Sales by 5 Blog

You are...

...what you eat. 
...who you think you are. 
...who you hang around.

When I was 15. I had ambition, energy, and passion for cars. I was searching for who I was.  I had friends who were encouraging the wrong things, weren't positive, and worst of all, they de-motivated me.

When I was 16 I had a girl friend who was “out of my league” and she inspired me, complimented me and best of all, asked me why these people were my friends. I had no good answer! Within months, I learned that a friend is defined as a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. But further definition in a dictionary is: a person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. Further finding is: One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement.

What does all this mean? Friends sell you on doing what is right and wrong.  If you have friends that belittle or de-motivate you or are jealous of you, get new ones! Fire the old ones! People sell bad things sometimes.  It happened to me. I want my children to have friends that inspire them to achieve more, whom they can trust and most of all, ones they respect.  According to Marcus Buckingham, besides having a stable home life, the most influential group of people growing up are friends during your youth.  Their perceptions of you shape you as a person.

At SalesBy5 we practice a core value:  follow your heart, it will not lead you astray.  What's your heart telling you about your life?

The Project You Were Born To Do - Today's the Day!

Is there a project that is waiting for you to start on it?  Something burning inside you that won't go away, but you haven't taken action yet?  Are the books on your nightstand indicating what that project is?  Why not start on it today?  Have a laser focus on what it is you need to be doing and battle the Professional ADD, as Keith Ferrazzi puts it.  Expect people to tell you that you can't do it and others jumping in your way to sabotage your progress.

The cool part is the momentum will build along the way, others will see the progress and, oftentimes, will want to join you.  If you can speak passionately and clearly about what it is you are trying to accomplish, you will help sell the program to others.  Check out these tips to sell your idea faster, with less effort.

Once the flywheel is moving, take the time to see it through.  Overnight successes take about ten years.  Need help seeing it through? Call us, the Salesby5 SWAT team is ready!

Pic from Flickr - thanks heyjohngreen

Knowing When It's Right - Fitting the Culture

We've recently been interviewing students and new graduates for our coveted summer internship position.  You might be shocked at what you see.  We would ask questions and get a response like "yeah" or "uh-huh."  Some were chewing gum, had no eye contact and exuded entitlement, while others had sub-par email skills.  Today, we got what may be our winner, Bobby.  He was well dressed, had a great (one page) resume that gave us more depth into his life, spoke clearly and had a well written introductory email. 

We have a very special culture and guard it highly.  What if he doesn't speak to a client respectfully?  What if he drops the ball?  What if an email of his unsells?  We realized, though, that the culture of the organization is not only something to be defended, but it is also provides protection.  The culture doesn't allow for these things to happen.  Every new person is directed to the brand promise, core values and purpose of Salesby5.  Additionally, questions are welcomed hourly!

So, if communication is sub-par, a team member is on it to clean it up and explain how to avoid this in the future.  If a customer is not receiving the proper attention, someone else helps give them the right touch.  Everyone is concerned about keeping our quality at an extremely high level in communication and service. 

Now, let's say you start getting used to this and then you go to a doctor's office or a business who still thinks it is 1980.  They believe they are special, when they are really a commodity. It makes us appreciate what we do, how we do it, and how we'll never go back. Our culture and attitude is the salt and pepper of 2020. Call us and see!

We have serious fun at work.

How to Get the Most of Employees, Vendors

We were recently given a nice compliment from our awesome web guy, Drew.  He said "you all are exceptional at letting me be exceptional."  After a bit more discussion, Drew further defined it by explaining that often times clients get in their own way and decide to run projects rather than providing a vision and letting the expert, Drew in this case, do the right thing. 

When we over-direct, we tell our vendors that we can do things better than them.  In doing this, we do everyone a disservice.  We turn these people into waiters (taking an order for the hamburger) instead of recognizing their strengths and letting them give us more than we could ask.  Try this today, instead of telling your highly talented people what to do today, rely on their strengths and let them surprise you with something amazing.

When you start asking, instead of telling, great things can happen for both involved. We practice this and the benefits are amazing!

Me, taking the "strengths thing" too literally.

Playing to Your Strengths Sometimes Means Volunteering Your Strengths

Nan here... My fiancée is a spectacular photographer.  She is passionate about it, reads about it, and has unlimited energy to learn more.  We are active at our church (her pictures there too).  And, of course, she is the photographer for the church.  Recently she was asked to take care of the children one weekend a month.  As much as she likes children, she was dreading taking on this task.  Even worse, she was dreading saying “no.”

