GrayMatter

Sales Guru: Gitomer

Jeffrey Gitomer is my sales hero. I've read a number of his books and have been receiving his weekly newsletter, aptly titled Sales Caffeine for a few years. His teachings, philosophy, advice, IDEAS, motivation, and humor are pure gold. Many will agree that his straightforward logic is right on the bulls eye.

Besides learning a lot from his teachings I've learned a lot about myself and how I approach my sales career. In many ways I feel like I am relearning or better yet reprogramming my very basic sales skills. Do yourself a big favor and Buy Gitomer!

A great quote from this weeks newsletter about the economy:

"Business is not down, it's different. The low hanging fruit of two years ago is now much higher in the trees." -Jeffrey Gitomer

I say, "be a better climber and out smart the rest of the monkeys, the jungle is filled with plenty." -GrayMatter

Think BIG Like Donald Trump

Donald Trump is no stranger to PR and his latest book extends his brand even more. I've wanted to read one of his books for a while especially after watching The Apprentice and reading his blog. Titled appropriately, Think Big and Kick Ass (In Business and Life), Donald teamed up with Bill Zanker from The Learning Annex.

The book is a simple read and at times a little too simple but that's the point. Sure Donald had a head start in the business with his father's real estate ventures but it was his determination and drive that made him break into Manhattan and now around the world. He lays out some basic principles to use as a road map and of course thinking big is central to his attitude and focus.

Many themes from the book resonate with me both in my career and in my personal life. The book is broken into chapters authored first by Donald and then by Bill. Some of the best selections talk about the importance of passion, creating your own luck through hard work, maintaining momentum and always keeping your eye on the ball. Both Trump and Zanker tell great stories of success along with lessons learned through failure along the way. Some quotes I liked:

"Plug into your own electricity, it might flow better through another socket" - Trump

"To keep the momentum growing you must continually challenge yourself" - Trump

"Every day has a new possibility. Every day you can improve yourself and grow. Every day you can take yourself to a new level. Grab something with momentum that you can be passionate about. Keep working on it and amazing things will happen." - Zanker

Daily Drucker

Peter Drucker is an author and management GURU I have been interested to learn about. This past weekend I picked up a book at the local library called The Daily Drucker. This compilation of Drucker writings is filled with "365 days of Insight and Motivation, for Getting the Right Things Done".

I opened to a random page today and was struck how timeless his writing and teachings were, and still inspire today.

"THE CHANGE LEADER: The most effective way to manage change successfully is to create it. One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it. In a period of upheavals, such as the one we are living in, change is the norm....In a period of rapid structural change, the only ones who survive are the change leaders. A change leader sees change as an opportunity. A change leader looks for change, knows how to find the right changes, and knows how to make them effective both outside the organization and inside it. To make the future is highly risky. It is less risky, however, than not to try to make it. Anticipate the future and be a change leader." - Peter F. Drucker

How about YOU, are you a change leader or happy with your current situation, present station in life. There are a lot of change leaders out there. Whether you believe in Obama or McCain, change is coming. Henry Paulson championed BIG change last week and the financial world we live in continues to evolve. How are you adapting to change?

I'll be continuing my daily Drucker diet and plan to evolve my thinking. Change is good.

Green Xerox

Happy Earth Day fellow humans! 

Are you feeling kind of "green" these days?  Getting bombarded by all the FSC regulations, 2 sided office print settings, customers demanding 50% recycled paper, global warming PR...and your neighbor giving you the guilt trip to conserve energy?

Hey green is good and it's here to stay. If you didn't know how much Xerox is doing with environmental efforts these days here are a few bullet points to bring you up to speed, a lot more than I even realized.

• Xerox's solid ink technology used in printers and multifunction devices use cartridge-free ink sticks that generate 90 percent less waste than laser devices.
• Intuitive "power down" capabilities in Xerox's solid ink printers learn the printing patterns of an office and automatically shift into a low-power mode when it knows the printer will be in low use, like during the lunch hour.
• Emulsion Aggregation toner is a major breakthrough in laser-based printing - requiring less toner to be placed on a printed page while using 25 percent less energy to print and manufacture than previous types of toner.
• High Yield Business Paper™ uses 90 percent of a tree versus standard white office paper that typically uses 45 percent of a tree.
• Forest Stewardship Council and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certifications branded paper products are manufactured using raw materials harvested from certified sources that can be tracked from harvest through distribution.
• Research and development projects underway inside of Xerox labs include the development of erasable paper that can be reused multiple times.

The moral of this post is Every Day Is Earth Day At Xerox. We're in a business that consumes a ton of paper, generates a lot of waste BUT are a company taking a lead by showing that we can create less waste and develop more innovate ways of manufacturing equipment or supplies.

BTW, if you're wondering about the product I sell (iGen3)....it's a lot more "green" than HP's Indigo. Want to know more? I'll be happy to fill you in, 212-716-4727.

Leader vs. The Boss

Thanks to Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist for reminding me the importance of leadership in this month's FastCompany.  There's a quote in the Obama Brand article where Craig sees Obama "as a leader rather than a boss.  A leader gets people to do things on their own, through inspiration, respect and trust.  A boss (on the other hand) can order you to do things, sure, but you do them because it's part of the contract."

I've worked in sales for 14 years and have had a lot of managers, most of them took the role of Boss.  Not very motivating or fun to work with.  Leaders truly inspire and help you unlock your own inner strengths, skills and value.  My current manager is a natural leader.  I learn from him constantly working to emulate his style and technique.  He treats everyone on his team and the company with total respect, with consistency and a level head.  George is a leader.

I also found this great ode to the subject online, author unknown.

The "Boss"

The Boss drives his men,
The Leader inspires them..

The Boss depends on authority,
The Leader depends on goodwill..

The Boss evokes fear,
The Leader radiates love..

The Boss says "I",
The Leader says "We"..

The Boss shows who is wrong,
The Leader shows what is wrong..

The Boss knows how it is done,
The Leader knows how to do it..

The Boss demands respect,
Leader commands respect