Tom Heinmiller
PURPOSE
Men who fight cancer and return to work want more than just money and status; they want to reflect a greater sense of purpose and meaning in everything they do. They want to bring value and make a positive contribution to everyone they serve. This certainly reflects Tom Heinmiller’s approach to business today.
Cancer changes everything -- your outlook on life, your career goals, your purpose, and your priorities. It also gives a lot, like a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to help others. As well as a desire to live every day to the fullest, taking nothing for granted and becoming someone who makes a difference.
For individuals who have been in sales, these changes can cause some uncomfortable internal feelings. As salesman, it is always about producing results! “What have you done for me today?” is the universal question. Nobody ever asked, “What relationships did you build today?” These questions may be reflected in a company’s marketing statements as important, but they are not reflected in any compensation plan and therefore receive only minimal focus. It becomes just marketing hype. This is unacceptable; relationships and the ability to create measurable value must be priority number one!
These old sales models feel manipulative, pressure-oriented, and with a lack of respect for the individuals they are serving. After an experience like cancer, the old approach no longer brings satisfaction. Desire to be a top performer is still a driver, but a new sales model is needed – one that gives results, while serving the client and providing them with value and contributing to their success. These values must become the central points of the sales process or the survivor feels empty.
Yes, cancer does change one’s perspective, and making a difference becomes more important than making the numbers. These professionals are still capable of getting powerful results, but results can never be achieved outside their moral compass -- meaning that they achieve fulfillment in their work beyond the numbers, by creating value and serving the prospect. Their relationships are built with a guarantee that each potential client is treated with respect and appreciation even if they choose to do business with another vendor.
Tom Heinmiller began his career in a Fortune 500 company that lived and breathed by the numbers – they wanted results – Now! Today! They were not particularly concerned if you burned out; people were also a numbers game, sales at any cost; if you could not deliver you were gone. When you did deliver, however, you were honored as a hero with money, gifts, and trips.
Tom was a perfect employee, a sponge who absorbed everything he was told, and became a sales leader. When he left that company as a top salesman, he went to another Fortune 500 company; it had the same attitude about achieving numbers. When he left there, he was exhausted, he wanted to keep selling, but he also wanted a life that was more balanced and whole. He believed by changing companies he would find a fit – not true – it’s not the company or the product you choose, but how you sell. So he started and ran his own business for the next 25 years. Tom quickly learned the importance of “how you sell” and the value of long-term relationships.
Today, Tom wants to share these skills and contribute to the lives of other entrepreneurs and professional sales reps through targeted coaching programs, helping others find happiness with success, and in this way contribute to his own personal growth and well-being.
Over the last two years Tom has learned that if you sell with purpose and a respect for the individual you are engaging, you can be profoundly effective, build personal strength, honor your personal values and achieve a daily sense of fulfillment.
His quest now is to share this knowledge with other professionals, before they are faced with a life-changing event and help them become all they are capable of being.