Why have a dog and bark yourself?

We live in a fast paced world with the business world in particular seeming to be in a constant state of flux. As a result managers have it tough.

Not only are they expected to direct their teams efforts towards the business goals but they are also expected to be able to assimilate the new techniques and approaches and pass those on to the team without missing a beat. A tough call.

So what is a sensible, modern  manager to do? 

In a word…manage.

Yes the clue was in the title. A manager should manage all the resources at their fingertips. Including their team’s knowledge and abilities. So for example if a manager is sitting at home one Sunday reading the papers and thinking

‘oh wow smart phones can do a lot. I wonder how they could help the sales team or operations team work more efficiently?’

rather than doing all the research themselves a sensible manager should ask around their team. Identify the person who already has that knowledge and give them the task of explaining or doing any additional research. It’s classic delegation with a modern focus.

New technology has been coming out since someone created the first wheel. The difference is nowadays is that the people who actually know about the new stuff are often not the ‘specialists’ rather just regular individuals who happen to be early adopters. This is a phenomena common to those of us with children of high school age.   My daughter has given me the low down on several new websites that previously I had not heard of.

So before you go putting in hours learning new things ask around – you might already have the required knowledge within your team!

Until next time; happy learning.

Stephen Hart

07733 88 11 90 (yes I use a smart phone that I picked out myself!)

stephen.hart@edenchanges.com

Now all of that being said there are some basic steps in sales which if missed or not done sufficiently will simply cripple your chances at being successful. What I find interesting is that top sales professions can be as guilty of committing these sins as rookies. (and frankly all of us in sales have at one time or another commitment some if not all if them). The real trick is to ensure that you only make them occasionally and are aware of them when you commit them so you can then do something to fix them.

Or if you manage a sales team the trick is to ensure your sales people are being saints rather than sinners!

(Side note…I principally work with corporate sales people and recruiters to I tend to use the term ‘decision maker’ to denote the purchasing person. If you sell in the retail world or in some other capacity with private individuals then simply think ‘buyer’ or ‘prospect’ as you read the following)

So here they are in no particular order…

Failing to research sufficiently

In todays market the decision makers expect you to know about them and their situation. And it is necessary to prove it. The days of having a set packaged product and simply presenting to a customer are over. A sales person needs to have researched a decision makers situation and be able to have a conversation with them about it.

Also, and this is a critical point, by researching their situation properly before the first contact, you are able to more specifically and accurately present your products or services. This makes for a powerful opening to the conversation and gives you a much greater chance of developing that conversation in the direction you want it to go.

Failing to prospect enough

This is also known as the ‘not picking up the phone’ sin. Frankly it doesn’t matter how good you at sales if you never phone or visit anyone. Sales is a contact sport and it needs to be played frequently. In the same way that a professional sport footballer might miss twenty shots at a goal during a match without those twenty misses they will never get to a place where they get one in the back of the net.

The footballer who only takes one or two shots is much less likely to score. A lot of sales people tell me that times are tough (As an aside – “When is it easy in sales?” I could reply but that’s a discussion for another bog) and if reading this you are thinking the same then may I caution you to consider your sales activity…

How many first round calls did you make today…or yesterday?

Be honest about your own activity levels first and then consider how you can build them up.

I guarantee that in today’s market, (indeed as always) the most active sales person has the greatest chance of success.

Failing to ask for the order

So you’ve made the call, had the meeting and done your presentation. That’s great, and if I can return to the football analogue above that’s put you in a prime position to shoot for goal. Now I’m not much of a football fan but I do know that when you have a shot at goal you take it. So why doesn’t this always happen in sales? Well the answer is, on one level simple, fear of rejection. Psychologically by not asking for the sale a sales person avoids the potential of rejection. Sadly the consequence is lost orders.

When I talk about this sales sin to non-sales people they are always amazed that it happens but it does; a lot. Learn to embrace that final discussion and that final decision. If they say ‘no’ you can always talk about it. If you simply leave the ending open there is nothing you can do to influence the win. Grasp the nettle!

