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Excerpt
Sean:
You have been in sales and business development for what, seven years now.?
Carlos:
I’ve been in sales and business development for about 15 years now.
Sean:
So as a sales and business development guy, and also as a business owner, what keeps you going?
Carlos:
You know, I think it all comes down to the people around you. It all comes down to not just your network, not just your community, but your friends, man, like keeping a business afloat, especially at a time of pandemic like right now, you’re going to find yourself relying on a lot of friends that you never really thought about doing business with, or, you’re going to ask them for some connections or some networks.
During this pandemic there’s quarantine, that’s who you rely on, right? I have a lot of friends who are distributors of brands that are having a hard time because malls are closed, stores are closed, but they reach out to me and ask if I can help them sell things online.
And I think that’s really what kept a lot of businesses going. It’s not just who, you know, but how well you know them and how much you trust them. There’s this old rule that goes, don’t do business with family, don’t do business with friends.
It all comes down now to how strong your circle is.
Thankfully throughout the years, my circle has been pretty, pretty strong. It’s still strong.
Sean:
So how does that fit into the puzzle of– Okay. I’m a musician. And heart and soul music. I create music, I direct music and I’m also a business developer. Now I’m telling people that the strengths of your circle of influence is what helps you out. How does that play into things?
Carlos:
If you’re a salesman or if you’re a part of the sales team of your agency, or if you’re selling printers or photocopiers, or if you’re selling books, a lot of it is practice. You gotta practice.
It’s just like being a musician. You play guitar. I play guitar like right now we’ve been recording.
I’ve been playing the bass for about a few minutes now, but I play the bass about two hours a day. I play guitar for about two hours a day. I played drums for about an hour a day; and I play the keyboards about an hour a day. I’m always ready.
It all comes down to what you want for yourself, how much you want it, and how much you’re willing to put into the repetition of things. I believe that the keyword in succeeding, in anything that you put yourself out to do is mastery.
I can play you the blues guitar without even looking at the guitar because I play three hours a day for 30 years and if you put me in any room, I can sell my agency to anyone from the Sultan of Brunei to the President of the United States, because it’s something I keep doing.
It’s something I keep doing. It’s something I’m a master at.
The other side of mastery is knowing when to say, Oh wait, uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know, I’m talking about, I don’t know how to, how to discuss that. In terms of being a musician, it’s really about preparation. It comes down to those things, preparation, and practice. And then, of course, you perform.
The three P’s Preparation, Practice, and Performance. That’s it.