Why does this matter?  It is important to remember that no matter what team you’re on, you need to pay attention to your strengths.  One of the three myths is that a team member does whatever it takes to help a team.  The truth is, a team member is most effective when they offer up their strengths.  This is where you’re team gets the most out of you and you remain the most fulfilled.  Next time you are asked to take on a task that isn’t the right fit, try offering up your strengths instead.  You may end up better off.

Inspired by 18 Year Olds

What if you were 18 years old and knew one of your strengths in life was to compete in road racing? You knew this before you were 10, but at 18 you were racing 45 other drivers in your first  Grand-Am race. Then you placed 5th out of the 46 during the qualifying race and came in 11th out of 46 for the race! Well, our client, Jared Beyer, of Beyer Racing did! He and his co-drivers Ricky Taylor and Andy Wallace did just this last Sunday, April 27th. This is a new team, with great heart and they never expected to win.  They respect the sport, it's drivers, and it's rules. They have passion, they want to be the best, and they want their sponsors to benefit much more than they contribute! Jared, Ricky, Andy and the rest of Beyer Racing, you inspire us! Your attitude rocked, your driving rocked and your 11th place was stellar. Congratulations!

What opportunities and natural gifts do you have?  Are you putting them to full use?  If not, what's keeping you?  Do you think you're too young?  Too old?  Are you scared?  Take a page from these young race car drivers - do what you love and love what you do!  You might just inspire the next person to take the first step on their journey.  What do you have to lose gain? What would you lose if you didn't take that step?

Discovering New Strengths

People are sometimes concerned when they feel that their strengths aren't very good or they prefer someone else's over their own.  The great part is that we are human and continuously have new experiences.  As we have new experiences, it is important to remember how we feel when we are performing new new activities.  New strengths (and weaknesses) are discovered daily!  For example, I realize that I love developing long term business relationships where I influence others to connect.  Reading this sentence gets me fired up but might seem terribly boring to you.  That's okay.  Your strengths may appear boring to others.  That's the great part about strengths...If we're all wired the same, why would we need a team?  Lean on your team, have hope, and remember how to further refine your strengths.

I Hate My Job!

It’s a staggering statistic: less than 2 out of 10 U.S. workers are happy with their jobs. Best selling author and friend of SalesBy5, Marcus Buckingham has an amazing program to reach new levels of success and happiness! This Friday, April 18th, Marcus will be on Oprah, showing you his findings from working with 30 working women.

If you own a company, are employed, or a stay-at-home parent, this is high value and not a fad. SalesBy5 has been a Strengths-based company for the last 16 months. The change, the feel and the brand is better, stronger and more contagious because of it. Set your DVR to record Oprah on Friday the 18th for a show and see our website where our head strengths coach, Nan Palmero, coaches companies and organizations to dramatically change their work environment for the better, by using strengths. 

If you or your team can relate with the title of this post, you're probably not playing to your strengths and maximizing your potential.  Call us, we can help!

High Speed Team Building

I recently discovered the value of outside the office team building experiences after the Final Four.  The Salesby5 team spent hours together on Saturday, working until the game started, and then playing until late in the night.  After volunteering, we all changed into comfortable clothes.  For the first time, we spent time together as people, not colleagues.  We got to see each other’s humor, intelligence, and overall personality.  When we came to work on Monday, we all had a better idea of what kind of people we all are.  We had shared an experience as a team that gave us closeness and trust.

Team building experiences bond employees together in a way that makes work more fun.  When we look forward to coming to work, our attitude is remarkably different.  When we are comfortable around our co-workers, we don’t shy from communication.  We then have the room to play to our strengths, share our weaknesses, and work together.

By the way, I am Sarah, the newest member of the Salesby5 team!

Marcus Buckingham - Strengths and How It Can Change Your Life

Marcus Buckingham is scheduled to be on Oprah soon talking about strengths.  If you have the opportunity, check it out, as he works with 29 women to help them maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.

Marcus will also be in San Antonio during Envision '08, April 23-25, speaking on strengths. 

Knowing your strengths is valuable at any age, whether your 15 or 55, because it helps you recognize where your natural talents intersect with your knowledge and skills.  The best person to recognize these strengths is you.  Salesby5 has been fortunate to work with The Marcus Buckingham Company and is one of the few companies that has the priviledge of teaching strengths as well as benefiting from its practices.  Check out some testimonials from our client, Tesoro, on how we were able to introduce strengths to their interns (scroll down on the videos toward the bottom).

Are you one of the 2 out of 10 that plays to their strengths on a daily basis?