The Southwestern Company Alumni Blog » sales

Southwestern – practice your interview skills 30 times a day.

Shayne_Merrick — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:44:37 +0000

An article titled “The Key to good interviews: practice” was recently posted in the Boston Globe. The article centers around answering the question,

What can I do to improve my interview skills? After months of networking, I am finally getting interviews and I can’t afford to mess up these chances to get a job. I’ve been told that though I am likable, I ramble and give too much detail without getting to the point. What tips do you have to straighten out my presentation?.

The answer reminded me how grateful I am for the Southwestern experience. If I were answering this question, it would have a very simple answer: spend a summer selling books with Southwestern! As someone who prepares people daily for interviews, I know of no better practice for interviewing than a summer on the bookfield.

The interview essentially is a sales cycle that Southwestern salespeople truly know and understand. Since I only work with candidates that have sold books, it makes preparing a candidate for an interview so much easier!! Check out the following excepts from the article to see how closely their suggestions parallel the cycle of selling.

Imagine the interview is 30 minutes long. Within those 30 minutes, you will have specific time frames, each with a purpose. The first few moments are considered an icebreaker. These minutes may happen as you walk to or sit in someone’s office. Perhaps they will ask you about traffic or weather. Now is not the time to be negative, respond in short positive statements.

Ahem…Rapport!

At this point, a transition to the more formal interview will take place. The opening question is often something such as, “Tell me about yourself.’’ This is not the time to offer your life history, so prepare a written answer that shows professional progression, the strength of your work experience, and highlights aspects of your personality like dedication, commitment to learning, leadership, and willingness to work hard. You might also prepare a brief personal statement describing your education and places you have lived (particularly if you are willing to relocate)….

Sounds like an Introduction to me! And, by the way, think as a Southwestern alumnus might be able to prove your willingness to relocate?!

If interviewers want additional information, they will ask follow-up questions. Try to remember that interviews are conversations with give and take on both sides.

The next part of the interview is where you can showcase how well suited you are for the position. Study the job description and prepare statements that speak directly to the job’s responsibilities and challenges. Your research should extend into the company’s culture and environment. Examples that you give should align with what you know about the work style of the organization.

Can you say Demonstration?

The next section of the interview is focused on questions you may have. You must have at least 10 questions ready to ask. These questions demonstrate your interest in the opportunity and that you have prepared for the interview. You will not use all 10 questions and you don’t need to save them for this section. If a pertinent topic comes up during the interview, ask the question then, don’t wait until the end of the interview.

Asking Questions to Fit the Need?

Your last question should be something like: “Thank you. I really appreciated the opportunity to meet with you. Can you tell me what the next step in the process will be?’’ This gives you information about the appropriate time to follow up, and the person you need to contact

Summary, and CLOSE!!

If you are a Southwestern alumnus who has put your interview skills to the test, I’d love to hear your success story. Let us know how your practice on the bookfield and the skills you gained helped you ace your interviews.

Be sure to check out the full article at http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2010/03/21/the_key_to_good_interviews_practice/

Shayne sold books with the Southwestern Company from 2001-2006. He is a member of Southwestern’s Wall of Greats and is currently a Career Counselor with Southwestern Career Services.

Haley Price shares life principles with positive outlook in her new book.

Becky Sudman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:27:55 +0000

Though she has been officially off of the Southwestern bookfield for nearly 5 years, Haley Price is still selling books. Only now, she’s written and illustrated the books that she’s selling.

She is the author and illustrator of Today is the Best Day of My Life. This book contains bite-sized life principles, presented in a light and simple way, that are intended to help guide people toward a more productive, more meaningful, and more fun life. She tailored a version of this book specifically towards Southwestern students, and it was used for the first time in their sales kits in the summer of 2009.

Haley sold books for three summers (2003-2005). “Selling books was hands-down the best decision I’ve ever made,” Haley says. She worked under a good friend and mentor Wade Floyd in the Eagle Blitz organization, and it was in dealing with the challenges of selling door-to-door that Haley discovered her natural fondness for encouraging and uplifting others. She describes her experience on the bookfield as “the most inclusive life-training you could ever get”.

While not writing, Haley works in global advertising sales for Microsoft in New York, NY. Through her experience with Southwestern and beyond, she has learned the importance of having a positive attitude, working hard for what you want, and believing in your dreams.

Haley continues to reference her days slinging books from house to house; and cannot wait until a book kid comes knocking on her door, “I’m going to give that kid the best pony story ever!”

Find out more about Haley’s book at http://www.todayisthebestdayofmylife.com/ or check out her blog at http://blog.todayisthebestdayofmylife.com/.

Remembering Larry Beckham

Dan Moore — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:02:08 +0000

The Southwestern family is saddened by the loss of former bookfield great, District Sales Manager, and Director of Sales Larry Beckham, taken by cancer this past Friday morning in Houston, TX. He is survived by his wife, Shelly, and children Abigail Renee of Houston; Lesli Beckham Douglass of Knoxville, TN; William Zachary Beckham of Denver, CO; and Amber Terry Beckham and Briana Beckham Pitt, both of Nashville.

