presidents. I listened to his advice, flew to Kentucky and
rented a car. I drove across the state for a week. During
my time in Kentucky, I built some relationships. Then,
I spent a week in Georgia and built some more relationships
and began to generate some business with some of
these banks. Even though I was not very accomplished
at this, I prioritized activities that led to success. And,
most importantly, I was not afraid.
The next stage
After getting discouraged by the politics of the bank
and not wanting to sign a non-compete agreement, I
resigned to build a business on my own. I took these
cold-calling skills into another industry and created a
profitable insulation contracting business in Atlanta.
Again in this role, I cold-called builders and established
relationships, as I had done with the bank presidents.
Sometimes, I would use the phone and sometimes
I would walk house-to-house in a new subdivision.
After I sold the insulation business, I purchased
Hamrick Heating & Air in Bessemer, AL. I knew nothing
about heating and air conditioning, it was a new
industry to me. I was 29-years-old. At this time no one
had ever given me a lead; I had always created my own.
My intention was to grow Hamrick Heating & Air
into a large, new construction business, which is what I
had achieved with Daviston Insulation of Atlanta Inc. I
knew how to form relationships with builders.
However, my mindset completely altered one day
when Mr. Hamrick, the man who sold me the business,
said: Tomorrow we have a change-out to do. To which I
replied: What is a change-out?
The next day, when we installed the change-out, the
customer paid us upon completion and the payment was
substantial. Immediately, I said to myself: How do I find
more of these types of jobs?
I found them. How? By knocking on doors and making
cold calls; it was the same method I adopted to
save money for the beautiful red, white and blue Free
Spirit bike, and when I built the insulation business in
Atlanta. The same strategy worked across industries
and scales.
Why do I tell you this story?
I’m telling you so that you can think differently. So
many of you feel the pressure to spoon-feed salespeople
who are afraid to pick up the phone or knock on a door.
Remember, none of us deserve, and none of us owe. You
do not owe salespeople leads, and they don’t deserve
them. Help them, yes, but expect that they will help
themselves.
With the right skills executed consistently, a salesperson
can create their own leads when he has none. You,
as an owner or manager, should expect this behavior
and even help pull the wagon from time to time. After
I duplicated myself four times, I went door-to-door less.
However, there were times where I did go out and help
my sales team knock in order to support and encourage
them because it is hard work, and at times, can be
discouraging.
What’s the bottom line?
You give back profits in slow months, but you don’t have
to. Expect that your salespeople will be proactive. If you
don’t know how, shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to
talk about it. Remember, don’t accept excuses for not
being proactive, because they don’t exist. ICM
ICM/July/August 2019 15