Failing to respect targets

I was always trained to respect targets yet more and more in the sales world today I see a relaxed attitude to them. Experienced people allowed to continually be under target which sets a trend for new individuals. I’ve run so many induction courses for clients where I have had to drum into new sales people the mind set of respecting targets only to have them turn around and point out that the experienced people in a company are under target.

It’s like a cancer. Allowed to spread and it will cripple an organisation. Targets should be reasonable challenging and commercially viable with suitable incentives in place once they are exceeded.

The most successful sales and recruitment organisations that I have seen respect their targets and everyone is focused on achieving them. I’ve said for years that if a sales person doesn’t know where they are against annual target then they are not serious about the job.

Failing to plan

Success in sales (or business for that matter) does not happen by chance. A sales person who is serious about being successful will have planned markets, approaches and strategies to increase their sales. This goes from long term strategies down to daily activity. Too few sales professionals optimise their working day or simply plan out what to do at what time. Bubbling through the day is a great way to fail yet it is the chosen route for so many people. A terrible sin.

Failing to practice

Now I’m a corporate trainer (sales, management, LinkedIn amongst other topics) so you might well expect me to list this as a deadly sin. But taking my professional bias out of the equation this is a genuine sin. Too many sales people will, for example, get a new product or service and listen to their manager explain to them what it can do for the clients. The sales person nods and then goes off without much more thought and might (or might not) bring it up in conversation with the next prospect they talk to.

On one hand good but on the other terrible. Where was the perfecting of the pitch? Where was the practise highlighting the features and benefit of the item? No one is brilliant at something new the first time, rather the opposite. So it stands to reason then that a sales person would do well to practice their approach to market before doing it.

And this holds with everything – from describing their company to presenting their top product.

And no it doesn’t just have to be roleplays (in fact I’m not very keen on them as a learning tool) but group discussions, one on one demonstrations, question and answer sessions, brain storming sessions and drafting and redrafting presentation points would benefit all sales professionals.

I know this is a common sin because when I run my sales training sessions delegates continually say things like ‘Oh err…I never really thought about it…” tragic words when being asked questions about their main products or their own company.

Failing to learn

If you really want to excel in sales then get out there and make big mistakes…and learn from them. Nothing beats pitching and failing to present real learning moments. It’s vital then that sales people are encouraged to review and analyse what happened when things didn’t go as they wanted and then apply that learning going forward.

If a sales person can embrace a love of learning from failures then the fear of failure is diminished and making that next pitch will become easier.

If you fail to learn, or if you stop learning because you are ‘experienced’, then you are possible committing the greatest of all sales sins.

Until next time; be a saint!

Stephen Hart

Corporate trainer and consultant

07733 88 11 90

stephen.hart@edenchanges.com

CALLING ALL SALES MANAGERS – FOR EASY SHARING WITH YOUR TEAM CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THIS ARTICLE AS A HANDY PDF!

Seven Deadly Sales Sins

Edenchanges

Corporate trainers and coaches

Recruitment Training ♦ Sales Training ♦ Management Training ♦ NLP and Communication Training ♦ LinkedIn Training ♦Personal Development Coaching

♦♦♦

Suite A10 Riccall Business Park, Riccall ,York, YO19 6QR

Based in York and working worldwide

♦ enquiries@edenchanges.com ♦ www.edenchanges.com

♦♦♦

A fire to be kindled…

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

Plutarch 

I think this is a wakeup call that says to all of us that things could be so much more exciting than perhaps we had considered in that if we chose to we could look for things to fill our minds that would not simply inform us but also motivate us.

So that was where I went with that quote. I wonder where it will take you?

Have an inspired week.

Corporate coach and consultant

07733 88 11 90

About the quote and the quoted: I studied Latin at what was ‘O’ level back then. Plutarch came up as a writer of early Rome. He is known for having a focus on the motives and character of the individuals he wrote about and his work still makes for interesting reading today – although I’d recommend doing it in English!

