Salesperson | The Barefoot Spirit

3 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Your Bottom Line

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 18:00:36 +0000

In interviews and podcasts, we are often asked to boil down the Barefoot Spirit to three words that would capture the essence of our business philosophy – three words that thread across everything we advocate, everything we write, and everything we speak about. It’s a tough order!

With the new year upon us, and folks determined to make resolutions that will truly make a difference in their business, health, and peace of mind, it seems like this is the perfect time to embrace the Barefoot Spirit with what we call the 3 “E’s”: EMPATHY, ENTHUSIASM, AND ECOTHERAPY.

1. EMPATHY. Resolve to be more empathetic. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes at every level of business and community. This practice forces you to understand what the other person wants. It may not be what you are offering. It may even surprise you, but knowing what they want will help you understand how what you are offering better fits into their plans.

Be sure to asks lots of questions of everyone who touches your product or service. Do more listening than selling. Remember, the world’s greatest sales pitch is, “I can help you achieve your goals!” That means you know what their goals are and you know how you can help.

We had a buyer that said, “I’m trapped in this office all day but I love buying from you guys because you always update me on my competition, the current trends, and what going on in the marketplace!” We had a customer who said, “I buy your products because you supported my community fundraiser.” And we had a salesperson who said, “I love working for you guys because I get to go where I want!”

2. ENTHUSIASM. Resolve to be more enthusiastic. If you’re excited, they’re excited. Enthusiasm is contagious. It’s probably the best way to motivate folks and to get them on board with your plans.

It’s not easy to stay in a constant state of enthusiasm, but you can certainly resolve to be more enthusiastic. Get yourself in the right frame of mind in the morning, before you start your day. Think about your long and short-range goals and how much value they will bring to everyone upon completion.

When we started we couldn’t get into the big chains stores. We were kind of depressed until we realized that there was a whole market of smaller independent buyers out there that were glad we weren’t in the chain. They wanted a product the chains didn’t offer. We got excited about making lemonade out of lemons!

When our salesperson came in one day all down and out, we said, “Hey! What’s the problem?” He said, “The competition’s tearing down our signage in all my stores.” To which we replied, “Great! That proves they’re scared of us and we’re on the right track!” He enthusiastically returned to those stores and replaced all our signage, determined to prove to the competition that we were in the stores on a regular basis and they could not stop us! Then we heard the rumor going around, “Barefoot is a brand that will not die!”

3. ECOTHERAPY. Resolve to take a walk in nature every day. Sure, you will skip a few days, but making it part of your routine will help you improve your mental and physical health. It will also improve your business by boosting your creativity, attitude, and determination.

Last month NBC News reported that 50 physicians in 11 states believe so strongly in the health benefits of connecting with nature, they have joined together in a non-profit organization, Park RX. These doctors actually give prescriptions to take a walk in the park! Finally, we are getting official endorsement for something we have been advocating for decades.

It’s great to get off the screen, out of the office, and beyond the confines of a man-made environment. You’ll think more clearly, make better decisions, and put things in perspective. Your stress will go down and your enthusiasm will go up. You’ll become more resourceful, solve problems faster, and get your priorities straight.

Once, we were perplexed because our business was expanding so quickly, we didn’t quite know how to handle it. So, we just took off to Kauai. Went hiking for a week! No screens, no phones! On the plane, on the way back, a whole new organizational plan hit us all at once in every detail. We just had to spend some time in natural surroundings to give our brains a chance to reboot and solve the challenge.

People ask us “If you are business advisors, why do you post so many pictures of nature on your Instagram?” We say, “We are promoting the best way to get ahead!”

So, practice the 3 E’s and your new year will be happier and more prosperous – all the way around! Thanks for following us in 2017, and we look forward to sharing more with you in 2018! Happy New Year everybody!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post 3 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Your Bottom Line appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Demonstrate Sales to Your Salespeople to Give Them Confidence

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 17:00:01 +0000

As an entrepreneur, you and everyone who works for you, and with you, must be a salesperson in one way or another. Even so, the official sales staff is under a lot of pressure to perform. But have you shown them “blood from the beast?” In other words have you actually demonstrated that sales are possible?

Have you put them in the same room with a top performer so they can listen, observe, and learn the techniques, subtleties, and nuances necessary to close a sale? Many salespeople say they have their own style but unless they perform, that style needs improvement. New salespeople are sometimes skeptical about whether anybody can achieve your sales goals, which often are set by folks who have never sold themselves.

