{"id":50075,"date":"2022-05-26T09:16:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T16:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=50075"},"modified":"2022-05-26T17:58:16","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T00:58:16","slug":"trouble-with-the-curve-lesson-in-adversity-sets-pulse-technology-difference-maker-brandon-cork-on-winning-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2022\/05\/trouble-with-the-curve-lesson-in-adversity-sets-pulse-technology-difference-maker-brandon-cork-on-winning-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Trouble with the Curve? Lesson in Adversity Sets Pulse Technology Difference Maker Brandon Cork on Winning Path"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Brandon Cork<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The history of professional sports is replete with tales of young phenoms who burst onto the scene fresh out of college or the minor leagues and dominate at the highest levels. The prospect label is quickly replaced by \u201cbudding superstar,\u201d and all eyes fixate on this wunderkind as the masses opine on his\/her unlimited ceiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for every once-in-a-generation talent, there are 99 others whose swift ascension is soon followed by a precipitous fall. The opposition soon spots a chink in the phenom\u2019s armor and learns how to exploit it. In baseball, many stud hitters fall prey to \u201ctrouble with the curve\u201d syndrome. It comes down to making the necessary adjustments that will enable a top performer to avoid becoming a flash in the pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brandon Cork vividly remembers his first taste of adversity. He had spent six years with a couple of for-profit online establishments\u2014DeVry and Colorado Technical University\u2014working in admissions roles before breaking into the industry with Canon in 2016. He landed at Pulse Technology in 2020 as a branch sales manager in the Chicagoland area. Industry success for Cork became a constant companion, but it was only a matter of time before his hot streak hit a snag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I started in the industry, I had a great winning streak\u2014a 100% close rate,\u201d noted Cork, a 2022 ENX Magazine<\/em> Difference Maker. \u201cBut that ends up being a Catch-22 because eventually someone is going to say no. I hit that \u2018rookie wall.\u2019 I learned lessons from that first non-sale: do the work and dig deep to find out what the customer needs. This helped me improve my sales process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cork\u2019s willingness to break down his approach and make those critical adjustments has enabled him to enjoy his share of deal closures while enduring the occasional client objection. He has immersed himself in the Chicagoland community, both from a business and philanthropic standpoint, representing Pulse Technology at Chamber of Commerce meetings and BTA gatherings while supporting area not-for-profit and charitable organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Master of Solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helping find solutions to client needs has proven to be most gratifying. \u201cThe joy of completing a sale is very rewarding, both for me personally and my five team members,\u201d Cork said. \u201cCompleting the sale is gratifying not only for the personal success of doing so, but even more importantly finding the right solution for each customer. I am driven by the desire to help, and the wish to earn a good living so that I can provide for my family \u2013 whether that\u2019s a vacation, sporting event, or just enjoying quality family time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His passion and work ethic quickly earned Cork the respect of his Pulse teammates and managers. Maintaining a strong and positive attitude throughout the day\u2014no small task given the highs and lows of business\u2014is hard-wired into Cork\u2019s makeup. He seeks to end every day on the same upbeat note that it began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cork has been fortunate to work with a pair of strong mentors at Pulse in the form of Mike Fair, director of business development, and CEO Chip Miceli. Fair, who joined Pulse just prior to Cork\u2019s arrival, also embodies positivity. Miceli has achieved rock star status during his decades-long tenure and is renowned for dishing out nuggets of wisdom to help not only team members, but the industry as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

These men and others have helped shape the business leader Cork has become. \u201cI learned you don\u2019t become great without good leadership that assists you in the journey,\u201d he said. \u201cI have been fortunate to have had good managers, directors and senior directors in my past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing Teammates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that vein, Cork also seeks to help elevate the performances of his sales team and proudly notes that two individuals were promoted to outside sales in 2021 and a third gained promotion to a higher level of account executive. He\u2019s set ambitious goals from a business and personal standpoint for 2022, and for an individual with three degrees (he\u2019s a Robert Morris University graduate), learning is an ongoing process. Cork recently took a training course, \u201cWhy Salespeople Fail in Today\u2019s Economy,\u201d to benefit from the knowledge and experience of others, and immerses himself in articles pertaining to industry trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn my team, we read a