This I remember all too well! What a mind stress!

Recruiting, training, developing and motivating initially up to twelve new business telesales people.

Every day we started again – we were only as good as the day we performed. 150 telesales calls per day, day in day out.

The environment was extremely harsh and harshly target driven – looking back on it I do not know why I enjoyed it or put up with it – but it has left me in very good stead for life’s ever changing challenges thereafter! 

My promotion meant I inherited two very good but very different telesales people – although I still very clearly remember their names let me call them telesales A and telesales B.

Mr Telesales A was what I first considered to be the best natural telesales person I had ever seen – better than me (and at that time God did I think I was good).

He was extremely confident, unbelievably sharp and quick thinking, very funny, likeable, and had amazing ability to charm almost anyone into buying anything.

Seriously this guy was good – in addition to this he had model looks and was one of the most gifted impersonators I have ever heard – better than most on television.

He was able to imitate almost anyone from Mrs Thatcher to Steve Davis, from Arthur Scargill to the Reverend Ian Paisley – and I promise you that he could get through to any decision maker based upon this alone.

Mr Telesales B was probably one of the least gifted natural sales people I have ever had working for me – or so I thought. He has a slight lisp, he seemed very nervous and became agitated very easily. He was aggressive, built like a tank and seemed to drink like a fish.

Over a period of time Mr B slaughtered nearly every sales target ever set – he went on to become a director and eventually set up his own firm – where he has made a small fortune.

Mr A I had to remove from the organisation.

Why? Very simple – telesales work rate.

 Mr B arrived at 8.00am every morning and worked through to 7.00 pm at the earliest. He rarely had any lunch and made 200 calls a day, day in day out, week in week out. He did not take days off ill, and he did not change his pitch once he had this sust.