Page 105 - Social Media Marketing

86 Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

office, so my secretary, the receptionist, and everyone else knew
that when Ralph was working, he needed to be focused on the most
dollar-productive activities. They realized that when I'm working,
everybody gets paid. Instead of bothering me with bills that needed
to be paid or deliveries that needed to be made, they attended to
those things, so I could generate business. They knew where we
were going, how we were going to get there, and what each of them
had to do to ensure that we achieved our goal.

My staff has learned to protect me from myself. One day, we were
cleaning out our office building, and I wanted to make it a team-
building exercise with everyone involved. Well, there were a couple
of fence posts lying in the basement, the ones with concrete around
the bases, and some of our guys were busting up the concrete so we
could get rid of the poles. It looked like fun, so I went over there and
took a sledge and started hammering it. Jane, who had been with
me 11 years, came up to me and said, "Ralph, you're a rainmaker;
if you get hurt, none of us works, so why don't you let the guys do
that?"

You're a Business, Not an Employee

To this day, I find it incredible that I worked so many years without
a business plan. Now it seems crystal-clear to me how important a
business plan and goals are to a successful salesperson. Years ago,
I didn't see it. Without a plan and goals, you run the risk of being
like a motorboat without a rudder. You end up going in circles or in
random and ineffective directions.

Whether you are a salesperson, sales manager, or an owner of
your own company, you are an entrepreneur and you need to have
a business plan. You need to put down what you're going to do. One
of the important benefits ofwriting a business plan should be getting
a grasp on what you should be making per hour. An understanding
of what your time is actually worth is essential. Once you begin to
truly understand that, you'll probably see how ridiculous it is for
you to do clerical work that you could delegate.