On the Dayton Flyers official site all of you Flyer fans from across the country can watch UD Basketball for free. They just added a feature supported by CSTV that allows you to stream the live feed onto your computer. I hope that this will continue with the NCAA tournament when we make it (Crossing fingers)
You will need the latest version of Internet Explorer (which pains me since I am an avid Firefox user) and the latest version of Windows Media Player as well. Unfortunately those are kind of annoying to upgrade to, but well worth it I assure you.
Other than the stiff software requirements I am pretty excited about this. I also was messing around on the site and found out that you can stream many of the games earlier in the season as well. So for all of you that missed a home game...enjoy!
Go Flyers!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Churchills Tea Room - Cincinnati, OH
For all of you tea lovers I am writing this to share with you a true gem in the downtown shopping district of Cincinnati.
My enjoyment of tea started in college with my roommate Mike. He is a purveyor of all things expensive: cigars, Audi's, wine, speaker systems, Rolex watches, etc... He started buying loose leaf tea and brewing it as a hang over cure. I had always been fascinated with tea, and this really pushed me over the edge in regard to interest. After buying my first cast iron tea kettle I started buying loose leaf teas and trying all kinds of hot and iced tea. I now have many tea kettles, my most prized being from my trip last summer to Hong Kong, China, of the Yixing (pronounced ee-Shing) variety, that was hand made by a master potter. I picked up one for Mike as well. He was very grateful.
So back to Cincinnati, there is a place called Churchills Tea Room that is located in Tower Place downtown. There is this delightful British woman who owns the tea shop, and she has done a marvelous job with the place. High Tea is served 6 days a week and they also have a large variety of tea to choose from off of the shelf. Probably the most enjoyable part of visiting this shop is having a discussion with the owner. I find id fascinating and intriguing being around someone who is such an expert. The desserts she makes are quite delicious, and the view from the prized window seat is not bad either. Hint: There is only one window seat, so if you plan on people watching you had better make reservations!
After visiting on many occasions I now choose to buy all of my tea from this unique place to support their efforts to reinvigorate downtown. I also have brought many friends to spend the afternoon enjoying High Tea and having insightful conversations. It takes about 45 minutes from my house to get down there, but as of yet I have never regretted the drive.
My enjoyment of tea started in college with my roommate Mike. He is a purveyor of all things expensive: cigars, Audi's, wine, speaker systems, Rolex watches, etc... He started buying loose leaf tea and brewing it as a hang over cure. I had always been fascinated with tea, and this really pushed me over the edge in regard to interest. After buying my first cast iron tea kettle I started buying loose leaf teas and trying all kinds of hot and iced tea. I now have many tea kettles, my most prized being from my trip last summer to Hong Kong, China, of the Yixing (pronounced ee-Shing) variety, that was hand made by a master potter. I picked up one for Mike as well. He was very grateful.
So back to Cincinnati, there is a place called Churchills Tea Room that is located in Tower Place downtown. There is this delightful British woman who owns the tea shop, and she has done a marvelous job with the place. High Tea is served 6 days a week and they also have a large variety of tea to choose from off of the shelf. Probably the most enjoyable part of visiting this shop is having a discussion with the owner. I find id fascinating and intriguing being around someone who is such an expert. The desserts she makes are quite delicious, and the view from the prized window seat is not bad either. Hint: There is only one window seat, so if you plan on people watching you had better make reservations!
After visiting on many occasions I now choose to buy all of my tea from this unique place to support their efforts to reinvigorate downtown. I also have brought many friends to spend the afternoon enjoying High Tea and having insightful conversations. It takes about 45 minutes from my house to get down there, but as of yet I have never regretted the drive.
Prosper - Micro lending brought to the masses
A while ago I was reading in the Wall Street Journal, for those of us who are regulars it is called simply "The Journal", about the Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. He started the Grameen bank in India that gave out micro-credit loans. These are very small loans given to poor entrepreneurs in third world nations. The impact of these banks is amazing. It stimulates economic development, and fuels the capitalist fire like few other things can. This, of course, does a number of wonderful things economically, politically, and socially for these countries.
Fortunately, I do not live in India. However, I plan on traveling there some day. So how can I start doing something like supporting a micro-credit loan program in Dayton, OH of all places?
