Mission #2-9 Building On Your Initiative

Objectives:

• To understand the stages of buying, especially luxury goods.
• To appreciate that certain types of sales require a certain type of salesperson.
• To remember that when you work for someone else you have no job security.
• To consider the advantages of hiring an administrative assistant.

Story:

When Josh Stewart was twelve years old, his next door neighbor bought a new Cadillac. Josh loved that car. The car seemed to speak to Josh. The car spoke success and prestige. From that day, Josh knew that he wanted to be associated with the Cadillac.

At age 16, Josh made his move. He went to Baker Cadillac Olds and was promptly told that there weren't any jobs. Undaunted, Josh returned every two weeks and asked for a job. In a short period of time, he make progress, he was told "No" on a first name basis. It wasn't, "There is no job." It was, "Sorry, Josh, Mr. Baker still isn't hiring."

Josh had a theory. Josh reckoned correctly that if he really wanted a particular job, he was better off going to one place ten times than to ten places once. At that one place that he visited repeatedly, he would be known and eventually he would be hired. What other job applicant would show the persistence of Josh? He reckoned none.

"Act like everybody else and you'll be treated and end up like everybody else," was one of Josh's mottoes. Josh acted differently.

In all of these stories, you are reading about characters acting in extraordinary manners. Is there any other way to be extraordinary? If you are acting like everyone else, you are probably average.

"No, Sir, I want a job selling Cadillacs."

Since Josh looks barely old enough to drive, this answer gets a laugh from Mr. Baker. "I don't think you're quite ready for that, son."

"Then, what job am I ready for at Baker Cadillac, Sir?"

Shaking his head and smiling, Mr. Baker offers Josh the lowest level minimum wage job in the place. It's prepping cars.

Josh wins.

For the next year and a half, until Josh graduates, he preps Cadillacs. When a customer buys a Cadillac, he expects perfection. Josh makes sure that all the Cadillacs that he works on meet the customer's and his own demanding criteria before the car leaves Baker Cadillac.

Josh really enjoys his job. He can talk Cadillac every afternoon and Saturdays with customers, salespersons, the office staff, mechanics. By the time Josh reaches his senior year, it's safe to say that he's a Cadillac expert. He knows the models, past and present, good and indifferent. He also knows new car values, sales margins, sales bonuses, end-of-year rebates and credit rebates. If it has to do with Cadillac and money, ask Josh. Josh also knows warranties and extended service contracts and loaners and demos and trade-ins.

During his senior year, Josh asks Mr. Baker about the possibility of a sales job upon graduation.

Mr. Baker offers the popular Cadillac kid some advice, "Josh, you're much too young to sell Cadillacs. In five years, you'll still be too young to sell Cadillacs. You're a smart young fellow. Why don't you go to college? If you don't go to college, you will probably still end up a Cadillac salesman. But, you'd be putting a cap on your career possibilities. If you go to college, you might end up owning your own dealership. Why hold yourself back? With the Internet and everything, this business is changing, Josh. Get yourself a good business education. With a college degree, you'll have a good future. Believe me, GM is never going to take you seriously without a college degree. Most general managers and owners of dealerships today have MBAs (Master in Business Administration)."

Josh had thought about college. His mother wanted him to go. Mrs. Janis, his guidance counselor, was encouraging. His father was nowhere to be found.

Josh's thoughts on higher education were basically, "Why should I borrow $80,000, $90,000 or $100,000 to go to college? I know what I want to do. I know that I'm going to make an excellent salesperson. Why should I saddle myself with all this debt?"

A person is very lucky who knows exactly what he wants to do to earn a living. With determined focus, there is a high probability that such a person will succeed.

Mrs. Janis countered Josh's arguments by pointing out that it is not unusual for college graduates to make $20-25,000 a year more than non-college graduates. Over the course of a working career, the difference in earnings could be a million dollars - not a bad payback on a college investment.

Josh countered, "Yes, Sir, that may be the rule and I may be the exception."

