Selling to High Net Worth Clients and Companies

Law 2 - The Law of Reciprocity

2012-01-05T19:36:00.000Z

Reciprocity is an interesting word. It means that if I willingly do something for someone else then they feel inclined or even willing to do something for me in return - but by giving back even more than what I may originally have given them.

It's kind of programmed into most of us to 're-dress the balance' of things.

Of course we will always meet those who are so ignorant or selfish that they are only interested in themselves and see whatever we might do for them as a right. However, they can quickly and effortlessly be dispensed with - we don't need them in either our professional or personal circles.

But for most normal people - we feel inclined to give in return, if someone gives to us first.

A classic example of this principle used in business is where there are 'sampling stalls' in super markets or stores. We are encouraged to sample the merchandise and - when we do - we often feel happy to buy some of the product and take it home with us. Result for the product promoter!

In the Middle East many carpet sellers welcome you into their stalls with a cup of sweet tea as an offering. They are not just being polite - they are also preparing you to feel indebted... and therefore more likely to buy.

Think about what you can freely give to your prospects and clients. Maybe even things which may not cost you a great deal but which may be seen to have real value in the mind of the client or the prospect. Time, knowledge or even a useful referral. Let the client know that you have them in mind.

By doing so not only are you being of service to your client, you are also piling up the value which at some point they may wish to return by way of reciprocation or 'balancing up' the 'value equation' between you. It could be just the thing to tip that important deal or access to another important prospect that is a member of their circle sometime.

The Universal Laws of High Net Worth Client Engagement: Law 1

2011-09-23T14:31:00.001+01:00

1. The Law of Attraction

The law of attraction begins to work for you when you learn to shape your thinking to attract the right information, people and resources that you require to be successful.

The High Trust Advisor uses this secret as a means of creating the environment and the outcomes that they are looking for.

Some would have us believe that there is some ‘magical’ power or voodoo 'secret' in this but in reality it has more to do with the alignment of our mental perception or awareness than any 'supernatural' abilities.

To make the Law of Attraction work more effectively for us requires that we are crystal clear about not just what the outcome is that we require but also the reason why it’s important to us personally in the first place.

Our focus and our awareness are especially acute if there is a significant value for us in the outcome.

Tying a powerful emotional value or benefit to the successful accomplishment of any outcome guarantees that our mind creates the motivation (motive in action) to make the outcome happen. More importantly, it aligns our mental filters to present us with the opportunities to make things happen by sharpening our awareness and making us hyper aware of when such opportunities present themselves.

By that I mean it aligns our brain to start noticing things that prior to focusing our intention on a particular outcome, we might have missed.

High Trust Advisors (HTA’s) know how to create and act on these opportunities by choice.

By way of example let me tell you a personal story.

Not long after my first son was born my wife told me that if I wanted that sports car I’d always hungered after that now was the time to do it – before any more kids came along…. or else, I’d have to wait until all the kids (both current and clearly those planned for the future) had left college and the house. Because from now on all our cars were going to estate cars or minivans…

Delighted that I’d received ‘permission from the missus’ I duly purchased the car I had wanted at that time…low profile tyres, metallic silver paint, convertible …loving this…a dream fulfilled.

So I’ve just bought the car. Now I’m stopped at the traffic lights, the sun is shining and I am feeling good. I’m feeling like I’m something special I can tell you…

I casually glance in my rear view mirror and to my horror, right behind me is the exact…same…model of car…same colour…extras…the lot.

So putting on speed to hastily leave the other guy behind, I turn the corner…only to be confronted by yet another car of the same type (different colour). In the space of about 30 minutes I discovered six similar cars on my travels…they were fleas on a dog – everywhere!

Not such a happy chap now I can tell you. Yet what as happening was the immutable secret of attraction.

I had a very clearly defined sense of focus (the car), I had a powerful emotional tie to this particular car (desire) and I had invested a significant value in the car (the money I borrowed to pay for the car). So my brain had been sent a very powerful message to identify this particular car whenever it appeared in my radius of perception.

As humans we receive a vast range of information consciously (some say 200,000 and others 2 million bits of information per second – anyway, it’s a lot) but we can only consciously process what’s called ‘the magic number’ – which is 7 plus or minus 2 things.

