Do you know how to drive the people who drive your business?

f wes I 6 vee-es olo and needed to eam money to pay for those saturday nights out on the rtown. So I found my first real paid job selling clothes every saturday aia local men,s store. And I loved it! Apart from the great discounts on the clothes-meaning I never earned anything at the end of the day-I enjoyed the banter with the men and even more with their girlfriends. But the biggest thrill was making the sale. When the summer recess came,I started working there full-time. I discovered I loved selline.

Three years later, after dropping out of college and working ii'accounting, finance and banking, I realized I would never enjoy office life or earn enough .on.y to fulfill all my dreams-including my short{erm goal of affording a car. So I went into real selling, where I knew I could earn better money and, most importantly, a company car. I started in the U.K. with a large U.S. FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) cbmpany and enjoyed the travel, the chase, the sale, and, of course, the car. In fact, I think my second sales job decision was based on getting a better car!

But the reality is that for many of us in selling, we never planned it-it just happened. we may have even seen it as a stop-gap measure till something better came atong. vet somehow many of us find ourselves still in it 20, 30 years down the road. If successful, little else offers the same thrill and same financial rewards. When those commissions start hitting and we see our lifestyles, needs and egos grow bigger, it's hard to walk away.

don'twant todoanythingelse.wemayhatehavrngtopander for a sale, but even if we have been fired for missing a target oi t*o, we still expect ourselves to be motivated and as bright as a button after that fifteenth ,.No" of the iay. Whatever we end up doing, we always need to know how to sell. Even in my c.e.o. iobs. I couldn't wait to get out into the field with those who drove the success of my comianies. And there lies the rub. Too many companies fail to recognize that their .ornpuny lives or dies by the talent in their sales force. They see sales as that necessary evil, the ones constantly complaining, lacking humility, and always asking for more. They do not realize what the sales force deals with day in and day out, especially in these times. Try getting a "No" every call, try sounding as positive at 4 p.m. as at g a.m., try working on a new account for a year and then losing it to issues outside of your control, iry dealing with irate customers whose orders were botched. etc.. etc.

Inside and outside rarely see eye to eye. You ask sales to toe the line, yet think outside the box. You tell them it can't be done, yet expect them to find a way to make it happen. You say you'll work on it when you have time, yet demand they get the deal done now.

Yes, we may be demanding, poor at paperwork, averse to playing by the rules or toeing the company line or caring about your problems. But it's that same spirit that makes us successful salespeople. we sell-and get rejected for-who we are. Some of us take it personally. others let it roll of their backs and move on to the next success. We build networks, we answer to our customers often more than to our own company, we face everchanging targets, and ourjobs are on the line more than any other position in the company. Last quarter's sales are but a faded memory by the end of the next quarter. what most inside don't understand is that it is our success or failure that keeps "uervone else's iob going or not. And we carry that burden each and every day. we shouldn't be taken for granted or have our budgets changed just to avoid paying bonuses. Our opinions, gleaned from being on the ground every day, should be listened to. Respect our role and don't see us as demanding, overbearing and dumber than doorknobs. Don,t force us to do dishonorable things or cram product down customer's throats. Understand what your decisions will mean to your customers. Management needs to be accountable iust as it expects us to be.

Our role is to understand the needs of our customers. find a solution at a price the customer will accept, walk the order through the system, face up when things go wrong, and solve problems often not of our own making. We sell one order at a time with no guarantee of a future order, particularly if we don't get it right. And, yes, your customers are my customers. We all suffer the same consequences of success and failure.

Alan Oakes, Publisher ajoakes@aol.com

www. bu ld ing -prod u cts.com

A publication of Cutler Publishing 4500 Campus Dr., Ste.480, Newport Beach, CA 92660

Publisher Alan Oakes ajoakes@aol.com

Publisher Emeritus David Cutler Director of Editorial & Production David Koenio dkoenig@building-proiucts.com

Editor Karen Debats kdebats@buildi ng-products.mm

Conhibuting Editors Dwight Curran, Carla Waldemar, James Olsen, Jay Tompt

Advertising Sales Manager Chuck Casey ccasey@building-products.com

Administration Director/Secretary Marie 0akes mfpoakes@aol.com

Circulation Manager Heather Kelly hkelly@building-products.com

How to Advertise

WEST, MIDWEST, SOUTHEAST Chuck Casey

Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 ccasey@building-products.com

NORTHEAST Paul Mummolo 404 Princeton Ave., Brick, N.J. 08724 Phone (732) 899-8102 Fax 732-899-2758 mummolop@comcast.net

ONLINE Alan Oakes www.building-products.com

Phone (949) 852-1 990 Fax 949-852-0231 ajoakes@aol.com

CLASSIFIED David Koenig Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 dkoenig@building-products.com

How to Subscribe

SUBSCRIPTIONS Heather Kelly

Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 hkelly@building-products.com or send a check to 4500 Campus Dr., Ste. 480, Newport Beach, CA 92660

U.S.A.: One year (12 issues), 922

Two years, $36 Three years, $50

FOREIGN (Per year, paid in advance in US funds):

Surface-Canada or Mexico, $48 Other countries, 960 Air rates also available, SINGLE COPIES $4 + shipping BACK TSSUES $b + shipping

Backed by 20 years of proven performance, and a lifetime limited warranty.

Looking for a treated wood product to sell and install with confidence? Choose Preserve' pressure-treated wood, an environmentally advanced copper-and-quaternary (AC0o) system that provides proven, long-term protection from decav and termites.

AWPA standardized wood preservative and ICC-ES building code approved

NAHB Research Center Green Approved Product

. US EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award

Lifetime limited warranty

. Proven performance against decay and termites

Above Ground and Ground Contact applications

Approved for fresh water immersion and salt water splash zone

. For decking, playgrounds, walkways, benches, chairs, fencing and gazebos