Freedom and Firewood

Freedom and Firewood There are so few true entrepreneurs. Guys and gals whose sole passion in life is running a business on which they turn a profit, regardless of the product. No, most of us are enthusiasts. I cannot tell you how many industries there are in which people downplay their salesmanship, or deny it outright. Probably in every single one of them, there’s a guy collecting somebody else’s money and saying “but I’m not a salesperson.” Here’s a brief list of the kinds of deception people use to fool themselves into thinking they aren’t a salesperson: Product Specialist, Associate, Assistant Manager, Team Member, Team Leader, Account Executive, Strategic Alliance Manager, System Engineer, Interior Designer, Etc. What do all of the above people have in common? At least 2 things: They’re enthusiastic about their expertise in some field which represents a product category for someone else, and they are all, despite their gyrations to the contrary, salespeople. I think we all know what it means to be enthusiastic about a product which pertains to a skill or an interest of our own. Guitar players sell guitars. Who owns the local pool supply company? The ex-state champion swimmer. The retired race car driver didn’t run out and open up an electronics store, he opened a car dealership. I’ll bet every person who works at your local tack store has some experience with horses. When people are put into a position of perceived authority, an amazing thing happens: other people start asking them questions. If you have ever been in management and can recall your first few management experiences, this is a lesson you know well. The problem is that the more people ask your opinion, the more you believe it matters. You really start to think and act as though you are an expert. And this is not to suggest that you don’t have expertise, only that your opinion of the merchandise is not as important as the customer’s opinion of the merchandise. Pride is a sale-killer. I used to be like you. I used to have “Professional Integrity” about what I sold; the brands and models, the colors and configurations. The smartest sales manager I ever knew was a guy named Dan Cotterman. Dan ran the finest Military School for Turning Sissy Salespeople into Animals ever conceived. Dan would walk around our store with drumsticks, and the punishment for a walk (a blown sale in retail) was a swift rap on the knuckles! I’m not kidding! Anyway, one day Dan explained to me that my Professional Integrity was actually an absence of integrity, and that I was causing myself to be unprofessional and therefore broke. Of course I objected. That’s when he laid it out in terms I could understand. “Matt, can you speak Japanese?” he asked me. “I’m pretty sure you know that I can’t, Dan.” I replied. “Hmm.” He said, “Have you ever been to the Peavey plant in Mississippi, or the Hoshino plant in Japan, or the Yamaha plant in California?” “No Dan, I haven’t, but I’d love to, can I go?” He said, “How about the NAMM show in LA, ever been to that?” “No Dan, I haven’t, but I read about it all the time.” “Matt, outside of our company and the people you know here, who else have you met within the industry?” I gave him the name of the Yamaha rep from my old store, who had me mystery shopped from which I won $100 on the spot. He said he knew the man as well. Then he said, “Frank (our buyer) knows all of these people. He has been to all of these plants. He hasn’t missed a NAMM show…ever. He speaks Japanese. He was a store manager for 10 years before you were born. For 23 before you picked up your first guitar. Somewhere in the world there's a manufacturer who thought this guitar (one whose quality I had questioned) was a good enough idea that they built it. Somewhere else in the world there's a buyer, Frank, who agreed. You seem to think your job is to critique Frank? It isn't. It's to find a third person who agrees with the first two. You're missing it because you're a player, Matt. To you, it's firewood. To some kid, it's freedom. It's the greatest day of his life. It's the day he become a musician.” It changed me forever.