Enter www.prosper.com. Prosper is the online version of the Grameen bank. I have been enjoying a 12% return on my investment for about a year now. In the spirit of Micro-credit loans I started small. A mere $250.00 deposit and I was ready to lend. It works similar to Ebay. People basically auction their requests for capital with a detailed description and the lowest rates from the people willing to lend the money win. Lenders, such as my self, bid on these requests with what ever return that they would deem acceptable from their investment. Once the full loan amount is funded the auction closes and the loan is financed.
Prosper has thought of the risks involved and it is compulsory to attach a credit agency to these accounts so that if they were to default, the agency will represent you and get most of your money back. Also, all of those wanting money have their credit score attached. The amount of information is very nice, and makes for a very secure and safe lending environment. The best part of this process is that you can manage your own risk. Do you want to get a higher return? Say, 20%? Well, the people you will lend to will have a credit rating much lower than those expecting an 8% return. The amount of risk you accept is up to you.
I however decided to split my $250.00 between two people. One is paying off credit cards. The other is much closer to my heart. He is getting his MBA and is in sales. Bravo! Though I am not worthy of any Nobel prize, I certainly am enjoying participating in an idea that achieved that status.
Fortunately, I do not live in India. However, I plan on traveling there some day. So how can I start doing something like supporting a micro-credit loan program in Dayton, OH of all places?
Enter www.prosper.com. Prosper is the online version of the Grameen bank. I have been enjoying a 12% return on my investment for about a year now. In the spirit of Micro-credit loans I started small. A mere $250.00 deposit and I was ready to lend. It works similar to Ebay. People basically auction their requests for capital with a detailed description and the lowest rates from the people willing to lend the money win. Lenders, such as my self, bid on these requests with what ever return that they would deem acceptable from their investment. Once the full loan amount is funded the auction closes and the loan is financed.
Prosper has thought of the risks involved and it is compulsory to attach a credit agency to these accounts so that if they were to default, the agency will represent you and get most of your money back. Also, all of those wanting money have their credit score attached. The amount of information is very nice, and makes for a very secure and safe lending environment. The best part of this process is that you can manage your own risk. Do you want to get a higher return? Say, 20%? Well, the people you will lend to will have a credit rating much lower than those expecting an 8% return. The amount of risk you accept is up to you.
I however decided to split my $250.00 between two people. One is paying off credit cards. The other is much closer to my heart. He is getting his MBA and is in sales. Bravo! Though I am not worthy of any Nobel prize, I certainly am enjoying participating in an idea that achieved that status.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Zillow - Realestate Estimator
http://www.zillow.com/
Although Zillow (like "Pillow") claims to be in Beta, it is a very polished Web 2.0 application for anyone looking for a house. It has the look and feel of Google Maps and it overlays houses and housing prices. Although it is not 100% accurate it basically uses sale prices of the neighborhood and comparable houses, "comps", to estimate the value of the house at which you are looking. Zillow calls this a Zestimate.
It definitely gave me piece of mind when buying my first home. I realized that the neighborhood I was looking in was on average worth $XXX,XXX.xx and that the specific sq. ft. requirement and bedroom requirement would put me around that price. It can also pull tax records so that you can estimate what you will be paying when Uncle Sam comes knocking.
Useful, easy and fun to look all of your neighbors and friends houses. Enjoy!
Although Zillow (like "Pillow") claims to be in Beta, it is a very polished Web 2.0 application for anyone looking for a house. It has the look and feel of Google Maps and it overlays houses and housing prices. Although it is not 100% accurate it basically uses sale prices of the neighborhood and comparable houses, "comps", to estimate the value of the house at which you are looking. Zillow calls this a Zestimate.
It definitely gave me piece of mind when buying my first home. I realized that the neighborhood I was looking in was on average worth $XXX,XXX.xx and that the specific sq. ft. requirement and bedroom requirement would put me around that price. It can also pull tax records so that you can estimate what you will be paying when Uncle Sam comes knocking.
Useful, easy and fun to look all of your neighbors and friends houses. Enjoy!