Related articles

• Motivational Monday #2 One Person With a Belief (edenchanges.wordpress.com)

Captain Scott’s Legacy  100 Years on

“To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”

When I was growing up my dad would tell me stories of great individuals; individuals like Captain Scott, Douglas Bader and Lawrence of Arabia. So to that extent I feel grew up with heroes and I believe I am a better person as a result of it. 

I’m also aware that in the last ten or so years  the concept of ‘heroes’ has become somewhat tarnished.

It seems popular to dismiss these individuals of legend as egotists or reckless individuals who were careless and casual. People who made no real difference or hurt those around them. And maybe that’s true. I realise now that life is much more complicated than I realised when I was young.

Aged 11 I might have blindly been in awe over Scott’s courage and fortitude whilst now aged 41 I can see that he made mistakes. However, and this is where I still hold these men in high regard, I also understand more than ever the strengths of Scott. And in some ways because I can see his flaws I respect his strengths all the more.

None of us are saints and none of us are perfect. Why I still hold those legendary individuals as heroes is that they still inspire me to be a better person. The concept of seeing further, dreaming bigger and risking more is what these individuals illustrated when I was a youth and I still hold to that inspiration. They might be flawed individuals who made mistakes but they are also heroes to me.

Let me focus on Captain Scott as I write this on the 100th anniversary of his arriving at the south pole. Here was a person who aged 42 deliberately and persistently pursued an idea that few of use would venture to do. Also, and this is a huge thing, he planned to do something that had never been done before. Yes people considered it could be done but no one had done it. How much courage does it take to do something never done before?

Enough to make me want to shake him by the hand. Enough to make me feel that the statues to his name are appropriate.

And then further on. Despite learning mid expedition that it had all turned into a race he stuck to the principles that he had set out with and continued to pursue scientific research along the route. How much time did that cost him? And on that fateful journey back how much effort did it take to carry the scientific samples in -30 weather conditions?

Talking about the weather it was -3 this morning whilst I drove to my clients office to deliver a training course. It was cold in the car even with the heater on and I can only wince at the thought of temperatures ten times more severe. It takes a strong person to willingly face such trials.

The story of the return trip is well known and especially that of Captain Oates’ courage – walking off to his death so his colleagues would have a stronger chance of survival with his final words of

“I am just going outside and may be some time”.

That extreme dignity in the face of death is continued when you read the later entries in Scott’s diaries. He does not rail against his lot or curse the weather or God; rather he writes:

We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last … Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.

I think the real power of people like Scott, and the power of sharing the stories about them, is that they hold a challenge for us to consider. Would we, facing their challenges, act as nobly, act as selflessly or meet our end with the same calm?

Indeed would we have the courage to attempt what they attempted?

Nothing in this world is created by people playing it safe or doing what they have always done. Creation is done by those pushing the envelope, aiming higher, working harder, resisting all doubts.

Scott and his party reached the South Pole and they did it with courage, honour and integrity and that is how their story should be remembered.

As it says on the memorial to Scott and his team in Antarctica.

“To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”

A fitting epitaph and an example for us all.

Stephen Hart

Corporate trainer and consultant

07733 88 11 90

stephen.hart@edenchanges.com

Related articles

• ‘Lost’ photos taken by Captain Scott reveal South Pole expedition through his eyes, 100 years on (mirror.co.uk)

How to Personalise Your LinkedIn Web Links

Like anything creating a great profile on LinkedIn comes down to the fine details. Fortunately LinkedIn provides fairly simple options to make your profile look good – if you know where to find the options!

One of the nice details that you can customise are the web-links that you have on your profile…

Or in other words changing

To something more appealing; like this:

By having those links personalised you can create a more compelling reason for the person to click on them and you are also showing your mastery of LinkedIn!

How to do it is very simply and I’ve laid out all the steps below:

How to Personalise Your LinkedIn Web Links – Instructions

First hover your mouse over PROFILE on the LinkedIn tool bar which will bring up the following menu and  Click EDIT PROFILE (you can see this is a genuine screen capture as I’ve got eight message in my inbox to read!)

Then scroll back down your profile. As you do that you will see the word Edit has appeared next to all the different parts of your profile. Simply click EDIT next to any of the web-links to amend them.

The click the drop down menu next to the web-link you want to add or alter. This will then offer you a pre-set number of choices as you can see below.

If you were to select one of the pre-set options then you are stuck with that heading unless you click on OTHER. By clicking on OTHER you are then provided with the option to customise the name of your link as you can see below:

There is a limit of, currently, 30 characters for the name of the new web-link. If you exceed the limit no more text will appear on screen so the easiest thing to do is type in what you want and you will only have to rethink what you plan to name the link if you are forced to stop typing.

The name goes into the first box and the actual web address goes into the second box.

The easiest way to enter a web address is simply to navigate to the page via your browser and cut and paste the address – this avoids having to type in what might be a long address.

It is possible to link to anything that has an internet address so for example on my profile I have linked to the Edenchanges website and then provided links to two different downloadable e-books. You can see from the shot below that because of the limits put on the link names I don’t have room to put ‘e-book’ in the description. That’s the sort of compromise you might have to make.

The whole thing only takes a few minutes and it can make your profile look a lot nicer. It also sends the message to any readers of your profile that you know what you are doing with LinkedIn!

Until next time; happy linking!

Stephen Hart

Corporate trainer and consultant

07733 88 11 90

stephen.hart@edenchanges.com

Edenchanges

Corporate trainers and coaches

Recruitment Training ♦ Sales Training ♦ Management Training ♦ NLP and Communication Training ♦ LinkedIn Training ♦Personal Development Coaching

♦♦♦

Suite A10 Riccall Business Park, Riccall ,York, YO19 6QR

Based in York and working worldwide

♦ enquiries@edenchanges.com ♦ www.edenchanges.com

♦♦♦

One Person With a Belief…

One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests.

Peter Marshall, Scottish Preacher

It’s short, punchy and makes a whole lot of sense to me. The more I research and read about succesful people the more I see that they are driven forward by their personal beliefs. Very often those driving beliefs are about themselves; for example the Beatles were, in their own words, going to be “more famous than Elvis” – that was a clear belief and intention not a vague hope.

Beliefs generate confidence as they drive a person forward to create a reality that matches those beliefs.

I was tempted to end the blog there but I have a couple of questions buzzing around my head so let me spell them out as they might give you some food for thought…

What do you believe in?

And

What could you believe in more that would super charge your success?

Also from a corporate view point

How much do your employees believe in your company and it’s products?

And very importantly

How could you increase their belief?

Here’s to a motivated week!

Stephen Hart

Corporate trainer and consultant

About the quote and the quoted: Nothing much I can tell you here other than what I have read on Wikipedia which is that Peter was born in Scotland, moved to America and became a member of the clergy. They made a film out of his life which was Oscar winning so might be worth a watch! Details of the film are here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048337/

As to the quote itself I simply came across the quote some time ago, liked it and made a note of it.

Power cuts, lunch and a mid January review

A power cut provided me with an unexpected break from the office and it gave me the opportunity to have lunch with a business professional I have known personally for several years and who by happy coincidence happened to be working close to my office yesterday.

Over lunch we were talking about 2012 and our expectations. We both have the positive view that 2012 has good potential and that indeed it could even be a great year. We also share the view that it is going to take hard work, consistent effort and good planning.

On the topic of planning we got to discussing how January is often the Achilles heel for people and that as we rapidly approach the mid-point of January too many people were still ‘warming up’ after Christmas. In different ways and to different degrees we both admitted some guilt on this point. Neither of us were quite where our plans for January said we should be.

For my lunch buddy it was a mental hesitation to fully embrace the reality of being back to work and for me to was a slower start to my new marketing projects than I had scheduled.

The good thing is that having had that honest conversation I know what needs to be done. Before next Monday comes, which represents the half way point of January (if you are counting business days) I will take stock with my associates of our combined efforts and progress and ensure that any short fall is made up.

I don’t know your situation but it might be constructive for you to run a quick strategic review just to check your ship is on course and on schedule!

Until next time, be successful!

The Way to Happiness

The way to happiness: keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Love simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.

