Every position in my career has been entrepreneurial in nature, whether it is new or an established company or division, I have taken ownership. Ruthless, extreme ownership.
I have always had the good fortune of being given autonomy and freedom to make the decisions on behalf of the owner and the company. But that’s a result of the trust I’ve earned through the reputation of my performance.
As a career salesperson, the performance of the company is how I judge my performance. If the product is solid, then your company’s revenue is a direct reflection of how hard and how smart you’ve worked for the past 12 months.
Growth, innovation and profitability are the metrics that measure the multi-faceted investment you’ve made into a company. The burden of ensuring that your company hits those goals is yours to bear as the sales leader no matter what you’re selling, whether it’s balloons or jumbo jets.
With that burden, it just makes sense to take ownership of every business function that can influence your ability to succeed. Which is why the sales and marketing plans for my employers have largely been my plans from inception to implementation all the way through to results.
There’s always more that you can do.
I’ve created all new divisions to address market channels; products and product lines to fill needs and market trends; pricing to address current or anticipated competition to achieve or blow past bottom line targets; and marketing plans to capitalize and communicate company and product strengths.
My success or failure in sales is secured squarely on my shoulders. Others may play their part in equipping me and the company to achieve, but it ultimately falls 100% on me to get those results. That fact allows me to really enjoy the wins or recover and build on or redirect from anything short of a win.
I’ve always worked for a long established, privately held company. The biggest form of flattery is being recognized in the marketplace as the owner or member of the family. Customers assume my serious approach to my career, the company, the product, the event, and most importantly them, is that of an owner. You’ve got to own it, and I do not know of any other way to approach business.
