The Salesby5 Blog

How frequently do you find people talking about what they want, how important they are and what they’re looking to accomplish next? Most people are friendly enough to allow that chatter for a bit, but it gets boring quickly. Instead of framing your life around what you’re looking to accomplish, look to build a rabid fan base. A group of people that are fired up to help you in your endeavors. Do so by pointing the arrow away from you and focusing your energy in easing the struggles of others.

Understand that you can’t help everyone. Instead, look at those activities where you have been given special gifts, then apply those gifts in supporting others. Are you amazing at building websites or encouraging others to take action? Don’t hoard those gifts! Interestingly, everyone wins when you help. They win because you helped them in an area where they weren’t able to help themselves. You helped yourself by practicing your strengths. Speaking to people about what matters to them, on their level and helping them along the way allows you to build an army of fans. Do this your entire lifetime. Do this for those that you can’t imagine being able to help you in return! You’re building a better world around you that will ripple. Sooner or later you start seeing the effects.

“It’s not who knows you that counts, it’s who knows you and what they think of you.” – Ken Blanchard

photo by: aaronisnotcool

In the movie City Slickers, a group of friends take a “vacation” at a dude ranch. Curley, played by Jack Palance, is a rough, wise old cowboy who shares the following with Mitch, played by Billy Crystal:

Curley: Do you know what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No, what?
Curley: This. (Holds up his index finger.)
Mitch: Your finger?
Curley: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean [anything].
Mitch: That’s great, but what’s the one thing?
Curley: That’s what you’ve got to figure out!

Lee J. Colan gives some insight to this classic scene, “Leaders have to figure out the One Thing that defines a meaningful purpose for their teams. The One Thing should answer the question Why are we here? You may think that finding that focus isn’t critical; but in fact, it’s essential to your success. The most important thing in business (and life) is deciding what is most important.”

Get your team together and figure out what your One Thing is. Then, that should guide all of your decisions and your actions. Focus your energy on your One Thing. It won’t happen overnight, but like using your Strengths, a steady effort towards this will pay off in the end!

We all know that there are inherent desires and passions within us that gravitate towards different subjects. You’ve known this since you were a kid. What are some of those passions that you have where you have endless levels of energy to read, research and grow? According to Marcus Buckingham, Strengths have SIGNs:

Success – You have been successful in developing this area of your life.
Instinct – There’s a natural desire in your life to do that activity.
Growth – When you do the activity, you get better than the last time.
Needs – You have a desire to do the activity again.

For business leaders, are you letting your teams explore their Strengths? For all team members, are you doing what you can to embrace your Strengths and spend more time each day using them? It may seem far fetched, but the beauty is that everyone has different Strengths that often complement one another. You will be amazed at how much happier you (and your team) will be at the end of the day once you’re actually doing what you love.

*The photo above is of our friend, Stephen Lynch, during the New Zealand Strongest Man Contest – Lifting 410 kgs aka 904 lbs!

How many companies really use technology to save money or make money or build teams? Salesby5 has a very high standard for hiring, mostly based on individual strengths and capabilities. We look for people who believe in our core values and can represent our brand extremely well. After interviewing here, I (Sarah) felt honored to be chosen. I believe that every member of our team feels proud to be a part of such a special group.

About two months ago, some things in my life changed, and I decided to move away from San Antonio. Rather than fearing for my job, I went straight to Erik and told him about my situation. We chose to put our state of the art technology to the test! With the use of our BlackBerry devices, Dell laptops equipped with shared calendars and contacts by Microsoft Outlook, google talk, a Sprint Air Card during the move, and Foonz conference call service, I have managed to stay an important part of the team. What we do and how well we do it have not changed. Among other responsibilities, Erik and Nan rely on me for all of their scheduling from nearly 1,000 miles away. Great technology is one thing that our team could not afford to sacrifice. This is the future of the work environment. Are you investing in great technology? And if so, are you using it to better your team?

In 2002, when I started SalesBy5, I started with 4 companies as customers and they were all what I call ADD, at least partially. In almost 7 years, I have found that this type of customer is the one that SalesBy5 excels at helping. The highly detailed micro-manager type is not our best customer, as we do well with guiding, creating structure and holding the hands of the ADD entrepreneur or manager.

