April 2, 2020
Black Swans and White Knights
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Let’s talk about Black Swan Events and White Knight Opportunities.
Ultimate crises scenarios = Black Swan Events.
If you’re unfamiliar with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, here is a quick explanation of Black Swan Theory:
Our current pandemic is perhaps the greatest Black Swan scenario in history. Certainly recent history.
Black Swan events produce carnage. There will be massive impact across the board economically, yes. We’re beginning to see it. Whiting Petroleum filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Some chefs in the hospitality industry are under the impression that up to 50% of restaurants will not reopen after our mandated quarantine period comes to an end. Major companies and industries as asking for more help as the $2 Trillion dollar stimulus package last week is not enough for them.
But there will also be White Knight opportunities. Let me explain:
Take a look at this market info from Ben Carlson (awealthofcommonsense). It highlights the performance of the Russel 2000 following terribly performing quarters (like the one we just had) since 1979.
Some companies are hiring hundreds of thousands of people (not just amazon):
Reality is changing right now, so they may look different then even a few weeks ago, but opportunities are hiding in plain site.
You might have to support your clientele differently. You might have to change your style of teaching or approach to interaction from in person to over video chat. You might have to optimize your online presence to boost overall company sales. You may have to switch industries or companies. You might have to completely shift your growth focus altogether. You might have to throw away your previous business plan or restructure the funding you thought you were going to receive from that angel investor.
But there is a white knight hidden in there, somewhere.
Find the White Knight!
Look for anomalies and capitalize where possible. People see your true colors in times of crisis.
As always, follow @itschriskeith on Twitter for more regular updates :)
The definition of malleable is: easily influenced; pliable.
Reality is Malleable.
It's best to remember that in the upcoming weeks and months.
One of Steve Job's more memorable quirks was his ability to create a "Reality Distortion Field":
"Steve Jobs’ “reality distortion field” was a personal refusal to accept limitations that stood in the way of his ideas, to convince himself that any difficulty was surmountable. This “field” was so strong that he was able to convince others that they, too, could achieve the impossible. It was an internal reality so powerful it also became an external reality"
2020 is the year of reality distortion for the United States of America.
Internally and externally. Both personally and business-wise. It's happening from all angles.
Every part of the business world is being impacted by COVID-19. Look at the top 12 industries of the US Economy:
Here is a breakdown of what each industry does, with company names, and a BRIEF impact of this crisis.
Every single one of these industries being is impacted right now. This is what makes this dilemma different from crisis' of the past.
Take a look at this graph of the major bank stocks:
We've never experienced anything as wide ranging as this economic impact.
We don't know what the ramifications are going to be.
What we do know is that realities are changing. Rapidly.
The amount of stimulus being brought forth by government's across the globe is unprecedented. Till 10 days ago, pumping TRILLIONS of dollars into the economy was not a reality. Today, it's a necessity.
Till last week, tax day was April 15. Now, it's July 15. You also don't have to make your federal student loan payments for a few months. That wasn't a point of negotiation while I was paying off student loans.
Following these leads, new realities are going to be constructed from corporate standpoints.
Industries and Companies will soon have to face reality (if they haven't already):
These types of questions are already flowing through all of the companies and industries mentioned above + all the other industries that didn't crack the top 12!
This is building a NEW REALITY / NEW ERA moving forward.
PEOPLE are starting to realize the severity of our circumstances, though we will likely have to experience a bit more loss for it to officially set in.
THINGS (THINGS GENERALLY/ ALL THINGS/ THE WHOLE WORKS) ARE INDEED NOT WORKING VERY WELL. IN FACT, THEY NEVER DID.
SYSTEMS TEND TO MALFUNCTION CONSPICUOUSLY JUST AFTER THEIR GREATEST TRIUMPH
Reality distortion has become our new normal. What is true and concrete one day is changing the next.
Its hard to adjust to, and will certainly be inconvenient, but the better we understand, are prepared for, and react to these changes will help us both short term and long term.
TAKEAWAYS:
REALITY IS MALLEABLE!
Things are changing fast. Adjust as necessary.
DO NOT SPREAD UNNECESSARY FEAR!
But do wrap your head around what reality could look like moving forward. We're gonna make it through this, but things are going to change, for sure. Let's try to embrace crisis as best we can in the tough times ahead. Help out when able. Go the extra mile for those less fortunate. Do the right thing for humanity.
