Half the team quit after the sales meeting

Published: Wed, 07/10/24

Updated: Fri, 07/12/24

July 10, 2024

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning Quota readers, and thanks for stopping in. Would you like something to drink? Can we offer you a nice pillow or a fine aged cheese? No? Okay, well how about a tasty sales newsletter instead? In this week’s issue, we’ll tell you the story of John Paul DeJoria, share a Sales Fail about a team quitting en masse, and give some advice to a rep who’s wondering whether or not to get an advanced degree. Bon appetit.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

80% of successful sales take five or more follow-up calls.

Source: Invesp

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

An irate UK man attacked a used car salesman and several cars with a shovel, leading to his arrest. Robert Miller claimed that a second-hand car he bought from the Affordable Motor Store was faulty and drove to the Tollcross dealership to complain. Staff at the showroom looked at the vehicle and disagreed with Miller, leading to a violent confrontation. Miller blocked the entrance before collecting a shovel from the vehicle and attacking a salesman, striking him on the left arm, elbow, forearm, hip and legs. You can read more about it here.
A Pennsylvania car salesman sold over $100,000 in cars, but never turned in the paperwork to PennDOT, police say. Customers of Breisch's Auto Sales contacted police after owner Bradley A. Breisch, 62, allegedly failed to turn over the titles for vehicles that were paid for. Paperwork showed 10 vehicle sales totaling $107,295. For each of those sales, Breisch reportedly still had the titles, which rightfully belonged to the customer who bought the vehicle. You can read more about it here.

FEATURE

Image: "John Paul DeJoria" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Lessons in Luxury Selling with John Paul DeJoria

John Paul DeJoria is the billionaire founder of the Paul Mitchell hair products line and Patrón Tequila. DeJoria's journey from working out of the back of his car to billionaire status underscores the power of grit, resilience and the unwavering belief in one’s ability to sell. His career, marked by achievements in the beauty and spirits industries, is an inspiring tale for any salesperson.

Early Struggles and Sales Beginnings

Born in 1944 in Los Angeles, DeJoria faced adversity from an early age. His parents divorced when he was two years old. His single mother was unable to support her children and DeJoria was sent to a foster home until he was nine years old, at which point he was returned to his mother. At nine, he began selling Christmas cards and newspapers to help his mother pay the bills. This early experience in sales laid the foundation for his future success, instilling in him the importance of persistence and customer connection.

After high school, DeJoria enlisted in the Navy and held various jobs post-service, including janitor, door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, and insurance salesman. In each role he honed his sales skills, learning the critical aspects of approaching customers, handling rejection, and understanding market needs.

Founding John Paul Mitchell Systems

DeJoria's big break came when he co-founded John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980 with hairstylist Paul Mitchell. With just $700, they launched their first product, a single hair care system. Despite the odds, including a lack of funds and market saturation by established brands, DeJoria’s sales acumen shone through.

DeJoria's approach was innovative. He understood the importance of brand differentiation and emphasized the unique selling propositions of their products, such as being environmentally friendly and using high-quality ingredients. His ability to articulate these benefits convincingly to salon owners and distributors was pivotal. DeJoria positioned his products as luxury. During live demonstrations, he always made sure that he held his product like it was a precious gem, not just a bottle of shampoo. He held training sessions for stylists at salons that stocked his products on how to position the products as luxurious and exclusive. Simply by stocking Paul Mitchell products, salons could get the extra benefit of communicating to customers that they were a high-end salon. He also gave out free samples, allowing salons to experience the product firsthand, and always promised that if the salon wasn’t happy with the purchase, he would come back and give them a full refund. As his business grew, he began hiring a national sales force.

Paul Mitchell sales reps would typically walk into multiple potential distributors every day to pitch their products. As a way to teach his team how to sell like him, DeJoria would often go on sales calls with newly hired sales reps, spending an entire day with them. In the morning, DeJoria would give the sales pitches himself, allowing the rep to watch and learn how to best interact with potential customers and showcase the product. By the afternoon, the rep would be giving the presentations themselves, with DeJoria sitting quietly in the background.

Diversification into Patron Spirits Company

But DeJoria didn't just stop at the beauty industry. In 1989, he co-founded Patrón Spirits Company after recognizing an opportunity to elevate tequila's status in the market. At the time, tequila was often viewed as a low-end spirit, but DeJoria saw the potential for a premium brand.

Once again, DeJoria’s sales prowess was key. He defined Patron’s image, focusing on quality and a sophisticated branding strategy. By targeting high-end restaurants, bars, and clubs, DeJoria positioned Patron as a luxury product. His ability to understand market gaps and leverage premium positioning transformed Patron into one of the most recognized and respected tequila brands in the world.

