Steve Gavatorta: What motivates you?
Santo Laquatra: I am motivated by trying to
be the best I can be in all I do – professionally and
personally. I always strive to put 100% of myself in
all I do.
Steve Gavatorta: How do you motivate your
clients?
Santo Laquatra: When I was in a position of
Leadership in the Corporate world, I followed a
specific game plan. This game plan is now in
my “Senior Leadership Training”, which I offer to my
clients as a workshop, or “1 on 1”. It has served me
well: Leaders MOTIVATE!
M = Morale. Build positive morale and a
positive
culture on the team
O = Outlook/Vision. Have a goal/vision and
share it
with the entire team
T = Type of person. Winning personality
people are
attracted to and follow a winning personality
I = Initiate action. Be decisive and action
oriented.
Business is fast paced
and does not allow mistakes due to being indecisive
or slow
V = Visible. Spend time with each of your
direct
reports on a regular basis
“on their turf” as they do their job. I believe
that this was one of my strongest attributes when I
was a Sales Manager – both at P&G and with
Beecham.
A = Accountable. The buck stops
with me! I
knew
that I was accountable for every person on my team.
That fact fueled me to have the best people I could
at every position and to train them well. I saw each
person as an opportunity to “multiply myself” through
them.
T = Teamwork. I practiced teamwork in my
dealings
with my team, as well as with the entire company
and expected my people to do the same
E = Expert. You must be an expert on your
company,
your brands/services, your competition, and your
customers
Steve Gavatorta: Who do you consider to
be a good leader/role model and why?
Santo Laquatra: My first District Manager at
P&G, True Knowles, really shaped my
management style when I was a Unit Manager in St.
Louis. He truly was a Leaders MOTIVATE manager in
every sense. He taught me how to sell, manage the
customer, manage people, and step up as a Business
Leader.
He was the first manager to expose me to “back
seat” work-withs as I worked with my sales reps and
worked with me step by step in every aspect of my
job.
True was ahead of his time in recognizing the
importance of human capital and how training can be
a competitive advantage “under the radar” of
competition. True went on to become the President
and CEO of Dr. Pepper after a very successful career
at P&G. I still talk to him from time to time.
Steve Gavatorta: How do you continue to
lead through times of adversity?
Santo Laquatra: When I first took over as
Director of Sales at Beecham, my Division was behind
the number from the first month. Rather than hit the
panic button and lose my composure, I worked with
each Region Manager and each District Manager to
set specific targets to right the ship. We identified
our “gap” vs. quota, forecast each month and
exposed the “gap” we needed.
We “created” volume opportunities by selling new
distributions, using our CMA to drive volume, and
trained every member of the team to “make every
call a selling call”! Our work-withs were long and hard
and involved intense planning & role playing prior to
headquarter calls. My RM’s, DM’s, KAM’s, & reps really
did a great job and moved with a sense of urgency
to take our selling to a new level. Oh yes, we made
the number!
Steve Gavatorta: Being an athlete, how did
sports influence your leadership style?
Santo Laquatra: I played organized football
from the 6th grade into my sophomore year in
college, when a knee injury ended my career. The
practice and competition truly forced me to be the
best I could be at every practice, not only the
games. I became a captain of my high school team
and my freshman football team at Cornell. My “can
do” positive attitude, love of my teammates, and the
example I set in the games, at practice, and in every
sprint, enabled me to see the value of what true
teams focused on a common goal can do.
Steve Gavatorta: Being an athlete, how did
sports help you in the business world?
Santo Laquatra: Sports taught me the value
of “getting back up” when you get knocked down. I
learned early on, not ever being the biggest person
on the field, that it did not matter if you got knocked
down, but you better you get up quick and make the
play. As a linebacker, every mistake I made could
end up in 6 for the other team. I learned to study
the film, understand my mistakes, and learn from
them. I also learned that just because I was not the
biggest on the field, I could still be the hardest hitter!
I have kept that attitude in business and make every
day, every call (now every workshop!) the best I can
make it! I don’t always succeed (it is not a 10 for 10
business!), but I try to learn from each situation and
try again, using a different tactic! I also become a
student of my customers and clients and try to
understand their objectives and needs. If I can give
them what they want, I am sure I can succeed!
Steve Gavatorta: How do you motivate
your customers to follow your suggestions &
recommendations?
Santo Laquatra: I make a “pre-meeting
assignment” and a “post workshop ROI” part of
every workshop that I do. The pre-meeting
work is used in the workshop
keep the workshop “real world” to the
attendees. The post work includes
an assignment to be done in the field that
forces real world application of
the skill sets learned in the workshop. When
the attendees send back their
assignment and the results, the results can
be compiled to figure out a
training ROI. Several of my customers do
this on an on-going basis as the
ROI shows that sales training is not an
expense, but an investment!
Steve Gavatorta: Thanks for your time,
Santo
