Despite having trained hard in Sales School and practicing my demo more times that I can recall, that morning on Finch Street I was going to have to learn again – by doing. It seems the bookfield isn’t the only place where you can test run something many times, but you cannot predict what will happen when it is live.

A “webinar hosted by Dan Moore” is enough said when it comes to describing the degree of excellence of the webinar.   Everything went smoothly, except for one glitch.  At the last moment, there was a snafu with our capacity limits and many alumni who pre-registered were unable to access the webinar.  

Luckily the webinar was recorded.  Although it is not live, you can still brush the dust off of those SW success principles.  All Southwestern alumni can view the webinar at http://www.wesoldbooks.com/webinarvideo_2010-10.

Please share your feedback and thoughts on the alumni webinar below.

We are all so busy in our day-to-day tasks, yet it is important to take a moment to pause and re-acknowledge the truly great thing that is happening all across America and Canada this summer. It is one of the true success stories in the history of business: 142 years in a row of helping young people develop themselves, and help families, through the Southwestern program. Last month, Henry accepted our award for being the oldest company in the Direct Selling Association on behalf of all the student dealers who make all this possible through their hard work every day.

These young people are showing themselves – and the world around them – that despite economic turmoil, political problems, climate change, and many negative factors facing them, they can stand proudly on their own two feet and ask nothing of anyone except a chance to see what they can do. They are creators of opportunity, and carriers of optimism. This Monday, as many Americans will be celebrating Independence Day, the Southwestern Team and the student dealers will be working jointly so those students can HAVE independence, and all that will mean to themselves and their families.

The Sales Managers and Directors are themselves leading the way for Southwestern, inspiring their groups to great production as we move into the most important months of the summer. Every single District Sales Manager and Director knocked on doors for multiple summers, and they know from first-hand experience gained over thousands of hours the truth of what Theodore Roosevelt meant when he said,

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Thanks to every Sales Manager, including those who are selling books right now, today.

Thanks also to all the other parts of the company as well for the true team effort that takes place at this time of year. Through Henry’s leadership, every part of our company works together to make this summer spectacle happen year after year. There are literally thousands of moving parts that have to mesh and make sense in order for our year to happen, and you make it so. The student dealers and sales managers are grateful to all of you. Please accept our thanks, and please share this with others in your areas as well: every single person’s efforts count, and make a difference.

It is a pleasure to announce that this summer we are up dramatically in student managers and they are out there making it happen.  We are on the grow, and we intend to continue!

Thanks again to all of you.

It is not the great food that makes you take a step back when you enter the room, it is the incredible caliber of student that fills it.  Each week as Dan Moore announces the winners I am inspired by their accomplishments off of the bookfield.   I recall telling the students I worked with as a Sales Manager that they were most likely going to be successful with or without Southwestern.  Southwestern is merely a catalyst to get you where you want to go faster with better preparation.   These students have learned to overcome challenges and live by Spencer Hays’ motto, “There are two kinds of people in the world: Some find an excuse, and others find a way.”

Last Thursday we were honored to have Southwestern alumni Sam & Cynthia (Dishman) Kirk join us at the President’s Club dinner.  Their son Eugune is going on his second summer with Southwestern and was enjoying some well earned steak.  As the dinner was winding down, Sam recalled how he was with Southwestern for seventeen years and built a tremendous organization.   Sam and Cynthia started Youth About Business, a non profit organization, ten years ago to provide entrepreneurial training to young people in America’s cities.

Sam mentioned to the students headed to the bookfield that one of the greatest lessons he learned at Southwestern was the meaning of success.   So many of us have trouble feeling successful even when we accomplish amazing things.  Sam reminded us that success is doing your best every day.  There are so few things in life we can control, but when we lay our heads down at night we know if we did our best – and that is how we should measure success.   I am so blessed to still work at Southwestern where I have wonderful mentors that surround me and remind me of these lessons.  For those of you who are not so lucky I thought I would include a poem that I think you will recall from your years on the bookfield.

The One in the Glass
by Dale Wimbrow, ©1934

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that one has to say.

For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife
Who judgment upon you must pass.
The person whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

He’s the person to please, never mind all the rest,
The one with you clear up to the end.
And you’ve passed your most dangerous and difficult test
If the one in the glass is your friend.

He may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and tears,
If you’ve cheated the one in the glass.

(Slightly edited to make it more genderless – this is all about doing one’s very best – and no one knows what that is except ourselves!)

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/

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. 

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/.

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.

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!   ]]> http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/its-hard-to-be-nervous-when-your-minds-on-service/feed/ 0 http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/remember-the-pony/ http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/remember-the-pony/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:30:13 +0000 Becky Bauman http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/?p=115

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

]]> http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/remember-the-pony/feed/ 14 http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/find-your-artist-within-and-find-success/ http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/find-your-artist-within-and-find-success/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:54:41 +0000 Becky Bauman http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/?p=118

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. ]]> http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/find-your-artist-within-and-find-success/feed/ 2 http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/proud-to-have-been-a-door-to-door-salesman/ http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/proud-to-have-been-a-door-to-door-salesman/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:19:14 +0000 Becky Bauman http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/?p=104 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. ]]> http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/proud-to-have-been-a-door-to-door-salesman/feed/ 3