DO NOT BET AGAINST CAPITALISM!
All of the graphs and simulations being run do not take into consideration how we are going to react to the crises in real time.
In closing:
Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.
- Steve Jobs
This is a big brick - BUT WE CANNOT LOSE FAITH!
Reality is Malleable - let’s make the best of it.
Follow along @itschriskeith for more info in Twitter :)
Up till this point in time, we mostly feared COVID-19. Now it’s beginning to cause loss.
Loss is much more significant. Loss of lifestyle, jobs, companies, industries, lives, etc.
It's tough to tell exactly how bad the economic impact will be and how much personal loss will happen, hence market volatility and uncertainty.
This article from McKinsey (specifically the brief from 3/16/20) does an excellent example of highlighting what the realistic impacts on the economy, and talks about the time horizon as well. TLDR, there are far reaching impacts from this situation that will not be fixed overnight. If you're skimming, read the paragraphs directly following the two scenarios headlined, delayed recovery and prolonged contraction.
This twitter thread runs through economic modeling of virus spread in the US. The results are alarming.
This article from the LA Times highlights that we could be looking at +/- 20% unemployment, quickly.
These statistics make us afraid. What will be (potentially) be worse is the actual loss associated with the above scenarios.
Loss is permanent. It cuts deep. As human beings, we have trained ourselves to avoid loss at all costs. The cognitive impact pf loss is incredibly impactful on the human psyche.
The loss aversion theory states:
Loss aversion refers to people's tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains: it is better to not lose $5 than to find $5. The principle is very prominent in the domain of economics. Humans may be hardwired to be loss averse due to asymmetric evolutionary pressure on losses and gains: for an organism operating close to the edge of survival.
This comes from our ancestors. If they lost, they died. Luckily, its 2020 AD, not 2020 BC, so we'll pull this back around.
From a business perspective:
FEAR is when the stock of the company that you work for/own shares of, craters significantly, and you lose 50% of your portfolio. This sucks and makes you uneasy.
LOSS is when that company goes bankrupt. You lose your job. Your investment goes from a 50% potential loss to a $0 basis.
From the COVID-19 perspective:
FEAR was the initial spread of this virus. The explosion of cases over in China was so far away, so distant. They live completely different lives and have a different healthcare system. Even in Europe, still, they live on top of each other. We hear stories of countries on lock down, but that can’t happen here in the US.
Over the past weeks/days, this narrative has changed dramatically. Not only is the US heading towards lock-down (some already are) but the spread of COVID-19 will continue to rise dramatically as more people are exposed, and we test more people/get accurate results.
That means we’re going to experience LOSS.
Hopefully, its not the loss of too many lives, hopefully it’s not the loss of too many jobs and companies, but there will be loss associated. We’re beginning to see it already. Even if you simply test positive for the virus, you lose all personal privileges for 14 days. You're silo’d in personal quarantined jail.
It will be interesting to see the impact of fear vs. loss in the upcoming weeks and months.
PLEASE - remain positive! We'll make it through this! Don’t panic and buy into the fear-mongering that the world is coming to an end. History has shown we’re extremely resilient, and the government is demonstrating (House + Senate passed a stimulus bill late yesterday as well) they are willing to do whatever it takes to get us through this. Private + Public sector companies are coming together to make this possible!
China’s new cases have dropped significantly (close to 0) and Italy’s new cases appear to be leveling off as well!
BUT - BE SMART in these uncertain times. We’re +/- 10 days behind Italy and far more behind China.
Time, as always, is our most precious commodity. Anything we can do as a population to buy more time for healthcare professions to treat the virus / stop the spread / and work on a cure or vaccine is the most beneficial use of time we have!
Follow on Twitter for shorter thoughts and more updates @itschriskeith
We're not at the bottom just yet.
Quick disclaimer:
1 - Do not take this as specific investment advice.
2- There are people far more technical and sophisticated in this space. The points below are simply meant to give context for where we are today and likely where things are headed over the next few weeks/months.
3 - No one on knows exactly what is going on right now and where this will situation will finish. Anybody who looks at complex/dynamic situations with complete certainty is an idiot. If a money manager tells you he/she has been correctly timing the market buys/ selloffs for any extended period of time, ask why they aren't managing all of the money in the world. No one has these answers!
