Mason Alum, Jess McCann, admits that losing her sales team was the best thing to happen to her as an entrepreneur.
Jess McCann and Sir Richard Branson
Article written by Jess McCann
At twenty-three years old I decided I was smart enough to pursue my dream of starting my own outsourcing sales business. I had always wanted to be my own boss, so with barely a dollar to my name I crammed all my worldly possessions into a rented U-haul and made the 23-hour trek to Austin Texas. Although I had never done much selling myself, I was confident in my ability to recruit, train and lead a team of sales people. At the time it seemed like a great idea. Looking back on it now, I can’t believe someone didn’t try to stop me.
When I first arrived in Austin, I was running on sheer adrenalin. I posted ads, conducted interviews, and hired twenty people in the first three weeks. The business I had always dreamed of had come to fruition. My morning routine consisted of giving motivational speeches and sales training workshops before sending my team out to the field. I began to kick back and enjoy my life as a business owner. But just as I thought I was able to relax, things took a bit of a turn. Actually, a turn is an understatement. It was more like a nosedive.
I came into work one day to discover that 75% of my sales team had quit, and the remaining five people only stayed on because they had nowhere else to go. I was a wreck. I felt defeated. And without at least 15 people in the field selling, I was going to go out of business fast.
I walked around in a fog for the next six weeks. I hired a few new people, but they all ended up eventually quitting. My five loyal followers started to question my ability and subsequently stopped respecting my authority. I contemplated shutting down my operation and heading back to Virginia numerous times.
Then I woke up one morning and decided that what was happening to me was exactly why nine out of ten businesses fail. It’s not because a company has a bad product or lack of funds. Businesses fail because of poor leadership. I was being a poor leader, and that was why I was failing.
At that moment, I rushed to the bookstore and bought every business book anyone had ever recommended. I called people I knew that were also in positions of leadership, and asked them a million questions. I decided that my situation could no longer dictate my attitude, rather my attitude had to dictate my situation. I also realized that I needed to fire three of my five cronies. To rebuild my team I needed a strong inner circle, so I needed to remove anyone that proved to be cancerous.
Within a matter of weeks, my team grew from 5 to 25 people. We became the number one selling distributor for Staples office service that year and I opened four satellite offices the following spring.
Losing my sales team was the best experience of my life. It taught me what leadership really is. It’s remaining constant in the face of adversity. It’s developing and empowering your core people. And it’s continuing to be a good student of your business, never thinking that you know it all.
Businesses are a constantly evolving entity. They either grow or they die. My biggest mistake was thinking I could put my feet on my desk and relax so early on. It was that mentality that cost me my first sales team but in the end, it was the most valuable lesson I could have ever learned. It was because I almost failed that I was able to succeed.
Article written by Jess McCann - Copyright 2007
My book, CLOSING the DEAL, hits bookstores out September 2008. Here's a little teaser for all those waiting with baited breath... There are a lot of smart, funny, beautiful women out there who continually get dumped, not because of who they are, but because of what they do. The truth is, it doesn’t matter how great of a person you are, if you say or do the wrong thing, you are impacting a man’s perception of you. You could have a double MBA, be a concert pianist, and have legs up to your ears. If a guy doesn’t see how wonderful you are it’s because you've shown him desperation, neediness, or excessive emotional attachment. And those things will ultimately override the wonderful you that you are. You have to learn to present yourself appropriately so that doesn’t happen. That is why it’s imperative to learn how to sell yourself. Using the same proven techniques salesmen have used for centuries, you too will be able to close the deal on any man you choose. I have done it, and I can show you how!
To learn more about this exciting entrepreneur, visit Jess' web site: http://www.jessmccann.com/