Quoted by Norman Peale in The Power of Positive Thinking

Last week was the first day back for most workers so this week represents the first full work week. Compared with being off and enjoying yourself at Christmas it’s possible that a full work week stretching ahead of you is mildly depressing!

The above quote struck me as a good antidote to any ‘return to work blues’ people might be feeling. It’s advice full of selflessness and positivity and after all who can best make this week feel good for you other than you?!

Also for those disgruntled folks thinking ‘I really don’t feel positive or want to be selfless’ consider that the quote is suggesting only a week. It’s not long. Seven days or 168 hours or 10,080 minutes…and you will probably sleep through a third of those!

So go forward with happy memories of Christmas and the New Year and forge through the week with positivity.

Here’s to a motivated week!

Stephen Hart

Corporate trainer and consultant

About the quote and the quoted: Norman Peale was one of the earliest motivational writers. One of the joys of reading his work is that he quotes stories, anecdotes and advice of the many people he met. The above quote appears early in the book and it is from an unnamed business man that he met.

Some News to Start 2012

So 2012 is here and Happy New Year to all our clients, delegates and readers.

This is a short news blog to let you know about some changes to the Edenchanges blog in 2012 so without further ado let me introduce you to the changes:

Motivational Mondays

Every Monday, from next week, Edenchanges will join the countless throng of individuals who post motivational quotes on Twitter. However in our eternal struggle to be different and add more value than most we won’t be stopping there. Each Monday after the quote has been posted we will be blogging about the quote, throwing out some ideas, thoughts and views that the quote has inspired.

We figured everyone likes a boost on Mondays and everyone here at the Edenchanges HQ loves quotes so it makes sense to combine those! If you have a favourite motivational quote that you think we might like then by all means send it to us via the comments tab or email to enquiries@edenchanges.com and put MOTIVATION in the subject line.

More blogs

We are going to be blogging more. Whilst we aren’t quite ready to schedule out our weekly broadcast schedule do expect at least a blog a week in additional to the motivational blog on Mondays.

Reviews

One area that we are going to be branching out into will be reviews of business tools, books and software. We have noticed that during 2011 whilst working with our clients on social media matters (LinkedIn in particular) we have been giving advice and opinions on various mobile apps and tech. And, as happens quite a lot, we’ve also been asked our thoughts on various new and old business books.

When reviewing 2011 and thinking about 2012 is seemed sensible to share more widely our thoughts on such matters. Our reviews will be focused on the business or personal development benefit or value of the book or item in question.

Views

This is a personal one from me – I’ve written the Edenchanges blogs from the view of balance and benefit. Always striving to put forward material of value to you, the reader. As a side effect I’ve held back on being forthright on some of my own personal views. We live in very interesting times and I’d like to share some thoughts about all the interesting stuff that is happening! (Naturally if I get a deluge of hate mail I might reconsider this!)

And also…

So scheduled motivational blogs, reviews, opinions and generally more material from Edenchanges. Those are definitely happening – other ideas being kicked around are further e-books, possibly some podcasts and maybe video segments. If there is anything you’d particularly like us to cover then do get in touch and let us know and as always thanks for reading.

Until next time;

Stephen Hart

Owner

Edenchanges

Corporate trainers and coaches

Recruitment Training ♦ Sales Training ♦ Management Training ♦ NLP and Communication Training ♦ LinkedIn Training ♦Personal Development Coaching

♦♦♦

Suite A10 Riccall Business Park, Riccall ,York, YO19 6QR

Based in York and working worldwide

♦ enquiries@edenchanges.com ♦ www.edenchanges.com

♦♦♦

Nearly Time to Look Back on the Year that was 2011

Okay so it’s a few days before the end of the year but having spent much of the beginning of December working with clients to help them draw up strategic sales plans for 2012 it seems like now is a great time to reflect on the year that was.

Originally I was going to write about setting personal goals and targets for next year and then remembered what I tell my clients – to go forward, often it pays to look backwards first.

