One Cook in the Kitchen - 01/29/10 01:09 PM
My wife does most of the cooking in our house... ok, all of it.  It's not that I can't cook, it's just that I have two basic methods: 1) heating frozen food, which is quick, doesn't make much mess, but is hated by my wife; or 2) making a nice meal, which takes me two hours and uses just about every pot, pan and utensil in the kitchen.
So, our deal is she cooks and I do the dishes.  I believe I have now developed absolute mastery over packing the dishwasher, and I take pride in straightening & cleaning up after … (1 comments)

Booklist - 01/28/10 09:16 AM
I am a book junkie.  I love to read- for pleasure, for knowledge, for relaxation... I'll read just about anything, from novels to science texts.  And, of course, I enjoy reading about sales.  I thought I would share a few books that have influenced my approach to sales over the years, and maybe you will find them useful too.  These are in no particular order:
1) How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins: This is a classic sales book.  Hopkins teaches marvelous sales techniques that are useful from 30-second elevator conversations to public speeches.  His techniques, especially "tie-downs", are … (3 comments)

Ah, Coffee - 01/27/10 09:51 AM
Gosh, I love coffee.  Can you imagine a sales office without it?  At Obbee, the pots get remade all day long.  Admittedly, I am a caffeine addict, but I love the smell of a fresh cup o' joe, and I love the "pick-me-up" feel I get from a warm mug, especially first thing in the morning.
If caffeine was my only source of energy, though, I'd surely crash every day by lunchtime.  What I've found is that each day has its own "pick-me-ups", whether it's a shared joke, a conversation about a sports game or a newly-seen movie- but especially when we … (1 comments)

It's Raining Again... - 01/26/10 11:44 AM
I was talking with my wife about someone we know who is a very... "difficult" person.  We've come to the realization that, for better or worse, this person will not change- as most people don't.  The analogy I came up with to help us deal with the situation was likening it to the weather:
If it's raining, you can get mad at the rainclouds, but that won't change anything.  No matter how mad you get, your anger will not stop the rain one second sooner.  Since you can't control the weather, it is absolutely futile for you to be angry at the rain.  … (0 comments)

Lunchtime - 01/25/10 09:26 AM
I am always intrigued by how sales permeates every aspect of business, no matter what field or industry.  My wife, for example, is an attorney.  She has a successful practice, combining a good mix of ongoing smaller, general cases with a few larger ones each year.  Almost all of her clients are referrals.  And how does my wife approach the business of getting referrals?  She takes people out to lunch.  At least once a week, she makes it a point to go out to lunch, whether it's with a colleague, friend, former co-worker or even opposing counsel.  At these lunches, without being … (0 comments)

What's in a Lunchbox? - 01/22/10 11:09 AM
I was worrying a bit at breakfast this morning (before I had my coffee) about not knowing what to write about today.  My oldest daughter asked what I usually put in my blogs, and I told her I try to write about sales.  Being the helpful child that she is, she looked around the room and suggested I write about her lunchbox.  After I tried to tactfully decline, she pointed out that we purchased her lunchbox online.
Which got me thinking... When I was a kid, my mom bought me a new lunchbox every couple of years- mostly because back then they … (1 comments)

Kudos - 01/21/10 09:17 AM
Well, I've been blogging for a whole week now, and I'd like to thank everyone who has posted comments so far.  One of the many facets of sales I have enjoyed over the years is the sense of community and support among professionals in the field.  Sure, it's competitive out there- but I've always found a multitude of folks who are willing to take time to offer advice and encouragement... and I think that makes being in sales worthwhile.
The wonderful part of sales, of course, is that we can earn a living by helping people purchase what they need.  Unless someone just inherited … (0 comments)

Pizza, Pizza! - 01/20/10 09:26 AM
Last night I stopped to pick up a pizza on the way home from the office.  As always, because I am so interested in sales and marketing, I examined the store's advertisements to see if I could pick up any pointers.  The flyers looked nice: pictures of tasty food with graphics and coupons... but I realized there really weren't any take-aways I could use for Obbee.
I think the big difference has to do with end-users' needs and the approach to meeting them.  There's no special need for a pizza.  Everyone gets hungry; hunger is a universal need- We all have to eat.  We don't … (0 comments)

No Man Is an Island - 01/19/10 09:00 AM
My 2nd-grade daughter had a school project to do over the weekend.  She had to pick her favorite land mass and make a diorama.  She chose to make an island.  So, the first thing I did was have her make a sketch of what her island would look like.  Based on that, we went to the store and purchased the materials she needed (blue posterboard for the water and colored modeling clay to make the island, palm trees and animals).  Then we gathered the tools she would require: scissors and glue.  Finally, we cleared a space on a table so she'd have … (1 comments)

MLK Day - 01/18/10 12:39 PM
MLK Day:
I remember, years ago, hearing the president of a mortgage company give a speech to his sales force.  In it, he cited part of an address from Martin Luther King, Jr.  The quote is as follows:
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."
The mortgage president was trying to convey a sense of duty … (1 comments)

Charmed, I'm Sure - 01/17/10 11:07 AM
I've had more than a few people ask me about the name Obbee- it certainly stands out!  Of course, being a leader in the sales lead industry, I prefer to stand out by continuing to offer the best available leads to our clients in the real estate, insurance, debt and mortgage fields.  Nothing beats our quality, fresh, real-time prospect lists.
The question keeps coming up, though, so I'll let you in on it: "Obbee" comes from a word in the Manx language, and it means "charming."  Manx is an old Celtic language, similar to Gaelic- I doubt you'll find too many people who … (0 comments)

The Confidence Game - 01/15/10 11:37 AM
Yesterday I had lunch with a mortgage broker friend of mine (I had WAY too spicy Thai food, but that's another story...).  My friend was feeling a bit blue because his numbers were down for the quarter.  Now, he's been selling mortgages for 13 years, so he knows sales can be cyclical and not to give up hope- but it got me thinking...
My friend is lucky.  He has a lot of experience, and he can draw on the knowledge that comes from that experience to give him confidence when the chips are down.  But what about newer sales people?  Or … (1 comments)

"Take What the Defense Gives" - 01/14/10 10:21 AM
Pardon me if you're not a football fan, but I heard something this morning on a local sports talk program that I thought really applies to the state of the internet sales lead industry right now.
The disc jockeys were talking about what makes a good quarterback, and one of the hosts opined that a QB is most effective when they "take what the defense gives him."  Right now, we're in a struggling economy.  Should we give up hope?  Forfeit the sales game?  At Obbee, we say "Never!"  As a quarterback in the game of sales leads for insurance, loan modifications, real … (3 comments)

Kicking off 2010 with an Announcement - 01/13/10 02:37 PM
Greetings, all,
It's hard to believe we're almost halfway through January- The New Year is already flying by!  To kick off our 2010 marketing drive, we issued a new press release.  Have you ever used press releases as a communication tool?  We've been very pleased with the responses we've gotten in the past.  The articles allow for more content than traditional "advertisement", while promoting awareness and knowledge of our industry.  Here's the text of our latest release:
Innovation had a rough go against compliance issues and bureaucracy in the 2009 sales lead industry.  The depressed economy, while causing a greater urgency to increase … (3 comments)

 
Sales

David Obbee

Agoura Hills, CA

More about me…

Obbee.com

Office Phone: (888) 400-4289

Email Me



Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog