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Business Rule #38:
Timing is Everything
November 10, 2005
(PAGE 2 of 2)
When I was first starting out in sales, I sold wholesale gifts and house ware to retailers around Los Angeles. The rainy season had begun, and it was coming down in buckets. Devoted to my job, I went out in the downpour to make cold calls to prospective clients. One customer in particular was impressed that I was willing to come out in bad weather, even though we didn’t have an appointment and there was no guarantee I’d get his business. He didn’t buy anything right then, but at the gift show, he marched into our showroom, came right up to me, and proclaimed, “Let’s write an order.” That order alone made my sales goal for the month. How did I win this big client? By merely showing up.
The other problem Excel had was Marshawn Evans, who became unwilling at the last-minute to make the presentation. It looked like Marshawn pulled out because she wanted to distance herself from the egg she knew her team was about to lay with their project. She also seemed upset because her team didn’t ask for her involvement in the rest of the task. She wanted more of a say in the decision-making, rather than just being relegated to the job of spokesperson.
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It’s wonderful when you have a chance to pick and choose the parts of a job you want to do. Most of the time though, success is about doing those things that need to be done. Willingness to do what needs to be done is one of the critical factors I look for when hiring people. A resourceful person with the right “can do” attitude will find a way to get the job done and will usually do it well.
So when Marshawn decided to back out of the presentation a half hour before show time, she let her team down in a big way. Rebecca Jarvis was gracious enough to step up to the plate (on crutches yet!) and read over Marshawn’s notes to make the presentation for her team.
Even though the Capital Edge team had their share of problems, they capitalized on their executive-informed advantage. Darth Vader was front and center in their display. True, Alla was horrified when Clay had the gall to take credit for her work, and when they won, no one on the team voted for him to get an exemption—but, you know what? They all walked away winners.
When it was time for Excel to face the boardroom, Donald Trump wisely fired both Brian and Marshawn. They had both screwed up royally.
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Willingness to do what needs to be done is one of the critical factors I look for when hiring people.
