2021 and Beyond…

The pandemic is slowly fading behind us, the vaccines look extremely positive, financial indicators are pointing up, business is on the move, and many of the economic prognosticators have stated that we are in for a banner year of recovery. Do you believe that? I do. Even when sales were slowing, people were not buying (as much) I still believed that we would have a banner year – you’ve gotta believe! I mean that, you have got to believe it, or it will not happen.

Forgive me, as I am the eternal optimist, without optimism we will be forever on our heels.

Keep the Pipeline Full.

I will never forget years ago, a dear friend of mine Ric MacPherson, asked me how business was going; it was about November and I told him things were going well but I was “…coming into my slow season…December, January, & February…” he laughed, and laughed hard. He said words to me that have stayed with me now for over twenty-five years, “Cliff, it will be slow because you believe it will be”. He is right, I did, and it certainly was. As we sat there having lunch, he told me that I needed to have a passion for making it happen, I had to construct a plan, stick to that plan, and be sure to fill the pipeline CONTINUOUSLY to ensure future sales and profits.

In my coaching sessions with clients and my speaking on this subject, I liken it to fishing, to catch fish, you MUST have lines in the water, more lines, more opportunities – that simple!

Cut Out the Dead Wood

I pondered those thoughts and made a very rash decision; I realized after looking at my client database there were three different types of clients, easy, normal, and difficult clients. I did some deep analytical research and found that there were about 5% of the clients on that list that were not worth doing business with for whatever reason: lousy pay, rude, indifferent, belligerent to me and my staff, or always complaining about something. I made a conscience decision to cut that 5%. I decided I wanted to work with people who appreciated my creativity, my work ethic, and my ability to deliver.

Once I made that decision, things changed. My time was freed up to work better, more efficiently with the “quality” clients I identified, and more importantly, it made way for more doors to open, to gain new clients, and focus on valuable personal marketing for my company.

Don’t Think You Have Enough?

During my tenure working in this industry, in various roles, with various companies, I had the pleasure of working with some amazing distributors. At times, business was brisk, so brisk that many of those folks could not write the orders fast enough, dot-coms were booming, and business just could not have been better; then 911. Business seemed to cease, dry up – much like what we experienced with the COVID pandemic. Who could have ever imagined these calamities would ever happen?

I remember sitting at dinner talking with one of the top franchise owners asking him how business was, he was genuinely concerned that business was down, way down – he could not imagine that business could be off at the level it had gotten to. I asked him what type of marketing he had been doing, how often he was doing it etc. – None was his response – “I’ve been too busy to do any marketing…but now I see I should have”. 

Never become comfortable, never think all is good, business is great - it could change overnight. I had a client when I was selling who was doing over $150,000 a year with me; overnight they were purchased by a large concern and ALL their promotional products buying was moved to Tampa and my sales effectively dropped by $150,000 - overnight. That was a huge loss. If it wasn't for the fact that I had been marketing myself religiously, I may have had a deplorable year – as it were, I survived.

Think Profits Forget the Sales.

Many distributors think their companies are run by sales, while that is true to some extent, PROFITS are what drive businesses. Many of you, over the years, have heard this next story, and it bears repeating. A while back I had the pleasure of listening to an accountant give a sales presentation (an accountant of all people), this gentleman’s message was so powerful that it resonates with me still today – this was the over-arching message.

“SALES FEED EGOS…PROFITS FEED FAMILES” -

I have made this my mantra, perhaps you should consider making it yours. There are many people that run around spewing the importance of being a million-dollar producer. I would agree, a million-dollar sales year is an impressive milestone, but only if it is a profitable million dollars. What is the difference of selling $500K at 50% GP vs. selling $1MM at 25% GP? Same outcome, right? Always strive to add significant value to maximize your profitability.

Be Persistent

Like 911 and this pandemic, it is has made it difficult to get up and to be motivated some days, but many of you have done just that, your true character was revealed when you are relentless and persistent regardless of what confronts you. You learned quickly, you adapted, you overcame, you improvised, you pivoted – NEVER forget the lessons learned on this journey.

When you get knocked down, GET UP. When one door slams, knock on two more. Have passion for what you do, it is infectious. Work “smart”, spend time with your family and friends and give all of yourself every single day – and above all – BELIEVE.

As always - Continued Good Selling - Cliff