When we were in our growth phase building the Barefoot brand, many sales to out-of-state distributers were done over the phone. We had a key salesperson who was not closing. He was busy alright – phoning, emailing and taking copious notes, but not closing. We paired him up with a super performer and put them in the same room for a month so they could hear and see each other work.

The super performer continued to close sales, but now the underachiever was watching this happen right in front of him. So now he had peer pressure and daily demonstrated examples of how it was done – with a variety of tough customers. He improved big time! In fact, he went on to become our top salesperson!

We have a friend who was looking for ways to reward his salespeople for hitting and exceeding their sales goal. He thought a great reward would be to have the performers get their own office and no longer have to work in a big bay with other salespeople. The plan seemed to work at first. Everyone tried harder and sales went up. The top salespeople got their own offices and were the envy of the rest of the sale staff. Many of these top performers became even better performers as a result of having the privacy of their own offices.

But a funny thing happened out on the main sales bay. Sales started falling off. Why? Because the folks the salespeople were looking up to, the top performers, who were inadvertently teaching them and supplying the peer pressure to perform, had been moved out of the room! Now the room was filled only with newbies and low performers. Comments were made such as, “It was just a bad day,” or, “Nobody else in the room was capable of hitting the numbers,” or even worse, “The goals are unreasonable.” They certainly had a majority in the room with which to commiserate.

Ultimately our friend changed the policy and kept the top performers circulating through the main sales floor. He also paired up newbies with established salespeople one-on-one in their offices where the experienced salesperson could show the newbie winning sales techniques and give them friendly support by critiquing their calls and offering suggestions about alternative ways to handle objections. Sales improved all the way around.

A key ingredient necessary to turn a good salesperson into a great salesperson is confidence. When they hear and see a top performer demonstrate pride in their product, empathy for the customer, and social skills in action, they know it’s possible for them to do the same. They’ve seen “blood from the beast,” and now they want it for themselves too!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Demonstrate Sales to Your Salespeople to Give Them Confidence appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Build Your Business using Guiding Principles – Part 3

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 03:13:30 +0000

The salespeople who call on your business have much more to offer than the products and services they represent. They are a gold mine of information and are in a position to significantly help your business.

In this series, we have examined the guiding principles that were instrumental to our success in the belief that they will be valuable to you in your business as well. The questions we ask put you in the other guy’s shoes to help you discover how your basic attitudes and philosophies affect your important decisions and ultimately your success. Here is our third question:

3. How would you like selling to yourself? If you were a salesperson and had two clients, one who treated you with respect and dignity, and another who viewed you as a necessary evil, which one would get preferential treatment? If one client held the view that all salespeople were hucksters and tricksters, would you offer them the special deals? Or would you be more likely to tell the client who treated you with respect, the most economical ways to buy your products? If you knew significant market information affecting your industry or your customer’s business, which client would you share it with? If you could extend terms, reduce interest rates or avoid holding fees, who would you tell first, the client that took you on time, was glad to see you, and treated you like a strategic partner? Or the one who kept you waiting with the “it’s just another salesperson trying to sell me something, and they can wait,” attitude? When you look at relationships through the salesperson’s eyes, you realize how much they influence behavior. Why not treat salespeople like partners and get the edge?

We always treated our vendors and their salespeople as if they were part of our staff. We saw them as valuable allies who could significantly influence our bottom line. Here are four reasons why we wanted to be their favorite client:

Deals: The salesperson who calls on you may have special pocket deals. These are not on the price sheet but are given to the salesperson to help close new customers or gain larger orders. Often the supplier or vendor will have a close-out at a very attractive price. Give your salesperson a reason to offer these to you first!

Terms: Vendor salespersons are your advocates for better terms with their companies. Their recommendations can make all the difference, and their endorsement means they stand behind you. They know the process and can give you insights on how to maneuver successfully. When you give them respect, they will share what they know and go to bat for you!

Information: We are often too busy running our businesses to gather the latest news in our industries. Sometimes we are blindsided by a competitor’s move, a new opportunity, or a change in the laws or business practices. Your vendor’s salespeople know all about it! It is part of their job to stay on top of the ever-changing marketplace, making them a major source of information for your company.

Special Accommodations: Occasionally you will be offered an opportunity that you can’t take advantage of due to lack of supplies or terms. Your vendor’ salesperson can help, especially when it means more income for their company. Many times our vendors provided us with incredible opportunities to help us grow. They knew we would be loyal and beholding. Why? Because their salespeople were treated well by us and our staff. We made them feel important and part of our team.

Next time we will further reveal your basic guiding business principles by asking the last of the four questions, “Would you buy from yourself?”

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Build Your Business using Guiding Principles – Part 3 appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.