Which means, that the conscious mind can be terribly limited but nevertheless, we rely on it to define what we perceive to be our ‘reality’.

So what happens to all the other ‘bits’ of information? The information is deleted, distorted and generalised to fit our personal ‘reality’ by a series of ‘perception’ filters in the brain.

What impacts on these filters are things like our values, our early condition and experiences, our sense of worth, education and so on – so you could say we ‘see, hear and feel’ a reality unique from everybody else.

By being able to change these ‘filters’ - by ‘reprogramming’ them - we are able to quickly identify from all the vast amount of information that is coming at us the key things that matter most in making our goal or intention a reality.

In other words, we are able to programme our sense of awareness to pick up on the right information, people or resources in our ‘radius of perception’ to provide us with the opportunity or access that we have been looking for – whereas someone who does not know how to align their thinking to spot these opportunities is at a distinct disadvantage.

It is by understanding this psychological principle - and knowing how to set well structured and articulated goals that change our ‘perceptional filters’ - that we as High Trust Advisors can drive our personal and professional success using the Law of Attraction.

We should not attempt to divine the future - rather exert yourself and be it's creator. Simply begin.

80/20: Doing Business Gently.

2011-08-29T11:40:00.001+01:00

It's amazing how hard you can chase a thing only to find it is always ahead of you and you never seem to catch it.

We try so hard in our lives to make things work for us and yet all the energy, effort and attention we put in never seems to pay off - what we want always remains tantalisingly out of reach.

Western business culture applauds those that drive themselves into the ground - doing their bit for the team, always being first in and last out, making the effort and so on. Complete nonsense - we've been sold that rubbish for years.

Yes, we need a goal. Yes, we need the right expectation and yes we need the right motivation and yes we need to take actions. But we need to do it gently.

Life unfolds and we have to make a little space for it. Relationships require two people or more - and if we are making all the effort we are not making space for the others. For life and people to engage. 80/20 should do it.

I am an 80/20er.

I'm good 80% of the time and bad 20% (its my nature....), I eat protein 80% of the time and carbs 20%, I apply 80% of my energies and allow 20% of the effort to be made by others, the market, the Force (if you're a sales jedi) - the 20% is the time for my efforts to take root and grow with a life of their own.

I'm not seeking perfection but I do work on perfecting.

Learn - especially in today's market - to be gentle with yourself. Your friends, family, colleagues and clients will thank you for it and you will have the energy for the long march that is ahead of us.

Selling in a Downturn

2011-07-19T10:01:00.000+01:00

Selling in a Downturn – Adversity or Opportunity?

In this blog I want to share some thoughts about the kinds of things that we as business and sales leaders might want to consider in order to continue to thrive in this new and more challenging market space.

1. Feng Shui your client list. Feng Shui is the Chinese art of moving and placing objects within a room or space, so that positive energies can flow and benefit the inhabitant of that space. It can be used to create a highly relaxing environment or to attract health or even good luck to a room or building. To me, while I am sure that there are powerful and ancient principles at play, it often seems like it’s an exercise in de-cluttering and minimising.

De-cluttering is a good thing to do. It frees up space (either physically or mentally) and allows the opportunity for new things to come and occupy that space. Therefore we should consider de-cluttering our client databases.

Over the years we have collected clients that are neither productive nor profitable. These clients act as a drain on our time and resources. They demand, they complain and they want everything for nothing. Instead of holding onto these clients we should actively remove them from our databases or de-prioritise the sales communication or the degree of contact that we give them.

They can create opportunities for our sales executives to ‘hide behind’ and justify their poor performance. They serve as ‘black holes’ for productivity and profit. Get rid of them – aggressively. Give them a business opportunity elsewhere. You want them out so that good clients can inhabit the space and benefit from the resources they are currently draining.

2. Feng Shui your team. Ditto for the team. We have people on the team that our good performers are carrying. We have people who have been able to ‘coast’ because the market was up and people were ordering. They weren’t ‘hunters’ and they are average ‘farmers’.

To continue to carry people who have neither the skills, the aptitude and (most importantly) the attitude to perform, is demoralising for the rest of the team and stressful for the leader. This is a weight that will only get heavier as the months and the years progress. Act now. Be clinical. Quick, surgical cuts heal cleanly. It’s possible that they may prove more successful in another role or another firm. If you procrastinate it will only make things worse. Assess your people and make the choices. Do it now.

