10 lessons from 10 years at TELUS

When I joined TELUS in 2005, nothing prepared me for the ride I was going to have! 5 Managers, 4 positions, thousands of customer relationships, complex infrastructure projects and over-seeing an estimated $150M in book of business later, there are precious lessons I have learnt along the way. Lessons that I wish somebody told me back then. Lessons that I would gladly pass on.

1. Relationships matter more than products
   For the first month after joining TELUS as an Inside Sales rep, all I did was to call my customers and introduce myself, understand their priorities and what motivated each customer on a personal level. There was a part of me that wanted to satisfy a technical desire to learn all the products and processes, but I very quickly realized the #1 priority was getting through to my customer base – one by one! It takes time, but the old adage holds true – your customers won’t care what you have to sell, unless they know you care and possess the ability or the resources to solve their business needs. The same principle applies to vendors and contractors as well.

1. Understand what makes your team and managers successful
   In a complex business environment, you cannot be successful unless your manager and your team are also successful. This often means making your managers’ life easier, and “teeing things up for them” at the right place, at the right time! Pay attention to their needs, both spoken and unspoken. In calling out to my base, and scheduling appointments as an Inside Sales rep for the Account Manager I supported (who was 5+ months pregnant), I included details like current business, potential new business, key stakeholders and stayed clear of days where the weather was bad!

1. Be grateful for good managers, but don’t miss the lessons from the bad ones!
   I shall be forever grateful for the great managers I have come across. Although it is easy to be bitter and resentful towards bad managers, there are precious tuition values you can squeeze out of those relationships. I used to dread Monday mornings as it was my weekly meeting with one such manager. There was not much help offered but lots of emotions thrown around! On further analyzing these situations, I quickly came to realize he was frustrated because he only saw the tail-end of most sales cycles. From this, big lesson learnt – win as a team, lose as a team! When I started engaging him early in those deals – and the stakeholders – those Monday meetings changed from sounding like a police station interrogation to, “James, let’s go for coffee! Awesome job with this win. Nothing else we could have done on the rest!”

1. Understand what motivates your customers..and their customers or managers!
   When you peel away the layers around a deal, products, prices, ROI etc are table stakes; more often than not, there are always deep-seated, under-lying human emotions at play in each stage, and at each level on the customer’s side! As an Account Manager now, I find identifying these factors the best use of my time: job security, vendor relationship, reciprocal considerations, risk-averseness and so on. Interestingly enough, I notice with great interest that the sales reps who survived the 2008-2009 downturn were not the ones who sold on the merits of products, but the ones who were most in tune with these factors!

1. Know your competition and protect your inside supporter with your life!

Of course, you have to be aware of what your competition is telling your customers - what their value proposition and ball-park – if not precise – pricing is! Knowing this not only helps with the obvious – knowing where to price your own products, but also building confidence in your customers! Occasionally, you may even come across an inside supporter who wants you to win, and will feed you precious insider information. Nurture these relationships, rewards these contacts when you win; when you lose, never, under any circumstances, leave these contacts exposed!

1. The one constant in business is change
   Isn’t this true? After 10 years, I think the best analogy I can think of to compare the telco industry is the ocean! On the surface it may seem calm, slow and even motionless – underneath though, there are very strong undercurrents! Pay attention to trends, take time to learn and connect – ensuring you can paint a picture of the future you want to take your customers towards. You don’t want to stay stagnant, be caught on the wrong end of these huge waves, but rather, you want to position yourself to ride the next big one! Practice your elevator pitch, seek feedback, and evolve – the goalpost is always moving!

1. Re-invent yourself

Be patient, make the best of your current opportunities, but know that your current position will not last forever. Every interaction with inside contacts or outside customer and vendor is an opportunity to learn and evolve. Be open-minded and curious, always! The ability to ask good questions is a priceless gift – foster it, use it. Find a mentor along the way, and make your desire to pursue a new role be known, even if the role doesn't exist - so long as a role provides value to the business, it will be created!
My current path to Healthcare started many years ago – with a failed RFP response! Along the way, I learnt the value of Software Development shops and System Integrators in the Healthcare eco-system – I started building a story around partnerships between TELUS and these boutique shops. My second milestone deal was an internet fiber deal, but it was a catalyst to us white-labelling my customer’s products! Another story here. Third deal that comes to mind was a pilot project with a kidney dialysis operator that needed a mobile solution to track their patients after they are discharged – a IoT or M2M story here. Each deal is a story, a potential business model that you can duplicate and maybe even an opportunity to connect with a relevant upstream/downstream provider in the same ecosystem.

1. Don’t be afraid to take risks
   The best ideas come from the frontlines. If you do come across one – don’t be afraid to flag them up! As a Specialty Sales Manager supporting 8 reps in downtown Toronto, the commercial hub of Canada, I was so convinced about the merits of an idea I had to deliver the same results at 25% of the current costs – thereby theoretically being able to deliver 400% of the results if the current supporting structure was maintained. When this idea was floated to my VP, there were 2 follow-up conference calls scheduled the next 2 days at 5 AM! The following year, 4 territories surround Toronto were collapsed under this plan – and with the support of an amazing team – I went to President’s Club 2013.

1. Do your homework, and always be prepared!
   The importance of doing your homework cannot be overstated. This applies to customer meetings for sure, but just as much, all social and commercial events. In my very early days of being an AM – I remember rushing into a trade show put up by the Retail Council of Canada. In a rather unprepared state of mind, an attendee walks into my booth enquiring about my company and products. In turn, I asked the gentleman what he did. With a chuckle and with much grace, he responded, “I just keep the company running!” Upon enquiring, I later found out that was Mario Pilozzi, CEO of Walmart Canada. What’s more, he was the main speaker that morning. Only if I did my homework!

1. Find the rhythm so you can enjoy the party!
   Every living being has a heartbeat that beats to a certain rhythm. That is also true of an industry, an organization, a team, and even a city and all its corresponding ecosystem components as well. For example, I used to be really stressed going into customer meetings, especially in the mornings! No surprise here, as 6M Torontonians and perhaps another 3M from the surrounding areas were on the road at the same time! Knowing this, as opposed to try to jump on the road at 8 am for a 9 am meeting, I would leave the house at 6:30 when traffic was relatively ok, camp out at the closest coffee shop, work for 1:30 hours, enjoy a civilized breakfast, and stroll – stress-free – to my 9 am meeting! Same principle applies to buying cycles, industry seasonality, vacation pattern and even global economic situations. Paying attention to these rhythm allows you to appreciate the heartbeat and enjoy the party!

Of course, I shall be forever be indebted to many mentors, manager, colleagues and friends who have played an irreplaceable part in this on-going journey! You know who you are. If you are in town, let’s catch up over a drink or coffee!