John Howell’s Post

“We’re like a family here” 🤮 Next time you hear a company say that, run for the hills. It may be well intentioned, but the fact is that your employer is NOT your family. Family doesn’t fire you. Family doesn’t put you on a PIP. Family doesn’t hold you to KPIs. Family doesn’t promote or not promote you. The list goes on… Instead of treating business like family, you need to treat it the same way you would a sports team. Yes, you may form a close bond through the trials, tribulations, and triumphs - but your teammates are your teammates; not family. When you underperform on a team, your benched or cut. When you perform at a high standard, you play more or win MVP 🏆 In the case of professional sports, the best players are paid more. They then have negotiating power and more “job options”. AKA other teams want them. This is why many hiring managers, particularly those in sales, want to hire someone with a sports background. Not only does it show work ethic and discipline, but people that played organized sports growing up understand the dynamics of business. The sooner you understand this as a hiring manager, the sooner you’ll hire people with the right attitude for success. The sooner you adopt this mindset as an employee, the sooner you’ll understand how business really works and how to play the game. If I had to name my recruiting firm anything other than American Dream Search, it would be Performance Search or something along those lines. Bottom line - business and sales is all about performance. Family, not so much 🤷♂️ #business #sales #sports #family #recruiting

Monday…while I’m taking a proactive approach to the job hunt, my dogs are doing the opposite…sleeping. 😂😂 Today is spent waiting for the National Championship game tonight (Go Blue!!!) and waiting for the calls to start coming in from all of the resumes I’ve sent out! With extensive experience on both the sales and marketing side of the CPG world, I know I can jump in and make an immediate impact for my next company! If you’re looking for a leader who can: - inspire sales teams to exceed goals, - build professional relationships with both internal stakeholders and external clients, - negotiate deals that are mutually beneficial to both parties - effectively communicate with members at all levels of an organization, - analyze data to make sound decisions - manage budgets from $5MM to $35MM Give me a call!! I’m #opentowork and I’m ready to hit the ground running! #salescareers #jobseeker #jobhunter #jobsearch #marketingcareers #networking #hireme #floridajobs #dogsoflinkedin #salesmanagement #lookingforopportunities #lookingforwork

Over my 2 decades of leading sales and marketing teams, the biggest challenge I've witnessed (& faced) is around hiring. So what are the key traits that you need to look for based on experience levels? This is useful whether you're looking to hire for a junior role or a senior leadership position to help you make the right choice. To summarise: Hiring For: 1-5 Years of Experience: Focus on Hunger 5-10 Years: Look for Work Ethic 10-15 Years: Estimate Impact 15-20 Years: Gauge Ability to Scale 20+ Years: Assess Coachability

PERSONAL POST: I am really upset about being laid off again... 2nd time in the past year. And this time just weeks after being told I was being promoted. I'll never get used to the doubt that works SO HARD to creep in. It's easy to fall prey to dark thoughts and imposter syndrome. This time I'm going to hold my head even higher knowing that my decades of hard work and leadership success CANNOT be erased by economic changes, volatile markets, or poor business leadership choices that are outside of my control. I am: 🏆 A skilled LEADER 🏅 A phenomenal MANAGER 💟 A caring and empathetic BOSS 🤝 A skilled CLIENT RELATIONSHIP CULTIVATOR ⚽ A TEAM PLAYER 👷♀️ A ridiculously HARD WORKER 📚 A FAST LEARNER 🌟 A VALUABLE EMPLOYEE with experience and insights that can help any business! Oh.... and I am: ➡ OPEN TO WORK I have more than 20 years of experience leading sales teams of all shapes and sizes and have handled high-level client relationships for large corporations, boutique firms, start-up companies and more. Please let me know if you or anyone in your network have openings for any of the following roles: Vice President of Sales, Sales Director, Chief Revenue Officer, Regional Sales Leader, VP of Client Relationships, Senior Sales Leader, Sales Executive. Thank you for your support, LinkedIn family! #layoff #opentowork #executive #salesleader #mediasales #media #influencermarketing #jobsearch Sales Talent Group Women in Sales Women in Influencer Marketing

