Verba Volant, Script
a Manent
Chelen
Moore
Vice President, Operations
The Grayson Group
Just in case your Latin is a bit rusty, the title
of my column reads, “What is spoken flies away, what is written endures.” I’m also reminded of the caution
that the lightest lead pencil is stronger than the best memory. So much for slogans. My point is to emphasize the importance
of writing things down, most especially key pieces of personal information, picked up in casual conversations, which are quickly forgotten. Information such as the spelling of a wife’s first name,
the college where that first-born child just enrolled, a golf handicap, a favorite vacation spot, etc., etc. Being able to
recall such information, seemingly spontaneously, at a subsequent encounter is very impressive and conveys
the message, “I care.” Is this being manipulative, you ask? Not if such data collection is part of a systematic
process of cultivating both personal and
professional relationships with key business contacts
and decision-makers. Trust me, if you don’t write it down, sooner rather than later, you’re likely to forget.
And by forgetting, you sacrifice important advantage. Write it down!
The rare CEO who doesn’t read The Wall Street
Journal (WSJ) is
the functional equivalent of the NASCAR driver who forsakes his in-car restraint system. So despite circulation declines for
most major dailies, the WSJ’s circulation continues on the upswing. For the Deep Carpet salesperson continually seeking to improve legitimacy
within the C-suite, the WSJ is required reading. It’s not about an occasional perusal of an article which seems
interesting. It’s about investing 30-45 minutes, six-days-a-week, clipping and saving key articles and routinely contacting
C-level executives about relevant articles. If you’re still searching for a 2010 New Year’s Resolution, order
the WSJ
for delivery
to your home. And don’t be concerned if three or four editions pile up while you are away on business travel. Most WSJ content, unlike ball scores,
stays fresh for days and weeks.
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If you’ve got a publicly-traded company
(NYSE, AMEX, Nasdaq) in your prospect cross hairs in 2010 and haven’t read the Letter To Shareholders in the latest
version of the Annual Report, you really don’t deserve an audience with a C-level executive in that company. Harsh words?
Maybe. But please recognize that the Letter To Shareholders is something authored by the CEO personally. It addresses the corporation’s major constituencies
– shareholders, employees, customers, bankers, prospects, etc. It speaks to what the company has accomplished in the
year just past and lays out plans for the current year. It is the one document of all a company’s SEC filings which
is an absolute must-read for any salesperson looking for credibility in the C-suite. No value proposition, no matter how cleverly
crafted, makes much sense unless it is carefully aligned with the overall direction of the prospect company as articulated
in the Shareholder Letter. Some are short, only a couple of pages. In challenging times, the Letter can be much more detailed
as in the case of Jamie Dimon’s 29-page Letter in JPMorgan Chase’s 2008 Annual Report. But long or short, nothing
paints a better picture of where opportunities lie and what will or will not resonate well with senior executives in your
target company.
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Who is there in the ranks of world-class salespeople not interested in observing
and taking lessons from a widely acclaimed “rock star” CEO who is positioning his company as best-on-the-planet
among global financial services firms. Enter Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) as deftly profiled by veteran journalist Duff
McDonald in his engrossing page-turner, Last Man Standing (October 2009, Simon & Schuster). This is a must-read book for
anyone seeking to understand the C-level psyche, and in so doing, advancing their Deep Carpet selling skills.
Consider the following “teaser” outtakes.
“Buried in the numbers
12 to 14 hours a day, Dimon grew especially fond of Warren
Buffet’s missives (prospectuses and financial statements).”
“If there’s one
thing Dimon could not stand, it was weak links, and he never had
a problem severing them.”
“Dimon invariably knew
more about every topic than anyone else in the room, including those presenting.”
“Colleagues teased Dimon
for walking around the floor at Smith Barney at 6:00 a.m. to see who was already in; they called this habit ‘bed check.’”
“Dimon charged into his
work with both elbows out.”
“Problems don’t
age well,” says Dimon, “denying or hiding them guarantees that they will get worse.”
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