3. Lock in Your Clients. With good clients now becoming a target for other firms and competitors, we have to take stronger measures to lock in the clients that we have. We have to ensure their loyalty and their continued custom.

Our sales teams should be prioritising their clients, reviewing previous spend, assessing the current and future value of the client and creating promotions and offers that encourage the client to keep coming back. They should be finding ways to expand their profile and their presence within these customers. They should have their existing contacts open doors to other departments and decision-makers. We should be setting targets for them not just about the financial results – but about the quality and the value of the personal contacts that they make.

How thoroughly are we reviewing customer account plans – do we have them at all? How focused are our people on their accounts? Without bringing clarity as to where our clients are at, we cannot give the sales executive a sufficient sense of control over that client relationship.

Create events that add value for your clients. Instead of the usual social events, think about sponsoring or creating events that help them with their challenges. Can you sponsor sales training for their sales teams, coaching for their senior executives, management days or their conference speakers? (www.SeanWeafer.com)

A relatively small marketing investment on your behalf might mean a huge value for the client – something that they will appreciate and will ensure continued loyalty to you. In addition, you might ‘insert’ your own people within these events and create closer relationships with their key people.

Simple things can be done too, like handwritten personal notes or gifts of relevant books – sometimes the personal touch can establish close bonds that can be the difference between retaining or losing a quality relationship.

4. Review Your Contact Chain: As a sales director or manager we have responsibility for not just driving business development but ensuring its retention also.

A ‘contact chain’ is like an audit trail of all the people involved in the sales or servicing process of the business. From after-sales service people, to technicians, to accounts people, to the front-line, first- contact’ people such as the important receptionists and tele-sales people – a small thing like the wrong tone of voice or a distracted manner with a customer – can lose us business.

Everyone sells in this market and we can’t afford mistakes. Everyone, that in any way effects the perceptions or the emotional response of a customer, is responsible for retaining or losing that ‘profit-centre’.

As a sales director our responsibility is to take this message to the board and ensure that our peers and heads of other departments get the message. They must take responsibility for the quality and professionalism that their people project. There is no room for ‘kingdom thinking’ in this new market place. No one person stands alone when it comes to the continued success of the business. Everyone depends on one another.

The board – in consultation with company staff because this must be a co-creative and not an imposed message – must work on what is the company brand or the message that, as leaders, they can sell to their ‘internal customers’ and staff.

A message that is so simple and effective that it can be actively owned and internalised by staff – who can then authentically project it to the customer.

I changed garages recently. That may not seem like a big thing but in the auto industry this can be crucial. Customers tend to like to stay with the garage that they buy their car from. They have a connection. It should be easy to hold onto them.

That might have been the case when times where good – sure if we loose one or two what does it matter? It does now. Not only did I move garages but I was prepared to significantly inconvenience myself and pay more for the service – because I knew this garage was more expensive. Why would I do such a thing? It’s not logical – doesn’t make sense.

Probably not – but it feels right. The receptionist was the reason. On several occasions when I arrived at the garage for work that needed doing, I was left standing in front of her while she finished a phone call or a social conversation with a colleague. Not a hint of recognition. Not a mouthed apology or ‘I’ll be with you in a second sir’. Nothing.

I rang the other garage. The receptionist was pleasant, she was briefed, she took me through a serious of short pertinent questions and then arranged a time for my car. I rang back again to change the date – another receptionist equally well briefed, efficient, courteous, professional and pleasant. I promised myself that if they smiled at me when I came through the door (I know- I have acceptance issues..!) they would get the business for life. They did.

Review and (if needed) upgrade your customer contact chain.

4. Positively Imagine: As a leader you are consciously or unconsciously a role model for those who report to you. Your every mood is monitored and responded to by your team.

I wrote in a recent blog on my website about my youngest son (he's only 6) telling me a joke recently.

He said to me: 'Dad, imagine you were stuck in a box with chains on it and then they dumped the box in the sea - how would you escape?'

When I scratched my head and told him I didn't know he said: 'STOP IMAGINING!!' and fell over with laughter at how stupid a dad can be...