A key lesson from DeJoria’s career is the power of personal belief and a passion for sales. He believed wholeheartedly in the quality of his products, and this conviction was evident in every pitch he made. His passion was contagious, often converting skeptics into loyal customers. DeJoria is not only one of the most famous salespeople in the world, he is something of an ambassador for the profession, extolling the ability of sales to change people’s lives.

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How long you can get away with being “new” until you’re held accountable
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MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

What was the sales technology company Siebel Systems known for?

A. CRM
B. Automatic dialer
C. Technographic data
D. Energy drinks

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

This isn't necessarily a sales fail but it was one of the funniest things that happened to me at work. This was before the pandemic, I was selling for a funded startup that was not doing well by any means, and everyone knew it. We were in the office every day so tensions were high. The CEO was kind of an idiot, he was good at raising money but really had no idea how to run a company. But he completely acted the part of an arrogant CEO who thought he was a boy-genius.

One morning, everyone got a calendar invite for a team-wide meeting at the end of the day from the CEO. He kicked off the meeting with some motivational BS before telling us he wanted us to all come together and try to figure out "what we were doing wrong" so we could "fix the issues." He started digging into the sales team about not hitting quota. Some people on my team voiced concerns about the product team not iterating quickly enough on functionality that was highly requested from prospects and complaining that the lead quality from marketing wasn't good enough. The product team started complaining they didn't have enough devs to build fast enough. The marketing team started complaining that the CEO was micromanaging them and wouldn't give them freedom or budget to try any new ideas. The CEO was just deflecting every complaint thrown at him right back at us, and completely refused to take any responsibility.

The room started getting louder and people were angrily shouting. The CEO was visibly shaken and didn't seem to know what to do. He asked everyone to calm down and said he was going to leave the room for 20 minutes so we could all take a breather. He left and we all just sat there quietly for a moment. One guy got up and said, "Screw this, I'm going to Lou's, who's coming?" A bunch of us left with him to the bar we usually went to down the street. We were all drinking a few beers and one of the more senior guys confessed to us that the company was running out of money and the CEO was struggling to raise more money and we'd all probably be out of a job in 6 months anyway. People were pissed.

I went in the next day and 1/3 of the company wasn't there. Most of the people in the bar the night before didn't show — they just straight up quit. For the people who did show up, it was super awkward as it felt like a ghost town. I ended up quitting a few weeks later when things didn't improve, and the company of course eventually went under.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- July 2024

WORTH A PEEK

Do spiffs actually work these days? A recent poll conducted by SaaStr came to the following conclusion: not really. Only 30% of respondents said they were effective, the rest weren’t so sure. You can read more about it here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team

I graduated from college two years ago with a business degree and landed an entry-level sales job. It's been going well so far. I'm a self-starter so I enjoy getting up every day and grinding knowing that my effort directly correlates to my income. However, I have higher aspirations. I really would like to move into a management position and envision myself 10 years from now in an executive leadership position.

I've been thinking about going back to school to get my MBA. Many of the senior leadership at my company have MBAs. I feel like this is the logical next step for me that will make me a candidate for a leadership position at my company or any other company I end up working at. I'm a first generation immigrant and the only one in my family who graduated college. My parents are really proud that I have an undergrad degree and are really pushing me to go for it and to apply to B schools and even said they'd help cover some of the costs.

This seems like the right thing to do for my career and everyone around me is encouraging me. But I can't help but wonder, will having an MBA actually help me move up? Will employers even care about degrees 10 years from now? It's definitely an expensive investment and I'd have to juggle working full-time and learning at night. What should I do? Should I start applying or should I just keep my head down and keep working?

Unsure in Illinois

Dear Unsure

An MBA can help you break into management, but only marginally, and likely only at larger corporations. Startups and smaller firms are unlikely to care about your educational attainment and will be more focused on what you can do for the bottom line.

As to whether it’s the right move, the best advice we can give you is to think of the opportunity cost, and then consider your reasons for doing it. Sure, making your parents proud is a good thing, but it’s your life, and, like you said, college no longer has the same heft in the workplace it once did. Many major corporations have dropped their degree requirements, and many others are sure to follow.

So if you’re itching for a degree, looking to challenge yourself more than you already are, and don’t mind investing the money with the knowledge that you could likely advance just as far without it, then go for it. But if not, then stick with what you’re doing. Sales is still one of the best ways to make a whole lot of money without having to get an advanced degree. Good luck!

Quiz Answer: A. The sales technology company Siebel Systems was primarily known for CRM (you can read the source article here)

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Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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