Infiniti G35 Coupe Yuppie Mobile
Automobile
–noun
| 1. | a passenger vehicle designed for operation on ordinary roads and typically having four wheels and a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine. |
-noun
1. an Infiniti G35 Coupe
Now that I have been making money for a few years I have come to the decision that after buying my house, the next thing I need is a new car. My dad gave me his Cadillac STS when I graduated from UD and it now has 157,000 miles on it. While I do enjoy floating around, and I do mean floating, in a Cadillac the time has come to change my ride. The Cadillac image is not exactly what I was looking for. After all, how many 24 year olds do you know driving an STS?
So, after a long search looking at Honda S2000's, Nissan 350Z's, and Lexus ES 330's I have decided that the Infiniti G35 Coupe is the car for me. A guy in my MBA class has one: black on black, 293 horse power, spoiler, harmonic exhaust, zero lift aerodynamics...I was in love. We went out one night after class and opened up the engine. I about swallowed my tongue. He had the wheels squealing up the entrance ramp to I-75. Damn! My Cadillac's 4.9l V8 could not keep up with this smaller, faster V6. I was impressed and a little shocked at the speed. Plus, most of the Infinity's come with upgraded rims and spoilers in the coupe model.
I was not expecting to ever own an Infiniti, but after my thrilling test drive I hope to be able to get one soon enough. Expect to see me bragging about it in 4 months.
*Crossing my fingers*
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Dayton Flyers NCAA Basketball
I have been going to the UD Basketball games for about 15 years of my life. As my family is closely tied to the University of Dayton in a number of ways, we have been Flyer fans for quite some time. I can even remember back when we first got tickets in the nose bleed section so that my sister and I could run around be be kids without disturbing the game for anyone else who actually cared. I can also remember the senior season of Negel Knight who would later be drafted into the NBA. The Dayton community has supported the team with out reservation for many years and I am proud to be a part of that community.
Within the past week the Flyers have added another page to the history of Dayton basketball: Brian Roberts scored his 1,000th point. Only 36 other players for UD have achieved such a status. This accomplishment speaks for itself. I am normally not one to glorify athletes, but from personal experience Brian Roberts is not your normal NCAA student athlete. He is actually smart, lacks the ego that has become so tiresome in college sports, and he unselfishly produces on the court. In short; a leader.
In the most recent game on Saturday against La Salle how does Brian Roberts respond to breaking the 1,000 point barrier? He scores 34 points and wins the game with his unfailing free throw shooting. He is routinely over 80% at the line, but on Saturday, in the last 2 minutes of the game, he was 7 for 7.
Will Roberts have the same long term impact at Negel Knight? Maybe not. Will Roberts continue his basketball stardom into the NBA? Most likely not. In Dayton our stars come and go, and we only get them for a short for years. Our only chance is to watch them play in college, and that is why UD basketball is so special. That is why our fan base is so strong. The fan base roots for the team, not the players. It seems Roberts is rooting the same way.
GO FLYERS!!
Within the past week the Flyers have added another page to the history of Dayton basketball: Brian Roberts scored his 1,000th point. Only 36 other players for UD have achieved such a status. This accomplishment speaks for itself. I am normally not one to glorify athletes, but from personal experience Brian Roberts is not your normal NCAA student athlete. He is actually smart, lacks the ego that has become so tiresome in college sports, and he unselfishly produces on the court. In short; a leader.
In the most recent game on Saturday against La Salle how does Brian Roberts respond to breaking the 1,000 point barrier? He scores 34 points and wins the game with his unfailing free throw shooting. He is routinely over 80% at the line, but on Saturday, in the last 2 minutes of the game, he was 7 for 7.
Will Roberts have the same long term impact at Negel Knight? Maybe not. Will Roberts continue his basketball stardom into the NBA? Most likely not. In Dayton our stars come and go, and we only get them for a short for years. Our only chance is to watch them play in college, and that is why UD basketball is so special. That is why our fan base is so strong. The fan base roots for the team, not the players. It seems Roberts is rooting the same way.
GO FLYERS!!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Marketing Disaster
The category of products that I am selling currently has been around for over 25 years. However, the product I sell is brand new and has some truly innovative and groundbreaking features. It is more expensive, and works better than any product out there. It has the chance to truly dominate the marketplace. I was specifically recruited from Xerox to join this new product team and make sure that is takes off like a rocket. Coming from Xerox I realize the value of a high priced product that delivers a premium value. If you have ever sold on price, shame on you. The real money, and skill, is in the premium products that demand a premium price.
