Play the Cards You're Dealt
We can't control the economy, the market, the products or the services we offer. Yet how many salespeople whine about these things at the drop of a hat?
 Card players run through cycles of hot and cold hands. Great players weather the bad hands and pounce when opportunity presents itself, as it inevitably does. Choose the Table First
Smart poker players spend time picking the right table. Marketing guru Fred Diamond enjoys a lucrative side career as a card player. He prowls the casinos looking for tables packed with chumps and pigeons. That means big egos, big  | "If you look around the table and don't see the Sucker, it's you"
Paul Newman |
wallets, and poor judgment. His ideal table:
Drunk guy Drunk guy
College Kid
College Kid Over-matched Local Drunk guys will make sloppy mistakes and College Kids know everything. Sober and calculating Fred wins by picking a table where he has the edge. Smart salespeople do the same thing. They invest time uncovering opportunities that could have an urgent need and high ROI potential. Opportunities with weak competition. Pick Your Battles Carefully
Avoid  highly publicized opportunities crowded with tough competitors. Some high-profile RFPs will draw dozens of competitive responses, and desperate salespeople will invest hundreds of hours responding to them. This is called in the sales business "Chasing Garbage Trucks".
Time Wasters
Sadly, many IT people are desperate for attention and will burn hours of your time on a never-ending chase for more details and information. They call these people "Seymours", because they always need to "see more". No Whining
Some people know they are bad at cards but play anyway because of the camaraderie of friends or excitement of the game. They pay their money and take their punishment at the table. If you consistently lose at poker, don't blame the cards. If you lose at sales, don't blame the economy.
 | "Anybody who Looks at his
Face is Cheating" |
Opportunity
You can win the biggest pots in poker even when you don't have the best hand. Manage your money carefully, and "go big" when you see an opportunity. Tough economic times can be the best time to grow your sales business.
 | | "May the FLOP be with You" |
|
