Remember what “The Specialist” says… To be good in sales you HAVE to be a GOOD LISTENER! And by the way if you are in a leadership role you are selling. Not only yourself. but more importantly the goals you want your team to achieve. It is also a lot easier and a lot more effective to catch people doing things right so you can build their self esteem. It is a fact people perform better for you if you make them feel good about themselves. I will elaborate on this and many other management tips in future blogs.

Now, my good friend, Mr. Anonymous. I agree with part of your comment last night. However, you asked for my thoughts so I am going to tell you. Sometimes we forget our roots. No one just woke up one day and was a great professional salesperson. Never happened. We all learned from someone or many others. Yesterday’s blog in regards to budgeting your money in the sales industry was critical. One of the greatest tragedy’s in the sales industry is that literally thousands of people have gotten out of the industry because no one and I mean no one took the time to teach the hotshot new guy or gal how to prepare themselves for the slower times while their knowledge catches up to their work habits. Most people that have blown out of our great industry refer to sales as “Feast or Famine”. It doesn’t have to be that way. All I try to do is share my knowledge and experiences. Thanks for your comments. Keep them coming.

“The Specialist”