For any of you who have been in sales you realize that you control only a precious small portion of the success of any product. It is the job of the salesperson to help the customer recognize that there is a difference between their current state, and their desired state. We have to help them realize that they are dissatisfied with their current state and get them all "hot and frothy", as we said at Xerox, about the new product (desired state). Truth be told, that is only a very small part of a total strategic plan for any product. The first step is to get your potential customers aware that this new product even exists. Enter the Marketing team.
To give some background: Our sales team and Marketing team almost never work together. We had a few ceremonial meetings in the beginning and they actually had a hand in training us. Other than the first two weeks of employment we might have seen our marketing team, which consists of two people total, three times for about an hour each occurrence. Three hours in 7 months! Other than the obvious problems that are caused by the lack of time spent together there has been a relatively cordial relationship between the two teams.
About 4 months ago we received an e-mail from Marketing describing their "Marketing Plan". It consisted of sending out mass mailers to every dealer in the country by franchise. They were breaking those down by specific franchises in the order of best chance of success. The first mailer should have the most success. This is not necessarily a bad plan, but sending a mailer to everyone? What happened to target markets? I could go into a diatribe on target markets having a degree in Marketing, but I will not. So, the mailers went out and the response faxes came back. The sales team was excited about getting responses and we jumped on the chance to call these "hot and frothy" customers. Here were the response rates:
Lets break this down.
Here are rough estimates of the cost of the campaign only for material:
Without giving exact numbers our Return on Investment was less than 2% only on material costs. This does not include paying salaries, heat, light, time, etc... In terms of an investment. we would have been better off buying a 6 month Savings Bond.
But, have no fear. We have just been told that the next mailer is right around the corner. If we keep this up, we might just get that 1 sale out of 2281 that is just sitting there ripe for the picking.
For any of you who have been in sales you realize that you control only a precious small portion of the success of any product. It is the job of the salesperson to help the customer recognize that there is a difference between their current state, and their desired state. We have to help them realize that they are dissatisfied with their current state and get them all "hot and frothy", as we said at Xerox, about the new product (desired state). Truth be told, that is only a very small part of a total strategic plan for any product. The first step is to get your potential customers aware that this new product even exists. Enter the Marketing team.
To give some background: Our sales team and Marketing team almost never work together. We had a few ceremonial meetings in the beginning and they actually had a hand in training us. Other than the first two weeks of employment we might have seen our marketing team, which consists of two people total, three times for about an hour each occurrence. Three hours in 7 months! Other than the obvious problems that are caused by the lack of time spent together there has been a relatively cordial relationship between the two teams.
About 4 months ago we received an e-mail from Marketing describing their "Marketing Plan". It consisted of sending out mass mailers to every dealer in the country by franchise. They were breaking those down by specific franchises in the order of best chance of success. The first mailer should have the most success. This is not necessarily a bad plan, but sending a mailer to everyone? What happened to target markets? I could go into a diatribe on target markets having a degree in Marketing, but I will not. So, the mailers went out and the response faxes came back. The sales team was excited about getting responses and we jumped on the chance to call these "hot and frothy" customers. Here were the response rates:
- 2281 letters mailed
- 51 Leads (2.5% response rate)
- 1 unit sold @ $XX,xxx.xx NET OT and $Xxx.xx NET Monthly
- 25 open prospects
Lets break this down.
- 2.5% response rate
- Sounds good right? 2.5% might be good for a random sample mailing however this was mailed to only our current customers. The average for a mailer of this type can be between 8% and 25% as defined by marketing standards. The 2.5% category is for things like your Sunday coupon circular.
- 1 Unit sold
- Out of 2281 potential customers that is a close rate of .04384%. Not even half of a percent. You might have a better chance selling vacuums door to door.
- 25 open prospects
- No one on the sales team even knows what this means. We have many more than 25 prospects but most of those came from our own out-bound activity. Not from the list.
