What is our sales motivation?

THE other day I was working with a salesman who I came out of the car business. He had made over $100,000 a year for l5 years.

"Why lumber salbs?" I asked.

"I just couldn't handle the hours anymore," he said. "We cap out around 100K. We have to work late nights, weekends, so who cares about the money in the end?"

Nice to hear someone who understands that life isn't all about the money. Of course, a six-figure income is like a college degree. It's easy to say it's not important when you've already made it, but for those who haven't, j/,s a big deal. A wise man told me, "Ten bucks isn't much money, unless you don't have it."

We were working in a closed office. He was making calls, and I was listening. Again and again, he got bodyslammed by potential customers. I would try to help him with the right responses while he was on the phone, but in the end. we mostly debriefed after the calls.

He was astonished that I always had something to say to customers' responses. "What should I say?" he asked me. Finally I said to him, "E., I'm not going to give you any more answers. You are as smart as I am, you have sold for I5 years. you should know whal to say."

Then I realized that it wasn't a question of intelligence or industry knowledge, but motivation. I am not talking about the motivation of wanting to be successful. E. wants to be successful. Heck, he already is successful. The car

By James Olsen

business is waiting with open arms (and l00K+ per year) for his return. What I am talking about is what is our motivationfor making the call?

World renowned golfer Tom Watson says, ..The difference between me and the top five players at the University of Texas is I expect to hit it in the trees." What does he mean? He is saying that his motivation is to score well not to hit perfect shots. Since his motivation is to score well, he is not devastated by bad shots. His motivation to score well is stronger than his desire to hit Rreat shots.

The more I work with salespeopL, the more I realize that many struggle because their motivation before, during and after the call is not clear to them, thus they strain to find the right answers. Master sellers know exactly whv they are on the phone or in front of customers, so ttreir responses come naturally. When we are deeply in love, the words flow. When love fades, the words come out of our mouths like rough-sawn 2xl2s. The same can be said for sales.

So what should our motivation be? I think it is different for all sellers. Some of us want to help the customer, some of us want the order, some of us want to build a long-term partnership, some of us want to prove to our high-school classmates or our parents that we can and have become a success, and some of us remember the sting of growing up poor and don't want to go back. Whatever the motivation is, for master sellers it is so achingly clear that it becomes an unconscious part of who they are, so the responses to customer doubt or customer objections come naturally.

Struggling sellers mostly are motivated by fear. Fear of losing the order, fear ofupsetting the customer, fear offailure, and in many cases fear of success. These motivations don't sell I

What is the answer? As with all tough questions in life, the answer lies within. All the sales techniques in the world will not help a seller who does not understand, intemally, why he or she is making the call. We must ask ourselves before every sales call, "Why am I making this call? Do I really believe? Am I motivated? Is my motivation strong or am I just going through the motions?;' If we go to a coniert or to dinner and the artist or the cook doesn't have strons motivation, we will feel it in the performance or in thE taste of the food-as do our customers!

Before every call, we ask ourselves, "What is my motivation?" Happy Holidays and Happy (Morivared) Sellingl

R:rlnrns

Grove Lumber has moved to a new location in Ontario, Ca.

Agrishop Lawn & Equipment C-enter, Auburn, Wa., reopened Nov. 28, after adding a 10,000-sq. ft. Ace Hardware; a sister store in Tacoma, Wa., will add an Ace department in April

Lowe's Cos. opened a new location Dec. 26 inE. San Jose, Ca., and will raze a vacant Kmart in Colorado Springs, Co., to build a 103O00-sq. ft. store with 31O00gg.ft. garden center by February 2010...

Home Depot received approval to build a new home center in Grants Pass. Or. ...

Ganahl Lumber, Anaheim, Ca., provided shelter Dec. 15 during a heavy storm to students who were evacuated from a school building across the street after parts of iti roof collapsed

Habitat for Humanity opened a second smaller ReStore discount LBM outlet in Spokane, Wa. (Jeff Howard, store director)

Prescott Valley True Hardware, Prescott, Az., received a business philanthropy award from the Yavapai County Community Foundation ...

Wrouslr:rs/tlmuntrur:rs

Lumber Yard Supply, Great Falls, Mt., this month is opening a 10-acre distribution yard in Spokane, Wa., using th6 former 100,000-sq. ft. building of Pristina Pine, which declared bankruptcy and closed in 2008 ...

Hoquiarn P lywood, Hoquiam, Wa., hopes to resume production this month after shutting down Dec. 8-its first closure in 53 years...

Swanson Group., Glendale, Or., laid off 180 workers at its facilities in Noti, Roseburg, Glendale, and Springfield, Or., due to decreased demand for building materials ...

Intermountain Supply Inc. is building a new 50,000-sq. ft. DC with 4p00-sq. ft. office on 6 acres in Spokane,Wa....

Stimson Lumber, Portland, Or., laid off 70 employees at its mill in Forest Grove, Or., and has asked officials in Bonner County, Id., to rezone timberland to allow the building of a luxury golf community with 1,100 homes when the economy improves ...

Potlatch Corp., Spokane, Wa., completed the spin-off of its pulpbased businesses into Clearwater Paper Corp.

Plum Creek Timber Co., Seattle, Wa., has completed the $150-million sale of 130.000 acres of western Montana forestland to The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land, the first phase of a three-part transaction

Silvaris Corp., Bellevue, Wa., is expanding its OSBMarket.com service into Washington, Oregon, northern Idaho, and Florida

Nu Forest Products. Healdsburg, Ca., and Neiman Reed Lumber Co., Panorama City, Ca., are now West Coast distributors for Claymark's Centurion line of FSCcertifiedfingerjointed, treated, primed exterior/interior trim Send h hee seruice)

Have your recent expansion, promotions or other company changes published in the next issue of The Merchant.

Just Fax your news to 949.852.0231 or send by email to kdebats@building-products.c0m.

Lausmann Lumber Co., Loomis, Ca., is now distributing Lazy S Lumber's Panel Crafters line of knotty cedar plywood and is building up its stock of FSC-certified western red cedar and redwood products...

California Cascade Industries is now distributing Trex composite {ecking, railing and fencing in California and Nevada

TimberTech is now distributing DeckLite products

Idaho Veneer Co., Post Falls, Id., and affiliate Ceda-Pine Veneer, Samuels,Id., have received Forest Stewardship Council chain-of-custody certification

SierraPine, Roseville, Ca., received a no-added formaldehvde exemption from the Califomia Air Resources Board

PhibroWood was issued a new patent for micronized organic biocides used in its Sustain 20T wood preservative...

___Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., will repurchase up to $250 million of its outstanding shares

HuttigBuilding Products, St. Louis, Mo., has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and has begun trading on the- OTC Bulletin Board as HBPI ...

Simp s on Strong -Ti e, Pleasanton, Ca., now offers online fastener training classes on topics covered by its in-class courses

Anniversaries: Gold Beach Lumber Yard, Gold Beach, Or., 50th ... Califurnia Forest Products, Hollister, Ca., 30th

Housing starts in November dove t8.97o to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000 permits fell l5.6Vo to an annual pace of 616.000.