Take a look at this chart, which (with the red line on the left) shows the market drop in the past couple weeks, compared to the 2008/09 financial crisis:
The average Bull Market over the past 100 years lasts for 4.9 years. We’ve been bullish for >10 years. The average Bear Market lasts 1.4 years. We’re 26 days in. This has only just begun.
Current Dynamics at play, which has lead to market volatility the past month:
Like Trump or not, he is an incredible showman. Scott Adams refers to him as a Master Persuader.
Did you watch the full video the press conference on Friday afternoon? He had the CEO's of major, blue chip American companies up on stage with him, shaking hands, talking about the plans we're putting in place, and how we're working to make it through. (Walmart, CVS, Quest Diagnostics, etc).
There was very little actual substance, but that has been his brand this whole time, and frankly, (like it or not) it has worked. We saw a massive rally to end the day on Friday (him coming on at 3:30 EST was not an accident) for almost a 9% gain. Short term, great. Not sustainable though.
Hopefully, politics aside, this helps our country, and our planet, both in the short term (to get over this unknown enemy we all currently face, COVID-19) and long term (remove some of the damn red tape that is draped all over the healthcare industry at large).
But, from a trading/stock market perspective, over the next weeks/months, the fundamentals and facts will catch up. History repeats, (reference the above charts)... And the stock market will go lower.
In the words of the Warren Buffet:
It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.
The tide is beginning to recede, and we’ve still got a way to go.
Please don’t read this and panic, but do properly align expectations. Misaligned expectations are the root of all disappointment.
Think of our current circumstance this way:
If this were a baseball game we're in the first or second inning. Get comfortable, make sure you have a some beer in the fridge, a few frozen pizzas and other nonperishable food stocked up for social distancing reasons, and extra toilet paper, cause we've got a lot of game left!
We're not at the bottom just yet.
Follow on Twitter for shorter thoughts and more updates @itschriskeith
Don't shy away from crisis. Embrace it.
A novice salesperson gets nervous and avoids crisis when shit hits the fan. An expert sees the opportunity.
Anyone can be the guy when everything is going well. People's true colors show in times if uncertainty and crisis.
Diving Deeper:
Early on in your sales career, you're going to try to do everything humanly possible to try and avoid crisis.
This makes sense. When you're new and relationship building, you don't want to start things with a massive disagreement. Think about new friend you've developed. It's generally not the best idea to kick off a budding friendship with a catastrophic argument, say talking about politics or religion. That's just not perfect.
However, as we know, business is different than many personal relationships. And, in business, its not a matter of whether things will go wrong. Its a matter of when.
Referencing the SYSTEMS BIBLE, by John Gall:
Its not a matter of if something will break, but when.
So, take a second, and have this internal dialog:
Things are going to go wrong. It might be my fault. It might not be. It might be an obvious issue, or it might be something that we didn't see coming. It might be a quick fix, it might be a longer term and more painful situation.
Either way - I understand this. My client also understands this.
I’m going to to everything in my power to make this go away. We’re going to make it through, and be strong on the other side. We’re actually going to enjoy a nice steak dinner afterwards and laugh about this damn thing.
But, while we’re knee deep in this thing:
I Promise to resolve the issue. As fast as we can. I promise to mitigate the damage as best as possible while we're having issues, and make my client whole on the back end.
Crisis separates the adults from the toddlers. It's that simple.
Its easy to be the milk run sales guy/resources expert who can swing by and talk about new technology or take people to lunch and dinner when things are going well. That's easy.
Your client will see your true colors when shit hits the fan. They are going to JUDGE and REMEMBER you and your company based on how you react when things aren’t perfect. When you have to think outside of the box. When the chips are down, how did you treat them? How did you make them feel? Were you still adding value? Or did you leave them high and dry?
Remember, people are constantly having issues. Systems malfunction and they fail.
Inexperienced / Novice salespeople crumble during these circumstances. Here are a list of things you want to avoid:
Instead, in time of crisis, take a few steps back and think about the opportunity you've been given.
This is a chance for you and your client to get down in the trenches, TOGETHER!!! How cool, you guys get to fight in the same battle! No better way to see what each other are made of and build camaraderie.
In crisis mode, you gotta be all hands on deck. This includes:
Its going to take some time, effort, energy, blood, sweat, and tears - but generally, you make it to the other side, and everything is OK. In fact, it’s better.
Granted, while the crisis is going on, all you can think about is doing everything in your power to make it stop.
But remember, your client is down in the trenches with you. After you've made it through a battle together, your relationship is far deeper than before.