Josh was still thinking that all Mrs. Janis's advice was generalities and that they did not necessarily apply to him. After all, the average kid he age was playing video games, hanging out at the mall and, in general, wasting away. Josh was working close to 25 hours a week. He was making money. He was doing what he enjoyed doing. And, there was still time for enjoyment. No, Josh wasn't average.

Lionel Thomas changed Josh's thinking. Lionel was a car buffer and polisher at the dealership. He gave Josh the answer. "Man, what you talkin' about $100,000 to go to college? My niece, Sharlene, goes to City College for about $1,700 a year. She's a smart girl. You don't need to go to one of them fancy shmancy colleges. We got a good college right here for a lot less money. We got doctors, lawyers, judges. They all went to City College. It ain't the school that's going to make you, boy; it's what you make of the school. Check it out for yaself."

Josh talked with Mrs. Janis, and Lionel was 100% on the mark. City College did offer a wide variety of options with flexible scheduling at an affordable price. Josh actually found a five-year business program which awarded a BSBA (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration) and an MBA.

Josh was shocked to find that he would only attend 18 hours of classes a week. If he added in another 10 hours of travel/study and twenty hours of study/research, that was still less than 50 hours a week. There would be plenty of time left to sell Cadillacs.

Mr. Baker's answer to Josh was still, "No." But, Mr. Baker was curious to know where Josh was going to find the time to sell cars and go to college full time.

"Mr. Baker," Josh wanted the boss to understand him better, if that were possible. "Mr. Baker, the average person watches 30 to 40 hours of television a week. Even the average college student watches 20 to 25 hours of TV each week. Let's just say that I intend living my life rather than watching it pass by on the tube. I will have time free from college. I would like to use the TV time and the free time to sell your cars."

Interview college students about their course schedules. Take the hours of classes, be kind and double those hours to include study and what is your total? Is there time left to do something else? Remember, this is not about average college students getting prepared to lead average lives. This is about you deciding on the worth of the higher education and if you commit to higher education, getting your money's worth plus.

Josh joined the Air Force and served three years in the motor pool. He matured and gained experience. And, upon his return,

Mr. Baker was impressed with Josh's service and dedication but not moved. "Josh, I'm beginning to think you're incorrigible. No, I know you're incorrigible. I see a bright future for you, but in the future, son. You are still too young. Nobody is going to buy a Cadillac from someone your age. Now, be serious. You know that."

Josh knew that the job of a salesperson was to listen patiently to the customer's concerns and patiently to turn "Noes" into "Yeses."

Here Mr. Baker was the customer.

"Sir, your objection is that no one would buy a Cadillac from someone my age. But, if I did find that one person in a 100 to buy a car from me, you wouldn't have any objections, would you?"

Josh's question made Mr. Baker further define his concerns and helped Josh to further define his sales strategy.

"Really, Josh, you know the boys and girls on the sales floor. Everybody, especially you, knows how they fight like cats and dogs over "up time" (scheduled floor selling time). Everybody likes you but I can't throw you into that mix."

Josh moved to his close. "Sir, you're a smart businessman and I know that you would have no problem with my bringing new business to the dealership. But, your main concern is with the possible concerns of your sales staff. I can understand this. If I can work in the capacity of an Assistant Sales Associate with Dom, the leasing manager, and with one or two of the salespeople, you'd have no objection if they had no objections, correct?"

This job description was a new one on Mr. Baker, "Josh, what is an Assistant Sales Associate? I presume it doesn't have to do with prepping cars?"

Josh didn't even seem to have a clear answer. "Sir, let's play it by ear. Let me talk with Dom and some of the guys and I'll get back to you. Sir, you can smile now. I'm going to make you a lot of money."

Mr. Baker stood up, shaking his head at the crazy kid standing before him, and patted Josh on the back. "I bet you will, Josh. I bet you will."

One of the "guys" with whom Josh made his deal was Gail Madison. Gail was in her mid-forties and sharp as a tack. She was perfectly dressed and accessorized. She was perfectly groomed. Best of all, Gail could sell Cadillacs.

