Tenacious Faith

I read an interesting story recently that reminded me of my days as a stockbroker. I met this little old lady who came from a rather meager upbringing and never really enjoyed great success even during her adult working years. However, she taught me a valuable lesson about commitment and consistency.

Merriam wasn’t much different from other senior citizens I know today. She was active in the community, dedicating her time to many philanthropic causes, loving her church, spending countless hours visiting with her many grandchildren, and enjoying many restful days on the lakeshores of Ohio.

When I met Merriam, she was already over 70 years old. Her soft white hair and distinguished facial folds reminded me of my grandmother who passed too early. Merriam came to my office one day, following several visits I made to her house, asking if I could help with her investments. When she arrived at my office, I instantly knew it was her. With a warm smile that brightened her face, Merriam was a slice of God’s goodness packed into an energetic woman.

Merriam took a seat next to me. I offered her a cup of coffee. Out of gratitude, she accepted.

“What brings you my way today?” I asked.

A delicate grin stretched wide from cheek to cheek and she replied, “Well, I figured since you’d stopped by my house over 20 times, I might as well return the favor.”

She wasn’t kidding either! I visited her house on so many occasions, her neighbors began to think I was family. In the brokerage industry, even with the fast paced world of investments, I enjoyed walking the streets of the community, introducing myself to as many people as possible. Often, I would make return trips to those special places where I met someone kind-hearted, just to reenergize my spirits because, as you know, the world of sales can get rather grueling at times. Merriam was one of those special people I made several return trips to see.

I knew in the back of my mind that she probably didn’t have additional money to invest beyond her necessary living expenses. After all, her small home and scant living style were evidence of her financial status. Don’t get me wrong though! She didn’t want for many things either. She had all the food, cookies, and beverages any family would crave to enjoy. There was simply something about her personality that brought me back just say hello. Visiting her and knowing she didn’t have any money, I always made a point to make a free financial recommendation to her. I would recommend a conservative stock or tax-free bond. She always said “thanks,” and tactfully changed the subject, before I was on my way.

On this particular day, something brought Merriam to me. I was determined to figure out why she made the long trip over to my office. So I asked again, “Merriam how can I help you today?”

She replied by telling me a story about Harold, her husband. The account was about Harold and her struggling through the depression as kids. The financial difficulties they endured make our troubles today seem miniscule. When she was a child, the kids had to share shoes and when the shoes wore out they taped cardboard to the sole just to get another two months out of them. Somewhere during this conversation one of my best clients walked into my reception area. I asked her if she could hold the thought. Nothing disturbed her and she said, “Of course, Dennis.”

After five minutes, I returned and told her how sorry I was to interrupt the interesting story. She replied, “It’s no big deal. I was just telling you this so I could get to the real reason I’m here today.” She proceeded to explain how she met Harold at a dance. They both shared so many childhood experiences and their lifestyles were very similar. When they made the decision to marry, they made a vow to each other. It wasn’t the usual vow of marriage; it was a vow of financial stability.

The Great Depression was the worst economic decline in U.S. history; it impacted many people during the 1930s in various ways. For Merriam and Harold, its effect was positive. They both agreed that each week they would pay themselves first, adding to their savings, and then pay all of their bills. Merriam told me their expectations were always such that they lived on only 80% of their earnings and invested the other 20% into many different types of war and federal bonds. These were the safe investments of the times.

As time passed and confidence was restored in the stock market, Merriam talked Harold into investing money into American companies. She would tell him that in order to live the American dream “we’ve got to invest in America.” So invest they did. Merriam and Harold stayed true to their initial vow of financial stability and bought as many stocks as they could afford with the 20% savings from each week’s paycheck. By the late 1940s, the American economy was doing well and so were Merriam and Harold.

As they continued to earn more money, they still maintained their initial financial vow. In fact, they stayed true to their vow and always lived well below their means. Merriam told me that, even with kids in the house, they were able to invest upwards of 35% of their earned wages. By the 1970s, Merriam had picked a few winner stocks and their portfolio grew.

By the early 80s, Harold was sick and passed on leaving Merriam with all the responsibilities. She told me that even after he was gone and she was long retired, she still invested money into “their” savings account.

I sat listening to the story of this woman, who seemed to have a scarcity of resources and financial assets, realizing she was looking to me for investment advice. I asked her exactly how much money Harold and she accumulated. Merriam replied, “We currently have a little over 1.8 million dollars.” Talk about falling out of your chair; I mentally fell out of my chair.

This story is not a story about money, or a story about love, although it very well could be both of those. It is a story about success gained through the virtues of commitment and consistency.

I train thousands of professionals each year, hopefully providing a single pearl of wisdom or one new skill that catapults them to new heights. However, all the greatest sales techniques, software packages, and greatest products and services won’t replace the important lesson learned through Merriam.

People can make the profession of sales overly complicated when truthfully the success of sales lies in your commitment to be consistent. If you focus on the seven key principles to sales success and consistently perform them, I guarantee, over the long-term, you’ll have success beyond your wildest imagination.

The seven key principles to sales success:

1. Make Calls
2. Follow-up
3. Ask People To Invest in Your Idea
4. Treat People With Respect
5. Listen More Than You Talk
6. Solve Problems
7. Demonstrate Staying Power

1. Make Calls

If you are consistent and committed to making as many quality calls as possible each day you come to the office, it is difficult to fail. In fact, I’ve witnessed some rather not so savvy salespeople making a lot of money because they made calls consistently each day. They were successful just because they were unfailing.

2. Follow-up

Maintain your commitment to follow-up with people, even when you think it may be a dead-end lead. Often the fruits of one’s labor, as with Merriam, are not recognized until years after the investment begins. Your goal is to build a huge network of contacts and keep your name in front of them at all times.

3. Ask People To Invest in Your Idea

In today’s marketplace, with all the advanced terminology for buying—such as partnering, strategic alliance, channel sales, gaining commitment, increasing affiliates, and I could go on—the point is to ask people to do business with you each day. The rule of success is to ask people to invest in your idea consistently. I must have stopped by Merriam’s house for two years before she stopped in to see me. Her whole reason for stopping by was to tell me that she had been looking for a new broker who was committed to success and maintained consistency in his or her approach. I didn’t know I did this, but now I recognize the importance of the lesson.

4. Treat People With Respect

Treat people with respect. This seems self-explanatory; however, the more focused you are on how you treat others, the greater success you’ll have in sales. Often sales professionals have the holier than thou attitude. Remember, the next person to become a client likely doesn’t know you yet. Constructing a relationship with this potential client is built on mutual respect.

5. Listen More Than You Talk

Sales professionals often talk too much. In fact, I have encountered scores of sales professionals who need listening skills workshops. The art of selling is found in the power of listening. You gain more respect in a buyer’s mind when they feel you understand and hear them. Be committed to making a consistent effort at listening more than you talk. Ask lots of questions.

6. Solve Problems and Create Solutions

Being a problem solver and creating realistic solutions puts you as a sales professional and a human being far ahead of your counterparts. Often salespeople enter new client relationships with an agenda. They know what products they need to sell and no matter what, they are going to sell them to the customer. However, experience shows that if you understand your clients’ needs and help to create needs by understanding how your product or service solves problems, you’ll experience success quicker and sustain for longer periods of time. Be a consistent problem solver and solution provider.

7. Demonstrate Staying Power

Too often, sales professionals lack a commitment to success. Learning how to keep your head calm and maintain a long-term perspective gives you the advantage on your competition. Lay down sales are often far and few between. Your real worth is how many sales you win long after other sales professionals give up out of frustration and lack of commitment. Trust that your commitment and consistency to your career will pay-off.