Monthly Archives: August 2013

A Successful Summer for Patrick Gibbs

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Our top sales leader for the 2013 Classroom to Career summer internship program, Patrick Gibbs, took a break from selling to share his perspective on his Dardis experience.  With sales totaling nearly $16,000 and priceless hours of on-the-job experience, it’s clear that Patrick had a successful summer.

How would you describe your Dardis Classroom to Career internship program experience in one word?
I think my summer is actually best described in two words – challenging and rewarding.  The summer was not easy, as every day was a new challenge, whether it was unexpected rejection or just finding the motivation to keep calling and stopping in places.

Overcoming these challenges was, by far, the most rewarding feeling that I’ve had.  Seeing that I was able to address obstacles and overcome them for both personal and financial reward left me feeling accomplished at the end of every day.

What was your most memorable sale of the summer?
For my last sale in June, I had to drive an hour and a half to Iowa City.  Two appointments had cancelled, and I was making the trip for one potential client.  The week had been long, and my sales were far lower than I wanted for that week.  I thought about rescheduling, but decided the morning of that I had made a commitment and would follow through.  The client asked if I would mind if his business partner also sat in, which I was more than happy to accommodate.  After the consultation, I determined that their needs together added up to the Elite Package.

I proposed that they take advantage of that package pricing and split it with just a few modifications.  They accepted, and I was the first person in the history of the company to sell our largest package option.  Needless to say, selling $4,257 worth of merchandise in one sitting was more than worth that trip!  This meant more to me than just a big sale because it reminded me to keep my head up when times got challenging and that hard work will always pay off in the end!

Would you recommend this internship program to your peers?
I would recommend this program to any of my peers.  No matter what your major is or where you want to end up in life, this internship will make you better prepared.  I had always considered myself a salesman by nature and very personable, and I was amazed at how much my interpersonal communication ability grew from the Dardis Academy and then practicing Greg Dardis’ training in the field.  The skills that you learn in the Dardis Classroom to Career internship program will prove to be what sets you apart from the rest of the pack in any career or lifestyle!

Regarding the Academy,  I was not looking forward to 40 hours of training, and I had not been a fan of any professional training that I had gotten before.  I expected to be bored and learn redundant information, but Greg and his entire team captivated me the entire time.  I can easily say that I learned more applicable skills in the Academy than three years of college.  This was an amazing opportunity, and I am so thankful that I gave this program a try.  I know that I learned skills that I will use for my entire life!

Congratulations, Patrick, on your successful summer!

Become a Dardis Career Partner today

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Successful companies reach their goals and achieve positive results because of the employees that make up their workforce.  They are the most effective brand ambassadors, the heart of the company and a key measure of success.  But how do companies find the best talent?

Dardis trains the best of the best every year and interacts directly with the leaders of today, as well as the leaders of tomorrow.  Through the Career Partner Program, companies and organizations have the opportunity to connect to those leaders who are trained, motivated and most importantly, proven.

All Dardis Academy interns complete an extensive skills-based training course before embarking on a summer internship that gives them invaluable sales experience that can apply to any field.

Companies that participate in the Career Partner Program can meet students from the Academy, and then work with our Recruitment Managers to fill openings through our resume database.  For only the cost of a few recruiting events, you can have access to people with executive-level training through Dardis Communications, as well as our interns with proven sales and marketing experience.

A 2012 study by the Center for American Progress shows just how costly it is to replace an employee –whether the employee is unqualified, a poor fit or lacks the skills necessary to perform the job assigned.

  • For all positions except executives and physicians, the median cost of turnover was 21 percent of an employee’s annual salary.
  • For workers earning less than $50,000 annually, which covers three-quarters of all workers in the United States, a typical cost of turnover is 20 percent of a salary, the same as across positions earning $75,000 a year or less, which includes 9 in 10 U.S. workers.

By hiring qualified individuals with a track record of success, you can eliminate additional costs and time by retaining quality employees.

Contact us today to learn more about the Dardis Career Partner Program, and be prepared to bolster your talent base with qualified – and proven – candidates.

 

Photo credit: Image courtesy of SOMMAI / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

The ultimate balancing act

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Have you ever attended a Little League baseball game and seen a parent pacing behind the bleachers on his or her cell phone spouting financials and business updates? Or have you personally rushed through a quick dinner at home to log-in for a webinar with colleagues in Asia-Pacific?

The business world becomes more global every day, requiring employees to stay more connected than ever, often affecting personal commitments and family time.

At Dardis, we regularly interact with business leaders who constantly struggle with maintaining a healthy work-life balance. While professional success requires time and diligence, a burn-out mentality of 14-hour work days and constant travel can have an opposite effect. When work interferes with one’s personal life, relationships can also suffer, leading to lower employee satisfaction and presumably less engagement.

So how can employees – from entry-level positions to the executive level – maintain that elusive work-life balance? To Caryn Seidman Becker, chairman and CEO of CLEAR, employees can have it all. She wrote in a LinkedIn blog post:

You can ‘have it all,’ but each person needs to define their personal ‘all’ (what makes you happy), because you can’t have everything. For me, my ‘all’ is quality time and focus for my family and my company. A lot gets eliminated—girl dinners, many gym workouts, me time—but I still love my ‘all.’ It is not work-life balance—it is all intertwined. It’s simply life.”