Truthfully, Josh knew what his problem was. Gail knew what his problem was. People buying a Cadillac wanted the total Cadillac experience. They wanted to be pampered. They wanted to be treated like the successful people that they were. They wanted to identify with and do business with other similarly successful people. Gail fit this description. Josh was a kid; he didn't.

Here was the deal. Josh had to agree to work exclusively for Gail. His role would be to generate sales leads for Gail. Gail would pay Josh a percentage of the total commission for each sale which he directly initiated. The total commission was to be based on gross sales and include credit rebates, sales rebates, end-of-the-year rebates, extended warranty rebates, etc. Gail knew that Josh knew how the compensation worked at the dealership. He wanted 20%. She offered 10%. They agreed on 15%. For each customer that Josh brought to Gail and who purchased a Cadillac, Josh stood to receive between $200 and $450. Josh also negotiated that he would be allowed to work on any separate fleet leasing deals with Dom.

If Josh's problem was being seen as too young by customers, he just wouldn't be seen. He'd conduct his business over the phone or by snail mail or e-mail .

Turnover in the automobile business can be quite high. A lot of people think that they can sell cars. A lot of people can't. In the last 10 years, 22 salespeople had worked at Baker Cadillac and left. They were the problem. They just weren't cut out for commissioned salespeople. Most aren't.

Many auto salespeople think that they own a customer because that salesperson had previously sold to that customer, "Hey, don't even think about calling Mark Fisher. He's my customer."

Josh avoided this problem. He went into the long unused sales files and spent countless hours pulling out the names, addresses and phone numbers of all the sales of all twenty-two departed colleagues. There were between 1,200 and 1,300 names from the last ten years. Here was a good targeted buyer list for Josh. These names represented people who had not only bought a Cadillac but had bought that Cadillac at Baker Cadillac.

Josh even coined his own advertising tag line. "Try us again. Baker and Cadillac are better than ever."

Josh had 10,000 business cards made, with his and Gail's names on the front and his "Try us again..." legend on the back. The cards cost Josh $340, an excellent investment. As Josh was stacking the 20 boxes of business cards in Gail's office, three other salesman with their hands in their pockets standing around the coffee machine laughingly teased Gail. "What the heck is Josh going to do with all those cards?" asked the first. "He's got a twenty year supply" said the second. "He's going to impress all the young girls that he's a Cadillac Man" said the third. The ribbing was pointed but good-natured. How could you not like this kid? He was certainly different.

Even Gail had to shake her head at all the business card boxes.

Average people set average goals. Never think about average. Go beyond.

Only 10,000 cards? Maybe he'd have to double the next order.

As a short time passed, it would have been difficult to imagine that there could be anyone in Newton or surrounding towns who didn't know that Josh sold Cadillacs. His business cards literally seemed to be everywhere.

Of course, he handed them out, but he did more. Every check he paid, he'd leave an extra dollar or two and several cards with the money. He'd leave cards on counters near cash registers. Sometimes, the cards were thrown out. Sometimes, not. He'd leave them on every bulletin board he saw. The cards made their way to phone booth shelves and on top of vending machines. Actually, the cards weren't everywhere but legend had it that they were. Everywhere, two cards. Everywhere, the small cards advertised that Josh sold Cadillacs.

Josh also identified all Air Force veterans within fifty miles who were in the target group of males over 43. Would one vet prefer to deal with another? He wanted to find out.

Rule two. If you want something, ask for it.

Josh wanted people to buy Cadillacs. Then, he had to ask people if they wanted to buy Cadillacs. The more Josh could talk Cadillacs, the more Cadillac referral business he scored. If he couldn't convince you to buy the best American car ever made, maybe you could give him a referral.

If Josh saw a Caddy parked on the street, he put two cards under the windshield wiper. If Josh saw you get out of a Caddy, he'd asked you how you liked the car and where you did business.

He'd give you two cards and ask for one of yours. Next time, perhaps, you'd consider doing business with Josh and Gail.

In addition, Josh started working through his list of 1,300 old customer names. One week, he'd send 25 letters and brochures with mention of his personal website, of course, two business cards in each envelope. The next week he'd be calling the previous week's 25 people and mailing to the next 25 people.