Here are rough estimates of the cost of the campaign only for material:
- Postage: $.21 for bulk X 2281 = $479.01
- Printing costs (I did come from Xerox after all): $.03 x $68.43
- Envelopes: $.02 x 2281 = $45.62
Without giving exact numbers our Return on Investment was less than 2% only on material costs. This does not include paying salaries, heat, light, time, etc... In terms of an investment. we would have been better off buying a 6 month Savings Bond.
But, have no fear. We have just been told that the next mailer is right around the corner. If we keep this up, we might just get that 1 sale out of 2281 that is just sitting there ripe for the picking.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Adobe Gilas in Dayton
I am not sure if any of you Daytonians have been aching for a Yuppie bar like I have, but I believe we now have our first. Adobe Gilas
recently has opened at The Greene. I was out with some people from Reynolds & Reynolds at the Funny Bone Comedy Club, also at the Greene, to meet some of the other sales reps that work on the east coast. We left the comedy club and heard this music coming from a non-descript second story bar. There were a few people standing outside and we decided to ask what was going on.As it turns out it was the opening night for Adobe Gilas. You needed a special pass to get in, but because it was so late they let our group of 10+ in without any fuss. Also, they did not have their liquor license yet so all of the alcohol was FREE. What a screwed up law: If you have a liquor license you have to charge for alcohol, but if you dont have one currently you can only give it out for free.
Believe me when I tell you that we all took advantage of this new found alcohol induced freedom. It was a fabulous time. The music was a little too loud, the waitresses were georgous, the yuppies were out in full effect. I've found my bar. I have since been there probably half a dozen times with friends and co-workers. Adobe Gilas is exactly what Dayton needed.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Montgomery Inn BBQ
This weekend I drove down to Mederia, a suburb on the north east side of Cincinnati, to visit my best friend, Michael, and his fiancee, Angela and our mutual friend Laura. Despite the rainy 40 degree weather we managed to keep busy indoors. Specifically I went down there to help them move into their new house and do menial tasks such as affixing felt to the bottom of all of their furniture and lifting the heavy objects as directed.
We probably spent three hours doing the heavy lifting before we realized that everyone was getting a little hungry. Before I came down I did mention going to dinner, and Angela made reservations at a Cincinnati favorite called The Montgomery Inn. They have three locations including a very nice boathouse on the Ohio River. The Origional restaurant was closest to Mike's new house and it is my personal favorite. To give you an idea the wait on a typical weekend we called around 5:30 and made reservations for 7:30. By the time we got there the wait was over 3 hours. We arrived at 7:25 and still had to wait half an hour to sit down. Mike described the place fairly accurately when he said "This place prints money." Everyone who was waiting to sit was drinking and enjoying their saratoga chips that you dip into the same BBQ sauce that your ribs are smothered in.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Montgomery Inn it is actually quite famous. Celebrities from all over the world have eaten there and many actually endorse the ribs. Bob Hope used to order them on all of his USO tours, for example. The Montgomery Inn has been rated in any number of BBQ magazines as the #1 restaurant in the country. It certainly lived up to its billing. I could not eat all of the "King slab" and fortunately got a to-go box and ate them for lunch the next afternoon.
The after dinner portion of the night was spent in Mike's basement playing pool and drinking Christmas Ale. Definitely my favorite holiday brew. The perfect topper to the night.
We probably spent three hours doing the heavy lifting before we realized that everyone was getting a little hungry. Before I came down I did mention going to dinner, and Angela made reservations at a Cincinnati favorite called The Montgomery Inn. They have three locations including a very nice boathouse on the Ohio River. The Origional restaurant was closest to Mike's new house and it is my personal favorite. To give you an idea the wait on a typical weekend we called around 5:30 and made reservations for 7:30. By the time we got there the wait was over 3 hours. We arrived at 7:25 and still had to wait half an hour to sit down. Mike described the place fairly accurately when he said "This place prints money." Everyone who was waiting to sit was drinking and enjoying their saratoga chips that you dip into the same BBQ sauce that your ribs are smothered in.For those of you who are not familiar with the Montgomery Inn it is actually quite famous. Celebrities from all over the world have eaten there and many actually endorse the ribs. Bob Hope used to order them on all of his USO tours, for example. The Montgomery Inn has been rated in any number of BBQ magazines as the #1 restaurant in the country. It certainly lived up to its billing. I could not eat all of the "King slab" and fortunately got a to-go box and ate them for lunch the next afternoon.
