One week after my brother passed away, I started
my first REAL JOB, working for Cintas, a Multi-Billion Dollar company.
I sold really sexy products like toilet paper, air fresheners, soaps and floor mats to businesses :)
I busted my butt working over 50 hours a week, cold calling and knocking on every door, every store, and every floor.
I never really made money before, and I wanted to travel and have nice things.
What I really wanted was to Live an “AND Life” and NOT an “OR Life”.
What I mean by that is…instead of getting a new car OR going on Vacation, I wanted to get a new car AND go on vacation.
I NEVER wanted to one day look into my kid’s eyes and say “I’m sorry you can’t go to summer camp with all your friends because mom and I just had to buy a new air conditioner for the house”
I never wanted to miss a Little League game because I had to work. I wanted to Work to Live, NOT Live to Work.
You know what else I wanted? I wanted to order off the left side of the menu when going out to eat. Ordering what I REALLY wanted to eat and not basing my decision on the right side of the menu, THE PRICE!
I wanted to have money so I could have CHOICES.
The pressure at my job was intense…
Pressure of hitting my numbers.
Pressure of feeling I was only as good as my last sale.
Pressure of never feeling good enough because they always wanted more.
I felt pressure to lie about accounts I was working on. Sandbagging accounts was the only way to stay somewhat level-headed. Sandbagging is only reporting a portion of your real numbers so I had some volume rolling into the following week. It was an emotional rollercoaster to be on, and really took a toll on me!
I was making great money, but I was no longer motivated to work. I had hit a wall. I was burnt out. I was depressed, yet still had to pay my bills.
I was at my lowest point when the number one salesman saw that I stressed and invited me out to lunch.
I jealous of Shawn. He bragged about working half the hours I did AND….how he made twice as much money! He came and left the office whenever he wanted, walking with that confident swagger, and driving off in his Mercedes.
I wanted to be Shawn.
While at lunch…Shawn asked me “who is one of your service drivers in your territory?”
I said, “one of them is Gary.”
He said, “tell me about Gary”
I replied… “well…he’s the guy who services the accounts every week after I sell them.” (shaking my head and thinking...DUH!)
Shawn’s reply was, “Do you know that Gary is married, a father of three, likes to go fishing on the weekends, and is currently training for a sprint triathlon?”
I still did not understand what he was getting at. Shawn continued, “Did you also know that Gary sends me all of his referrals, from YOUR territory?”
I was angry! I was about to pop off like a loose cannon….and then it hit me…I GOT IT. At that moment I realized the importance of getting to know people for who they ARE… not what they DO.
Shawn cared for people as people.
Shawn did a massive amount of cold calling earlier in his career, but he eventually realized the REAL MAGIC in sales that allowed him to have it all; to actually have a life outside of work.
The REAL MAGIC was EARNING REFERRALS.
This all ties into what my father said at my brother’s funeral...
I put together a plan. I hopped on the Cintas delivery trucks and spent days servicing accounts, getting to know the drivers. I wanted to earn their respect in hopes of possibly earning referrals from them in the future.
When the drivers discovered a “Coming Soon” or an “Under New Management” sign in a window…I wanted to be the guy who received those referrals because of the relationships I had built! The first one in the door usually gets the business.
Unfortunately, referrals were not happening fast enough for me to hit my numbers. I wasn’t getting those referrals quickly enough to hit my numbers. I almost got fired. I was forced to go back to cold calling.
It wasn’t long before everything radically shifted for me and REFERRALS started pouring in. I discovered the power of follow up, using greeting cards to share APPRECIATION. Within a few months I was only working 25 hours a week AND I was making more money!
I was LIVING for the first time since taking the job. What my dad shared at my brother’s funeral was, “Silas lived more life in his 23 years than most people do in an entire lifetime.”
And that’s why I decided to quit my Corporate Job 13 years ago to start a marketing agency and launch my speaking career. Every time I spoke to a group of sales professionals, they also wanted the secret to unlocking the power of referrals, and live a life worth living!
I partnered up with Tommy Wyatt and together, we launched our National
Best-Selling book, “Appreciation Marketing®”.
Five years after launching our book, I created a software company called AM Cards to help salespeople GRIND LESS and MAKE MORE MONEY by EARNING MORE REFERRALS!
I’m excited for you to CLAIM YOUR FREE BOOK TODAY, and even more excited to hear your personal testimonial of how Appreciation Marketing® and AM Cards has transformed your business and your life!
I Appreciate You!
Curtis Lewsey
