Vroom-vroom...be careful with that thing!

Whuu-whuu! 

I'm not sure how you spell it but I'm trying to recreate that sound that Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor (Tim Allen) used to make in his TV show Home Improvement. Remember? The grunting sound he would make when he fired up a he-man power tool? A lot of guys and a growing number of gals know that feeling when you get your hands on a new power tool. Cant wait to use it! Fix something...even if it doesn't need fixing. Maybe just a modification or two? An improvement? Please?

In sales we are blessed when we get a new power tool. Things like CVC circulation audits and readership studies, AdMall Minutes and other sales aids give you that same powerful feeling, and -- if you're like me -- you can't wait to use them on some unsuspecting customer or prospect. Fix them...even if they don't need fixing. Maybe just a program modification or two? An improvement? Please?

Truth is, you can do more damage than good with a sales tool when you use it in situations where it is not needed. Find a nail sticking out of a wall and you fix it with a deftly applied hammer. Smack that same wall with the hammer when no nail protrudes and you've created a major hole, done damage to what was otherwise a perfectly fine structure. In our world, throw some new readership stats or AdMall facts at a customer who never questioned your readership and you could open a hole that costs you sales dollars and commissions. 

Know your tools, know their capabilities but know when and where to use them and how. That's how "power tools" improve our situations. 

If you're an FCPNY member we would be happy to arrange for sales training in your facility on a wide variety of topics. If you're not a member, please ask about the benefits of belonging to the finest state/regional free paper association in the country. Yes, I'm biased ;)

Reach us at 315-472-6007 or tcuskey@fcpny.com. Thank you!

Finding your biggest fear.

A few years ago I was at a conference where the facilitator was working hard to get people out of their comfort zones. He was picking on individuals at random when he spotted me (they always spot me; it must be the glare off my dome). He pointed at me like I had just shot JR Ewing. "What's your biggest fear in life?" he shouted at me. "To be 59 and unemployed," I calmly and readily answered. 

I have no idea where that response came from except to guess that it was dormant in my psyche until this guy pulled it out. It was a prediction that almost became a reality. For those of you that follow the free paper industry you know that the company I spent a total of 28 years working for decided to get out of the free weekly publishing business recently, about five months after my 59th birthday. This isn't about that event or about my experience except to say that my end date with my employer was 90 days or so down the road and I was looking more and more like Nostradamus. I was very fortunate, very blessed when my friends and colleagues at Free Community Papers of NY asked if I might be interested in joining their team as a sales and training person. Oh yes, I would be very interested. I will be writing my blog/column under the FCPNY flag now and am very happy to do so. I hope you'll sign on as a follower and take advantage of what I will humbly try to offer in sales and training tips. 

Back to the real deal: what is your greatest fear? More importantly, is it possible that it might happen, even if it doesn't seem very likely at the moment? Forget about spiders and snakes, high places or cramped quarters. What might really make you stumble? What do you control and what can't you waste your time worrying about because you can't control it? What can you do differently to insure the worst fear doesn't become your worst nightmare? 

I volunteer to be a brief case study here in hopes of helping someone avoid his or her greatest fear from becoming true. Downside first. In retrospect, I wished I had written down a list of the four or five critical activities I needed to engage in to achieve more success. I would focus on doing just those things -- nothing else -- and doing them more quickly. Speed of action is everything today. You know things will change, but we don't appreciate how fast change happens in the 21st Century. Now for the upside: I am glad I have stuck to my personal ethics and ideals and didn't panic when things looked bleak. I have faith -- in God and in myself -- and it all turned out well. I never doubted it. I have a wonderful family and friend network that made it a lot easier to have great faith that everything would be.

Summary: 

1. Get out of your comfort zone often.  

2. Continue to plan and re-plan for success. 

3. Adjust activities and don't waste time on things that don't matter.

4. Spend time on things that do matter, especially family and growth, be it professional, personal, spiritual or some combination.

5. Working on skills that make you a better salesperson or manager should also make you a better person -- be true to yourself in everything you do.

New posts coming soon more focused on our industry and business at hand. Hope to see you soon!