book every quarter and discuss it in our sales meetings,\u201d Cork noted. \u201cWe\u2019re currently reading \u2018Hyper Sales Growth\u2019 by Jack Daly, and we\u2019ll be on to our next book in a few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When not at the office, Cork enjoys spending time with his children and father, and they love going to the movies. He also restarted Pulse\u2019s company softball team, which takes on other business teams in the area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The history of professional sports is replete with tales of young phenoms who burst onto the scene fresh out of college or the minor leagues and dominate at the highest levels. The prospect label is quickly replaced by \u201cbudding superstar,\u201d and all eyes fixate on this wunderkind as the masses opine on his\/her unlimited ceiling. But for every once-in-a-generation talent, there are 99 others whose swift ascension is soon followed by a precipitous fall. The opposition soon spots a chink in the phenom\u2019s armor and learns how to exploit it. In baseball, many stud hitters fall prey to \u201ctrouble with the curve\u201d syndrome. It comes down to making the necessary adjustments that will enable a top performer to avoid becoming a flash in the pan. Brandon Cork vividly remembers his first taste of adversity. He had spent six years with a couple of for-profit online establishments\u2014DeVry and Colorado Technical University\u2014working in admissions roles before breaking into the industry with Canon in 2016. He landed at Pulse Technology in 2020 as a branch sales manager in the Chicagoland area. Industry success for Cork became a constant companion, but it was only a matter of time before his hot streak hit a snag. \u201cWhen I started in the industry, I had a great winning streak\u2014a 100% close rate,\u201d noted Cork, a 2022 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. \u201cBut that ends up being a Catch-22 because eventually someone is going to say no. I hit that \u2018rookie wall.\u2019 I learned lessons from that first non-sale: do the work and dig deep to find out what the customer needs. This helped me improve my sales process.\u201d Cork\u2019s willingness to break down his approach and make those critical adjustments has enabled him to enjoy his share of deal closures while enduring the occasional client objection. He has immersed himself in the Chicagoland community, both from a business and philanthropic standpoint, representing Pulse Technology at Chamber of Commerce meetings and BTA gatherings while supporting area not-for-profit and charitable organizations. Master of Solutions Helping find solutions to client needs has proven to be most gratifying. \u201cThe joy of completing a sale is very rewarding, both for me personally and my five team members,\u201d Cork said. \u201cCompleting the sale is gratifying not only for the personal success of doing so, but even more importantly finding the right solution for each customer. I am driven by the desire to help, and the wish to earn a good living so that I can provide for my family \u2013 whether that\u2019s a vacation, sporting event, or just enjoying quality family time.\u201d His passion and work ethic quickly earned Cork the respect of his Pulse teammates and managers. Maintaining a strong and positive attitude throughout the day\u2014no small task given the highs and lows of business\u2014is hard-wired into Cork\u2019s makeup. He seeks to end every day on the same upbeat note that it began. Cork has been fortunate to work with a pair of strong mentors at Pulse in the form of Mike Fair, director of business development, and CEO Chip Miceli. Fair, who joined Pulse just prior to Cork\u2019s arrival, also embodies positivity. Miceli has achieved rock star status during his decades-long tenure and is renowned for dishing out nuggets of wisdom to help not only team members, but the industry as a whole. These men and others have helped shape the business leader Cork has become. \u201cI learned you don\u2019t become great without good leadership that assists you in the journey,\u201d he said. \u201cI have been fortunate to have had good managers, directors and senior directors in my past.\u201d Growing Teammates In that vein, Cork also seeks to help elevate the performances of his sales team and proudly notes that two individuals were promoted to outside sales in 2021 and a third gained promotion to a higher level of account executive. He\u2019s set ambitious goals from a business and personal standpoint for 2022, and for an individual with three degrees (he\u2019s a Robert Morris University graduate), learning is an ongoing process. Cork recently took a training course, \u201cWhy Salespeople Fail in Today\u2019s Economy,\u201d to benefit from the knowledge and experience of others, and immerses himself in articles pertaining to industry trends. \u201cOn my team, we read a book every quarter and discuss it in our sales meetings,\u201d Cork noted. \u201cWe\u2019re currently reading \u2018Hyper Sales Growth\u2019 by Jack Daly, and we\u2019ll be on to our next book in a few weeks.\u201d When not at the office, Cork enjoys spending time with his children and father, and they love going to the movies. He also restarted Pulse\u2019s company softball team, which takes on other business teams in the area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":49594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,84,1638],"tags":[2191],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50075"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50085,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50075\/revisions\/50085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}