ABOUT TODAY’S GUEST | MIKE DAWID

Mike Dawid is better known to most people as “Cutco Mike.” He has established a loyal following of over 15,000 customers, and among that following, Mike’s name is synonymous with Cutco. He is on the forefront of innovating ways to promote and brand his business by providing a unique experience for his customers. Over the years, he has become one of the top all-time sales reps in the 70+ year history of Cutco. He lives in the St. Louis area with his wife, Rachel, 2 young sons, and a third child on the way.

Q&A WITH MIKE DAWID

Q: Tell us a little about how you got started selling Cutco with Vector.

  • I started in 2004 and was referred to the job by a friend.

Q: What were some of the early experiences you had selling Cutco and what were some lessons you learned?

  • When I started with Cutco, our office had the All American Scholarship brochures hung all over the walls. As a kid I collected baseball cards, and I saw the All American Scholarship brochure as a way I could get my picture posted all around the company.
  • At Year End Banquet, I saw everyone being recognized for annual accomplishments, and I set the goal to win the sword that year (Standard of Excellence in sales), and I went on to achieve my goal.
  • I eventually became a District Manager for four years, and I consider that to have been my college education. I learned so much during those years.

Q: Why do you think you did so well your first full year in Cutco?

  • I just always showed up and showed up with excitement, drive, and passion.

Q: What do you think is unique and great about you in our business?

  • What comes to mind is full transparency. I live the brand at home, at church, and everywhere else.
  • To be great, sometimes you have to do things that no one else wants to do.
  • I’m intentional about making buying Cutco the best possible experience, and make it fun to buy Cutco and getting it from me.

Q: Let’s talk about some of the other lessons that you can share about promotion and marketing.

  • Take the road less traveled.
  • Cutco sells itself but it doesn’t buy itself.
  • Be yourself because replicas don’t sell for much.
  • I was on a plane a few years ago and the man sitting next to me was a CEO and I asked him what were his 3 tips he wished someone had given him when he was just getting started. Here’s what he said:
    • Treat your clients like family because without them, you’re nothing.
    • Service first, sales second.
    • Have fun and be yourself.
  • Own the products you sell.
  • When something goes wrong, fix it right away. Sometimes relationships are strengthened when you have a chance to fix something that didn’t go right and you exceed the customer’s expectations.  Wow them and they’re much more likely to want to do more business with you at a later date.
  • Another thing I do is bring my customers along with me by sharing pictures and stories from the things I do when I’m not working. It’s creates a stronger bond because they get to know me better.
  • Don’t be afraid to share your goals with your customers. People buy into you and what you are trying to accomplish.

Q: So now you’re married and you have 2 kids (3rd on the way) and you sell a lot of Cutco. I’m sure a lot of people are wondering, how do you balance work and family?

  • I force myself to do goals every year. And not just my business goals.  I do family and faith goals as well and they provide me the motivation I need.
  • Be intentional about saying “yes” to things that you want to do and will allow you to maximize your results.
  • Fire yourself every night and rehire yourself every morning.
  • I have my schedule in a paper calendar and I make sure I communicate my schedule with my wife so she knows what I’m doing.

Q: What are you most excited about in the next 5 years and beyond??

  • I’m excited to have my first million dollar year in the next few years and eventually build up a nice book of business that I can let one of my kids take over if that’s something they want to do.

Show Notes provided by Carlo Cipollina.

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