I credit New York Life for teaching me to love selling; I credit Xerox with teaching me how to sell.  One of the most important lessons I learned, in my long association with Xerox, was the value of a process.  We were hired because we had a desire to sell, but once we walked through the training center doors, Xerox took care of the rest with terrific curriculum delivered by amazing trainers.  That training helped me exceed the numbers Xerox expected of me.  I was so blown away by the experience, I became a Xerox sales trainer myself.

Selling became effortless, and what Xerox taught me was ingrained in the way I sold. It also spilled over into the way I approached problem solving and quality improvement. For years, the Xerox “Leadership Through Quality” program was benchmarked by many companies.  I was so blown away by the experience, I begged to be cross-trained, and became a Quality trainer for Xerox as well.

Xerox training was world-renowned and very successful, but one of our biggest challenges came from the pharmaceutical companies.  No, they didn’t sell copiers, but they did something a little unethical.  They would tell potential candidates to get hired by Xerox, get trained, come back, and then they would hire them!  This plot played out over and over again.  I finally began to make my students promise me they wouldn’t leave the company after the training was completed! 

Yes, I had a front row seat at Xerox, working at the third largest training facility in the world, and learning the key to successful training.  Our curriculum was good, our trainers were very good, and our programs were inspirational, but that’s not what made our training successful.  Our success could be traced to one, simple word.  That word is process.

Xerox did not just teach us a basketful of sales tactics; we learned that every move followed a repeatable, predictable process.  The company did not just preach to us that problem-solving and quality improvement were nice things to do.  They provided a repeatable, predictable processes outlining exactly how to apply these skills. Oh, and one more thing.  Mastering, and adhering to these processes was not just encouraged. It was a condition of employment.  That little condition of employment thing applied to management too. 

Xerox maintained its leadership in sales training, and the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement for decades, while other companies became so disillusioned with their failed attempts, they gave up on their training, and bounced to other programs.  They gave up because they were given a handful of ideas, but never a process that allowed them to use and measure these ideas.  Without a process, much of what they did fell into the dreaded “flavor of the month” category, and it was often perceived as a waste of time.  It’s hard enough to ask others to leave his or her area of comfort and try something new, but it’s nearly impossible when there’s a graveyard of programs that are given up on and replaced on a regular basis.

I am a firm believer in processes and I owe Xerox for that.  In fact, I can boil down the heart of this message into one, simple statement:

~ When you have a process, you have a way of measuring what you’re doing… and when you can measure it, you can fix it.~

A successful athlete is typically trained through a process, and measures what he or she does by time or distance.  When I swim, I never swim without a watch or I would just be guessing at the effectiveness of my workout.  As a salesperson, a teacher, or just about any other job that’s worth pursuing, I’m one who believes you are fooling yourself without a process.

What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content?  You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk!”  Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles®, conversations, and interviews that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and dare I say, entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

I recently appeared on, “The Abundant Accountant” podcast talking about Decision Cycles which can be found here: https://theabundantaccountant.com/episode-92-breaking-down-the-6-stages-of-the-client-decision-cycle-with-rob-jolles

I was also on, “It’s Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee,” a fun podcast with Stuart Webb.   You can listen to the podcast here: https://thecompleteapproach.substack.com/p/five-questions-over-coffee-with-rob#details

If you are looking for something to listen to on your next coffee break you might enjoy this brief chat between me and Tom Bailey, Founder of Succeed Through Speaking and the Succeed Through Speaking podcast. Listen closely if you would like some high value ideas to boost your business results.

You can read the transcript here – https://bit.ly/3BOfU7o

You can watch the podcast here – https://youtu.be/w-QgGvweE2M

You can listen to the podcast here – https://apple.co/2YVGWuN

I Zoomed my way to India to speak with Motivational Diaries, and Ashish Janiani.  We spoke for about 30 minutes about sales processes and training for success. 

   Sales Process To Sales Success || Interview With Robert Jolles – YouTube

If you want to read some “Life Lessons” I was able to share in a recent interview, you’ll find them here:  https://worldclassperformer.com/short-life-lessons-from-robert-jolles/

I had the pleasure of appearing on Robert Miller’s, Follow Your Dream Podcast and thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.  We go way back in this conversation to my first memories of performance… at age four!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!  https://follow-your-dream.simplecast.com/episodes/rob-jolles-superstar-salesman

I also mixed it up with a wonderful podcaster, Terry McDougall on her Marketing Mambo show.  As she puts it, we “Cha-cha-chatted!”  If you want to hear sales and marketing go toe-to-toe, you’ll enjoy this show. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1569061/8172686-the-art-of-influence-in-sales-and-marketing-with-rob-jolles

I recently did a podcast with a wonderful, new, and up-and-coming star named Jahmaal Marshall.  His podcast is called, “Listen Then Speak.”  I’ve done a lot of podcasts, but we got into topics I rarely talk about, and I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the show!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/listen-then-speak/id1550684472

I’ve appeared on the “Small Business Advocate Show” with Jim Blasingame for almost 20 years now, and you’ll find dozens of our conversations on his website.  We just sat down a few weeks ago for a great conversation about selling fundamentals and the strategic use of stories.  Here’s a link to over 100 interviews done over the years, including my most recent interview that explores our many behaviors we display that are based more on a default mechanism than actual logic. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134

We posted a video series on delivering amazing online presentations with my friend, Jeremy Webb.  We go over some great stuff including:

• How to Select the Best Equipment for Online Presentations
• Pro Tips for Sustaining Interest in Online Presentations
• How to Look Like a Pro!
• Public Speaking Anxiety Tip
• Virtual Office Setup for Online Presentations

You’ll find the whole playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRO7BsBDl6oL-6ZPW3O01x-g5PiR38ljL

I was recently interviewed on the “Salesman Podcast,” which was a lot of fun. If you’re looking to Change Minds, check out this podcast: https://www.salesman.org/the-simple-step-by-step-process-to-influence-anyone-with-rob-jolles/

I loved talking about the book, Why People Don’t Believe You on a podcast that I’m sure you’ll like called Onward Nation: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/rob-jolles/

After 30+ years as a professional speaker and trainer, one of the most common questions I get is this: “How do we make sure the training sticks?”  Take a moment and listen to this podcast; “SalesChats” with John Golden.  If you want to know why most training fails, listen up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3dDOlTK7U&list=FLxBXKhqz0xBwbUPMqNthAJA&index=2&t=1293s