Is there a feeding frenzy out there?

They are circling!

Pictured above are representatives from several leading promotional products distributors who are just waiting for a few "starving" reps to fall by the wayside.

I posed the question about whether or not there is a feeding frenzy out there with respect to companies looking for salespeople to join their firms. Personally I think that there is!

My perspective on this comes from the fact that I spend a good deal of time looking for salespeople to join The Vernon Team. We place ads. We send out emails. We use direct mail in addition to sending out letters. We use word of mouth. We use job or career websites. We have a referral program for suggesting names of individuals who might join Vernon.

We also spend a good deal of time watching what others in the industry are doing and how they are doing it. I know this might sound a little bit like the proverbial "pot calling the kettle black" but who cares here is my two cents on this issue.

It is getting down right nasty out there! The latest fashonable thing to do appears to be to take shots at other companies and their ownership structure. At a recent industry get together there was almost a fight between two of the biggest advertisers in the industry about the truth or "lack of truth" in each of their campaigns. Quite frankly it was embarassing for all who attended this event.

Other recent ads have targeted companies because they are privately held and have been around for a while, passed from generation to generation. I thought longevity of staying in business was a "good" thing. I must have missed the memo!

Way back when when I was just out of college I found myself taking a Dale Carnegie Sales Course. I learned some very valuable things while taking that course but perhaps the most important take away was that you never knock the competition as it makes you look cheap.

Sell your stengths and leave it at that. I only wish some of the others who are placing ads and promoting their companies could have taken that course with me.

Again, I prefaced all of these comments stating that we are recruiting and advertising using the same mediums. And while Vernon has not necessarily been the victim of any of these knocks, other than having successfully passed a business down through four generations (is this a bad thing?) and being called to task for it, I want to ask for a cease fire....

Sell what you have! From my perspective all of these companies have something to sell. Talk to those that are interested about your strengths and what you can do for them. Don't waste your breath on the fact that some company has lawyers involved or not involved in running their organization. Come on... let's all grow up!

There are pros and cons with all of the large distributors out there! Can we all agree on this? I can!

If you are selling any product or service or even just an opportunity to sell promotional products in the marketplace keep the focus on what you do and what you offer. Usually if you lead the discussions this way you will be able to do some direct comparisons with other companies if asked. It is here where you hope that you match up well based on the prospective salesperson's individual's needs.

Are we the best company for candidate A? I don't know as I have not yet talked to him or her. Only after a having an open discussion with the sales prospect will we have some idea as to whether we offer a fit.

And before anyone asks, let me say that many times we recognize early that someone might not be a fit for one reason or another. Understanding this and pointing it out where necessary is the right thing to do. To try and fit a "square peg into a round hole" is not good for anyone.

So at The Vernon Company we are taking the high road. Hopefully others in the industry will follow because it appears that several others are on a different route to their success!

Don’t be a prisoner…

Are you a prisoner? Are there days when you feel like you are being held hostage? Are you waiting for someone to come to the rescue to save you from this desperate economy?



This may describe many of you who are reading this article. I have a news flash for you all….

No one is coming to save you!

It is incumbent upon all of us to fend for ourselves. My opinion regarding a lot of this is that we put up our own barriers and we fail to look very hard for ways to escape.

Quite often I hear people tell me the reasons why they cannot accomplish their goals. They are quick to recite a list of things that stand in their way. Do any of these sound familiar?

1. My price is too high!
2. My buyer left the company!
3. The company was bought out by another company!
4. The competitor beat my price!

How about looking at it this way?

1. The price on the item that they requested is too high so I am showing them three exciting new items that will fit into their budget range!
2. I am so sorry that the previous buyer left however it is now presents an opportunity to develop a relationship with the new person. Start romancing them today about why you should be their “go to” person. Do not expect any gimmies!
3. The company was bought out by another company! This can be scary however again it might present an opportunity for an optimist to work their way into the new “parent” company. Begin by finding out who all the key players are and showing them some of the great things you did for their recent acquisition and talking about what you can do for them!
4. The competitor beat my price! Did they? Were we comparing apples with apples? Why do we find ourselves in a bidding situation to begin with? Spending a good deal of time working with buyers to assess their needs and their budget ranges and then coming in to see them with exciting products that meet their needs and their budgets is a great way to keep the competition out and to avoid bids.

We all have heard that old saying about people who think that the grass is always greener in the other person’s yard!

I was thinking about this the other day and I came up with a new saying. See what you think of this….

“If the grass always looks greener in the other person’s yard maybe it is time for you to spread some fertilizer and start watering your yard!”

What do you think?

Once again we come back to the same answer in that you control most if not all of your destiny. There are several common denominators found with successful people.

The harder they work, the luckier they get!

They look for solutions, not obstacles!

They believe that where there is a will, there is a way!

Bigger is NOT always better!

We have all heard the old slogan that bigger is better. Is this true?

The people in Texas would probably tell you....damn straight it is....but I am not so sure.

This economy has a lot of people scrambling for new homes, both on the supplier and the distributor side of this business.

As an individual who is responsible for hiring within our organization I meet first hand with many of these people and hear all their stories. I am on the distributor side working with The Vernon Company. In November I will celebrate 20 years with them and my experience has been a great one.

Listening to the experiences of many of these people I have to count my lucky stars that I am where I am. The truth is, in my opinion that there are lots of good companies out there, big, medium and small.

I do not believe that companies fail strictly because of their size or scope. There are more factors that need to be considered. Conversely companies do not succeed due to their annual sales volume either!

When considering new employment my recommendation would be to ask lots of questions. Sure you can ask about their size and how long they have been in business. Those are two good questions. But other questions should be asked as well. Some others to consider would be...

1. Can I see a copy of your current D & B Credit report or last years audited financial statements? The fact that you want to join a company that is financially stable, a company that is going to be around for years to come should not be construed as a negative. Make sure you closely listen to the answer to this question! Failing to answer this one could be a BIG RED FLAG!

2. If I join your company are there group health and dental benefits available? How about retirement plan options? These are very important to some people!

3. If you do not need those benefits will the company consider paying you a bonus in lieue of the benefits? At The Vernon Company we do offer this because we feel strongly that individuals should not be penalized because they do not need benefits!

4. Can I speak to a number of your top reps to ask about their experiences with your company? Do not take no for an answer here!

The reality here is that I have seen over the years big companies that treat people poorly and small companies that do the same. I have seen way too many salespeople that get locked in to a company, sometimes signing non-competes...please don't do that unless someone is giving you a boat load of money and even then you should think twice about it!

I feel badly when I speak to some of these people who fail to realize that there is a whole other world out there with companies that do value the individual employee rep. They treat you with respect. They listen to and value your opinion and craft tools and policies to meet your needs.

If you find yourself in a position where you need to make a change or are considering making a change please do your homework. I know that a lot of people historically have put more time in buying a "flat screen" television than they have in selecting a company to represent for the future.

Does that make sense?

Do not get caught up on the size of the company! Dig into the history of the company, the financial strength of the company and their reputation!

Talk to others in the industry about them. How do they treat suppliers? Other distributors? Their salespeople?

The lesson is the same as high school and college....if you do your homework...you will end up with better grades.

It has never been more important than today to get good grades as you search for a new place to call your career home!

Good luck!

You must spread the Good News!

Hopefully this subject line gets a little attention!



About six weeks ago I wrote an article suggesting that it might be interesting to see would happen if the media focused on good news or acts of kindness each day. What effect would this shift in their focus have on people?



Low and behold a few weeks later Brian Williams on the 6 PM news began a series where each night for one week he featured good news stories.



While I doubt this was a result of my blog I found myself watching every nighting waiting for the "good news" stories. After each piece I felt that my faith in man kind was restored, that there was good in the world and more often than not the stories brought a tear to my eye.



Well much to my chagrin it appears that the 7 and 1/2 minutes that it dedicated that was too much as the media continues in my opinion to fixate on "all things negative".



Reading a few papers recently I was surprised to see some very good news related to a few of the economic indicators....this is good right???? Yes except for the fact that it was only given two paragraphs on page seven....page seven of my Iowa newspaper!



Positive economic news couldn't get on page one or two in Iowa.



Come on!



I love Iowa but let's be real here, if the mainstream media outlets will not promote the positive things going on in each of our companies or communities then we must step up and take a stand



We all know that positive people attract other positive people... right?



Doesn't it stand to reason that positive news will attract more positive news. I think it does and I will make the assertion here that spreading the good news that we all can see and find in our own little worlds will actually help to "create and cause" good things to happen!



WOW! If you believe this then I think you will agree that this is one more piece of evidence that we can all Make A Difference...but we need to take action!



Make sure that you use all the avenues at your disposal to spread good news whenever and wherever you may observe it.



Thanks for listening!