Start To Measure What Matters...
Jared Yellin
Visionary Dadpreneur Catalyzing the Next ERA of Venture Capital + Sustainable Philanthropy | Driving Tech Innovation ????
When I was 19-years-old I had the greatest skill development experience of my life when I did door-to-door sales which was 100% commission based and I sold credit card processing to businesses in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Anyone ever try?!?!
In my opinion, door-to-door sales should be a requirement to graduate from high school.
There is no better way to learn how to communicate, influence, think on your feet, gain emotional and social intelligence, fail and get back up, along with a variety of other KEY life lessons.
My “mentor” at the company shared the following on day 1…
“Most don’t make it.” (My thoughts: Bring it on!)
“You must see 100 businesses a day to get 1 sale.” (My thoughts: I am going to sweat a TON)
“Stick with the script or you will fail miserably.” (My thoughts: Well that does not sound like fun!)
All three of these comments did not sit well, but I listened, for one week, and guess how many businesses I saw that week…?
674 DIFFERENT businesses in 5 days…
And now guess how many businesses said YES to me…
ZERO!!!
Literally, ZERO businesses said yes to me.
I was shocked…
I was frustrated…
I was deeply deflated...
I remember taking the bus home that Friday evening and reciting over and over again…
“I CAN’T SELL!”
I was recycling every NO in my head…
Thinking about where I could have taken the conversation differently…
Thinking about what I could have said to get a YES…
Thinking about how foolish I must have looked each time the door was slammed in my face…
And then I realized something…
I WAS NOT HAVING FUN!
I was not having fun talking with businesses…
I was not having fun being on defense in every conversation…
I was not having fun going into 125+ doors a day!
And I have never heard of someone NOT HAVING FUN and GETTING WHAT THEY WANTED.
Please read this statement again because it REALLY matters right now whether you are in sales, coaching, health, parenting, etc.
I have NEVER heard of someone NOT HAVING FUN and GETTING WHAT THEY WANTED!
I started to think about what FUN with SALES would mean to me…
1 - Build meaningful relationships which was not possible with 125 businesses in an 8-hour day.
2 - Have conversations outside of a script to really understand the goals and desires of the person.
3 - Laugh, smile, poke fun, get inspired TOGETHER!
I came in on Monday ready to goooooo!
I told my “mentor” the following…
“Last week sucked and it has nothing to do with what you think it does. The ZERO sales does not bother me at all. But what does is the fact that I made ZERO relationships, made ZERO impressions, and had ZERO laughs. So, I am sure you are going to challenge me right now, but my plans this week have changed. I will see 10 businesses a day, I will really get to know them and NOT follow the script, and I will laugh and have fun in each.”
My mentor said…
“Good luck (with a chuckle and he turned away).”
That day…
I saw 10 businesses and I had 4 businesses say YES and 10 businesses laughing, smiling, and feeling understood.
Day 2…
I saw 10 businesses and I had 3 businesses say YES and 10 businesses laughing, smiling, and feeling understood.
I think you can now see the trend…
SALES MUST BE FUN!
LIFE MUST BE FUN!
EVERYTHING YOU DO MUST BE FUN!
And for any naysayers out there - bring it on - because here’s what I know…
I ALWAYS HAVE FUN…
And if you believe that you can’t, shouldn’t, or want to challenge me - I’m all good - because I am having fun and you are probably not.
But now let’s get into the key takeaway from this VERY intentional message…
STOP measuring your success on HEARING YES…
START measuring your success on smiles, laughs, tears, hugs, and connection.
And I FREAKIN GUARANTEE if you start measuring the later, you will hear more YES’S
And if not - sell me whatever you sell and I promise I WILL SAY YES (as long as you make me smile, laugh, cry, hug you and connect!).
Live with Intention,
JY
Legacy Builder | Community Builder | Team Facilitator | Wellness & Beauty Advocate | Connector I Influencer
4 年I absolutely love this Jared Yellin My mantra is ...if your not having fun don’t do it!!! I loved how you flipped the success formula and figured it out early!! Trusting your innate instincts and creating the winning formula! Yes to fun and building solid relationships! I love that you discerned quickly that ...throwing the spaghetti up against the wall to see what sticks is never going to produce sustainable results!
★ Training ★ Direct Sales ★ Exec Coaching, Mentoring, Consulting ★ Seeking Corp. Board of Directors Positions ★ MLM / Network Marketing ★ Consulting
4 年Love how you think. And...love your little guy - he is so cute!
Helping You Build, Grow & Protect Your Legacy | Expert in Medicare, Life Insurance, Annuities & Estate Planning ?? Licensed Insurance & Financial Professional
4 年Love this story Jared and this lesson has made the biggest impact on my sales and in my life in general. Now working with people like yourself and having fun are my standard.