Profound really when you think about. Most recessions are crises of confidence. It is something that happens when a particular perception is either created or taken on board by media, investors, business people and consumers. It’s imagined.

Yes, there are global factors but humans are creative creatures – at least the one’s that don’t put their head in the sand when things look a little rough and hope to wait it out. Creating positive ‘imaginings’ in the minds of ourselves and our sales teams creates an attitude of ‘can do’, a willingness not to make excuses because of the market but to discover new ways to work in the market and thrive.

‘Fire tempers steel’ a friend once said to me. Well the fire is now. The question is - will it melt us or make us stronger?

Only we as sales leaders can determine that – but first we must begin to ‘positively imagine’. Only then, with the every fibre of our being, can we communicate to our boards and our teams that this time is not one of adversity but one of opportunity.

Future Proofing Programme Level 5: Performance

2011-05-10T18:32:00.003+01:00

Level 5: Performance

Raising our game comes down to managing our expectations. Our expectations - not our goals - drive our behaviours and performance.

As humans we are ‘blessed’ with what I term ‘divine discontent’ – that no matter what stage in life we are at we usually want to change it, improve it or tweak it to make it even better.

We all want to perform at our best and for many different reasons. There is an inherent need in all of us to take ourselves to the next level. As I tweeted recently ‘Ask yourself: what is it that I can be? What is left that is still within me? How may I leave a mighty echo in the halls of Eternity’.

What is critical about creating performance expectations is the need for personal clarity. Being clear about what performance means to us personally.

Reflecting on the following questions, see how you might define performance for yourself. Remember too that performance also comes with a price. Therefore also reflect on what price you are willing to pay for the level of performance that would satisfy you.

1. Would you say you are accomplishing everything you know you are capable of accomplishing or achieving in your life/work/business right now?

2. What’s not happening here that you’d love to be happening?

3. What would be the single greatest challenge facing you right now?

4. What one thing could you do that might significantly impact on that?

5. What sort of resources (people or things) – that are within your control or that you can access - would you need to radically improve your performance right now?

6. Who else is impacting on or can support you in shifting your performance gears?

7. How would you know when your performance had radically improved? What would be different?

8. Who else needs to know that you are committing to increasing your performance levels? How might we communicate this to them or network with them?

9. What will the impact be on your life and self by increasing the performance objectives?

10. What are the rewards to be gained by pushing your boundaries by just 10% more? Picture those rewards, get a feel for them.

Future Proofing Programme Level 4 Work/Life Balance

2011-04-29T09:23:00.002+01:00

Level 4: Work/Life Balance;

It is recognised and accepted that taking regular breaks from focusing on work or business can lead to even greater creativity, productivity and success.

Allowing our brain to disengage from being constantly focused on something, allowing it time to rest, to reflect and to play, allows our mind to refresh and come back at a challenge or a problem with even greater flexibility and more successful outcomes.

Taking short but regular holidays and breaks also allows us to refresh our energies faster and avoid the inevitable burn-out that comes from over-attention to work or business.

The subconscious mind is charged with protecting us and if we do not pay heed to the symptoms it gives that warn us of stress or ill-health then we quickly fall victim to illness as a result of lowered immune systems.

The body is directly connected with the mind and weariness in one will lead quickly to weariness in the other. Therefore mental rest is just as important as physical rest.

Activities with family, friends and on one’s own are also critical to effective mental health and well being. If we are to compete at our best we need to learn to take appropriate rest and mental relaxation and not ‘over-train’.

Taking time out with people who share our lives and love also provides us with a rich store of memories which will enrich our lives as we grow older.

As they say life is not a dress rehearsal, our children grow far too quickly and the neglect of people that matter in our lives may cause us to lose them. No success is of value if it cannot be shared. To live the life you have to the full it must be done with others who can share your triumphs and victories.

Take some time to reflect on this now.

1. What would be the best ratio of work to leisure time for the right work/life balance for you? How many hours in a week would you devote to work and life?