The after dinner portion of the night was spent in Mike's basement playing pool and drinking Christmas Ale. Definitely my favorite holiday brew. The perfect topper to the night.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Xerox Sales Training: Find your Monopoly!
A little about Xerox sales training:
Xerox has what is called "client centered selling". It is their self-developed sales training (more on exactly what that is below). When you start at Xerox you go through a 3 month training phase where every day you have to read and know these 3-ring binders of information. They soon become the bane of your existence. I stacked them up at one point and they were taller than I was (I'm 6'2"). You are on conference calls usually 3 times a week and a trainer is on the phone with your training team. The training team was made up of about 20 people from across the country.
After this training over the phone you take tests almost daily. These tests ask everything from "what type of a stapler does a Docucolor 240 have?" to "What is the difference between a Token ring network and a Microsoft Exchange server?" It is intense. They product train the crap out of you and your test results are stack ranked against your class. It is made completely public and is a great source of stress. Your managers see it, the other senior reps in the office see it, and t cooasionally a VP gets on the conference call and asks questions like "Who is the #1 trainee? They also ask "Who are the bottom two people, I want them to stay on after to call so we can talk." They are not messing around and will expose you. It can be a very embarrassing time if you are not at the top of the class.
So, after the product training is over the sales training begins. Out fo the 20 that started only 18 of us made it to Dallas. Those bottom two were unfortunately not asked to continue. They flew the 18 that were left to Dallas, TX where I got off of my plane to a chauffeured black Lincoln limo was waiting next to a driver holding a large sign with my name on it. I literally uttered "Holy shit, I have arrived!" This was my type of business trip! I have traveled extensively across the US and internationally (see future blogs) with my family so I knew what to expect and I know exactly what travel is like. Believe me when I tell you Xerox takes care of their trainees. In the limo was a number of different beverages that I managed to enjoy in the 25 minute drive from Dallas Ft. Worth airport to Lewisville. It was awesome and made me love the company. But I digress...
Client Centered Selling
The next day sales training began. I wont go too much into detail but basically Xerox trains you to sell anything, not only copiers. They give you the tools, that they are continuously reinventing, to position your product better than anyone else. I left a week of sales training and I came in a piece of coal, and exited a diamond. It was intense, it was stressful, it was amazing. Of the 18 that entered only 16 were left. On the second to last day at lunch our trainer came to our table and said "Would Jeff and Angela please join me?" They never came back. In Client Centeres Selling we were tested twice daily. They are long and not easy. They had gotten below a 90% on two tests in a row. They were excused from sales training.
To give you an example of what the sales training is like compared to what you are used to: The OLD way of selling is using what I like to call the "word tricks". We've all heard them, they are as overused like pick-up lines at a bar and include: Shall we use my pen or yours? Or If I could _____ would you _____? Or Wouldn't it be worth the additional cost to allow you to do ______ faster/better/more accurately?
Xerox sales training basically can be summed in in a few words: Find your monopoly. This is my summarization, not theirs, but I think it speaks volumes. Every premium priced product has more options then a standard priced product. Think Lexus vs. Toyota or Sony vs. Sanyo. If you are sold those products in a way that makes you believe that you cannot live without one of the premium options, and that is emphasised in presentations again and again you start to really believe it. Soon, that option is more important to you than price. If this is all done correctly it actually becomes your(the customers') idea that that option is 100% necessary. It is developing this Monopoly in your customers mind that is so powerful in sales. Without it you are only competing on price. Every product has a Monopoly, even commodities. If you cannot find it, you are simply not a good sales person. So I ask you: What is your product/companies monopoly?
Xerox has what is called "client centered selling". It is their self-developed sales training (more on exactly what that is below). When you start at Xerox you go through a 3 month training phase where every day you have to read and know these 3-ring binders of information. They soon become the bane of your existence. I stacked them up at one point and they were taller than I was (I'm 6'2"). You are on conference calls usually 3 times a week and a trainer is on the phone with your training team. The training team was made up of about 20 people from across the country.
