A few issues back, I wrote a column about how I'm golf impaired. It's actually worse than that. I'm golf challenged. In fact, I don't play the game, period. I do garden and, because I'm out in the sun, people think I have a golfer's tan.
I'm 57, I have a tan and I'm an investment banker to the printing industry. Add all that up and folks think I must golf.
Printers golf. Investment bankers golf. Tan, 57-year-old guys golf. So, it must follow that Harris DeWese plays golf. If you passed Philosophy 101 (Logic) back in college, you would know that rationale as an "argumentum ad hominem," or a fallacious argument.
When my contemporaries and clients talk about their handicaps, I listen graciously and contemplate my day lilies.
My day lilies, by the way, aren't doing very well. It's August and, here on the East Coast, we're in the middle of the Great Drought of 1999. Some meteorologists are saying this is the worst drought of the century. The drought is so bad that state governments have imposed garden and lawn watering restrictions. The Water Police can come around and catch people watering and impose big fines. In Maryland, I'm told, if the Water Police catch you wet-handed, you can pay a $1,000 fine and land in the pokey for six months.
My lawn and gardens are surviving OK because I faithfully watered and fed the plants prior to the restrictions. Now I'm permitted to water with a handheld hose between the hours of 5 p.m. and 8 a.m., so—when I'm not traveling to some far-off printing company—I'm in the yard at midnight watering.
All this talk of golf and the drought got me to thinking about a printing salesman friend of mine. I can't divulge his identity, so I'll just call him Fred.
Fred sells about $5.5 million annually for a 40˝ sheetfed company. Fred is a heavy hitter. I know salespeople who are content to sell $5.5 million. I know owners who are happy to have one salesperson who sells half of Fred's production.
Fred Can't Play Golf
I don't play golf. Fred can't play golf. Fred is physically disabled. He has a specially equipped car and uses a walker to get around. Fred slings a sample bag over his shoulder because he needs both hands on the walker.
It takes Fred an extra 30 to 45 minutes every morning just to bathe, shave and dress. For that matter, due to his disability, it takes Fred a little longer to do anything.
I hope you will pardon this lame segue, but Fred's sales garden will never suffer from a sales drought. Fred, you see, continually and systematically tends to his customers and prospects.
I decided to interview Fred to see if I could learn what motivates this high-performance guy who was dealt a debilitating handicap due to a childhood disease.
Here's the interview.
Mañana Man: Fred, you have been the chairman of the United Way; you are a director with the Special Olympics; you are an officer in your Rotary Club; you coach a handicapped softball and basketball team; you participate in a multitude of other community endeavors; and you sell more than $5 million in printing. How do you do it? What motivates you?
Fred: It sounds like a lot when you list it all, but I never feel like I have done enough. From an early age, I just felt that I had a responsibility to others. The people at my company depend on me to bring in work to print. My customers depend on me to produce their jobs up to their standards and to see that it is delivered on time. My customers use printed material to sell their products, so a lot of people, in some way or another, depend on me. They take their jobs seriously, and so I take mine seriously.
Mañana Man: How to you organize yourself to get so much done?
Fred: Well, first of all, the CSRs at my company are great. At the very beginning, when I bring a job in, they take over and make sure they understand all the customer's specifications. We have a meeting early every morning to review live jobs status and all the new jobs. The CSRs communicate with my customers and keep me informed.
I start every day by updating my "To Do" lists. I keep one for my existing accounts, one for my prospects, one for my community service projects and one for my family life. I copy them over every morning while I'm having coffee. This forces me to review every task that I must perform for each day. I move slower than most people, so I have to rely on this list to make sure I get everything done every day.
Mañana Man: Tell me about your prospecting? How do you go after new accounts?
Fred: I used to keep a list of 10 prospects and found that wasn't enough. So I increased the list to 25. I sell in a major metropolitan market, so there are plenty of companies that buy a lot of printing. My prospect list has been approved by my sales manager.
Fred Contacts 25 Prospects Twice a Month
Fred: I find some way to contact each of the 25 prospects at least twice monthly. Some others, I contact once each week. I try to be creative because I don't want anyone to think that I'm pestering them. For example, I may contact some prospects about something unrelated to printing. Once I've met people, I try to learn something about them personally. I might, for example, ask them to provide some volunteer service for Special Olympics. That way I can get to know them even better and get them involved in something that is rewarding for them.
Mañana Man: So you don't hesitate to ask for the order, even if you're asking someone to volunteer their time?
Fred: You never know until you ask. To me, the very definition of selling is asking for the order. Some of the most active participants in our [local] United Way and Special Olympics are people who I invited to join. Simply by asking, I got some fabulous workers. I do the same thing with my prospects. I invite them to become my customer.
Mañana Man: What is the most important advice you can give rookie printing salespeople?
Fred: Respect and understand other human beings. And, by the way, Mañana Man, I'd like for you to run the concessions at our next Special Olympics.
Mañana Man: Fred, can't you see I'm busy writing this column? I've got to wrap it up, or the readers won't get out there and sell something!
—Harris DeWese
About the Author
Harris DeWese is the author of "Now Get Out There and Sell Something!" published by Nonpareil Books. DeWese is a principal at Compass Capital Partners Ltd. DeWese specializes in investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, sales, marketing, planning and management services to printing companies. He is one of the authors of the annual "Compass Report," the definitive source of information regarding printing industry merger and acquisition activity.