You see it has been my experience that people are often further along with their goals and have more resources to call upon than they realise. By reflecting on what they have done, the skills they have used and the experiences they have had, it can put people in a strong place to move forward.

It is easy to get into a cul-de-sac of thinking where we feel that we have reached an end point that we can’t get past. Reflection can remind us that there were turnings we could have taken or different answers we have had in the past to similar challenges.

After all if we are heading into 2012 and thinking we would like to be wealthier, fitter and less stressed then honestly, haven’t we had those thoughts before! And on occasions we will have actually done things that helped some or all of those goals. Now is the time to remember previous strategies for improvement and think about what worked for us in the past.

Also it’s fair to say that 2011 has had its share of challenges with the world in economically challenging times and I suspect you readers will have had some weekly, monthly or very likely daily battles to keep going.

So let me ask you a few questions to help run you back over 2011 and hopefully shine a light on some of the good stuff that you might have forgotten about. If you really want to get the most from this then grab a pen and paper before starting; otherwise simply do yourself a favour and consider your answer to each question before you read on to the following question:

How was 2011 for you?

I know a big, open general question but still one that is worth starting with.

Which was the best month professionally?

And why? – Go on convince yourself about your choice

Which was the best month personally and why?

And why? – Go on convince yourself again

What was the most challenging month professionally?

Go on, pick the worst one…

What was the most challenging month personally?

You know the drill…

What did you learn from those two months?

And what else did you learn? Make a list…

Professionally speaking what was your great mistake of 2011?

Personally speaking what was your greatest mistake of 2011?

It might be painful to admit it but grasp the nettle and own up – at least in the privacy of your own head. Also what led to those mistakes? It’s very powerful to identify the steps. Firstly for the obvious fact that you can then avoid those triggering steps in future but also for the more subtle reason that by identifying the steps leading up to an error sometimes it turns out that one wasn’t your fault at all! (Which means you then need to think of a different greatest mistake for this exercise!)

What did you learn from those mistakes?

Dig deep on this one – it’s perfectly fine to make mistakes but only if you learn from them – after all how many golf swings has Tiger Woods messed up?

Time to get very positively focused…

What were your top professional achievements in 2011?

Come up with as many as you can think of…a top ten hit parade of achievements might put a smile on your face. And please remember to judge against your potential not that of others. True success is about how well you do against your potential not how well you do against other people.

What were your top personal achievements in 2011?

Many of these might flow from your professional achievements but do stop and consider what you have achieved as a person.

What technical skills did you learn?

What practical skills did you learn?

And getting more personal…

What friends did you make?

Or lovers you sly dog you!

What was the best day you had with your partner?

What was the most fun thing you did with your children?

What moment made you laugh the most?

What was the best film you saw?

What was the best book you read?

You did read at least one didn’t you? Please tell me you did!

What was the best album you heard?

Okay I could go on and on but here’s the thing…

You’ve lived through almost an entire year of your life. You’ve had a whole range of experiences and I bet you’ve learnt a few things along the way and had your share of tears and laughter. For some reason us humans find it easy to remember the hard and the grim times so…

Whilst you’re getting merry this Christmas or just plain drunk over New Year’s, treat yourself by remembering the good bits! Heck make it a dinner party conversation if you want…but not when too drunk otherwise you’ll argue endlessly over the best films!

So here’s to happy reflection on 2011 in the rear view mirror!

Regards

Stephen Hart

♦♦♦

 Edenchanges

Corporate trainers and coaches

Recruitment Training ♦ Sales Training ♦ Management Training ♦ NLP and Communication Training ♦ LinkedIn Training ♦Personal Development Coaching

♦♦♦

Suite A10 Riccall Business Park, Riccall ,York, YO19 6QR

Based in York and working worldwide

♦ enquiries@edenchanges.com ♦ www.edenchanges.com

♦♦♦

Related articles

• A Mistake or a Learning Experience? (betterlifecoaching.wordpress.com)
• Kiss 2011 Goodbye! (jessibled.wordpress.com)
• Leadership Lessons… Ten Ideas to Take From 2011 into 2012 (attheprincipalsoffice.wordpress.com)