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

f we,s 16 venns or-o and needed to earn money to pay for those Saturday nights out on the Itown. So I found my first real paid job selling clothes every Saturday at a local men's store. And I loved it! Apat 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 selling.

Three years later, after dropping out of college and working in accounting, finance and banking, I realized I would never enjoy office life or earn enough money to fulfill all my dreams-including my short-term 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) company and enjoyed the travel, the chase, the sale, and, ofcourse, the car. In fact, I think my second salesjob decision was based on getting a better carl lnside 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.

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 along. Yet 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.

In fact, if we are good, we don't want to do anything else. We may hate having to pander for a sale, but even if we have been fired for missing a target or two, we still expect ourselves to be motivated and as bright as a button after that fifteenth "No" of the day. Whatever we end up doing, we always need to know how to sell. Even in my c.e.o. jobs, I couldn't wait to get out into the field with those who drove the success of my companies. And there lies the rub. Too many companies fail to recognize that their company 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 8 a.m., try working on a new account for a year and then losing it to issues outside of your control, try dealing with irate customers whose orders were botched. etc.. etc.

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 everyone else's job 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 dav. should be listened to. ResDect 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 just 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 conseouences of success and failure.

Alan Oakes, Publisher aioakes@aol.com

BPII Building Ploducts lligest

www. bu ld n g-prod ucts.com

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

Publisher Alan 0akes ajoakes@aol.com

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BUILDING PRODUCTS DIGEST is oublished monthly at 4500 Campus Dr., Ste. 480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660-1872, (949) 852-1990, Fax 949-852-0231, www.buildingproducts.com, by Cutler Publishing, Inc. (a California Corporation). lt is an independently owned publication for building products retailers and wholesale distributors in 37 states East of the Rockies. Copyright@2009 by Cutler Publishing, Inc. Cover and entire contents are fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without written permission. All Rights Reserved. BPD reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter, and assumes no liability for materials furnished