What Would Norm Do?

I was talking to my mom the other day about our new business and the referral network and relationship driven nature of things. I told mom as I began to recruit sales agents to the team I’d be looking for people similar to my dad. His business acumen and sales ability were second to none as I watched him sell Yellow Pages his entire adult career. I joked he could sell a ketchup popsicle to a person in white gloves. He was like the Arnold Palmer of sales.  A true legend.

The year was 1969. I was in fourth grade in Cleveland, Ohio. At nine, I hadn’t had enough of a life in Ohio to register the loss. Instead, from the morning I parachuted in at St. Gregory the Great to the December day I graduated from SUNY Buffalo, its streets, schools, basketball courts and golf courses were my home. As for our move, the timing couldn’t have been better. My dad was selected as part of an elite sales team to expand LM Berry’s Yellow Page footprint in Western New York. He was good at what he did and off we went to Buffalo. I watched my dad prosper over the years. I often tell people dad taught me social and selling skills at the kitchen table. I was exposed to Emotional Intelligence my entire upbringing.  

When I landed my first sales job at PAYCHEX in 1982, I broke the news to my mom and dad and they were so happy I was following in similar footsteps. I was a cold calling maven and walked the beat, knocked on doors, made cold calls and wrote hand written thank you notes just like him. His farm heritage turned him into an early riser and I too rose early.  He milked cows every morning and I delivered newspapers. Who needed an alarm clock when you had work to do. Getting up early and working became a way of life.

My dad sold one thing, and he sold it exceptionally well. Forty-five years later, as we recruit our own elite sales team, I wonder how much more he would have made if he had other things to sell to his loyal following. Regardless, we’ve developed a great product mix, and we’ll make those products and services available to our tenants, agents, and global commissioned sales force.

But my father’s story is not just about selling one thing well. It is a story of dedication, hard work, and a commitment to building relationships that last a lifetime. I noticed as I grew up that my dad had a great following of clients, and every year when it was time for renewals, he sold those ads with confidence as he renewed one account after another, traveling from city to city around New York State. I recently bumped into Lee Federaconi, who used to buy ads from my dad, and he said, “Your father would often come for lunch and always stayed in touch after my renewal. That’s what real sales pros do. He always had something nice to say and always complimentary.”

Yellow pages was Google from the 50’s to the 90’s. I told my mom Google didn’t exist back then, and if dad were selling today, he’d be top of the heap in Google sales. If you wanted something back then, you had to rely on Yellow pages and word of mouth (and an encyclopedia). One thing I noticed as I grew up was my dad had a great following of clients, and every year when it was time for renewals, he sold those ads with confidence as he renewed one account after another, traveling from city to city around New York State. I bumped into Lee Federaconi who used to buy adds from my dad and unsolicited Lee says “Your father would often come for lunch and always stayed in touch after my renewal. That’s what real sales pos do.  He always had something nice to say and always complimentary.”

My dad sold one thing and he sold it well. Forty Five years later after my dad was recruited, we will be recruiting our own elite sales teams. I wrote in my high school yearbook that I wanted to wear a suit to work and follow in my dad’s footsteps. I wonder how much more he would have made if he had other things to sell to his loyal following. 

In the end, my father’s story is not just about selling one thing well. It is a story of dedication, hard work, and a commitment to building relationships that last a lifetime. And as we move forward, we will honor his memory by striving to embody these values in everything we do.

Norm showing me a few tractor tips from his upbringing as a farmer.