Taking Care of Business

West Sayville-based Peter Fasulo knows a thing or two about business training. He started PJF Sales Training a little more than six years ago and has also authored a business book entitled “The 3 Ps to Sales Success.“ Peter travels around the nation conducting sales seminars. He also has many Long Island-based clients and consults small and medium businesses on how to better their sales revenue. Patch caught up with him in between his seminars.

How you got started in this business? Where did it all begin?

After spending 15 years in the telecommunications business as a sales representative, sales trainer, sales manager and eventually vice president of sales, I moved to the cable TV industry as vice president of sales at RCN Communications from 2000-2002. Then, while at Cablevision from 2002-2005, my boss had me conducting certain sales training seminars for the sales team. It made me realize that this is what I really wanted to do. In 2005, I resigned from Cablevision and incorporated PJF Sales Training, Inc. I wrote six basic two-day sales training courses and actually had one of them published and turned into a book, “The 3 Ps to Sales Success.” Within a year of becoming incorporated I had landed a few large clients (such as ClearChannel Radio, AFLAC and Comcast) that were paying me to conduct training for their sales representatives and sales managers.

Did you use your corporate America experience as your basis?

Using my 20-plus years of experience in the corporate world, along with my “real world” style of sales training, I’ve taken my two- and three-day classroom training to companies all over the U.S., conducting approximately 47 training programs each year.

What exactly can you offer a potential business/client?

We offer everything from our basic (and most popular) two-day class entitled “Bottom Line Selling” to a full six-month program for companies of all sizes and industries. Since we tailor each course for that particular company’s sales structure and product set, we get amazing results. For example, AFLAC right here on Long Island has increased its sales by 52 percent after attending our two-day class. Comcast is so impressed that we conduct more than 30 seminars each year for them -- resulting in a 17-to-45-percent increase in sales depending on their region.

For Long Island clients, our most popular program is our “Lunch and Learn” series. We will come to their office and conduct a two-hour seminar on specific topics (such as “Getting Through The Gatekeeper to the Final Decision Maker,” “Closing Techniques in this Price Conscious Economy,” “Preparation/Time Management/Organization,” and “Presenting the Right Solution to your Customer's Need.”

You do training all around the country. How do your customers find you?

My customers find me in a variety of ways. My website (www.pjftraining.com) has been very successful since I have tied it in with search engine optimization. I also am a member of several Networking Groups such as the Hauppauge Industrial Association, NetworkingForProfessionals.com and LI Connects. Also, my best way of landing clients is good old-fashioned hard work: I spend every Friday doing phone prospecting cold-calling. I purchase lists of potential clients and will make anywhere from 40-100 outgoing telemarketing phone calls to these corporations every Friday.

What would you consider your area of expertise?

My area of expertise would have to be two-fold: my experience in the sales and sales management arena, as well as my ability to present the information in a no-nonsense “real world” manner. Most sales representatives don't want to be preached to, but when you tell them true tips, tactics and ideas that really work (and then they start to see the results of their sales increasing) they can't wait to learn more.

What’s your best piece of advice?
Work smart and hard! Too many Americans these days are always looking for ways to work smarter, not harder. The truth is that in this capitalistic society, and in this current economy, you need to work smart -- yet also work harder than you ever have before -- to see the results.