Think about your personal life. Think about your closest relationships. How often have you had meaningful experiences with those people? Whether it be late nights out on the town, travel abroad, or heated conversations/arguments... These type of experiences are what bring us together!
1- Embrace it!!! It's an opportunity to show your true colors and actually add real value!
2 - Over - Communicate - with all items/good and bad / internally and externally. Cannot shy away from tough conversations!
3 - Make it through to the other side, grab a nice steak dinner, and laugh about it 🙂
Good luck out there!
How someone makes us feel will never be automated or removed by technology.
No matter how good technology gets, at least in the near future, we're still going to need to interact with human beings. These reasons will continue to evaporate, lol, but you're going to need human help for the foreseeable future for the following circumstances:
As we attempt to remove human interaction from the majority of our day to day activities, the human interfaces you get the chance to have will matter more and more. So, when you do have the chance to interact with someone, the stakes will get higher and higher. We'll have a slimmer margin of error across the board, as people will have a lower tolerance for BS.
Reasons for this:
Scarcity - as we remove people from day to day interaction, the amount of time you get to interface will matter more and more. You’ll really have to knock it out of the park when you actually get in front of a potential client/other human. This is great for companies/ people that have this figured out. On the contrary, it’s going to be an uphill battle for those who don’t.
Scarcity, PT 2 - at least for the next 20 years or so, there are decision makers who are age 40+ that are comfortable talking on the phone and would often times prefer to get help/advice from a real person. That means there is still going to be a ton of people out there who are looking for (at least the option) to have human to human interaction.
REAL People will still be making the highest level (and most expensive) purchasing decisions for the foreseeable future:
As we continue to progress from a technology perspective, experiences will become a more prized commodity.
Specifically, EXPERIENCE buys/packages will only go up in value
One thing that technology will ever be able to take away from us - how we make someone FEEL. The EXPERIENCE we provide. In fact, as technology evolves and continues to move forward, this part of human interaction will only prove to be more valuable. (see the scarcity references earlier in this post)
Think about this from a technology perspective. Why is Apple so successful with their hardware? Have you ever used an iPhone or a Mac? The shit just works. Why has Amazon taken over the industry? When you order something it shows up in 2 days, max. When you lose an item, they refund you immediately. Why does Google own a significant amount of real estate online? Have you googled a question and not gotten a near perfect answer in the last, idk, 3 hours?
GREAT, Chris. What does this all mean?
It means you should always be working on mastering the art of human interaction. The better you get at it, the more success you’re going to have in life, particularly in sales.
Think about the jobs that will continue to go away. Mind you - high paying jobs, not just the minimum wage jobs the nation news focus on. We’re talking Wall Street financial analysts, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, many statisticians, lawyers pouring over agreements, and other high paying white collar jobs, just to name a few. These are often times $100k + a year jobs folks, disappearing, because of AI, automation and sheer computing power.
You know what’s not being automated? Human interactions and experiences.
If you are a person/business that is capable of giving a positive experiences, you’re going to win more and have more loyal clients. It’s that simple.
If you make it a priority to make yourself or your “support team” available and capable of giving quality help and support, you’re going to win more and have more loyal clients. It’s that simple.
Double down on becoming a master of human interaction and experience, and you will corner yourself into a job that cannot be automated.
So, how do you go about it!?
******CALL TO ACTION*******
After every interaction you have, ask the following questions:
People will remember and be loyal.
You Can Do Anything - But You Can't Do Everything.
Lucky us! Another sales paradigm that directly also coincides with day to day life!
Let's talk about the most valuable commodity of all - TIME.
Time is the most precious resource that you have in life, so naturally it is the most important variable in how you choose to grow your business. You need to figure out where your time is best spent to maximize your effectiveness.
A major issue young professionals have is not knowing what to spend their time on. Every time the phone rings, you drop everything and answer it. You run around like a chicken with your head cut off because you’re trying to check off all of the boxes necessary set in place by a company, what you think is the most important, Larry from the cube down the hall, etc. You spend the same amount of time on a $10k opp as you would on a $1MM opp.
Of course, when you are new, you have no experience. You have to learn these lessons the hard way. You need to build those relationships. The only way to do that is by time spent.
But as you progress in your career, you need to be brutally honest about how you are allocating the finite amount of time you have available.
Please know that effective time management is the only was to grow/scale your business. Time is a limited resource - you need to prioritize and maximize the ROI you are getting from each of your actions.
