Tag / working

by Nathan Coumbe

You are a salesperson…don’t screw it up!

“But Nathan! I’m not in sales!” I’m sorry, but you’re wrong.

What’s your role at work? Office manager? Administrative assistant? Florist? Customer service rep? Your title doesn’t matter–you’re in sales.

We all work on commission. Perhaps that commission is a “guaranteed” bi-weekly paycheck for a certain amount each time, or maybe you are paid on the number of hours you work each week. It doesn’t matter–you work on commission.

How is that possible? If you don’t show up to work, you don’t get paid. If you screw something up badly enough, you get fired. Your income is only guaranteed if you work, just like a salesperson’s income is only guaranteed if she sells.

Even if you physically don’t work in a role where you are allowed to sell a product or service to a customer, you are still involved the sales process, because you represent your company.

If you offend a customer or badly represent your brand in some way, it’s quite possible you will lose a sale for the person who actually works in sales.

Since sales is the only part of a company that actually produces revenue, any lost sale results in lost income for your employer which might mean you don’t get that raise you were hoping for next year. Or worse yet, you might get fired.

“Not everyone can make a sale, but ANYONE can lose a sale.”

–Zig Ziglar

We all get paid for results, regardless of how well it’s hidden in hourly wages or a regular salary.

Think like a salesperson.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Grow dandelions or develop software?

My mentor Dan Miller said something profound which I would like to share today:

(I’m paraphrasing) It is better to grow dandelions if that is what you are truly passionate about than it is to learn software development.

What does he mean? Instead of looking out there–into the world and the job market to see what jobs are there–look inward and find what you are both truly passionate about and skilled at doing. Then find a way to generate income with that passion and talent.

If you hate working with computers or can’t stand plugging in thousands of lines of code everyday, why would you spend time and money learning those skills? Simply to make a lot of money?

If you spend 1/3 of your day (and remember you also sleep 1/3) doing something you hate, will money really compensate you for your misery?

It is better to do something simple or common at an uncommonly high level of excellence, and find a way to generate income doing it, than it is to try to fit yourself into something you hate simply for money.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Networking is terrible, but there is a better way.

Networking – the idea of surrounding yourself with lots of people who might be able to open doors for you and help you get jobs – is a terrible practice.

It sucks.

The premise is flawed; it goes against every notion and every principle of decency and humanity. To effectively network, it seems one must adopt the mindset of, “What can this person do for me? How can she connect me with the HR department at [insert famous company]? What resources can she offer me so that I can get better (more marketable and attractive to potential employers)?”

Take, take, take, take. It’s a very common practice in Social Networking – some will say, “Use [pick your Social Media poison] to grow as many potentially helpful connections as possible so that maybe one of them can help you get a job at a certain company.”

The selfish focus, the mindset of “me,” is horrid. What is worse: it often backfires and alienates those you are attempting to use for your own selfish gains.

You think these “connections” can’t read right through your message? You’re wrong.

A new way to network

I propose a new way to network – go on your LinkedIn profile and start going down the list of connections. For each one, ask yourself this question: “Can I make a contribution to this person today, and if so, how?”

One important note: this requires a paradigm shift – a genuine change in your way of thinking (here’s a post about paradigms). You cannot adopt this posture while thinking in the back of your mind, “How can I contribute in a way that will get me something later?” You haven’t actually changed anything about the process that way.

If you really want to test this out, find someone in your list of connections who truly cannot “do” anything for you, in the sense of making a connection, giving a recommendation, or helping you get a job. When you find this person, ask yourself what contribution you can make: maybe it’s a simple message of gratitude for something they posted; perhaps it’s asking how their business is performing during the current crisis.

It doesn’t have to be much – it only has to be genuine. Only you will know if your intentions are pure.

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

–John F. Kennedy

JFK said it well, and the same message applies to networking.

Ask not what your connections can do for you; ask what you can do for your connections.

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