Sales-tude is Servitude

People who throw kisses are mighty hopelessly lazy. 

                           ~Bob Hope

I ran across a great article on PeopleFirst.com and agreed with the advice offered in "Is Humility a Liability in Sales?"

Unfortunately, it was right on:   Many sales managers and executives DO fall into the trap of thinking that they want the macho, superior, confident sales applicant.  From my own personal experience they rarely equal the loyal, detail oriented, employee.  The article took a bite from one of my most popular posts I wrote a while ago called "Hunter or Farmer" where I attempt to lay out what you may end up with.

It is proven  time and time again as a sales pro myself and a hiring manager:  HIRE "humility" over and over and OVER again! 

         Sales is servitude cloaked in disguise.       ~Jeannette Marshall

Why?  Sales is servitude cloaked in disguise.  If you are willing to "serve" your customer, truly understand them, that means putting "them" in front of "you".

Where ART thou? .... on Pinterest!

 “Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own.”
~Bruce Lee

Enter the magical world of  Pinterest -- What is it?

"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

 Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.” www.pinterest.com

However humble and simple that sounds, one cannot avoid the millions of followers who think it is a big enough deal to sign up within mere months after launching.  Most credible marketers are paying attention now:

 “Pinterest stands out in crowded social media field” An article from USAToday  stated “Some people in Silicon Valley believe Silbermann — who played cello for the Des Moines youth symphony; whose parents, Jane Wang and Neil Silbermann, are opthalmologists with a family practice in Urbandale; and who competed on the debate team at Roosevelt High School— may have founded the next giant social media website.  The soft-spoken 29-year-old believes Pinterest fills a need on the Internet for people to express themselves. You don't have to be witty, or a good photographer, or a good writer to use Pinterest, he says, you just have to pin your  interests to an online pinboard.”

Don’t be misled into believing it is only for crafters (that would probably nix serious professional social media marketers).  Delve further and deeper, you will see so much more!  Even the heartiest of Social Media Divas and Dons are scrambling to climb aboard.  Not even Klout or Empire Avenue, have  caught up … that is how fresh and unique Pinterest is.  Like many social media networks before it, Pinterest would never have predicted, I’m guessing, the ample opportunity in so many other ways.

The Godfather of Social Media: Josepf Haslam

Some folk still are of the opinion that Social Media is a time waster, for the lonely hearts, social animals or narcissists, while others are knowledge junkies who embrace it as a vehicle to subscribe to information at a speed they control how much they want to absorb.  Then there are the exceptions.  Those that are in “the know” or the ones who “get it”:  a world in which information, networking and socializing that break down barriers such as location, intelligence, color, religion, corporate, private, interactive, passive or active participation.  No matter where you sit, most everyone agrees today it a force with which resistance will leave you in its dust.

Once you break down your personal barriers or bias, you discover that there are some people that appear at every turn in the social media phenomena.  One such person is Josepf Haslam.  I coined him the “Godfather of Social Media” simply because he is an expert, personable and willing to lend an opinion, always.  Josepf Haslam is at the heart of Social Media.  Luckily, I was able to squeeze in time with Josepf while he “ went from Montreal to Kingston NY to Philly, last to see my girls 13/15 and then back to Kingston on Monday and Montreal Monday night”.  Whew. 

1.      How did you get into Social Media, why, and when?

 I have been involved with Social Media since 1979, we just didn’t call it that then!   As an early advocate of Social Media,  I helped implement a global infrastructure at DuPont along the way.  To me the reasons are obvious, collaboration, connections, relationships, and speed.