After this training over the phone you take tests almost daily. These tests ask everything from "what type of a stapler does a Docucolor 240 have?" to "What is the difference between a Token ring network and a Microsoft Exchange server?" It is intense. They product train the crap out of you and your test results are stack ranked against your class. It is made completely public and is a great source of stress. Your managers see it, the other senior reps in the office see it, and t cooasionally a VP gets on the conference call and asks questions like "Who is the #1 trainee? They also ask "Who are the bottom two people, I want them to stay on after to call so we can talk." They are not messing around and will expose you. It can be a very embarrassing time if you are not at the top of the class.
So, after the product training is over the sales training begins. Out fo the 20 that started only 18 of us made it to Dallas. Those bottom two were unfortunately not asked to continue. They flew the 18 that were left to Dallas, TX where I got off of my plane to a chauffeured black Lincoln limo was waiting next to a driver holding a large sign with my name on it. I literally uttered "Holy shit, I have arrived!" This was my type of business trip! I have traveled extensively across the US and internationally (see future blogs) with my family so I knew what to expect and I know exactly what travel is like. Believe me when I tell you Xerox takes care of their trainees. In the limo was a number of different beverages that I managed to enjoy in the 25 minute drive from Dallas Ft. Worth airport to Lewisville. It was awesome and made me love the company. But I digress...
Client Centered Selling
The next day sales training began. I wont go too much into detail but basically Xerox trains you to sell anything, not only copiers. They give you the tools, that they are continuously reinventing, to position your product better than anyone else. I left a week of sales training and I came in a piece of coal, and exited a diamond. It was intense, it was stressful, it was amazing. Of the 18 that entered only 16 were left. On the second to last day at lunch our trainer came to our table and said "Would Jeff and Angela please join me?" They never came back. In Client Centeres Selling we were tested twice daily. They are long and not easy. They had gotten below a 90% on two tests in a row. They were excused from sales training.
To give you an example of what the sales training is like compared to what you are used to: The OLD way of selling is using what I like to call the "word tricks". We've all heard them, they are as overused like pick-up lines at a bar and include: Shall we use my pen or yours? Or If I could _____ would you _____? Or Wouldn't it be worth the additional cost to allow you to do ______ faster/better/more accurately?
Xerox sales training basically can be summed in in a few words: Find your monopoly. This is my summarization, not theirs, but I think it speaks volumes. Every premium priced product has more options then a standard priced product. Think Lexus vs. Toyota or Sony vs. Sanyo. If you are sold those products in a way that makes you believe that you cannot live without one of the premium options, and that is emphasised in presentations again and again you start to really believe it. Soon, that option is more important to you than price. If this is all done correctly it actually becomes your(the customers') idea that that option is 100% necessary. It is developing this Monopoly in your customers mind that is so powerful in sales. Without it you are only competing on price. Every product has a Monopoly, even commodities. If you cannot find it, you are simply not a good sales person. So I ask you: What is your product/companies monopoly?
Friday, January 5, 2007
Xerox - Finding A First Job
So you have graduated...now what.
I graduated from the University of Dayton in may of 2005 and had been applying for all sorts of sales jobs. I had applied to every type of company from American Income Life Insurance to a start up company that sold mobile bar-coding layouts for huge factories. I must have had applied for 30 jobs and had been through at least as many interviews. My search ended with my realization that I was going to be selling copiers for the first part of my life.
I had been contacting a number of businesses in the Dayton, OH area and had narrowed my search to a few well known companies: NCR, IBM, Xerox, Procter and Gamble, MeadWestvaco etc... I had high aspirations and was willing to do just about anything to not end up like some of my friends working for Localsmallcompany Inc. I wanted to be branded and have a pedigree so that when I left my first job, my second employer would say, "I want you to meet Kevin, our newest employee. He worked at ________ ."
When I was an intern at Reynolds and Reynolds in college I noticed that people always said that, "Kathy is our number one sales rep this year. She came from IBM." They mentioned that as if it was no surprise that she was successful here. I wanted that. Kathy was riding the coat tails of a company that she no longer worked for. She always humbly pushed off the compliment, which only made people talk about it more.
