Rule #35 The Best Motivation: Be Valuable to Your Customers

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand

before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.

—Proverbs 22:29

It has been said—and I believe it is true—that salespeople are motivated

by two things: money and recognition. Early success in our youth tends

to create that appetite for recognition. The money helps us fulfill our crazy

dreams and, for better or worse, is a tangible measure our success!

I agree that when I succeed, l like to be rewarded with money and accolades.

When I get a promotion, I like to see it accompanied by more

money, a more prestigious title, and perks of some kind. So I concede that

money and recognition speak to me. But they can also mislead me into

some wrong-headed thinking.

You have to have a love of the game (to borrow an analogy from the sports

world). Having a strong penchant for what we do will have a great effect

on how well and how long we do it. That will, in turn, lead to the success

that will be rewarded with money and recognition.

I have taken promotions that paid me less in order to chase opportunities

to do impactful and unique work I really enjoyed. There is something

to be said for progress and growth that comes from increased

responsibility or opportunity, which money can’t account for. And

many times opportunities to do different, impactful work doesn’t come

with a better title. As we speak of doing the right thing, it is critical we

think deeply about being properly motivated. I think you have to love a

job well done. So let’s do a quick thought exercise to help us appreciate

this point more fully.

List three people who attended your needs recently and did a really great

job, regardless of what that job pays:

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1) _______________________________________________________

2) _______________________________________________________

3) _______________________________________________________

Now think of three people who make over $1 million or have a prestigious

title but who you think are very poor at their job and worthy of all the criticism

others heap upon them:

1) _______________________________________________________

2) _______________________________________________________

3) _______________________________________________________

I routinely enjoy when a waitress, store clerk, or electrician does a great job

for me. I usually go out of my way to praise them publicly and ask if there

is any survey or feedback system I can access to ensure they are being recognized

and appreciated for doing such a great job. By the same token, I

become incensed by people who are highly paid or highly regarded and do

a lousy job (usually athletes and politicians).

But there are other people I meet and can think of who clearly enjoy their

job. Their joy is very evident, and it makes a difference in how I, as a customer

or observer, respond to them. I see this most often when the person

helping me is the owner. You can tell when you are dealing with the

owner, can’t you? Take that to heart. Your customers should experience

that same sensation when they are dealing with you. You should completely

own it. Your motivation to help them and do a good job should

imply that you feel as though the success of the company rests upon you.

And if you do that, good things will happen, and you may well enjoy

money and recognition that not only resemble the owner’s but also come

directly from the owner (depending on your situation).

Crisis can cause confusion. Crisis can also produce clarity. I had a crisis

that became the turning point in my career as a sales professional. In 2000,

after three years at Cintas, a friend suggested I look into pharmaceutical

sales. As blockbuster drugs emerged to create huge profits, the industry

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was booming, and right about that time, it facilitated a representative arms

race and battle for a share of voice with physicians.

The drug I sold had 2,000 representatives. A physician saw me or one of

my three partners once a week, every week of the month. We were outgunned

by our two competitors, who hired even more representatives to

make even more frequent visits! The drug compounds were different, but

the overall difference was so negligible as to require 3,000 patients in a

study to demonstrate statistical differences in outcomes.

When I came into the industry, a sea change was occurring. Previously,

people with pharmacist degrees represented the drugs and were very valuable

resources and consultants to the physicians. But these mostly male,

older, much more tenured and studious degreed pharmacists were quickly

being replaced by young, attractive, ladder-climbing marketing people—

with a noticeable shift toward women and a corporate-designed diversity

that reflected the American physician population.

Unfortunately, professional marketing tactics also began to play a large

part in how medications were presented to physicians. Along with the

increased profits came TV ads, pens, trinkets, dinner programs, and (at the

peak of the trend) some creative but ridiculous (and eventually embarrassing)

events to garner support (lunch and learn, dine and dash, shop and

dash, craft lessons and dash, etc.).

I was in the trenches for five years and witnessed the whole thing develop.