The people who Josh contacted now owned or had owned a Cadillac. These people had something to say about Cadillacs. Josh would listen to the caller's comments with a simple goal, to get them back into the dealership for a test drive. Josh even started a Cadillac aficionado forum on his website.

There are stages to making a high priced sale. The purpose of businesscards was not to sell cars. The purpose of the businesscards was to get prospective buyers to a personal website. The purpose of the website was to get the prospect to visit the dealership for a test drive. Then, in person, in the car, the close to the sale could be made.

Remember, when you work for someone else, there is no job security.

"Mr. Baker, I'm sure you know that I never intended to do anything but sell cars. In my youthful enthusiasm, I guess I did get carried away. I want to work for Baker Cadillac. I want to sell cars. Tell me what to do."

"Well, Josh, the fleet sales business here has never been fully developed. If you're interested, I think that this aspect of the business better lends itself to your particular style."

At this point, Josh couldn't argue. Any sales job offered would have been considered a viable possibility. "Sir, you mean that I could be my own salesperson. I wouldn't be working as a sub-agent for anyone else?"

Mr. Baker gave his approval, "You'd be the fleet salesperson working for Dom who works directly for me. The leasing is taking too much of Dom's time and he'd be happy to work with you on the fleet business."

"Sir, would it be presumptuous of me to call myself the Fleet Sales Manager?"

Mr. Baker had to laugh, "Josh, I want you to know that I never gave a thought to letting you go. You are too much of a character. And, after five years, you're too much a part of this company. For the time being, let's call you Assistant Fleet Manager. And, as a bonus, I'll go in halves with you on your first 10,000 business card order. Now, let's dispense with the sales hoopla starting with this conversation. A deal?"

"Yes, Sir. A deal."

Josh was finally free to be Josh. At age 20, Josh was both a full time student and a full time Cadillac salesperson.

As Assistant Fleet Manager, he was free to sell to any customer buying two or more cars at one time. This could include: funeral parlors, limo services, hotels, resorts, or any luxury oriented business.

Josh ordered his cards complete with his new title.

Josh wasted no time in logging onto the Internet and heading to the library and finding a list of all the associations and publications for each of his targeted groups. If he were going to sell to funeral directors or limo owners or resort owners, he had better start to learn their needs and how through owning or leasing, Cadillacs could fulfill those needs.

Josh called the Cadillac zone office and spoke with people and collected information on Cadillac's fleet programs. Josh also wanted from the national office in Detroit a list of names of the most successful Cadillac fleet dealerships in the country. Josh wanted to find the leading non-competing fleet dealerships and the men or women who made them successful. Why? How? When? Where? Josh wanted to know. He had a specific need to acquire specific information and there were probably less than a few hundred people in the country who could give it to him.

Josh gave his rationale and received pre-approval from Mr. Baker for the high long distance bills that would follow. "Mr. Baker, you're investing in my education and this investment will have a very high payback, Sir."

And, since many of the cars would need customization for special uses, Josh began those concurrent investigations.

In five months, as a self-described Assistant Sales Associate, Josh helped Gail sell 72 cars and he received about $31,000 in compensation.

After his first year working as Assistant Fleet Manager, Josh earned $136,000. But more importantly, he established a client base. From his client base, he would receive repeat business every year or two as trade-ins were made for new cars or new leases drawn for new cars. Fleet buyers/lessees rarely keep a car for too long. The commission per vehicle was much less than direct sales but the repeat orders were more than compensating. Josh's income should climb steadily as year by year, he provides above average service to his existing clients while constantly prospecting for new accounts.

After 18 months, the fleet division at Baker Cadillac had expanded to the point where Josh, now Fleet Manager, could justify to Mr. Baker the hiring of a full time administrative assistant (AA). The AA answered his calls, arranged his schedule of appointments, made cold calls for Josh, managed his mailing list, his monthly Baker Fleet Buyers' Website and performed other office related tasks. Josh needed time to do what he did best: sell Cadillacs.

