Every entrepreneur has their own lemonade stand story.
I’ll never forget when I heard the news as a freshman footballer that my school, Bowling Green, was going to face Ohio State the upcoming year. We got the news as school was letting out in May. A last second scheduling.
My mind raced. “Man, I get to play in the Horseshoe against the team I grew up loving,”
I thought. This was a common thought among my team members. And my mind did something else other team members did NOT. It began thinking of ways to capitalize financially on the situation.
I had taken a screen printing class earlier that year. So I thought to make up t-shirts to sell to the team and parents of the big day – BGSU vs. OSU.
I ended up selling a truck load of shirts at our team picnic to parents and players before our summer training camp started.
On the back of the t-shirt – I had typed, “Respect all, fear none.”
I do remember selling Kool-aid as a kid.
But my most cherished memories were selling
belly to belly with folks in unique ways
like the one described above.
Another memory was Spring Break. Yes, a fun time was had by all.
But when everyone else was relaxing in their rooms after a day of fun in the sun. I was out selling Spring Break t-shirts to folks. When most were planning the trip down
to FL and getting hotels lined up. My mind was thinking… “Wow, I can hit 300 rooms
in one hotel in a matter of an hour if I hustle.” String a couple hotels together
and I am home free.
Come time, to sell and I hit a number of rooms and did quite well. I could have done
better if I did NOT just have designs for one university. Make ’em more general.
However, I never would have learned that if I didnt take a shot.
Although these experiences did not make me a milliuhnaire, they set the foundation for
education in the school of hard knox selling.
I recently was at a seminar in Nashville. I was amoung 30 or so other vendors to sell and promote our goods.
I was on the phone with a client yesterday and found out I was the ONLY one at the show
with order forms to capture credit card information.
“What. That cant be.”
“Yep.” he said.
Now how can you be at a trade show, seminar with no order forms.
The logic didnt make sense to me.
That meant these folks went there without any intent to close a sale.
That simply ludicrous. How can you be in business and have 1,300 hungry buyers – who are interested in your services and ready to pull out there credit cards and invest immediately – and never intend to sell them anything.
Simply astounding.
Contrast that with the Godfather of Cartoons approach.
I gathered leads. I gathered orders and made a pretty penny doing so. There was NO sign of a slowing economy.
So maybe the Godfather of Cartoon should change his title to the Godfather of Common Sense Selling.
If you are in business and want to grow. You got to want it. You cant blame the economy. You cant blame your spouse holding you back, You cant blame the competition.
You have to hold the mirror up and say, “Did I do everything in my power today to make more sales.”
“Did I do everything in my power to think differently than my competition to attract more business my direction.”
Your business never stays the same. It either gets better or gets worse. How you react and adjust to market fluctuations and turbulence – ultimately determines the fate of your business.
I have a friend who got crushed by the mortgage implode-a-tion. Like that word. Yet, he is creatively thinking of new ways to generate the same income he once made.
And when it is all over he will stand to make even more than he did at the height of the mortgage boom.
If you want to make more sales, go out and make it happen. And ALSO expect to make them. Expect to have people signing up for your services. Not like the doo-doos
at the recent conference.
Best,
Vincent Palko
The Godfather of Cartoons
www.adtoons.com
www.vincepalko.com