My friend was not wrong: Pharmaceutical sales provided better benefits, a

salary compensation plan, and professional development opportunities.

Interacting with physicians proved to be challenging and enjoyable. But

two years into the job, I was frustrated. I remember where I was when I

pulled my car over, turned off the key, and in tears (literally) cried out to

God and begged Him to let me find a better job where I could be valuable

to the people I called on.

Two years into the job, in part due to all the dynamic changes occurring

in pharmaceutical sales and marketing tactics and strategies, I had become

an annoyance to my customers. The physicians were polite, but all they

wanted were my drug samples, so all they gave me was a signature: not

their time, not their attention, and not their respect.

I hated who I was in their eyes, and I was desperate to be so much more.

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I had nearly doubled my income. The work was technically easy, not at all

physically demanding, and the corporate environment and management

were sublime. There were perks and national sales meetings with 4,000

people that would blow your mind! Yet I was miserable and looking for the

exit.

We often joked about the “golden handcuffs” of such a role. It was a good

job. But as in so many cases, good was the enemy of great. And as many

pharma reps learned the hard way through the massive layoff that came

later, the workforce-structured arms race couldn’t last. The value of the

share-of-voice model diminished as the annoyance to physicians of the

high-call-frequency model increased.

The “golden handcuffs” turned into the “golden ceiling” as I tried to find

a medical device sales job. Three years after that very emotional prayer, I

got my break in medical device sales. The first job wasn’t bad. The second

job wasn’t great. The third time was the charm, however, and the answer

to that prayer. I got to experience for myself that money and recognition

are no substitute for being valuable to the customer. My desire to pursue

excellence was finally properly motivated. As a salesperson nothing feels

better. This truth cuts across all products, all solutions, all companies, and

all sales roles.

In the October 1999 edition of Rolling Stone, actor Brad Pitt was interviewed

by Chris Heath.

Pitt: Hey, man, I don’t have those answers yet. The emphasis

now is on success and personal gain. [Smiles ] I’m sitting in it,

and I’m telling you, that’s not it. Whether you want to listen to

me or not—and I say to the reader—that’s not it.

Chris Heath: But, and I’m glad you said it first, people will read

you saying that and think …

Pitt: I’m the guy who’s got everything. I know. But I’m telling

you, once you get everything, then you’re just left with yourself.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: It doesn’t help you sleep

any better, and you don’t wake up any better because of it. Now,

no one’s going to want to hear that. I understand it. I’m sorry

I’m the guy who’s got to say it. But I’m telling you.”

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The pursuit of wealth and recognition will leave you empty.

A word of caution: When people realize that your primary motivation is

greed and vanity, you can expect several things:

• Good people won’t appreciate your company.

• Bad company will find you and exploit your banal lusts.

• Calamity will eventually find you.

• Contentment will evade you.

• Love of your fellow man (and woman) will elude you.

• Shallowness (and, in time, bitterness) is what you will come to be known

for.

Your passion for selling will not exceed your convictions and your product

or solution’s ability to align with your deeply held beliefs. Great salespeople

are elevated through promotions or being spotlighted, at which point

they receive adulation, which provides them with influence upon others.

At that point, everyone will find out if those salespeople have any integrity.

Integrity can be a loose term that people project their own meanings onto.

Integrity is different from morals. I am referring to integrity here in the

same way one would describe a bridge as having integrity.

Will you wilt under pressure, or are you built to last? Are your values built

on a solid foundation that is allowing all this commerce (sales revenues) to

flow over you, or are you about to fall apart as quotas and responsibilities

increase? Can you be leveraged in some way for the benefit of others in

your organization? Can you lead?

Convictions ride upon integrity. Integrity without convictions is a bridge

to nowhere. If you want to join the ranks of elite sales professionals, you

must develop convictions to attract customers with beliefs and lead both

within and without of the organization. And you must be motivated by a

desire to be valuable to your customers.

Elite execution demands that you become and expert in your field, and thereby valuable to your customers.

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