Conquering the Seven Summits of Sales: From Everest to Every Business, Achieving Peak Performance

170 Pages·2014·3.01 MB·English

by  Susan Ershler

DEDICATION
To our parents, Roy and Mary Ellerman, and Jack and Roenah Waechter;
John’s wife, Marka Brooke, and Sue’s husband, Phil.
Each instilled a belief that anything is possible and supported us every step of
the way!
CONTENTS
Dedication
Map
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I: PROJECT
1 Commit to the Summit
2 Travel Light
PART II: PREPARE
3 Plan the Route
4 Guide Your Clients to Success
5 Build Your Sherpa Team
6 Execute the Route
PART III: PERSEVERE
7 Stand on Top
Authors’ Note
Profiles in Perseverance
Afterword
Appendix
About the Authors
Copyright
About the Publisher
MAP
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We did not reach mountaintops alone, or complete this book alone. Throughout
Conquering the Seven Summits of Sales, we’ve emphasized the importance of
teamwork in achieving an ambitious goal, and appreciate the work and
dedication of the following individuals whose direct involvement was critical in
creating this book.
Ilisa Keith, as a collaborator and personal editor, helped shape and polish our
prose to a high standard, ensuring that our points were made clearly,
consistently, and in a compelling voice. Ilisa is also the principal of KB
Communications LLC, a full-service marketing and public relations agency
based in Phoenix. Before launching her firm, Ilisa was a senior vice president at
Powell Tate in New York City and held senior positions at global public
relations agencies, including Golin/Harris Worldwide and Fleishman-Hillard.
During this time, she spearheaded the launch of Coleco’s Cabbage Patch Kids
and developed marketing support programs for such international clients as
Smith-Kline Beecham, Richardson Vicks, Chesebrough-Pond’s, Inc., Grand
Marnier, and the Rado Watch Company. Ilisa began her career as a health/beauty
writer for Mademoiselle magazine. She has also served as a board member of
Women in Communications and is an active member of Phi Beta Kappa and the
International Association of Business Communicators.
James Levine and his colleagues at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency
helped guide our efforts through the literary industry and were instrumental with
feedback and support throughout this process. Jim also worked with Sue on her
first book, Together on Top of the World. We truly appreciate his passion for the
publishing business and his knowledge of the industry.
Thank you to our editor, Colleen Lawrie, and the entire team at
HarperCollins, in making this vision a reality. Beyond being an expert editor,
Colleen brought critical and creative thinking and a very positive attitude to our
partnership. And we sincerely thank Hollis Heimbouch, publisher at Harper
Business; Joanna Pinsker, our publicity manager; and Christine Choe, our
marketing professional.
John and Sue had great fortune to have worked with, and continue to work
with, many great mentors, coworkers, direct reports, clients, and business
partners. Their relationships with these people have yielded lifelong friendships
and provided the many lessons and stories recounted in this book. While there
are far too many to name, we want to mention the following people for their
mentorship, guidance, partnership, and inspiration to get the job done!
• Sue’s speaker bureau partners, who have provided friendship and expertise
for over a decade in supporting Sue’s professional speaking career.
• Greg Wilson: Everest mountain guide (2001) and friend, who, with Phil,
guided our 2001 Everest expedition and was instrumental in that team’s
success. Greg also summited Mount Everest as part of the 1991 American
North Face Expedition, and is now a middle school teacher in Hailey,
Idaho.
• Our Everest Sherpas, notably our lead Sherpa, Ang Passang, and Sherpas
Dorjee Lama and Danuru Sherpa. The many Sherpa climbers who routinely
support Himalayan expeditions are critical to the safety and success of all
who venture onto the world’s highest mountains.
• John Whetzell, CEO of Northland Communications Corporation: client,
friend, boss, and the one who introduced Sue and Phil!
• Walt Yeager, former sales manager at GTE (now Verizon): boss, mentor,
friend, and person responsible for managing John and Sue at the same time!
• Jay Tyler, former district sales manager, Xerox: boss, mentor, and friend
who taught John how to manage “Attitude and Activities”!
• Andy Lufkin, partner and portfolio manager, Delafield Hambrecht, Inc.:
lifelong friend, business partner, and climbing partner. Two to go!
• And finally to our wonderful community of friends and family who have
wholeheartedly supported our endeavors and made our lives richer along
the way. Most notably, a special thanks to Phil Ershler, Sue’s husband, our
mountain guide and trusted leader throughout our Seven Summits journey,
for his inspiration and guidance in helping us achieve our Seven Summits
dream. Phil first achieved this feat in 1989 and then again in 2002, this time
with Sue at his side. Phil is renowned internationally for his consummate
skills as a mountaineer, guide, and climbing instructor. He was the first
