Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 4840 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 • FOGHORN BUSINESSMATTERS Sales: the Center of Our Universe By Bob Shaw, Industry Consultant T he former owner of the Odyssey cruise line was a terrific serial entrepreneur who succeeded in many different businesses: travel vacations, call centers, dinner boats, shipyards and automotive racing. He said if you had sales, then the rest in business would take care of itself. Sales is like altitude when flying: with it you have many good options, without it mostly bad choices. Thus, I spent 80 percent of my business energy worrying about how to get customers. Marketing has totally gone digital and is much harder and more sophis- ticated than the old annual decision of how much to spend on a yellow pages ad. In the past, I’ve written about the power of the brand, word of mouth as your best ally, getting a great location where your ship can be seen, innovation, and database marketing. Marketing is like drilling for oil: you have to drill ten new holes for one that produces a gusher, and the next year you start the process over again seeking new holes. Many positions in our industry are challenging: marine crews maintain and repair the vessels and then have to navigate them on busy harbors or rivers; restaurant teams are on their feet all day moving furniture and climbing stairs with loaded trays; ticket booth teams endure the elements, sometimes endless lines and sketchy IT systems; office teams face seasonal hiring that can increase a team 10-20 times over winter staffing. But the hardest job in the business is being a sales person. That’s why I felt that you had to treat sales as “the center of the universe.” Sometimes the ops team would say they want to put the sales team in the center of the universe, but that is another story. A dozen years ago, a top salesper- son told me they’d struggle all week long to hit their weekly bogey, with their sales manager, sales director, and sales VP checking in frequently until the final numbers were posted Friday afternoon. We insisted on finalizing those numbers Friday so we could celebrate, or if we had a bad week we’d put it behind us, instead of figuring it out midday Monday and ruin the start of another week. The sales team would have a good weekend, but then Sunday afternoon that familiar sense of dread would occupy their thoughts “where are you going to get those numbers again this week?”And this pretty much went on week after week, with varying intensity. We found we had to have people who understood adversity, who 1.800.777.0714 toll free www.merequipment.com 8-500kW Marine Generators // Pull harder in the harshest marine environments // More copper & premium corrosion resistance // Superior motor starting & low operating temps // Better fuel economy & longer engine life // Easy to service & worldwide dealer support // Proudly made in America Let MCM manage your insurance so you can focus on your voyage MCM is a leading independent insurance brokerage based in the Pacific Northwest. Our marine practice group has more than 100 years of combined experience placing insurance and managing the marine industry’s unique risks. Whether we’re working with vessel operators, builders, repair facilities or suppliers, we create specialized solutions that meet each client’s needs. EMpLoyEE BEnEfits | ExECutivE BEnEfits | REtiREMEnt pLans insuRanCE advisoRy | pRopERty & CasuaLty Contact Damon L. Nasman at (206) 262-6375 or email damon.nasman@mcmnw.com www.mcmnw.com