Million Dollar wins are moving the needle They should not be placed on the same tier of a hierarchical structure as a $10k opportunity. The sooner you realize you cannot afford to spend the same amount of time/effort/energy on these opps, the better you'll be
So, how do you go about spending your time correctly? You create and follow the Chris Keith - Opportunity/Client Tracker :). That link will take you to a Googlesheets doc I already created for ya.
Simply press File -> Make a Copy -> and save your own!
Create a tiered list for current opportunities:
Same thing happens with your client list, it just moves down a bit
Opportunity pipeline is the the ruler of all. When you drum up a potential Tier 1 opportunity, it immediately gets the attention it deserves - so take that into consideration right away, and start spending the time necessary on it! These do not come along often - you have to capitalize on them when they do.
Another major mistake novice salespeople make is not sniffing out the major tier 1 opportunities, because they have “other things going on” or “boxes to check”. Not acceptable. ALWAYS be looking for needle mover opportunities and rearrange your hierarchy when you potentially find one. You cannot apologize for spending the time necessary on those massive whales. As mentioned, they can often time be year changing/career making deals. That shit matters!
Also note - in the Chris Keith - OPP/Client Tracker Example, you’ll notice that there isn’t a ton of additional room in the ‘Pursuit / Next Action columns. That isn’t by accident. This sheet is not supposed to bog you down with unnecessary work/information, as you should be managing that in your head already. This is an overview of the critical next steps to move the needle forward, that’s all.
Call to action:
Happy selling 🙂
In memory of the late, Kobe Bryant. Let’s talk about the MAMBA MENTALITY.
Obsessiveness is a Superpower. Obsession in a specifically targeted and productive way.
Like Kobe Bryant or not, he is certainly among the upper echelon of athletes that you need to RESPECT. The only aspect of Kobe’s game that transcended his ability on the court was his work ethic. The stories about this aspect of his game and mentality were beyond legendary, and clearly why he was going to be successful in any area of his life that he decided to spend time. (evidenced by winning a Grammy, the Mamba Academy, family life, etc.)
For anyone who isn’t familiar with Kobe’s work ethic, here is an example to paint the picture for you. As some additional context, this story is from back in 2008 when Kobe was playing on the “Redeem” Olympic Team. Rob was one of the main trainers for team USA at that time:
Yes, Kobe was a supernaturally gift physical athlete (newsflash, every single NBA player is). His differentiation was his obsessiveness.
Diving deeper, outside just the specifics of basketball:
One of my friends is a former Olympic skier. He argues that the most important aspect of any athlete at a professional level is the amount of time (or practice) they are willing to commit. It’s constant. Every hour that you're not out on the slopes, you know there is someone, somewhere, who is. You have to be obsessed. It’s a day in and day out commitment. Hours and hours and hours and hours and hours.
With skiing, the more you practice, the more you improve. You're capable of tricks and turns that were previously impossible. It's easy to wow your mere mortal friends with your body control and speed flying down the slopes.
Think about lifting weights. Generally, if you're consistent in this type of practice, results are clear and obvious. You can see your physique change. If you focus on diet, you generally lose weight or remain slim. There are tangible rewards visible to you personally AND the outside world.
Would you have the same results if you read about lifting weights without any of the physical follow up? Or you watched a cooking show that demonstrated how to eat healthy on your phone while sitting in the McDonalds drive-through?
No.
The theory of obsession does not just apply to athletes or physical activities. It is applied by the most successful people in the business world as well. The same phenomena happens internally in our brains when we practice specific business/sales/or any sort of skill. This is why it is crucial to practice what you preach - you have to put in the time necessary to improve!
Take the following example from James Clear, in his book, Atomic Habits:
"The more you repeat an activity, the more the structure of your brain changes to become efficient at that activity. Neuroscientists call this long-term potentiation, which refers to the strengthening of connections between neurons in the brain based on recent patterns of activity. Mathematicians have increased gray matter in the inferior parietal lobule, which plays a key role in computation and calculation. It's size is directly correlated with the amount of time spent in the field; the older and more experienced the mathematician, the greater the increase in gray matter."