Larry was a phenomenal bookman. One week on the bookfield, he made 180 demonstrations and sold 126 customers. A great recruiter, and with the mentorship of Dr. Jim Samuel and others, he grew a great sales organization. He eventually became Director of Sales and head of the Home Learning Division. His gift with the spoken word was extraordinary, and thousands of students enjoyed and were inspired by the stories he shared in Sales School. He shaped countless lives.

Our hearts go out to his family.

There is a Nashville memorial service set for Friday, Dec. 18 at Belmont Church, with receiving of friends from 10-12:30 and a service at 1:00. Larry’s family ”would love to see a big turnout from all the SW people who knew and loved him”. The Belmont Church is located at 68 Music Square East Nashville TN. (615-256-2123)

We also invite you to share your memories of Larry below.

It’s hard to be nervous, when your mind’s on service

Becky Sudman — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:01:16 +0000

This past week redandblack.com, a student newspaper serving the University of Georgia, ran an article, I Would Bike 4,000 Miles, about Adam Nubern who is biking 4,000 miles this summer with Bike and Build. Bike and Build, is a nonprofit organization that raises money and awareness for affordable housing. Adam sold books with The Southwestern Company for two summers. “He will bike from Charleston, S.C., to Santa Cruz, Calif., helping build homes during rest stops and devoting eight days to new homes in Colorado. Of the eight routes riders may choose from, Nubern is taking the route that logs the most build days than any other trip in Bike and Build’s history. Nubern said he learned the value of a family home as a door-to-door book salesman.

After talking to hundreds of families, he said he realized how important the home is in the development of families and communities.”It’s where families come together to share and grow with one another. All the relational aspects of life happen at the home,” Nubern said.

I also learned of another two-summer bookwoman, Carolina Canavati who is biking with the Texas 4000 for Cancer this summer. She will bike 4,800 miles from Austin, TX to Anchorage, Alaska, raising money to support the fight against cancer.

I know there are countless alumni serving others and I hope to tell you more about them as time goes on. Until I sold books through Southwestern, I’m not sure I truly realized how much your life is enriched when you are serving others.

Most of the time I look at the calendar and wonder where all the time went. At the end of each Southwestern summer I felt very much the same way. However, in the midst of those twelve weeks on the bookfield there was an occasional day I thought would never end. It was those days I was grateful I had learned to help control my attitude by breaking up my goals. During my cross country years I quickly learned to focus on getting to that next tree, then the stop sign…etc. If I focused on the whole race at once it seemed impossible. At Southwestern I broke the summer down to weeks, the weeks down to days, and the days down to goal periods.

During those later weeks on the bookfield I sometimes needed a little more to keep me going. It was then I started to dedicate my weeks to different things. By far, my favorite week was Service Week. I spent my mental energy that week focusing on providing the best service I could to everyone I met. And that didn’t mean making sure they all bought books. I could have been making an elderly woman smile, or reminding parents how important it is to read to their kids. We make a difference every day. I would also give away a Volume Library set that week. What an amazing feeling! That week always flew by, and lo and behold, it was usually one of my best sales weeks of the summer. When I stopped worrying about myself and the things I wanted, and focused on helping others get what they needed, everything fell in to place.

Being service-miinded is just one of the many lessons of the bookfield. Good luck Adam and Carolina!

Remember the Pony

Becky Sudman — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:30:13 +0000

In January 2009 CNBC started a ”Pony Blog“. “The Pony blog’s intent is to find the lighter side of the economic crisis and distract you with humor long enough for the seeds of hope to spring forth from the rubble.” It is quite refreshing to see the media finding the positive in the current ecomonic situation. Now most people may pause and ask themselves, what do ponies have to do with the ecomony or positive thinking. However, if you have attended a Southwestern Company Sales School since 1956, you remember the pony. I attended eight Sales Schools and I ALWAYS looked forward to hearing Mort Utley tell The Pony Story. In fact, until now I didn’t realize that anyone but Mort told the story. Well the truth is no one can tell it quite like Mort.

Many days during my Southwestern summers I would be going into that last gravy goal period sitting on zero. (Translation: zero sales for the day with 2.5 hours left) At that point, my affirmation would switch to “there’s gotta be a pony somewhere”.

I learned so many life lessons selling books. I would have said I was a postive thinker before my Southwestern experience, but the bookfield taught me how to harness my thoughts. At first it amazed me that, by continually telling myself outloud good things were going to happen, they did. We really do believe what we tell ourselves; so why do we tell ourselves such bad things? By focusing on finding the yes’s and getting the no’s off my list I could make my attitude do a complete 180.

I would like to say that I am an expert at applying this lesson off the bookfield, but I’m not…yet. Guarding our self-talk can be difficult in a world filled with so many outside negative influences. The ponies are all around us; we just need to remember to look for them.

Until now the video of Mort has been only shown in the Southwestern Sales School. Today I would like to share with you “The Pony Story”.