When you transplant a tree, or something with deep roots, you run the risk of it dying or taking a long time for a full recovery. In a business, it is much the same. Sticking to your strengths, and what you are really here to do, is key. Today, the economy is different that it was 6 months ago.  What can you do to use your core strengths rather than changing your game?

photo by Aaron Escobar

Today at 5pm, there will be a rehearsal dinner for the wedding of our CIO (Chief inspiration officer) and Co-Author of the SalesBy5 blog, Nan Palmero. He earned his title long ago, long before I met him. His friends will also attest to his incredible ability to help, lead, and inspire. When I met him, he was looking for a new career with 2 requirements; he did not want to be in sales and he did not want to be in accounting. Today, he writes for Blackberrycool.com, Salesby5, his own blog, and is a contributory writer for some of north Americas top growth gurus. Nan sells everyday! He sells our customers on the best technology to help communicate better with customers and employees and he sells our team on working smarter and not harder. There are actually too many things that he sells to mention in this blog. This man is special to us and many others. My point: Sometimes you may think you do not want to do something that is actually a real strength of yours. Pay close attention to what activity you feel strongest doing, and to those that make you feel drained. Nan uses his strengths to help our team and our customers win better and faster than their competition!

Nan, Thank you for being in our lives and congratulations on your new life with Ashley!

Trey completed his week-long internship at SalesBy5 this past Friday.  Here is the story in his words.

Two weeks ago, my parents would ask me about my plans for the future, concerning college and possible professions, and I would not be able to generate any sort of legitimate response. I was not aware of or concerned with anything besides my present situation. College seemed to me to be a cliché and a pain, which I was considering avoiding… until I had the opportunity to have an inspiring conversation with my uncle, Erik. I’ve always had a relationship with him, due to our family interactions, but never really sat down to talk with him. Within minutes of discussing my life with Erik, he recognized the struggle I was having with taking my life seriously. He then presented me with the opportunity of a lifetime; to come and intern at SalesBy5 for a week. At first, I was concerned I would be wasting a week of my summer to go work for free but after a little debate, I decided I needed the practice.

Immediately after walking into the SalesBy5 office, I was greeted from all directions by Erik and his amazing co-workers, Nan and Kya. Their personalities alone delivered a comfort level cool enough to relax someone going through hell. I was put to work instantly, doing productive things for the company that was surprisingly not mindless busy work (for instance, I was revising and editing client proposals). For the first time in my life, I felt genuinely accepted into an adult environment and I loved every minute of it. Not to mention that Nan hooked me up with an awesome BlackBerry, which I did not want to return when the time came. The SalesBy5 team welcomed me with open arms when I was in a frightening new environment. They introduced me to the concept of following your strengths and how to apply that to my life. Nan, who basically is the coolest computer whiz I have ever met, and his advice—not only on sales and marketing, but also life itself—were an essential part of my learning experience. And Kya was a huge part of the reason I was able to wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work; something the majority of adults would kill to feel. I never saw Kya without a bright smile on her face and something intelligent to say. Sarah rocks too and was very helpful. I didn’t get a ton of time with Sarah, or Q, as they refer to her, but she was equally as appealing as the rest of the crew and a great person to talk to. The SalesBy5 team has the ultimate mix of abilities and personalities that all truly successful businesses should be modeling after.

Come back tomorrow for the rest of his adventures and his wrap up of the week.

Trey and his cousin, Dylan

How many of you grew up hearing that statement or something like it?  My dad, trying his best to help, actually got me to do a year of law school.  It was the most miserable year of my life.  Now you have the opportunity to help people younger than you – your kids, nieces and nephews, neighbor’s children - in helping them find their passion.  This week, Erik’s nephew Trey is joining us.  Yesterday, he had the opportunity to sit in on an exciting new potential client meeting and actually make suggestions.  He’s 17!  It’s likely he’ll never forget this week and surely, it will change the course of his life.  He’s getting a crash course in Strengths, what they mean, and why they’re important to his success and happiness.  Certainly, this is time much better spent than cleaning a grease trap at his local fast food joint.  This experience not only feeds Trey mentally, but it also pays us back. His wide eyed curiosity and excitement gives us a quick reminder about how special our lives are in having found such a wonderful place to call our company.  School is starting again soon, which kid can you grab for a day or two and teach? These experiences don’t exist in books; the responsibility resides squarely on your shoulders to introduce the next entrepreneur to the world.  Will you accept the challenge?

photo by euthman

Playing to your strengths, starting daily huddles, and developing one page plans are all habits.  As you probably know, habits take more than a day to form.  Some research says that it can take between 21 to 30 days to form a habit.  Have you been quietly abused for integrating strengths or gotten the evil eye for bringing “one more meeting” to a busy day?  Take heart!  You’re likely within the time frame of a developing habit.  Here’s a tip for you on huddles – make your biggest complainer lead the huddles and require him/her to make them amazing, without deviating from the framework.  Come back to the comments (after 30 days) and let us know how it worked out.

photo by katerw