4/1/1 Wednesday
4 Random Thoughts, 1 Tool, and 1 Quote
Hey everyone,
Amid all of the chaos and uncertainty for the future that has flooded the news cycles over the past week, we at We The Sales Engineers try to provide some stability and value to all of you week after week. This week was no different, with Founder and CEO of Badger Maps, Steve Benson, visiting the show to share his insights on creating roles and teams to fit business needs, and leading teams remotely.
Listen to our show with Steve here.
Having the opportunity to speak to a Stanford MBA graduate is a pretty unique one, and it undoubtedly gets thoughts flowing for this week’s 4/1/1.
4 Random Thoughts From Me:
1- There are no rules – do what you need to do. This can apply to all sorts of things, but when it comes to leading a company and defining teams, don’t just follow convention because everyone else does it a certain way, do what’s right for your business and/or the situation. We saw this with Steve combining the SE and CSA roles at Badger Maps because it made sense, and it’s worked out great! So, do what feels right regardless if others have done it before you or not.
2- We’re all built differently, find the role that fits you. Have you heard the expression, “you shouldn’t judge a fish by their ability to climb a tree”? Well, everyone has their own unique skills, traits, and preferences, and career fulfillment is most easily achieved when your role fits you just as well as you fit the role.
3- Training and Coaching doesn’t (or shouldn’t) ever stop. Steve talks about the importance of constantly developing your teams and how we probably don’t develop our teams enough. He’s right, everyone is always growing and there’s always the opportunity to help those around us get better. If you feel like you can be coached on something by a colleague, mentor, or peer, reach out and tell them!
4- Get comfortable with tension. This idea came up when listening to Steve talk about defending your margins. Negotiations are tough, there’s no doubt about it. But oftentimes, the other side is counting on you to falter under the pressure of tension. Get comfortable with it, stand your ground, and believe in your value; you’ll be respected for it.
1 Tool:
Badger Maps:
Optimizing routes and activities can be a chore when managing outside sales teams. Badger Maps takes the guesswork out of figuring out the best way to see all the customers you need to see and can help your outside sales teams sell more!
1 Quote:
“Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.”
– Katherine Whitehorn