Josh Waistkin also explains this concept from his point of view (one of the youngest Chess Grandmasters of all time) in The Art of Learning:
"It is important to understand that by numbers to leave numbers, or form to leave form, I am describing a process in which technical information is integrated into what feels like natural intelligence. Sometimes there will literally be numbers. Other times there will be principles, patterns, variations, techniques, ideas. A good literal example of this process, one that does in fact involve numbers, is a beginner’s very first chess lesson. All chess players learn that the pieces have numerical equivalents—bishops and knights are worth three pawns, a rook is five pawns, a queen is nine. Novices are counting in their heads or on their fingers before they make exchanges. In time, they will stop counting. The pieces will achieve a more flowing and integrated value system. They will move across the board like fields of force. What was once seen mathematically is now felt intuitively."
This is why it takes time when you begin anything new. When starting fresh in a new job/new industry/new sport, there is going to be a marinating period until you’re able to make any sort of significant impact. Fresh out of college, you're looking at 18 months to get a feel for your industry and new role. Then you'll notice that you start making an impact. It will take a few years on top of that until you're actually considered good, much less great.
That's the reality.
Malcolm Gladwell outlines this in his book Outliers with the 10,000-Hour Rule, claiming that the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill, is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing the correct way, for a total of around 10,000 hours.
We can debate the actual number of hours required, the point is, you gotta practice.
The good news is as soon as you begin to develop these mental muscles, you'll use them for the rest of your career. Most skills you develop professionally are easily transferred from industry to industry / company to company / roll to roll, et cetera.
For instance, the ability to navigate the corporate ladder from one organization to another will never be identical, but fundamentals will be just about the same. Humans are quite simple from a basic needs perspective - the interpersonal relationships will always be the most active dynamic at play in those scenarios. Once you begin playing the game, you'll be able to develop the skills necessary to advance.
Code is code, products are products, numbers are numbers and people are people. The fundamentals remain the same. If you can write code, the software will work. If you can manage a 40MM software line, you can figure out the hardware side of it. If you're an expert at breaking down Corporate M&A deals, real estate investments will also make sense. If you can sell hardware, software is also possible.
Now back to the title of this whole piece.
This is the mindset needed to become great.
In closing, take note of this final quote from Kobe Bryant:
If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves out. That’s totally fine. After all, greatness is not for everybody.
Successful people in life will attribute their success to some form of obsession.
REST IN PEACE KOBE BRYANT
EFFORT will win people’s hearts.
So much of sales is effort based. Wait, let me take a step back.
The longer you live in the world of sales, the quicker you realize that effort is legitimately 95% of the battle.
This is the brute force method : sometimes you have to WILL your way through solutions. It’s going to be hard. It's going to be time consuming. But if you take the time, the energy, and the EFFORT, results follow.
The great thing about effort is that anyone can have it. Anyone can do it. It cannot be taught. It’s a personal choice. Its not decided the moment you're born, like your family/where in the world you're located. Effort rests completely on you.
Some people (top performers) use this to their advantage. Other people (average to below average performers) do not. They watch the clock, don't go the extra mile (or an extra 10 feet) to get to the prize.
There isn’t anything wrong with the work/life balance argument. Some people are completely consumed by work (to the fact that is doesn't seem like work at all, its actually fun, see my article on the power of obsession), and others are not. It's reality. However, if you are the type of person who watches the clock, there’s a chance sales isn't exactly the right job for you.
Though effort can absolutely be controlled, it’s not something that can be forced. It’s impossible to fake effort in the long run. Sure, some people will be able to fake effort and try extra hard when they start a new job or are pursuing a new client for a day, a week, a month. But to truly be great, the effort cannot stop. There needs to be a desire to win instilled so deep that it likely won't ever be fulfilled.
The best news is, when you're young and inexperienced, effort can carry you through a lot of obstacles you're going to run into. You won't understand your product or the market, but if you try extremely hard, work the hours, and put in the effort, your clientele will notice. You’ll also notice. The flow is real. You’ll feel it.
Follow up when you say you're going to. Get back to people early in the morning and late at night. They will remember.
It will help you learn faster. The more brute strength you apply to something early on will help you overcome the learning curve at a higher rate of speed.
Here are a few examples of high effort individuals (and not coincidentally, exceptionally successful people) to paint the picture
Take this quote from the beginning of Michael Ovitz’s book, Who Is Michael Ovitz:
David Goggins (Marine and Green Beret , now ultra marathoner) refers to his process of maximum effort or mental edge as Taking People’s Souls. This is an extreme example, but people who can relate to this sort of thing will instantly recognize the mindset he’s applying. Here are a few highlighted captions from his book, Can't Hurt Me:
Taking Souls is a ticket to finding your own reserve power and riding a second wind. It’s the tool you can call upon to win any competition or overcome every life obstacle. This is a tactic for you to be your best when duty calls. It’s a mind game you’re playing on yourself.