Balancing work and personal commitments is a constant juggling act, but here are five simple steps for moving you closer to a healthier work-life balance:

  1. As Seidman Becker illustrated, prioritize your commitments and define what makes you happy. When you must cut into personal time or eliminate activities, do not cut from this list.
  2. Read those around you. If your spouse consistently complains about your long work hours or if your kids suffer from your absence, it’s time to reevaluate and implement steps to achieving a healthier balance.
  3. Schedule downtime. No one can go full speed non-stop, so make time, even during the workday, for a short walk or lunch.
  4. Identify your go-to people. If you schedule is overloaded, know who you can delegate to, and if you’re on vacation, designate a trusted colleague to fill-in during your absence.
  5. Adapt to your work seasons. Most industries have busy and slow seasons. Take advantage of your slower seasons by dedicating more time to family and friends.

By making a commitment to a healthy work-life balance, you’re already on your way to being successful in the workplace and at home.

 

Photo credit: By KVDP, Shokunin, Aungkarns (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Set to Impress: Justin Blackburn

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In our latest intern spotlight, we feature multi-week top seller Justin Blackburn. Justin, a junior at the University of Iowa, began his Dardis internship with no previous sales or retail experience, but his summer has already proven to be successful.

This 20-year-old Johnston, Iowa native enrolled in the Dardis Classroom to Career program to boost his resume and challenge himself, while building his network and business skills.

“This looks a lot better than working at Hy-Vee, my only other job,” Justin said, “and making some cash never hurts!”

Read on to learn about Justin’s exciting experience with Dardis.

What are your long-term career goals?
I want to find a job that I enjoy going to every day. You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you are going to a job that you don’t enjoy, then you are working. If you are going to a job that is enjoyable for you, then you never work a day in your life.” A well-paying job that I enjoy and can support my future family with is all I can really ask for.

What was the most valuable information you learned in the Dardis Sales Academy?
I think the most valuable information I learned in the Dardis Academy were the communication skills, presentation skills and professional image training. These are skills that I am going to be able to use in every aspect of my life. I am going to have to communicate and present to people, and I need to look sharp while doing it. Dressing for the job you want, not the job you have will be my motto as I start my career.

What are you looking forward to the most with this summer experience?
Networking with business professionals. Networking is huge in the business world today. As the saying goes, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”

How has the transition gone from the Academy to selling the Dardis product?
It has gone really well as I apply the skills I learned in the classroom to the real world. If you apply the communication, presentation and sales training skills that you learned in the classroom to the actual selling of the Dardis product, you are going to do well. My biggest success story was that I sold 42 embroidered polos to the athletic director of the high school I graduated from. I have known him for a long time and being able to help him and his staff is a huge success story in my eyes.

Do you have a favorite Dardis product?
The multi-herringbone check button-down dress shirt. It is the most versatile shirt we have and it is also a very sharp shirt.

What fashion/menswear advice do you plan to share with all of your clients?
There are two: do not wear a tie with a button-down shirt, ever, and always dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

How do you think your role with Dardis Clothiers will benefit you in the future as you begin your post-college career?
I think it will benefit me greatly. When a future employer looks at my resume, this internship will really catch their eye. It will also be a great talking point in an interview with an employer. I can say that I ran my own clothing business, prospected, networked, sold and that everything was my responsibility. I really think employers are going to be impressed.

Four Steps To Achieve Your Goals

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One of the foundational elements of success is goal-setting. Without goals, leaders are left to navigate the business world blindly without clear direction and tangible next steps.

At Dardis, we teach our students early on the importance of goal-setting. Through the Dardis Academy, we encourage interns to set their own personal sales goals for the summer. In addition, we provide an extra incentive for them to reach their goals through a trip only obtained by a set amount of sales.

A Forbes.com article from January highlighted four key steps to achieving goals in 2013, and even though we’re more than halfway through the year, these goals from Nathalie Lussier, creator of The Website Checkup Tool, can still be applied:

1. Getting clear is the first step.
First, take out a sheet of paper or a blank document on your computer, and write out every single thing that you want to achieve in 2013 (and beyond)…Once you have a list of everything that you can imagine for your company in a the next few years, it’s time to prioritize.

2. Rate your goals by profitability and what excites you the most.
This prioritizing exercise allows you to clearly see what ideas don’t fit with what you want to create and achieve.

3. Meet your new best friend: your calendar.
Now it’s time to choose those things that are the highest priority for you and your company and slot them into your calendar. Schedule each of the projects and items that you want to achieve, month by month. Be realistic about what you can achieve in a given month and what steps it involves.

4. Don’t forget to plan for life events, too.
When you do step 3, don’t forget to take it one step further and write down any personal trips, holidays spent with family that you usually take off, or other personal events that you know about ahead of time. That way, you won’t be surprised when “real life” intervenes and you have less time to work.

These are only the first few steps needed to fully achieve your goals, but by following these initial actions, you’re sure to set yourself up for success in the remaining months of 2013!

 

Photo credit:  By Chris (originally posted to Flickr as DSC_0051) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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