I don’t know if you know this…but my early sales career included a very long stint with Tupperware home parties. At the tender age of 23 or 24 (I can never remember) I joined Tupperware. I was motivated by the fact that I could set my own hours. My husband is an air traffic controller and in those early days he worked a different shift every day. I had two young babies and we had one car.
All I know today about selling has everything to do with what I learned during that time in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I continue to learn, read, listen, and pay attention to what goes on around me. In fact, I learn from you on a daily basis. Thank you.
Hubby and I are on the way to Maui this morning and I realized in the ninth hour that I had not prepared a newsletter this week.
So this is what you get. I’m on the plane reading an awesome book … You must go buy it today. It’s called Sales Tough, written by Sam Parker and Jim Gould (and I’m listening to iTunes).
This is how inspiration works. The 3- Dog Night song, I Can See Clearly Now, came on and I was reminded of the profound influence Tupperware had on my life and career.
Here’s the story: In the early days when you qualified for manager (which I did in about 5 months), you were considered a new manager for a number of weeks. During that time, recognition in the region came across every week. In short order my distributor begin to help me focus on the fact that with my unit’s performance we had the very strong possibility of being recognized as a top performer. I can’t explain what happened … but to this day I can remember what focus felt like. Charleen, the female half of my leadership team, reminded me often to keep my eyes on the prize. I think the drive I had during the 1st quarter of 1985 is kin to what athletes refer to as being in the “zone.”
I didn’t even know what the prize was, but I knew I wanted it. The value of recognition is HUGE! I was promoted to manager in December. The recognition opportunity happened In April at an event Tupperware referred to as, “Sessions.”
I remember being in my car visualizing them calling my name and the name of my unit up to the front as a top performer. It felt like academy awards stuff. Maybe I was just young but honestly it set the stage for me in my sales life to have a great understanding of success.
So back to inspiration… They announced the top five new units in top sales performance, and my unit, the “bowl- u-overs” was recognized as number four – it was exhilarating. I don’t think it could have been any better for me if we had been number one. I’ll never forget it…the announcement came: “In the number 4 position, from wrangler Party sales, Beth Standlee and the bowl- u- overs…” I jumped up, promptly fell down, picked myself up, and my distributor Jim Goodson, God rest his soul, did his best to keep up with me as I ran to the stage!
Selling is about winning. You can do it every day. It should be fun. It’s work. A lot of work. And if it’s your choice I hope you’ll start winning today.
Oh I nearly forgot. During that race to the stage, the song, I Can See Clearly Now was playing. It gave me great comfort. I wanted to be a top performer so bad. I was incredibly nervous. Maybe number one would have been better but I was overjoyed at the time with the new manager spot.
I want to encourage you to shoot high. Never settle. Plan to win. Do not do what is expected. Do more. Surprise yourself. Others will notice. You never have to tell them.
Thanks for reading. I hope to see you soon. We are going to be at the amusement show and if you’ve not attended our party summit I hope you’ll accept my personal invitation to join us March 11th & 12th.
Happy Hump Day!