Last week, I shared how our recent National Sales Meeting showcased IDI’s Core Value of Family, and reinforced for me why this is such a #greatplacetowork . In this week’s post, I want to talk about Growth. When searching for a great place to work, look for a company that is growing as it’s a sure sign that they’re doing something right. At IDI, growth has been a constant theme over our 45-year history, and it continues today. Here are a couple examples of what that growth has looked like recently: -           8 new warehouse locations in the past two years (14% growth rate) -           13.7% increase in average headcount in 2023 -           50% sales growth in the last 3 years Want to become a part of our growth story? Check out our Careers Page (https://lnkd.in/gM4WQJp6) to learn more about IDI and review our current openings. We’ve got Sales and Operations leadership roles available across the country, and several highly visible corporate roles at our Chanhassen, MN office. We’d love for you to write your next chapter here with us! #growth #leadershipopportunities #greatplacetowork #culturematters #hiring #family

People often expect promotions (without building relationships). They execute tasks flawlessly for clients. But, they start to overlook their responsibilities towards their team, leading to arrogance and negative outcomes. - They don't want to create any relationships with their colleagues. - They show up late to meetings. - They expect others to reach out to them. - They think you aren't smart. To deal with such individuals, I follow one simple rule. I deal with them using only facts and data. While they can try to look smart, facts never lie. Please let me know in comments what has worked for you? Please reshare if you found this post valuable.

Just because your top performers might have a big year this year, doesn't mean they are completely happy and won't look for another opportunity in the new year. Back when I was in med sales, I remember one year when 2 of the top 5 reps in our division left shortly after they closed out the year and went to competitors. It was surprising, but also not. At the time, the company was going through major changes. Territory realignments, quotas, new initiatives, leadership changes, etc. A lot of reps weren't happy about it. It happens. Sometimes companies go through these phases. As a sales leader, now is the time when your doing 1-1 year-end reviews and planning for next year, to have these conversations with your team. Especially if there are a lot of changes going on internally. They most likely won't tell you they're on their way out. But, asking the right questions and having open dialogue will help to identify the pain points and come up with possible solutions. It still might not stop them from leaving, but at least you'll get feedback and be better prepared to address these things up front with your next hire.

🌶️ Spicy thought - what if we dropped the "Culture" expectation from People Ops and shared the responsibility... I mean wealth. Look, I love that our work impacts the whole company, and to build frameworks that allow folks to thrive in their career is a true joy. To have the privilege to listen to the team, advocate for their wellbeing and design systems that lead to success fuckin rocks! Hashtag blessed, as they say. Also - none of that needs to be exclusive to People Ops; in fact I'd argue any leader has the same responsibility. But like - not seein a whole lot of "Sales and Culture" or "Code and Culture" conferences out there, huh? Fact is, culture exists always. You can guide, grow and develop it through practices, programs, celebrations and responses to failure. While your People Ops exec might be conducting the orchestra, everyone has a part to play. Hard Sell - if you wanna chat about your People Programs, Practices or getting the whole team on board, my DMs are open! Cheers, y'all!

🚀 Ready to Elevate Your Team 🚀 Hello Linkedin Community! Exciting news! I'm on the lookout for fresh opportunities to leverage my expertise. With over two decades of immersive experience in sales strategy, channel development, and team leadership within the IT Managed Services Partners and Network Infrastructure sectors, I've had the honor of collaborating with industry giants and some of the most demanding global clients in all verticals. My journey is fueled by a passion for driving transformative change and ensuring positive customer experiences—a commitment that's driven my success. From pioneering new sales channels to orchestrating multi-million dollar contracts, I thrive in dynamic environments where challenges ignite innovation. My dedication extends to continuous learning and professional development, ensuring I stay ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving landscape. Whether it's driving sales growth, forging strategic partnerships, or championing organizational success, I'm ready to dive in and make an impact. I am currently exploring remote channel sales roles with strong organizations who's mission align with their values. An organization who offers differentiation by providing the best partner and customer experience in their industry. If you're aware of any exciting roles or simply want to explore potential collaborations, let's connect! Your support and encouragement mean the world to me, and I can't wait to embark on this journey together. Drop me a message here or share my profile if you know of any exciting opportunities where I can hit the ground running. Here's to new beginnings and exciting possibilities! 🌟 #Sales #BusinessDevelopment #Leadership #StrategicPartnerships #SalesStrategy #ChannelDevelopment #TeamLeadership #Networking #ProfessionalGrowth #Opportunity #CareerMove