Hard work, smarts and being a nice guy has its rewards. Nan Palmero become a Partner in Sales by 5
August 27, 2009
Erik Darmstter has a simple business proposition. Hire his firm and he will help you increase sales, hence the name, Sales by 5. Hanging out at the Sales by 5 office is a ton of fun and there’s lots great energy in the air. (Oh, they are also do really great and effective work). Ever since the supposed economic downturn, the good people at Erik’s office have been holding “Pitty Parties.” The idea is for friends and clients of the firm to have fun on Friday afternoons by dropping by for a drink and some good food, provided by a local restaurant. So the Pitty Parties are indeed great fun, and a great place to network and meet new people.
As it turns out, Tuesday was Nan Palmero’s birthday. ( In case you don’t know Nan, then you probably live on Mars). Nan’s works for Erik; but no more. As as birthday gift to Nan, Erik made him a Partner in his firm. And that’s pretty cool. So while this post is not about another startup, it is about the mentality of startups that thinks in the vein of growth and big thinking.
During the Flicks and Food Tweet Up at the Roaring Fork, we also celebrated Nan’s birthday with cake, and of course Erik’s surprise for Nan. The lighting was pretty bad, and I tried to tweak the adjustments to the video output. Regardless, I hope it captures the moment in which we all shared.
Congrats Nan!
Salesby5’s Erik Darmstetter Writes….”The most important thing in your start up”
June 18, 2009
By Erik Darmstetter, Salesby5
In the movie City Slickers, a group of friends take a “vacation” at a dude ranch. Curley, played by Jack Palance, is a rough, wise old cowboy who shares the following with Mitch, played by Billy Crystal:
Curley: Do you know what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No, what?
Curley: This. (Holds up his index finger.)
Mitch: Your finger?
Curley: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean [anything].
Mitch: That’s great, but what’s the one thing?
Curley: That’s what you’ve got to figure out!
Lee J. Colan gives some insight to this classic scene, “Leaders have to figure out the One Thing that defines a meaningful purpose for their teams. The One Thing should answer the question Why are we here? You may think that finding that focus isn’t critical; but in fact, it’s essential to your success. The most important thing in business (and life) is deciding what is most important.”
Get your team together and figure out what your One Thing is. Then, that should guide all of your decisions and your actions. Focus your energy on your One Thing. It won’t happen overnight. Look at it like a habit that you want to start. For my company it is about Inspiring others, for Starbucks it is providing the 3rd place (1 and 2 being home and work).
Salesby5’s Erik Darmstetter, Advises on Having a True Purpose in Your Startup
May 14, 2009
By Erik Darmstetter, Salesby5
When you’re building any company or an organization, having a true purpose is a fundamental driver that will get future employees on board as well as help keep you on a successful path. This purpose is the why you do what you do and not how or what. If it is to make money then you have no real real purpose for keeping people or recruiting people on your team as getting a paycheck is a commodity.
Purpose is the reason to get up in the morning and do what you do every day to help benefit others with your product or service. The importance of have real purpose versus something that sounds good is that customers or employees can tell if your culture or your behaviors do not match what your said purpose is or REAL Vs. FAKE!
Our purpose at Salesby5 is to inspire others. We talk of inspiration often, as it has so much to do with sales. One of the stars on our team is Kya, who is our Brand Evangelist. She has radar that picks out “REAL.”
She has a unique strength to know if someone is sincere (real) or fake in seconds, where most are about 100 times slower. Why does this matter? She can pick off someone trying to get a date, sell copier toner or attempting to get in your wallet faster than my computer can get an Internet connection.
Tomorrow’s success is today’s real. This is why we fire customers who are rude, lie or don’t pay when they say they will pay. This is why we do not take a customer or vendor who we do not feel has the REAL Win-Win attitude versus just WIN. We need to feel good about making them prosper or there are plenty of others.
A few thoughts on being real regarding sales:
- If you have to remember your pitch: Fail
- If you can’t remember the prospects problems and your opportunities: Fail
- If you remember a client’s child’s name because you care: REAL!
- If you remember they love Papouli’s Greek Grill’s Mediterranean Salad for lunch on Thursdays: REAL!
The point: Get real or get a new purpose. Today is about transparency and about being real. Fake billboards or sales pitches that leave me wondering don’t work anymore. Do you need some REAL in your life?
Salesby5’s Eric Darmstetter Gives Sound Advise to San Antonio Startups
March 9, 2009
Erik Darmstetter, CEO of Salesby5 is a practical and pragmatic person who is focused on one thing: increasing your sales. Enough said. Here’s what he’s got to say from his recent appearance on Great Day SA.
Erik Darmstetter on Great Day SA from Erik Darmstetter on Vimeo.