Remember the Pony

Find your artist within and find success

Becky Sudman — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:54:41 +0000

One of the challenges that I encountered when recruiting college students for the Southwestern Company summer program, was conveying to a non-business major how sales experience would benefit them. Most of us quickly learn once we leave academia that everything is some form of sales. That statement has been validated every time I talk to a Southwestern alumnus that is not in sales.

This year at the Southwestern Great Recruiters Seminar (GRS), Whitney Ferré spoke about how valuable her Southwestern experience has been in her everyday life.

“In my current roles as author, artist, restaurateur, and mother, not a day goes by that I do not draw on the skills I learned both selling books and recruiting a team. I am constantly having to convince someone about something. It is ALL sales and it is ALL about how well I can communicate with people.”

Whitney sold books with Southwestern for four summers (1992-95). She was a top salesman, top recruiter, and a top manager–a triple threat. Fourteen years after leaving the bookfield, Whitney came back to share how tapping into your right brain can positively impact your success.

“The right brain voice is completely present, while the left brain is thinking past or future. The left brain gets frustrated with specific details, while the right brain looks at the big picture. I think you have to be in your right brain to be open to ‘coincidences’ or trusting that even though you’re not in your comfort zone, that things will be provided for you.”

After leaving Southwestern, Whitney began helping hundreds of people find their creativity as founder of the Creative Fitness Center. The Center first gained national recognition on HGTV. Today she continues her outreach leading corporate seminars, teaching art classes, and as a creativity expert on television & radio. Whitney is also an artist, a wife, a mother, and a co-owner of Rumours Wine Bar that builds communities around food, wine, and art. Whitney recently published her first book, The Artist Within: A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit (Turner). In Whitney’s book she discusses the principle of tapping into your right brain in order to use all of your resources in everyday decision-making.

“I had a blast speaking at GRS because I know what it takes to be successful as a recruiter and I have had 14 years since my Southwestern career to gain valuable hindsight that I was excited to share. I feel all of my experience has led to this moment when I am busy selling and promoting my book. The message in my book is so important because it proves that our right brains have a powerful voice that we are not hearing, a powerful perspective that we are not seeing and that it has access to valuable mental skills that we are simply not using if we do not access this voice! My last summer on the bookfield was my “right brain summer”. I went from 5000 units to 8900 units and from a 35 person team that sold ZILCH to a #3 team. How? I accessed the RIGHT side of my mind that did not get caught up in the details or frustrated at individual results. I was completely tapped in to my vision of selling a TON of books and having a top team. Because of the strength of my vision and the right brain voice inside my head, I trained my team more effectively and I hit steak EVERY single day on the field. It did not matter what temporary circumstances tried to trip me up, I knew it was all going to work out and it did! That is a ‘right brain performance’.”

It seems that the sales experience can benefit the artist and the artist can also positively impact the sales experience.

Learn more about tapping in to your right brain at creativelyfit.com.

Whitney was also featured in Her Nashville. Click here to read the online exclusive.

Proud to have been a Door-to-Door Salesman

Becky Sudman — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:19:14 +0000

Pounding the pavement as a door-to-door salesman definitely comes with more than its share of rejection. However, if you stick with it long enough you learn how to put that aside and enjoy the rewards. Through my years of selling books with the Southwestern Company I was commonly asked: Does that still work? Even in the computer age? I am proud to say, “Yes It Does!” Even in today’s fast paced information age, a salesman with a good product, that works hard and treats people right will find success.The Los Angeles Times recently ran a story on possibly the oldest Fuller Brush man, “Fuller Brush Man: A 90-year old foot in the door”. It is the story of Art Pearson, who as has been selling Fuller products for 71 years throughout Washington. Art is well versed in what many of us learned from the Southwestern bookfield.

“Pearson looks at the door-in-the-face as a simple matter of mathematics. If he stops at five houses, one will buy.

‘One thing you’ll never survive with in this business is trying to plan your time or your money,’ he says. ‘I’ve gone out and worked, and sometimes I don’t get any business till noon. And then after noon, it all just falls into place. What would have happened if I’d have quit at noon?

‘The trouble today is, people don’t want to work.’”

Reading Art’s story gave me a sense of pride in how I chose to make my living for those eight years I worked with Southwestern. Door-to-door selling is most often viewed with the perception of the shady magazine crew operating out of a white van that quickly moves from town to town. I know that many of us that carried the Southwestern samplecase can go back to those communities we worked in and, as we drive down those familiar streets, recall the names of the many people that touched our lives. When you treat people right your sales area becomes your community filled with people you consider family.

Former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove once told me that twenty-five years after he had sold with Southwestern he happened to be going by the town he had sold in his fourth summer. He decided to visit his host family from that summer. The little old lady he had stayed with was now quite elderly, but fondly remembered Ronnie and the summer he spent there. Having no idea he was at the time the Governor of Mississippi, she looked him dead in the eye and asked what he had done with his life.

I am so thankful for the people I met on the bookfield. From my amazing and generous host families, to my customers and even those who simply shut their doors–they all served a purpose in the lessons I learned. I am also thankful there are salesman like Art that allow me to say with pride that I was a door-to-door salesman.

Click here to read the full LA times article on Art Pearson. You’ll be glad you did.