Taking someone’s soul means you’ve gained a tactical advantage. Whoever you’re dealing with, your goal is to make them watch you achieve what they could never have done themselves.
Take their negativity and use it to dominate your task with everything you’ve got. Take their motherf******soul!
Jason Lemkin (must follow on twitter) highlights one of the tough parts of sales and it's as simple as this:
I’d argue, there is a small percentage of the population that doesn’t know how to operate WITHOUT that type of pressure. You want to work with these people / have them selling your stuff!
Control what you can control. So much of sales (and life) is difficult and frustrating because there a ton of dynamics that are completely outside of your control.
Here is a quote from the Fish That Ate the Whale, (Cohen) about Sam Zemurry, “the Banana King” who overthrew United Fruit, one of the largest conglomerates in the world back in the early 1900’s.
For Zemurray, his motivation was clear: he wanted to win. And would do whatever it took. Here was a self-made man, filled with the most dangerous kind of confidence: he had done it before and believed he could do it again. This gave him the air of a berserker, who says, If you’re going to fight me, you better kill me.
If you’ve ever known such a person, you will recognize the type at once.
You should NEVER lose due to lack of effort.
Main follow up from this post is pretty straightforward:
** Misaligned Expectations are the root of All Disappointment**
Expectation management is easily one of the most important aspects of anything sales related. You need to constantly be focusing on expectation management.
The good news is, expectation management comes down to communication. Open and honest communication. It’s very doable. Sometimes its a pain in the ass and you have to have tough conversations or share unfortunate news, but if you stay on top of everything, its very doable.
This type of behavior is illustrated in everyday life frequently. Often times people are most upset when expectations are misaligned. If you’re working with someone you assuming has a budget of $100k, and their budget is $1k - people get upset. Expectations were not properly aligned for both parties to be successful.
Make sure you go above and beyond at every point possible to ensure that everyone is on the same page. This goes a LONG WAY with your clientele.
Let’s circle back to the open and honest approach. This part of the communication is VITAL in a sales roll. If there is a particular product that is tough to get working, or you have difficulty delivering, make sure you make that known on the front end. If there is a particular individual that you struggle to get support from, make that known to your client, or perhaps avoid selling that solution altogether. Saying / making things like this known will go incredibly far with your client.
People tend to have short memories when you help them. They NEVER FORGET when they feel burned.
The SYSTEMS BIBLE by John Gall, does an excellent job of communicating the breakdowns between people and companies. Quick read, hilarious, and well worth checking out. Here are a few of my favorite quotes that have to do with human beings and systems (corporations) at large:
THINGS (THINGS GENERALLY/ ALL THINGS/ THE WHOLE WORKS) ARE INDEED NOT WORKING VERY WELL. IN FACT, THEY NEVER DID
IF ANYTHING CAN GO WRONG, IT WILL
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT COMMUNICATE
THE MEANING OF A COMMUNICATION IS THE BEHAVIOR THAT RESULTS
Now, think about your experience. How true are the above points? So true! The rules apply to everything and everyone - family, friends, corporations, everyone.
We’re imperfect. The companies we work for are imperfect. The systems we’re a part of are not working well, and indeed they never did! The solutions we offer are imperfect. It’s a part of life, and certainly a part of your job. Know that. Understand your client knows that. It’s your job to MANAGE EXPECTATIONS and broken systems as best as possible!
Here are the best ways to manage expectations:
Perception is reality.
In sales, we operate in a world of gray - there is little black and white. Because of this gray area, we’re able to create realities in the sales world. By setting proper expectations and then managing those expectations on a daily basis, your reality, and your clients reality is going to be a positive one 🙂
There is a particular quote that makes perfect sense for expectation management. Read this and let it sink in :
We judge ourselves on our thoughts, we judge others on their actions.
Let that sink in.
We judge ourselves on our thoughts, we judge others on their actions.
See the disconnect there? It’s IMPOSSIBLE to know what other people are thinking, so we can only watch and judge by what they do. Your job as a salesperson is to remove inconsistency in that space. Curate their thoughts to BE THE REALITY. You make this possible by instilling the correct expectations at all times.
And there will be far less disappointment!
