The Magnum Life

Sales people can save money by keeping records

Larry Hendrick — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:29:03 +0000

If you are an outside salesman and use your vehicle, you can deduct those miles on your income taxes. The IRS allows an amount of money for each mile driven for work purposes that are not reimbursed by your company.

I know outside sales people that drive between 25,000 and 45,000 miles each year and that amounts to between $12,000 to $20,000 in deductions off your taxes. That is significant.

The IRS has only one requirement, you must document all the miles you claim on a daily basis. It’s easy and does not take any time at all.

In the video I didn’t even touch on cell phones and many other deductions that can save you money on taxes. Maybe another day.

Do you track your expenses and mileage? How do you do it? On paper or electronic?

1982 Bronco–A walk down memory lane

Larry Hendrick — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:14:42 +0000

My wife is going through the pictures of our life and found a rare one of our 1982 Bronco. I’ve never been a huge picture taker including the vehicles, but this is a good one … and he’s clean.

This was one of our “cool” cars. It was immaculate inside and out when we bought it and the same when sold ten years later.

I was never a fan of green, and like most of my cars, the Bronco was two-tone green and white. I don’t remember off-hand the mileage when we bought him, but I have it buried somewhere in papers.

This photo is going on the My Cars Page, too.

Gadget Collection – Cell Phones and PDAs

Larry Hendrick — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:36:31 +0000

According to my calendar, my Palm Vx turns twelve next Thursday. That got me to thinking about the PDAs and cell phones I had bought through the years and still had. From that came the idea for this weekend bonus video.

I am missing my first cell phone, a Motorola bag phone without the battery. It had to stay plugged into the lighter socket to work, but it was a working phone in my car. How cool was that.

So what gadgets do you still have lying around? Do they still work?

Selling 101 – Have you prepared your introduction?

Larry Hendrick — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:36:24 +0000

Let’s face it, in sales, you will interact with strangers at least 50% of the time. Some companies even have quotas for the number of cold calls each day or week.

If you are going to spend that much time introducing yourself to strangers, shouldn’t you prepare something to say?

Yes, I know it’s not rocket science, but in the last few years, I have accompanied many sales reps on may cold calls and I can say without a doubt, very little preparation is happening.

What is your experience? Have you taken the time to prepare?

Selling 101–Product Knowledge will increase your sales

Larry Hendrick — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:15:58 +0000

Increasing your sales is up to you … only you. This quick tip for today is 100% up to you and you can’t blame your company, your boss, your high prices … nothing. It’s all on you.

Product Knowledge

Working with sales reps that don’t know their product lines is painful for me. They aren’t valuable to their customers, they can’t help their prospects, and the don’t close as many sales as their counterparts that know their products.

When a customer confides in you and tells you what keeps them up at night … and you tell them you will check on it and get back with them in a few days … you lose.

Do you know your products? Frontwards and backwards? You better if you want to win.

What stories do you have for sales you won by knowing your products?

Selling 101 – The Cold Call

Larry Hendrick — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:46:40 +0000

One of the elements of the sales process is finding prospects to move through the funnel. There are also a number of ways to accomplish the location of your prospects, and cold calling can be one of them.

If not done properly, cold calling can be a tremendous waste of time so you’d be better off sitting at the office. However, with the five steps I cover (six really) in the video, you can make the time profitable.

What do I cover?

Preparation with research
Determine the desired outcome
Make the approach
Gather the information you need
Thank the helpful person profusely
Conduct a postmortem

Sounds simple, but in working with young reps over the last four years, it remains the secret of the masters. It’s time to share.

What’s your favorite cold calling tip?

Integrity Is Not Optional … Is It?

Larry Hendrick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:45:41 +0000

Is integrity an optional character trait? I don’t think so, but a lot of students at Clear Lake High School think it is. If it’s okay to cheat on a test, what else is it okay to cheat on?

Integrity is defined as “Adherence to a moral and ethical principles.” I assume these students know that cheating is wrong and will get them in trouble, but they chose to ignore that and cheat anyway. Up to two hundred students showed no integrity … showed to be absent of moral and ethical principles.

It’s not that some students cheated … it’s that a third of the students cheated. 33% of them showed no integrity. That’s what bothers me the most.

What are your thoughts on this. Is speeding okay as long as you don’t get caught? Are our kids watching the examples we show them? Think about it.

The Importance of Mentorship

Larry Hendrick — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 06:38:13 +0000

One of the key components for our youth learning to get by in the world is to learn from others. We call that Mentorship or being a Mentor. It is a crucial part or our lives too, sharing what we know with others.

I enjoy being a mentor to young salesmen because as I work with them, I can teach them different aspects I learned from someone else or the hard way. Teaching them the basics is so satisfying it encourages us to share more with them … and that’s good.

Do you have someone to mentor? It’s important!

Creativity … Do You Have It?

Larry Hendrick — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:36:40 +0000

From a very young age, we are very creative, using our imaginations to build houses, spaceships, and horses. That is who we are … then we grow up.

As adults, we are told we are left-brained or right-brained, logical or creative … one or the other. And if you are one, you can’t be the other. Poppy Cock!

Well, that’s just wrong.

What are your thoughts? Do we loose our creativity as we age?

The Beginning of Character – Video a Day #4

Larry Hendrick — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:14:48 +0000

One of the things I don’t want this video a day to become is me rambling about nothing for three to five minutes. I have put together a plan that will be very similar to the audio podcast I did on Motivation on the Run.

I plan to shoot the video on topics like leadership, character, sales, and self-improvement. The challenge will be getting this done in 3-5 minutes rather than the 20 podcasts from before. The topics will be new and the recordings too.