Well, IBM never returned my call even though I had the help of my sales professor, who worked for IBM for 15 years, passing out my resume to his old IBM-ers. In fact, of all of those companies mentioned only about half had contacted me at all. Xerox, however did. I must have sent Leah, Xerox's Dayton sales manager, three resumes and half a dozen e-mails from January to May and finally she returned my repeated request for a job. Lucky for both of us she was jsut in time. Another local copier company that sold Konica Minolta had been calling me and I was in the interview process with them as well. In fact they had an offer on the table before I had even heard from Leah. This was a huge advantage: I had ammo. Unlike most college graduates I already had leverage, and with a competitor!
I met Leah and toward the end of the interview when she asked me who else I had been talking to I made sure to mention Konica Minolta. She asked a few other questions about them and the rest is history. I started with Xerox and began a journey that I could only have imagined.
I thought I knew a lot about sales.
I was about to find out that I did not.
I graduated from the University of Dayton in may of 2005 and had been applying for all sorts of sales jobs. I had applied to every type of company from American Income Life Insurance to a start up company that sold mobile bar-coding layouts for huge factories. I must have had applied for 30 jobs and had been through at least as many interviews. My search ended with my realization that I was going to be selling copiers for the first part of my life.
I had been contacting a number of businesses in the Dayton, OH area and had narrowed my search to a few well known companies: NCR, IBM, Xerox, Procter and Gamble, MeadWestvaco etc... I had high aspirations and was willing to do just about anything to not end up like some of my friends working for Localsmallcompany Inc. I wanted to be branded and have a pedigree so that when I left my first job, my second employer would say, "I want you to meet Kevin, our newest employee. He worked at ________ ."
When I was an intern at Reynolds and Reynolds in college I noticed that people always said that, "Kathy is our number one sales rep this year. She came from IBM." They mentioned that as if it was no surprise that she was successful here. I wanted that. Kathy was riding the coat tails of a company that she no longer worked for. She always humbly pushed off the compliment, which only made people talk about it more.
Well, IBM never returned my call even though I had the help of my sales professor, who worked for IBM for 15 years, passing out my resume to his old IBM-ers. In fact, of all of those companies mentioned only about half had contacted me at all. Xerox, however did. I must have sent Leah, Xerox's Dayton sales manager, three resumes and half a dozen e-mails from January to May and finally she returned my repeated request for a job. Lucky for both of us she was jsut in time. Another local copier company that sold Konica Minolta had been calling me and I was in the interview process with them as well. In fact they had an offer on the table before I had even heard from Leah. This was a huge advantage: I had ammo. Unlike most college graduates I already had leverage, and with a competitor!
I met Leah and toward the end of the interview when she asked me who else I had been talking to I made sure to mention Konica Minolta. She asked a few other questions about them and the rest is history. I started with Xerox and began a journey that I could only have imagined.
I thought I knew a lot about sales.
I was about to find out that I did not.
A little about myself
Greetings!
Welcome to my first attempt at creating a business focused Sales Blog. As I have traversed through my early career in sales I feel I have experiences that I want to share. I have been through Xerox's legendary sales training and recently through a much smaller sales program with my current employer, Reynolds and Reynolds.
As a 24 year old sales professional who is also a full time MBA student I have a unique perspective on the business world. I am torn between the practical business methods from the usual 8-5 grind and the theoretical and ideal academic world. The MBA program is quite the frustrating experience (more on that later) as I am learning new perspectives on business that no one else I work with can really seem to understand. I have all of the intuition and ideas of management, yet due to age and lack of experience I am stuck in the "produce first, promote second" mindset.
I hope that all of you 20 somethings can relate.
Great selling!
Welcome to my first attempt at creating a business focused Sales Blog. As I have traversed through my early career in sales I feel I have experiences that I want to share. I have been through Xerox's legendary sales training and recently through a much smaller sales program with my current employer, Reynolds and Reynolds.
As a 24 year old sales professional who is also a full time MBA student I have a unique perspective on the business world. I am torn between the practical business methods from the usual 8-5 grind and the theoretical and ideal academic world. The MBA program is quite the frustrating experience (more on that later) as I am learning new perspectives on business that no one else I work with can really seem to understand. I have all of the intuition and ideas of management, yet due to age and lack of experience I am stuck in the "produce first, promote second" mindset.
I hope that all of you 20 somethings can relate.
Great selling!
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