Blood, Sweat, and Extra Blood

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Transcript

Sam Balter: John Felts is the enterprise improvement supervisor for US Acquire. When he took his first gross sales job, his scenario was lower than perfect.

John Felts: I used to be a rustic music track all wrapped up in a single. Misplaced my spouse, misplaced my job.

Sam Balter: He fell into gross sales after working in IT for years.

John Felts: “So, you’re a salesman?” I mentioned,” No, I’m actually not.” And she or he mentioned,” Effectively, you desire a job?”

Sam Balter: The primary few weeks, didn’t go nice.

John Felts: I used to be struggling. I used to be doing the present up and throw up.

Sam Balter: However when a life- altering alternative arose, he gave every thing he needed to win.

John Felts: I went via entire blood. I went via plasma. I even did platelet donation.

Sam Balter: That and extra, on this week’s episode of Fairly Massive Deal. How did you get began in gross sales?

John Felts: That’s an excellent a part of the story, really. That is mid 2000s. I used to be going via a divorce and I misplaced my job on the identical time. I used to be a rustic music track all wrapped up in a single. Misplaced my spouse, misplaced my job. And I used to be out in search of a job. I had been an IT man for 10 years, working for 2 fairly good- sized public corporations. I utilized for a voiceover IP engineering job. And throughout the interview, the CEO says,” You understand what? You’re not the precise individual for this job. And I don’t need to waste anybody’s time.” And I used to be type of determined, so I wanted a job. So I mentioned,” Effectively, I’ve received this different half. I’ve been promoting lengthy distance and web circuits as a dealer. If I might work with you to promote that to your prospects, that may be nice. I don’t should be an worker or something like that.” And she or he mentioned,” Wait a minute, you’re a salesman? I assumed you had been an engineer.” And I mentioned,” No, I’m an engineer. I’ve been an engineer for 10 years.” She mentioned,” However you’re promoting me proper now on the truth that you’ll be able to promote web circuits. So that you’re a salesman.” And I mentioned,” No, I’m actually not.” And she or he mentioned,” Effectively, you desire a job?” I mentioned,” Yeah.” She mentioned,” I’ll rent you proper now to be a salesman.” I mentioned,” Okay.” So she employed me on the spot and I mentioned,” Yeah, when do I begin?” And she or he mentioned,” How about tomorrow?” And that was it. That was the start of me being a salesman.

Sam Balter: Okay. So day occurs, you get the job. Are you prepping? Are you watching Boiler Room or something to prepare in your first gross sales job?

John Felts: You understand what? I knew so little about gross sales on the time that I didn’t even know these films existed. Glengarry Glen Ross is now a favourite. However again then I had no concept that it was even that form of film, or that it existed as a result of heck, I didn’t try this form of factor.

Sam Balter: And the way previous are you when all of this is occurring?

John Felts: Gosh, I’m 34, 35. On the time, received a three- year- previous and a six- year- previous. I received to do what I can to help them. The primary few months didn’t go effectively in any respect. And I used to be struggling. I used to be having a tough time chilly calling. I used to be doing the present up and throw up, telling them what I knew and the way I’d do it, and this and that. Not listening to what their wants had been. So yeah, I’d say it was an excellent 9 months earlier than something good occurred.

Sam Balter: Wow. So 9 months in, you’re actually not liking some features of the job. Are you considering of bailing?

John Felts: Sure. Sure. And within the meantime, I wasn’t making commissions as a result of I wasn’t promoting. So I took a second job as an affiliate professor at evening, educating IT and safety and VoIP. I needed to do no matter I might.

Sam Balter: Okay. That now, brings us to the beginning of this story. Okay. Let’s speak about, who’s the shopper? The place does the story start?

John Felts: The client is an area blood financial institution. It was an organization referred to as Blood Supply on the time. They’ve since merged with another person. Had no concept how giant they had been, however I used to be aware of them as a result of I’ve at all times donated blood, ever since highschool. So the corporate that I’m working for, has executed some work on an current cellphone system that one other firm put in years earlier than. And it was coming to the tip of lifetime of this specific cellphone system. In order that they wanted an improve. In order that they pseudo launched me to the IT division. The IT division already has a few of their favorites picked out. They know they should do the improve and there’s most likely 15 completely different corporations that would do that improve within the area. We weren’t the most important canine on the town by any means. We had been most likely about quantity 5 on the listing. And we’re all vying for it. So I received launched and I used to be having loads of hassle getting conferences.

Sam Balter: How did you get the primary assembly?

John Felts: The primary assembly, we used the truth that we had already been performing some work on their system. I consider the CEO referred to as and mentioned,” Hey, are you interested by having us bid on this?” And so they mentioned,” Certain, ship your individual out, otherwise you come out.” And she or he mentioned,”You understand what? I’m going to go this one alongside,” as a result of she knew I wanted assist, I feel. So I began researching the corporate extra and I mentioned,” I donate with you guys.” And so they mentioned,” Oh, that’s nice. That’s fantastic. The place do you donate?” And I mentioned,” Effectively, in Folsom, as a result of that’s the place I dwell.” And so they mentioned,” Oh, effectively, for those who’re ever down right here and also you need to donate, we’ve got one on the headquarters. And it’s a lot greater. You’ll be able to at all times get in. You’ll be able to stroll in anytime, or set an appointment.” And so I did that. I arrange my subsequent appointment to donate blood at their headquarters facility. And since I used to be going to be there anyway, I mentioned,” Hey, effectively I’m going to be within the constructing. Can we get 15, 20 minutes of your time to have this second assembly?” Certain sufficient, that labored. I feel they discovered it troublesome to say no. In the event that they had been there, I used to be there, they could as effectively. Sadly, I took the assembly after donating. That was a lesson discovered. You get somewhat bit lightheaded after blood donation. So I’m undecided I used to be all there, however perhaps that shut me up somewhat bit. And I began listening somewhat extra at that time. So going ahead, lengthy course of, and there was loads of competitors. So I began donating each couple of weeks, so long as they’d let me. There’s limits to how typically you’ll be able to donate. So I did every thing I might to get in there as typically as doable. I went via entire blood. I went via plasma. I even did platelet donation. All aside from one time that I donated, I received in with the IT division and received most likely 9 or 10 completely different conferences. There was a couple of mishaps alongside the best way. I handed out making an attempt to get out of the desk, knocked over a half wall that was lined with potted crops, broke all of the potted crops. Awakened to a few individuals waving over me, saying,” Whoo, are you okay? Are you okay?” They did hear about it and so they thought it was humorous. And I didn’t assume it was so humorous. However one other time, I had gone to a quick meals restaurant for lunch, earlier than going to donate blood. And I ended up clogging the blood machine. The phlebotomist approaches me and he or she mentioned,” What’s going on?” And she or he appeared and you can see within the little tube that my blood was not the precise shade. It was extra of orange than a crimson.

Sam Balter: And did you will have any sense what the opponents had been doing?

John Felts: Sure, somewhat bit. There have been issues occurring, positively some giveaways that I didn’t do. Once more, I’d been an IT man for a very long time, on the administration aspect. And I had been giving journeys and I had been giving golf golf equipment and the entire giveaway kind issues that come together with that typically. And I don’t promote that method. I by no means have, I by no means will. However I did know that that was occurring.

Sam Balter: Was anyone else donating blood? Did you see anyone else, opponents on the headquarters?

John Felts: I didn’t, by no means as soon as. And I don’t know if anybody ever even considered it.

Sam Balter: In order these conferences are occurring, are the conversations getting higher? Is the method transferring alongside?

John Felts: Completely. The connection received higher as effectively. I feel they noticed it as me doing one thing for them, extra than simply making an attempt to promote them.

Sam Balter: It looks like you’re the underdog on this story. They’re like,” Okay, we’ll provide you with a shot.” Is there a degree the place you turn to turning into an actual contender amongst the opposite opponents?

John Felts: Yeah. After a pair months of this, perhaps 4 or 5 months, they begin calling me, and calling me in and saying,” Okay, carry your engineers and let’s begin actually fixing this drawback and placing the answer and proposal collectively.” And that’s once I knew we had been heading in the right direction. Ultimately, after much more months of that and several other completely different iterations, we did provide you with a proposal. And within the meantime, they’re hiring us to repair different issues which have been occurring. So I feel the belief had been gained at that time. And naturally, ultimately, we did find yourself successful the improve bid. Now, that was an enormous deal for me.

Sam Balter: How a lot are we speaking?

John Felts: Half 1,000,000.

Sam Balter: Oh, rattling. Was it massive, relative to the individuals in your organization?

John Felts: Yeah, it was big. It was big for the corporate. It was big for the engineers. We needed to rent extra individuals. We had been a small store.

Sam Balter: And was the closing of the deal, was {that a} massive second? Or was that similar to by the point it closed, you already knew you had received it? Or was it a down- to- the- wire deal?

John Felts: It’s at all times right down to the wire. For me, I by no means have a good time till there’s ink on the paper. However yeah, it was an enormous reduction. I used to be pleased with myself, for certain, that I might lastly say I bought one thing this massive.

Sam Balter: And I feel simply as a closing query, is there something that you simply need to from this, impart to gross sales individuals right now? Or perhaps simply even to your youthful self, beginning out, that you simply want you had recognized?

John Felts: Definitely. Primary, be inventive. Discover inventive methods to do no matter it’s you’re making an attempt to do. Do don’t go essentially by what they taught you in some gross sales coaching class. Don’t get discouraged. One of many hardest issues to do in gross sales, simply don’t get discouraged. Even for those who lose this one, you may get the following one. And don’t quit. Plain and easy. Don’t quit.

Sam Balter: This episode of Fairly Massive Deal featured John Phelps from US Acquire. It was produced by me, Sam Balter, and edited by Xavier Leon. In case you have a fairly large deal to inform us about, tell us by writing to prettybigdeal @ zoominfo. com. In any other case, we’ll see you within the subsequent episode.