J Conscious Efforts
Jaclyn Moss, MBA ’05, is one smart cookie. And she’s got the Girl Scout badge to prove it. That would be the “Smart Cookie” badge, the one Moss earned in third grade by persuading her parents to front the money for 500 boxes of cookies and then selling them all in just over two hours at Chicago O’Hare Airport. The 8-year-old entrepreneur set a troop sales record, and she’s been as tenacious as the best-selling Thin Mint ever since. At 15, she convinced her dentist to hire her as a chair-side assistant, despite the extra fees and paperwork needed to employ a minor. In college, she turned a job as a realtor’s assistant into a position as a junior appraiser. And after graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Moss became an inbound sales representative for Dell Inc. — a career that has spanned more than six years and earned her seven promotions, four manager awards, three sales achievement awards, one sales coach award, Dell’s prestigious Office of the Chair Stock Options Award, and even trips to Rome, Italy, and Maui, Hawaii, for record sales. Her latest venture as marketing consultant and television account manager for Dell means she oversees all of the company’s television sales on networks like QVC and the Shop At Home Network. Moss’s second day on the job, her boss asked her to create a business plan outlining her sales goals and strategies for the year. Now, four months later, she’s been on the air 20 times and has sold everything from laptop notebooks and desktop computers to televisions. One question drives her: “How do I reach more people today than I did yesterday?” Whether she’s interacting with television customers or her own sales staff, Moss forges these connections by remembering three rules: Always make a good impression, exceed expectations and get feedback.
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You Never Get a Second Chance Moss makes a good impression by “overdelivering on expectations.” For her television sales team (and for the seven managers and 140 sales reps she managed in her previous Dell position), Moss places one aim above all: to help those she manages figure out what motivates them. Whether it’s money, stability or a desire to serve, she works with her employees to translate their personal motivations into professional success. She takes a similar approach with customers. To captivate viewers on the air — and ultimately improve the bottom line — she studies each network’s programming and audience and determines what products are likely to interest those customers. “Building the story from there,” she decides which key points to highlight, from the computing power of Dell’s products to the comprehensive technical support it offers. “It’s easy to take for granted that everyone knows how to use a computer these days, but technology can be intimidating,” Moss says. “I try to make it inviting.”
“I always ask myself, ‘What opportunity can I seize to make my voice heard today?’” Avoid the Call of the Inbox But she doesn’t stop there. On air or off, Moss focuses on improving every aspect of her operation. She speaks the language of Dell’s accountants by using a profit-andloss statement, and she studies the latest marketing data so she can place the most
effective variety of products on each network. She also monitors distribution and customer complaints to make sure those who buy from Dell stay satisfied. In team strategy sessions and company meetings, she compiles to-do lists of action items. And when she returns to her desk after a meeting, she purposely avoids checking her e-mail and answering her phone messages until she’s finalized her “promise list” — all the things she told people she would help with or take on personally.
Listen to Your Inner “Um” Counter In between checking items off that list, Moss focuses on self-improvement. She brushes up on the public-speaking skills that netted her two top finishes in competitions held by Dell’s monthly Toastmasters chapter. Through Toastmasters, she has learned to embrace the concept of an “um” counter, the person charged with tallying the number of filler words used during a speech. Even now, with an “um” count of zero, Moss challenges herself to speak publicly every day. Her rationale is simple: “If you don’t use a skill, you lose it. I always ask myself, ‘What opportunity can I seize to make my voice heard today?’” She also seeks constant feedback from her manager and sales team, and she holds herself accountable when things go wrong. To ensure she’s doing her best on the air, she memorizes product manuals and reviews tapes of her broadcasts — even the ones from the end of a 36-hour shift. Whether she’s selling bites or bytes, Moss has earned her merit badge in sales many times over. “My goal is to be encouraging and energetic,” she says. “Whether I’m working on air, coaching a new salesperson or learning about a product that has launched, I’m trying to help make someone’s life easier or more enjoyable.”
The Art of the Sell Jaclyn Moss, MBA ’05, marketing consultant and television account manager for Dell Inc., has earned seven promotions, nine awards and two vacations for record-breaking sales. Here, she shares her tips for sealing the deal. • Know who’s buying. Understand your target demographic. Gather as much data as you can about their age, sex, culture, income, education level, world outlook and purchasing habits.
• Give them what they want. Use the knowledge you have about your customers to determine what kinds of products they will be interested in — and will be more likely to purchase.
• Keep on keepin’ on. Don’t stop after you make the sale. Make sure shipping and distribution flow smoothly. Monitor customer service calls, and survey customers to ask how you can improve.