Sell YOU

You, Inc, by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford Beckwith
Selling for Dummies, by Tom Hopkins

Those are two of a myriad of books, authors, and speakers tauting, "Sell YOU!"
We are always selling ourselves whether we know it...or not.

Recently I joined the Basho Community, what a great site providing poignant information directed to the sales professional. A blog covering CEO M. Jeffrey Hoffman's recent interview with SellingPower Magazine provided advice to the new sales manager. Hoffman is a sales sage and I appreciate what he's doing for our industry. I must, however, disagree in principle with the approach he recommends for new sales managers.

Instead, espouse the "Sell YOU!" mentality. Many sales managers find themselves in their managerial role due to a promotion received as a highly successful salesperson.

Take ownership of your new role by focusing on your strengths, sell them to your new team, lift them up to your standards, and help them succeed. ALL of them.

Does a simple application of the 80/20 Rule work?

Let's assume you believe that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. That IS what the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 Rule) implies...right?

If that is true, APPLY IT NOW! Can you imagine? Let's say you work a 40-hour week...if you applied the 80/20 Rule, in only ONE day (20% of your efforts) you should be able to produce 80% of your results! Now, you have four more days to make up that last 20% of your efforts so you can at least keep your job...but how much more free are you now? VERY!!

Several months go by ... your golf game has improved, time with the family has become more than just "quality" it is now also measured as "quantity" and work is a breeze! And then it hits you...

The 80/20 Rule is still out there. Why couldn't you apply it to your new life and gain even more free time? There is no reason you shouldn't be able to re-apply the 80/20 Rule, if it is truly as sound as most argue it is.

Let's do some quick math...we are now accomplishing in only one day what used to take us 5 days. If we reapply the 80/20 Rule, we should be able to get down to just under 2 hours of work per week, producing 64% of the results (80% of 80%). WOW! In only 2 hours work I can produce 64% of what I used to get done in a week?

Well, no, of course not. And this is one simple reason the 80/20 Rule doesn't work as so many promote it does.

Let's agree on this, most of us waste time and efforts. If we abandoned our useless waste of time we could all be more productive...but let's not impose a rule on our efforts/results because it sounds cool. The 80/20 Rule was about land ownership in Italy.

A nearby PhD has a ridiculous amount of "practical applications" of the 80/20 Rule at this site. Of course, I disagree in principle (ha ha) with this list, but noticed he's in nearby Muncie at Ball State so maybe I can gain an audience with him...

Next post: What you need to know about the 80/20 Rule.

What you need to know about the 80/20 Rule

I've seen the 80/20 Rule adapted to multiple environments so that in some examples, 70% of your results come from 30% of your efforts. I've seen it as the 60/40 Rule ... the 90/10 Rule ... and everything in between.

There is a fundamental mistake being made. The 80/20 Rule is not a measurement adding up to 100% of anything. The rule could have been 80/30 or 95/20 or any other variation, but the fact that 80 and 20 HAPPEN to add up to 100, means NOTHING!

You can't add 80% of your results to 20% of your efforts....that's like adding apples and oranges.

Here's the REAL kicker. No matter what 2 things you are measuring, you can come up with a ratio. That ratio most likely means nothing. I wish Stephen Levitt, author of Freakonomics, would do a study on the 80/20 Rule. That guy is SHARP.

Next topic: A few more things to know about the 80/20 Rule.

Break the 80/20 Rule

Do you really know what the 80/20 Rule is? How many times have you heard a Sales Exec or Sales Manager use it as an excuse for why so many salespeople aren't selling?

The 80/20 Rule implies that 80% of your efforts produces 20% of your results -- if this is true, consider that "not good."

The 80/20 Rule also implies that 80% of your results comes from 20% of your efforts -- if this is true, find a way to harness it!

But wait...doesn't that mean I get 100% of my results from 100% of my efforts? Isn't that always true?

Yes. I call it the 100/100 Rule, or the only real rule or law of measuring personal efforts and results. Think: The Law of the Conservation of Energy.

It's time to Break the 80/20 Rule.

Next post: Does a simple application of the 80/20 Rule work?