Industry Magazine Get JACK'D Magazine Winter 2019 | Page 27

focus on high payoff activities and
knowing your value; 2) Consultative
selling style, being more a resource to
your public; and 3) Consistent follow-up.
If more salespeople would just practice
this, they would find significant payoff
and a long career in sales.
2. So, since it’s that basic, I wanted to
know how a salesperson can stand out
from the competition. Kevin reem-
phasized the concept of relationship
driven. Forget “selling” and be more of
a “consultant,” knowing your value and
bringing it every day. My favorite take-
away here was Kevin warning that if you
look desperate, you will attract that, so
not to compromise (also warning that
you will initially make less money, but it
sorts itself out to your favor).
3. I wondered about the big challenges
of the role of Sales Manager. Kevin fo-
cused on just one—Time Management.
With $1.25 billion+ in annual business,
covering three states and 40 sales
teams, that sure is understandable!
Keys for Kevin are the words “Delegate”
and “Empower.” He stated simply that
you can’t be everywhere, and that is the
key for the organization to move for-
ward without waiting for him. He drives
his week by the calendar, with sched-
uled “touches” throughout, working a
week of Monday–Friday from 7:00am–
6:30pm. A key takeaway was to handle
the newer originators and those grow-
ing their production more as a group
rather than in one on ones, freeing time
to spend with the top performers. That
sure resonated with me and my sport
coach analogies.
4. With Kevin making the move from sales
to management, I was eager for his ob-
servations. Kevin was open about it be-
ing difficult at first, with things seeming
to go slower than he would like. His big
advice was that the focus needed to be
placed on being “effective” as opposed
to being “liked,” while also being aware
that people respond to different mana-
gerial styles, and, as a manager, he need-
ed to respect that.
5. I’m a big proponent of the Sales Manager
being in the field. I loved what Kevin is all
about here. Eighty percent of his time
is spent in the field, and he doesn’t even
have an office at the company. When at
the corporate office, he uses a general
use office, and it has nothing in it of a per-
sonal nature. Huge takeaway here!
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6. Technology was cited as good and bad.
The good was all about efficiencies and
the leverage for growth that it provides.
The downside was the concept of being
always connected/available, causing a
plethora of distractions. To emphasize
the point, Kevin recounted a story of in-
terviewing a sales candidate and during
the interview, the candidate kept glanc-
ing at his handheld, unaware of all the
negative messages being sent.
7. It seems I can’t go anywhere without
hearing concerns about millennials, so I
asked Kevin his take. He indicated he had
quite a few on his team and as clients and
customers today. Kevin found them as a
group to be smart, opinionated/outspo-
ken, and collaborative. Millennials repre-
sent a huge demographic shift in both the
workforce and as a group in home buying
over the next 10 years. We discussed at
length the importance of “systems and
processes” versus “my own style.” Kevin’s
approach here was to look for the “win.”
First, show you are genuinely listening.
Let folks be heard, then add the “pluses”
into the “systems and processes.”
8. I’m always curious about what people are
reading. While Kevin initially cited Raving
Fans and Outliers, his treasured source is
his collection of 20+ books written by his
grandfather, who was a businessperson/
salesperson/writer and someone Kevin
worked with from middle school onward.
Kevin credits these works with develop-
ing his passion for sales from an early
age. I plan to get a personal look into a few
of them!
KEVIN GINSBURG developed his
passion for helping clients accomplish
their home ownership dreams when he
began his mortgage lending career in
Austin, Texas. Growing sales through
relationships with realtors and builders
and working for individual originators,
teams, and branches remain Ginsburg’s
passion and focus. Kevin is a graduate
of Texas A&M University and is married
with two children. Kevin is currently
the National Sales Manager at Austin
based Legacy Mutual Mortgage.