American to climb the north face of Mount Everest in 1984 and has
summited Mount Rainier well over 400 times. Climbing is Phil’s passion,
avocation, and vocation. As cofounder of International Mountain Guides,
LLC, a worldwide guiding company, he too has applied lessons from the
mountains to success in business.
Thank you.
INTRODUCTION
On May 25, 2001, at 3:00 a.m., we slowly approached the Balcony on the
southeast ridge of Mount Everest, battling the frigid fifty-mile-per-hour winds
and needles of snow. Both of us had reached the pinnacle of our profession as
sales executives and entrepreneurs. Yet here we were, risking our lives and
everything we had worked so hard to attain. Exhausted, we lifted our bodies onto
the Balcony’s narrow ledge, removed our oxygen masks, and, huddling together,
asked ourselves, “Why are we trying to climb this 29,035-foot mountain?”
The answer was a simple one. We cherished the deep satisfaction that only
comes from attaining a seemingly impossible goal through focus, determination,
and perseverance. For us, Everest represented the very pinnacle of achievement
and the capstone of our journey to join the elite group of climbers who have
conquered the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven
continents.
Both of us would ultimately achieve this goal, applying the same skills and
strategies that helped us climb the corporate ladder and become top sales
performers. In the years that followed, we would draw upon our Seven Summits
experiences to lead sales organizations and to launch and grow businesses. We
would also share these experiences when conducting sales keynotes and
presentations for major corporations around the world, inspiring sales and
business professionals to overcome their perceived limitations and achieve their
own visions of personal and professional success.
As longtime friends, fellow climbers, and business professionals, we shared
a unique perspective about the parallels between success in sales and on the
mountain. One morning about two years ago, we were having coffee and sharing
some recent speaking experiences. Invariably audience members would ask us
questions that revolved around two key themes: “Do you have to be a born
salesperson or can anyone learn to achieve sales success?” and “How does
someone take on a huge challenge like climbing Everest and then go about
achieving it?”
As we thought about it, we reached the conclusion that both questions could
be answered in the same way. We both firmly believe that achievement in any
sphere of life is an acquired skill. It’s a strategic approach to problem solving
that can be learned and perfected over time. In that moment, we knew that we
had the basis for an instructive and entertaining “how-to” book on sales, one that
would allow us to share our experiences and apply the metaphors of mountain
climbing to success in the business world.
We began by conducting some competitive research. After reading dozens of
sales books, we concluded that we could bring a fresh new perspective to a
heavily traveled subject. We spoke to hundreds of businesspeople and solicited
their feedback and suggestions. We soon realized that the lessons we’d learned
and the strategies we’d honed in business and mountain climbing would be
beneficial not only to salespeople, but to a much broader audience as well.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans
holds a position in sales. In today’s competitive marketplace, salespeople and
leaders need a book like ours as never before. In recent years, sales expectations
and revenue goals have increased, even though many companies have been
forced to cut back sharply on their training programs. Information overload is
rampant, as mobile technologies and social networking create new distractions
that can impede success. We resolved that our book would help salespeople and
leaders navigate these obstacles and excel at what really counts: generating
revenue and forging productive long-term customer relationships.
But this tells only part of the story. Virtually every business professional is
expected to develop client relationships, produce revenue opportunities, and help
their company compete successfully in the marketplace. So developing sales
skills is essential for anyone who hopes to climb the corporate ladder or start
their own business. Yet few companies offer sales training to their marketing,
finance, customer support, operations, and other customer-facing organizations.
We decided that our book would fill this gap while providing fresh perspectives
on best-practice selling and productivity techniques.
Now, two years after that fateful cup of coffee, you can see the results of our
literary journey here, in the pages of Conquering the Seven Summits of Sales.
The book is organized into three sections, each featuring chapters describing
our experiences climbing the Seven Summits and illustrating key elements of the
selling process. We’ve also provided numerous worksheets that will help you put
these lessons into practice. We hope you will walk away from this book newly
energized, inspired, and equipped with the basic and advanced selling skills you
need to achieve your own vision of high achievement.