10/5/2023-On This Day

Study Ray and other entrepreneurs like him, and there’s a high probability you’ll find a higher operating gear.

On this day in 1902, Ray Kroc was born in Chicago. His story as a pioneer of the fast-food industry is widely known. Still, you probably didn’t know he started his career selling coffee beans and paper cups…door-to-door. (Check out Ray, down in the dirt!)

Why is this important to you, killer sales pro?

While his legacy is tinged with a bit of controversy (did he or did he not treat the McDonald brothers fairly?), Kroc is an entrepreneurial icon.

Ray’s skills? Grit. Perseverance. Ingenuity. Boldness.

Good skills and traits to celebrate and study, eh?

Today, reflect on Ray’s accomplishments and ask yourself how you can be bolder in your work.

Do you quietly retreat and move on when a buyer evades your question? Or do you re-load and probe a bit harder?

Do you wait for your solutions team to provide everything you need for a big proposal, or do you take the wheel and drive solution development for your customers?

Today, push yourself to be intrepid and plucky!

Ask, "What parts of my business deserve a deeper effort and intensified commitment?"

Most sellers don’t think they have much in common with entrepreneurs like Ray Kroc, but the opposite is true.

What separates you from Ray might be the difference between how big you think. Beyond that, you share many of the same traits and skills with Ray: you’re both persevering, you’re both strategic….and you’re both highly motivated. You both bring immense creativity and ingenuity to your day.

Whether or not you build an empire as big as McDonald’s is not the issue; the issue is how you use your moxie, your brains, your ingenuity. It’s there to tap, you just have to turn it on.

Study Ray and other entrepreneurs like him, and there’s a high probability you’ll find a higher operating gear.

Without a doubt, Ray Kroc had moxie and brains. (You saw The Founder, right?)

Ray’s strategic vision was highly novel and commercially successful: McDonald’s focused on offering a limited menu, keeping prices inexpensive, and ensuring the burgers tasted the same at all locations.

In this YT short from The Founder, the idea of how to turbocharge McDonald’s growth appears to come from his auditor, but who cares where the idea came from??

Ray’s antenna was up…and he acted decisively. Keep yours up and move fast when you see the openings.

Look for the openings!