Do you think that there might be a Josh Stewart Cadillac Dealership in the future?

Operational Limitations:

• Don't jump the gun. Some sales must be conducted in stages.
• Some people will champion your success until you become successful. This is called envy.
• Some people only see change, even positive change, as just more work and they don't want more work.

Seeds for thought:

• What strategy did Josh use to get exactly the job he wanted?
• How did Josh find a way to go to college?
• Where was Josh going to find time to go to college full time and sell cars?
• In sales, what is "up time?"
• What was Mr. Baker's reason for stating that Josh might not be very good at selling Cadillacs?
• Why did Josh always hand out two business cards?
• What other advice did Moe Goldman have for Josh?
• Why do you think the other salespeople resented Josh?
• Could Josh have conducted himself less aggressively and still succeeded?
• If you were Mr. Baker, how would you have handled the complaints of your other salespeople about Josh?
• How can an administrative assistant be helpful to a successful salesperson?

Jargon:

Administrative assistant - A helper who does the routine aspects of a job so that principal can concentrate on the more productive aspects.

Bean counting - Accounting.

Fleet - any group of vehicles owned or operated as a unit.

Jump the gun - Beginning too soon.

Jumping through hoops - Trying very hard.

Laying your cards on the table - Being honest.

Legend - an explanatory caption.

Level playing field - Fair for all sides.

Nominal - minimal amount in comparison to the real value of something.

Number crunching - Accounting.

On the floor - Working out front directly with customers.

Payback - the return from an investment.

Rebate - a refund resulting from a purchase.

Uptime - Scheduled time for a salesperson to be available to be on the floor or answers sales calls.

Question and Answers

I want to start a landscaping company with three employees. Can I still be a sole proprietorship?

Most businesses begin life as sole proprietorships. In this business format, you make all the decisions for your business and you are responsible for all profits and losses. When borrowing money, you must personally guarantee repayment. In case of losses, your liability is unlimited.

As a landscaping company owner, you can have as many employees as you wish and remain a sole proprietorship.

Why are commissioned sales such a good entrepreneurial option?

Commissioned salespeople are like the SF of the business world. They often must do the tough job of knocking on doors for new business. However, the potential for extraordinary financial rewards is the lure. Another lure is that employment opportunities are great since companies pay commissioned salespeople little, if any, salary. And, there are commissioned sales opportunities in many fields, from insurance and real estate to aerospace.

In choosing commissioned sales, you may be positioning yourself to enjoy the best of both worlds. You may be able to work for a company and enjoy company benefits such as health benefits and retirement plans. You may have most of your office responsibilities organized for you. And, as a commissioned salesperson, you may have a job which offers unlimited earnings potential without any outlay of cash on your part. However, before you sign up, it would be a good research act to volunteer to spend a few days with a highly productive salesperson and see if you feel confident doing what he or she does.

Why are you such a strong advocate of websites?

Websites are a great way for you to communicate with your customer base, and they work for almost all salespeople and small business owners.

If you have a pet grooming business, talk about the use of products. Introduce a new product or service. List your testimonials. Offer a coupon to download.

Say thank you to all those wonderful customers who are giving you money to make your financial dreams come true. A website may well be the one act of promotion that separates you from the other pet grooming shops in the area and makes your business extraordinary.

Action Plan:

• Investigate the opportunities in higher education. To earn a bachelor's or master's degree, how many hours would you need to commit for travel, classes and study? After there local part-time programs available? What about financing?
• Consider all the potential groups that might view you favorably. Are you an Eagle Scout, a Marine, a regular churchgoer, a marathoner, an Elk, a Moose, a Greek-American, a Rotarian? Start thinking.
• Think about Josh:
  • List ten characteristics or ideas that Josh held that would eventually lead to his success.
  • Write a short paragraph describing where you think Josh will be in ten years.
  • Josh is a good salesperson, but describe how you think he would be as a boss.

Support:

• For small and home based businesses
• Think like an entrepreneur
• Site for small business research
• From the small business town network
• From Home Business Magazine

Inspirational Insights: