Entrepreneurship: It’s About Getting What YOU Want

I’m writing to share with you two great examples of entrepreneurship from a chapter of my book, The Best Damn Sales Book Ever. I also highly recommend a great new book, The One Minute Entrepreneur, by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson. It is an exciting story about the trials and tribulations of business. You can take part in their special offer by clicking here.

…This is an excerpt from Chapter 15 of The Best Damn Sales Book Ever:

When I ask,“Why did you get into sales,” or “Why did you go into this kind of business,” I’ve had way too many people say, “…Because I heard you can make a lot of money in sales,” or, “I heard you can make a lot of money in this kind of business.” I know people who have made a lot of money doing things where others would turn up their noses.

You’ve probably never heard of a man named Randy Repass. He was like so many other people in that he had a job he was disappointed with at a Silicon Valley technology firm, so he turned to his love of boating for relief from the cold, impersonal nature of the high-tech industry. In 1968, working out of his garage in Sunnyvale, California, he began selling nylon rope by mail order under the name West Coast Ropes. Occasionally, adventuresome customers would even drop by to pick up their orders in person.

“I decided from the beginning that I wanted to take care of people,” says Repass.“The high-tech industry didn’t provide me with an effective way to do that. But the boating industry gave me the opportunity to really enjoy my work and interact with customers who shared my interests. I was having a blast and building a business at the same time.”

Repass also saw an opportunity to improve the way people shopped for boating supplies. According to Repass, he was frustrated by the experience of shopping in local chandleries for the parts he needed to outfit his modest day-sailer. “Boat supply stores in those days were usually dark, disorganized places staffed by a couple of salty but indifferent clerks who preferred swapping sea stories with one another to helping customers find what they came in to buy.”

Repass’s dissatisfaction led him to open the first West Coast Ropes store in Palo Alto, California, in 1975. From that one store, a love of boating and a commitment to helping rather than selling enabled Randy Repass to build West Coast Ropes into West Marine, the world’s largest boating supply retailer.

I’m sure that selling tires for a living doesn’t seem like the road to riches or the coolest way to make a living, but don’t tell that to Paul Zurcher.

Mr. Zurcher (I don’t think I’ve ever called him Paul, and even though he’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met, I don’t really think I could) left the Armed Forces right after serving in World War II. Having grown up on a farm in rural Indiana, the only thing he knew was that he didn’t want to be a farmer. With the help of a $2,500 loan from a local businessman who took a liking to him and believed in him, Mr. Zurcher bought a one bay service station. As his business grew, he branched out into selling tires. Treating every customer as special (as every customer is), his tire business grew and today Zurcher Tires, more commonly known as “Best One,” is one of the largest retailers and wholesalers of tires in the United States, with stores all over Indiana and the Midwest.

Mr. Zurcher, now in his 80s, is as active in the business as ever. While he certainly doesn’t have to be—his sons, along with other family members and executives, do a great job of running the company— he loves being there as much today as he did 60 years ago.

You know what? You can make a lot of money doing anything, if you really love it and put everything you’ve got into it. Loving what you do is what is going to get you through the hard times when there is no money coming in. It is also the one quality that can help make you great at anything you do.

The Excuse Of Market Saturation

I just received a very interesting question from Davida Roth. You might remember her; she’s the Mary Kay Consultant whose blog comment I used in my last article. Unfortunately, like far too many people these days, Davida finds herself surrounded by the worst kind of people: negative excuse makers.

However, I’m absolutely shocked that she is still able to see the real truth so clearly. If you don’t believe me, just check out her latest correspondence.

Mr. Greshes,

I was wondering if you could address the idea of "market saturation". In a Co. such as mine (Mary Kay) where we have no territories is this a valid issue?

The Internet has given many failed MK Consultants and Consultants from other Direct Sales companies a new platform to express their skewed views on why they failed. It is NEVER their fault or responsibility and the main idea that is repeated over and over again, like a mantra is that the "market is saturated". So instead of owning up to the fact that they WON"T do what it takes to build a customer base, they say it CAN’T be done. Drives me crazy because I’m starting to hear higher- ups voice this same idea to justify their lack of success! Are their a lot of Consultants in the US?. .. You betcha!…. Do we have competition from other companies?… Certainly! But my feeling is that the term "market saturation" is the crutch of the lazy salesperson. But I am not the expert,

So I’m asking you- Am I the one off track here, is it possible for a market to be saturated? I’d love to get your opinion and if it’s okay, I’d love to share what you tell me on a WAHM forum that I participate in. I’ve already directed the women who post there to your website on another occasion and will do so again. Thanks for you help with this question and for your kind response to my blog posting.

D.M.R

Davida, I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Of course it’s an excuse. Remember, most people in sales look for any excuse NOT to sell.

Now is there such a thing as market saturation? Of course! One of the many problems of the airline industry was over capacity; there were far more seats than passengers. Of course, when the government keeps giving out taxpayer money to failed companies you end up with more airlines than you need. But now, through mergers, consolidations and streamlined schedules that problem is going away.

Is there market saturation among Mary Kay and other Direct Sales consultants? I’m not sure, but I doubt it. And I very much doubt whether any of those people who claim the market is saturated know what they’re talking about. Do you think any of them commissioned a study by a market research firm in their area? What do you think?

You all know as well as I do what happened. This is standard operating procedure for all excuse makers. They ask one or two people to buy. The first prospect says, “Oh, I really don’t have any money right now, and besides, with the economy the way it is, I’ll probably be cutting back.” The second person they talk to says, “You’re the third person who’s approached me about this in the last month. Boy, there seem to be an awful lot of you.”

That’s all the excuse maker needs to hear. After an exhaustive study of two people, the excuse maker is now convinced that a) Nobody is buying and, b) There are more consultants than customers, so why bother. They have the excuse they wanted. What, you thought they were looking for sales? Remember, excuse makers are more interested in “Not failing,” than in succeeding.

You see the excuse maker always needs a reason or a scapegoat. It’s a heck of a lot easier than looking in the mirror at the real culprit. But the excuse makers can be very useful. After all, as long as they’re around there really is no competition.

So Davida, distance yourself from the excuse makers. Surround yourself with people who think like you do. Oh and by the way, find out the areas where the excuse makers claim there’s no business and go there, because I’ll guarantee you there’s money to be made and there’s NOOOOOOO competition.

Never Give Up In Down Times

In my last entry, “A Recession Is Coming And I Can’t Wait!,” I wrote that recessions and down economic periods are the best times to do business because most of the competition gives up.

As expected, there were some very good comments. Normally, I would leave it at that; but one of the comments was so good, I wanted to make sure you all got to see it. It’s from a woman named Davida Roth and I think she sums up the prevailing attitude, because she’s on the front lines witnessing it. Here’s what she wrote:

Mr. Greshes

Thank you so much for this article. I am an Independent Consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics and I’m finding that many Consultants in my area had already started to mentally close the figurative doors of their business due to their fears over the economy. Especially since the purchase of cosmetics and skincare is often made with discretionary/ disposable income and for some women it’s even a luxury purchase.

I didn’t know how to address their concerns and frankly was finding myself getting antsy and anxious every time I even heard a news report on the coming recession. Every "No" that I used to be able to brush off, now seemed to confirm my worse fears. Already, reading and re-reading this article has helped to bolster my flagging confidence and I’ll be able to encourage my sister Consultants as well.

Thank you for taking the time to write this post and of course for sharing it with us.

Does that sum it up or what? First of all, WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION; and there’s a real good possibility there will not be one, but it doesn’t matter! As you can see from Davida’s comment, it’s our own fears that create these self-fulfilling prophecies.

Do you really believe, even if there is a recession, women will STOP buying cosmetics and skincare products? What about all the millions of women who go to work every day, will they stop wearing make-up or using face cream? Yeah, and I think I’ll stop showering because my water bills are getting too high. Sure, maybe they’ll use less or buy cheaper brands, but with so many salespeople giving up, there will be more business out there for the rest of them.

I’m sure glad my article posted at the exact right time and I was able to help Davida as she was about to succumb to one of the biggest obstacles in the world: negative people!

Don’t let negative people stop you. They’re just looking for an excuse to not have to try as hard. Your efforts to keep doing business while ignoring the nay-sayers are less likely to inspire them than it is to make them try harder to stop you, so as not to make them look bad. Your only solution is to tell them, “Either join me and come along for the ride or get out of my way!"

How The Motivator Got Motivated

Like many people out there today, I was one of those unmotivated, directionless people walking around in a comatose state, mumbling, “I hate my job; I don’t want to do this anymore. But what else could I possibly do? This is the only thing I know, and besides, they pay me well, so I might as well stay!” Whoa, talk about commitment! “They pay me well, so I might as well stay!” How would you like to have someone like that working for you?

Click here for my special offer on my new DVD Goal-Setting Techniques That Work.

By the time you finish this DVD, you will walk away with the beginnings of your own, personal 5 year plan for your life, career or business!

It was 1983. I had spent almost 10 years working in the garment center in New York City and I hated it! But instead of constantly whining that I was stuck and “what else could I do,” I had a revelation. I said to myself, “Hey, putz, it’s not that there’s nothing else you can do—there’s always something else you can do. It’s just that you’re too lazy to get off your big fat ass to figure out what it is.” So that’s what I did. I got off my big fat ass (it’s much smaller now), went to see a career counselor, was put through my first ever goal setting session, and within months had the career I wanted along with a job that I created! I was head of sales and marketing for a small training and consulting firm in New York City.

After two years on that job I decided I wanted to be in my own business. I went back to my goal setting skills (which were now even sharper, since I went to every goal setting and training seminar that I sold) to write a plan for my new business. I started my business in March 1986 and I’m still out there going strong.

Probably the biggest change I ever made was in 1997 when my wife, children, and I relocated from New York City (where we had lived our entire lives) to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Every time I tell people that, they always say the same thing: “Wow, that’s a big change!” I know, that’s why we did it. If I wanted a small change, I would have moved to the east side.

But, as with any other big change in my life, I didn’t just wake up one day and say to my wife, “We gotta get the hell out of here, so let’s throw a dart into the map of the United States and wherever it hits, that’s where we go.”

We started discussing this three years before we left, and after asking the inevitable question, “Where do we go?” we took our goal setting and planning skills and formulated criteria and a profile of what we felt would be the perfect place for our family.

After narrowing it down and coming up with Chapel Hill, we then visited it so many times we knew every inch of the place. It was only then that we knew it would be the perfect place for us, and it has been.

Having a clearly defined written goal and plan will motivate and energize you to go out and achieve anything you really want in your life, career, or business. I’m always amazed at how easy it’s been for me to get whatever I want, once I bother to figure out what is; and that’s what I want to do for you in my new DVD, Goal Setting Techniques that Work.

Goal Setting Techniques That Work

First, I want to thank everyone who has helped make Prospecting Skills That Work a success! Your feedback has also been great about seminars that you would like to see in this format. This is why very soon we’ll be releasing Goal Setting Techniques That Work: How to Create a Five Year Action Plan for Your Life. Below is a preview of the new DVD. If you know you need to get clear about your future, but haven’t yet clarified your vision, this program will give you the tools and motivation you need to get started now. This DVD will be available in the coming weeks, so check for updates.

Love What You Do

In this “keynote clip,” Warren explains the two key attributes that define every successful person he’s ever met. Don’t miss it!

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