From Employment to Business: Lesson 1

In the few months I have been away from a corporate world that I served in for 11 years and some odd months, I have relished lessons that anyone with guts to change from employee to self employed/ business owner/ as the popular word has it – entrepreneur, should know before making that giant baby step. For some reason, those lessons are not taught in any institution except one – the school of life.
Lesson 1: Your networks change

It’s pretty obvious that with every change, you will meet new people, form new relationships and do things differently. What is not so obvious is that the friendships you had formed at your workplace, more often than not, almost always die a natural death. You may be removed from a WhatsApp or Facebook  (even if you were one of the admins), you may face cold shoulder treatment at the Happy Hour joints and you might find that every time you call to ask where its happening, almost all group members are not sure and each has a reason why they are not going to make it on that day. You’d be surprised if you did a quiet visit and sit at a corner, they will come in just after the traditional time. Because they are sure you won’t be there.

Even a lion knows when it’s time to leave the pride it has grown in and form its own tribe.

My Takeaway:

Don’t be offended and don’t take it personally. As cliché as this may sound, it’s not you, it’s them. You made a decision to be different from the pack. Each of the others that you have left behind silently admire you. It’s like you were all in jail together and you got a presidential pardon and not them, yet there is supposedly nothing extraordinary that would qualify you for such a privilege.

As soon as you handed that resignation letter or you were given a notice of termination, you became an outsider. Even if they cry at the farewell party and there is all that conversation about keeping in touch, you are an outsider.

Your path is a distant dream for them and you chose it. It is good for you because of what you want in and from life, so don’t change the decision to get back into the pack. Even a lion knows when it’s time to leave the pride it has grown in and form its own.

True friendships are those that stick with you all through and those are few and far between. Design your own friendships through revelation and you will find that they are worth the investment.

Look out for lesson number 2 right here. If you are busy and  appreciate a reminder, please subscribe to the blog and you will get the lesson straight in your mailbox.

Thank you for taking the time to engage with me.

Sales & Marketing: The best position for a come back int the corporate world by a stay at home parent

On Christmas morning my family and I trooped to my parents outside the city and to pacify the road trip hunger in our 7 years old girl,  we made a stop at one of the local supermarkets. It happened to be one of the branches of a well known supermarket chain store. Quickly my daughter did a bee line for the junk section and specifically for a brand of crisps she loves to eat in any of the many flavors. At the till after paying, I was dumbfounded to see my daughter struggling to remove a piece of paper that was stuck showing some promotion that crisp makers were running.

The promotion was about collecting a series of super hero stickers like batman, spiderman, Ben 10 and others hidden in the various packets.  So I asked her why she was so intent on removing the sticker. Her simple answer was enough to assure me that what we teach her  is well received,  understood, digested and applied. If there was ever a doubt that our teachings are shaping her decisions then I got my assurance right then that she was listening to us.

From when our girl started watching cartoons and baby movies, my husband and I have taught her to decipher what is good, bad, right,  wrong, positive influence and negative influence and her platform of judging is nothing but her spiritual foundation which is the word of GOD. So the questions that we have taught her to ask are simple:
a/ would GOD approve of the individuals character?
b/ does the character being promoted get its foundation in someone’s imagination or in the creativity of GOD? Just as an example. Spider-Man is he human or is he a spider? Does GOD create shapeshifting personnas?

The little girl answered me, “Mum I don’t understand why this supermarket insists on putting these things in the crisps packets. Why can’t they sell just plain crisps like other supermarkets. It’s not good to lie to children with superheroes and not all of us are interested in collecting the stickers.”

Discussing the issue later on with my husband, it occured to me that for a child to be swerved from the common flow of influence by various parties, it could only take the skill set of a parent whose single mission in life is to have the child subscribe to ideals that will allow them success in their life presently and in the future.

That skill set is what any leading sales person will confirm can make the difference between having a fat sales funnel and a pitiful prospect base and conversion ratio.

Think about it. A parent is

Persuasive
How many people will easily give in to the other party? Sorry our budget is exhausted – a common phrase when people don’t want to spend on your product or service. How many times has a parent successfully used that line? How many times has she gotten around to a sales person to accept her shoe string expenditure? How often has she gotten a spouse to make a great family treat on a meagre budget? Maybe that should form a good interview question.

More content oriented
By the time a parent is spending money, they know that they are getting their money’s worth. It’s not just about the price for them. It’s about what they are getting back. And that is exactly what your customers need. To know that they are getting good value for the money they are parting with.

Patient
Good parents don’t punish their undisciplined children in public. They call them aside and even I they have to wait a little, they will. Good parents also sit in hospital waiting rooms for endless hours for lab results which are inconclusive and they go back home with a home remedy to sort out the flu symptoms.
Hmmm…. something worth having for those clients who seemingly keep you waiting and the purchase order comes less than you expected?

Persistent
A parent who has a child who just doesn’t eat will teach us a thing or two about persistent. It’s amazing how they stay the course until the bowl is empty.

Dependable
Good parents will find the time to attend their first born’s talent show, take the last born for a dental check, do the weekly shopping, make dinner and still make time for a whining friend over a cup of tea and still sit to ask the spouse how the day was. With the crazy timelines and logistical challenges of getting around our cities, the tenacity around such individuals will be invaluable to any firm worth it’s two pence.

Explorative
There is no parent who gives up on their promising non performing child. They will do everything they can, explore different avenues until they get the result that they are expecting. Even when the 100th option of closing a deal fails, they will still find a way of getting it worth the while for all the effort extended in that direction.

So the next time a job seeker comes to your desk and says that he /she has been a stay at home parent for the past 15 years and they are seeking a job to fill their time which was previously occupied by children. Let them have a go at your sales department.

They just might surprise you!