If Cutco hired you, I know you're likely a self-starter, you're likely motivated to sell, you have a great sales foundation with training, and you've done something," [Jennifer] Gluckow said. You woke up and said, “I want to go out and try this thing.”
I went to work for Vector Marketing selling Cutco knives. That was a life-changing crash course in all elements of sales … Good sales people are not pushy. Sales is about exchanging information. Get information from your prospect about who they are, the needs they’re telling you, the needs they’re not telling you, and what they value.
The company's training and personal development programs have been so successful because they equip their students with real-life skills … Not only do they teach students about sales and proper communication but also how to network and grow a business through social media and referral marketing.
The bottom line is that people don't want to meet with you to hear about you and your needs. They have their own issues. So, ask your clients or prospects what they need. Consider what problems they are trying to solve … The best sales people usually ask the most questions. Your sales strategy should be targeted at presenting your company as the solution for the prospect.
NBA coach Mike Brown—who has banked millions as a head coach—shares his pride in his son’s sales position with Cutco. “What’s Cutco? And then after he explained it to me, I was so proud because he’s an introvert. He’s got to get out as a salesperson and interact with all different types of people. And he knows that needs to become a strong point of his going forward.”
Alfred got his first taste of the business world the summer before college when he sold Cutco knives ... The business was referral-based, forcing Alfred to ask customers to recommend potential leads, a valuable ability he later drew on at BrightScope. “You can’t leave the meeting without a referral that takes you one step closer to your goal,” Alfred said. “I learned how to ask for the business, ask for the sale.” He closed sales about 90% of the time … The payoff? He earned $14,000 in seven weeks.
Asher Abraham also has fond memories of his Cutco years. He sold the knives throughout his four years at Queens College, in New York, and earned more than $100,000 one year, and he learned a lot in the process, he says. "The first time my [Cutco] manager asked me to speak at a weekly meeting, I thought, 'Who, me? Talk to everybody? No way,' " he recalls. But he did it, and after doing it over and over, it became second nature, he says. He graduated in 2006 and left Cutco a year later for a job at Liberty Mutual, selling commercial insurance.
I was a history major at Cornell and graduated to, "What the heck do I do now?" I called my dad and said, "Why didn't you send me to trade school because what do I do with a major in history?" And he said, "A liberal arts education will teach you how to think." And I said, "What I think is that I need a job." I spent one summer selling Cutco knives. I can still give a demonstration on how to slice through a penny. My father thought it was a waste of time back then, but he later said that it was useful because it taught me the power of rejection.
When I first started selling Cutco, I followed the scripts to a T and went through all the motions, but I just couldn’t close. Certainly, my pitch got better over time but it wasn’t until I started to actually believe in the product I was selling, embrace the value proposition and gain the confidence to close with a strong ask that my close rate skyrocketed … Entrepreneurs will be trying to close something from someone—daily. Belief in your offering, idea, or product mixed with a bit of self-confidence will enable you to close the deal. Today, I really can’t give enough credit to my Cutco experience for sharpening my skills as an entrepreneur.
The most talented applicants who walk through our door aren’t leading with income requirements,” he said. “They’re leading with long-term plans and goals that, very rarely, include working for us. We can choose to be offended by this. But instead, as an organization, we’ve chosen to embrace it.” No company wants to see itself as a short-term solution, but [Mike] Monroe believes companies can benefit from being employees’ favorite former place to work. “There’s no shame in being somebody’s most important past job.
There's a slogan that circulates throughout the company: "It's not about the knives, its about changing lives." When I first heard this, I thought it was corny, however, now I realize that it was never about selling knives. It was about learning and developing skills that would make me more marketable in the future. Vector offers hands-on management programs that give students the opportunity to learn leadership, sales, management, and other valuable business skills OUTSIDE of the classroom. I've been taught more about financial education and literacy during my first year with Vector than throughout my 16 years of formal schooling.
When I sold knives, every meeting agenda included verbal recognition to colleagues who exhibited exemplary work. It built drive and confidence—and unintentionally ensured that the next boss those employees had looked unappreciative by comparison. Giving employees praise for specific behaviors and results eliminates ambiguity and shows all team members what you value. Every leader should know that what gets recognized gets repeated.
