1. How Your Business is Like a
Major League Ball Club –
Strategies for a Hall of Fame Career
Whatever Role You Play At YOUR Company
SF Giants You
Chris Hendricks – Director of Sales Wooden Window, Inc.

2. Small or Large – The Same Basic Challenges
SF Giants You
• Sales and revenues never seem like enough and the need to grow seems like it’s
always there.
• Competitors are always fighting for your customers AND to steal away your best
employees.
• Employees always want more of your available resources (your time, your
money, your energy…).
• Just as you reach the top and enjoy it, along comes a new challenge that makes it
hard to stay up there.

3. Year After Year– The Business is Cyclical
SF Giants You
• Business planning (roster-building in the off-season)
• First Quarter optimism (spring training)
• Second Quarter (a hot streak or a June swoon)
• Third Quarter (a refresh at the trade deadline or the dog days of August)
• Fourth Quarter (playoffs and a World Series or spend the off-season fishing…)
The Good News? Cyclical means generally P-R-E-D-I-C-T-A-B-L-E !

4. And What, You May
Ask, Is So Predictable?
The strength of your roster is the most
important determinant of success.
Most small businesses have a
‘superstar’ who drives the ‘success’
train personally.
Without a solid line-up of skilled people
at every position, you will eventually
fail.
A roster filled completely with home-
run hitting superstars may not have the
right chemistry needed to succeed.
You NEED role players to fill gaps in skill
sets other ‘superstars’ may not be able
to provide and you need them to
perform consistently. And…
Just because you succeeded in the past
doesn’t mean you will again– skills, like
tools, become dulled if not kept
sharpened.
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds
#25 Bonds

5. 2015 Hall of Fame Inductees
John Smoltz – Atlanta
Braves
Randy Johnson –
Arizona
Diamondbacks
Craig Biggio – Houston
Astros
Pedro Martinez –
Boston Red Sox

6. NOT Hall of Famers –
But….
Justin Upton – 9-year veteran with a
lifetime .272 batting average.
$14.5M in 2015
Derek Norris – 4-year veteran with a
lifetime .244 batting average.
$545K in 2015
Wil Myers – 3-year veteran with a
lifetime .261 average. $520K in
2015
Matt Kemp – 10-year veteran with a
lifetime .289 average. $21M in
2015

7. Let’s sharpen up Wil Myers’ skills a little bit!
First two years in the league an average of
.258
Major leaguers average 600 official at-bats
Season is about 30 weeks long
600 at-bats and a .258 average means 155
hits a year
One more hit a week– JUST ONE!– means
a .308 batting average!
Even with the pitchers included (30%) ,
the average batting average of a HOF
member is .303!
Matt Kemp hitting .289 gets $21M.
One more hit a week gets Wil Myers a .308 average. What would THAT be worth?

8. Think Of All The Times When You Heard a “No”
• Mom, can I stay over at Susie’s house on Friday?
• Would you loan me $1,000?
• Shall I write up the contract for you?
• Do you want to go with me to my Mother’s house this weekend?
• Can I get a raise?
• How about you and me get out of here and go somewhere quiet?**
And What You Really Wanted To Hear Was a “Yes”
The Two Most Important Words in the Lexicon
** Would you like maybe just one more of those Long Island Iced Teas before we call it a night?
Do you want to play a little game?

9. What Would One More Success a Week Mean
to You?
• One More Sale
• One More Great Employee Hired
• One More Great Employee Retained
• One More Invoice Collected
• One More Raise Negotiated
Successfully
• One More ____________________?
For me, it means:
5 reps x 52 weeks x $14K=
$3,640,000
and that’s EXTRA in Sales!

10. Handle Just One Objection You
Currently Don’t Handle!
There are only 3 kinds of objections:
• Specific Dislikes
• They see it and they don’t like it (and it’s NOT going to change)!
• Misconceptions
• They just don’t ‘know’ you can or you will or don’t or whatever!
• Doubts
• They hear you all right… they just don’t believe you!
So how do we fix that– and improve by one?

11. Specific Dislikes –
Basically a variation on the old “Benjamin Franklin” close:
What you DON’T like:
• The PRICE
What you DO like:
• A knowledgeable sales staff to guide you!
• Custom-made to your specs for your specific
opening!
• Solid wood construction in whatever material you
want!
• 35 years of experience doing these kinds of
projects!
• Perfect-to-match instead of ‘sort of like yours!”
• Locally-made with local service and support!
• Ability to inspect your products during fabrication!
“Given all you really like here by comparison, doesn’t it make
sense to go forward and not risk settling for less?”
Show Offsetting Benefits

12. Misconceptions –
• “What I really wanted was this– except made in
cherry wood.”
• “We’ve decided not to use you because we’re going
to order Marvins so they’ll match the others.”
• “We preferred to use a supplier who made things
with sustainable wood.”
• “Someone told me I should only get mortise and
tenon construction and you make joints with dowels.”
These are the easiest to handle but often the hardest to recognize– that’s why we ask questions
about clients’ decisions to NOT use us and ferret out the ‘real’ reasons.
Give Additional Information

13. Doubts –
Doubters become advocates quickly if you show them the proof!
• Testimonial and “thank you” letters
• Guild Quality, Yelp! Houzz.com and similar review
sites.
• Past clients willing to receive a call from a prospect
• Third-party publications displaying projects and
mentioning you by name
• Validation paperwork (certificates of insurance,
business license, CSLB claims review)
• References from vendors
Have and Show Your Proof Sources

14. Potential NARI Hall of Fame Inductees
• Prepare to make
incremental
improvements, not just
swing for the fences every
time!
• Know they’re going to
throw you the curve ball.
• Recognize that failing only
one fewer time than
before can mean the
difference between “Who
is that?” and making it
into the Hall of Fame!
THANKS FOR LISTENING!