2. What is the current ratio?

3. What personal or relationship challenges is that creating for you?

4. What professional challenges is that creating for you?

5. Are you clear about what your business/manager expects from you in terms of commitment and have you discussed this?

6. Have you ever discussed with your partner/family what they expect of you to keep the relationship strong?

7. How often do you plan rest and recreation for yourself personally?

8. Have you a schedule for time and recreation for yourself?

9. If you were to plan being home early two nights a week – what evenings would they be?

10. What activities would you plan that would encourage this?

Seán Weafer's Futureproofing Programme Level 3 Control and Influence

2011-04-21T11:10:00.002+01:00

Level 3: Control and Influence

Our idea of ‘control’ has shifted during this time of change. It is less about being an individual person being ‘in command’ and more about being able to influence and leverage many others to act in your place.

Yes, position still lends one authority but influential connections give one power in today’s new world or work.

More than that, knowing the extent of what one can control in this world of constantly changing agendas, where the boundaries are always shifting, is a useful thing.

I often recommend that my coaching clients use my CIA formula – ‘C’ stands for being for Control and by that I mean ‘acting on what they own’ – if they have responsibility for it and the authority to act on it – then do it. Do not delay or defer – act – for action changes things.

If you cannot control it then move to ‘I’ – Influence it. Reach out to someone who does control it and will happily act on it for you. This is where recognising the power in building personal and professional networks sets the rebels in business suits apart from everyone else. (For more on the skills of professional networking order our ‘SellingEQ High Trust Advisor Selling Networking Skills audio coaching programme).

Lastly and sometimes the hardest of all is the ‘A’ – Accept for Now that you do not control and cannot influence it so leave it alone. If you focus on the C and the I – then the A may very well become irrelevant.

Take some time to reflect on this now.

1. What areas do you feel most in control of in your business or career right now?

2. What areas do you feel least in control of?

3. What challenges does this create for you?

4. How many of these things is it necessary for you to control directly?

5. What things can we reach out to others to do for you? What people can become your influence points and for what things?

6. How many is it reasonable to ‘park’ for now?

7. What are the real personal benefits for greater control for yourself? What would you do if you felt in greater control of your environment and your personal time?

8. What things could you do that would ensure a greater sense of control for you in your most important area?

9. How strong are your networks of influence and how might you identify suitable partners to create networks with? Could you consider professional associations as a start? What other business and social networks can you reach out to?

10. Have might you go about creating a ‘protected’ meeting time in your schedule – just for you – once a week? Taking time to reflect on your most important things and creating an agenda for that meeting. Can you simply: decide to do it.

Future Proofing: Level 2 Vision

2011-04-11T22:21:00.003+01:00

Level 2: Vision

A powerful personal vision has been the driving force of all great men and women in history. Their commitment to their dream, their ‘sense of destiny’, the world that they would make in their own likeness (for bad or for good) has carried them through their own personal times of challenge and crisis.

Such men and women, who by their dreams and actions have left such a mighty echo in the halls of eternity, did not seek to try and predict their futures like many do, instead they created them through the power of their vision and their willingness to take action despite the odds.

You have that power too – the power to envision, to create and then to make real. The Earth was created first from the dreams of gods and then the dreams of mankind. Dreams become our reality when we focus, set a deadline and then act upon them.

Everything around us started with someone’s vision of a different world – technology, roads, even our ascent to the stars. Where can your vision take you and what difference will it make to the people around you and the purpose you serve? Take some time to reflect on this now. Sit back, relax and listen.

1. How would you imagine your self or your business or your career in 5 years from now?

2. How would that look and feel or even sound?

3. What would be the key differences between then and now?

4. What areas would you specifically need to focus on to make that future happen?

5. What key stakeholders might also be involved? Think of family, friends and colleagues.

6. How would you plan to reach out to them and involve them in your vision?

7. What additional personal and/or business resources might you need to make it happen?

8. What further education or mentoring might you need? How might you need to change and adapt to make the vision a reality?

9. Where would you need to be in 12 months to make the 5 year vision work?

10. What would be the single most important thing to focus on now to make that happen – what first steps could you take?

11. Step out into that future and meet yourself then. What 3 pieces of advice would you give yourself that can help you make the future reality?

Future Proofing - Level 1 Meaning & Purpose

2011-04-05T10:37:00.001+01:00

Given the circumstance that we all find ourselves in business today and in honour of my first mentor in speaking and coaching the great Dr. Denis Waitley - who first introduced me to the concept of Future Proof - I intend to outline a 9-point future-proofing programme of personal development in the coming weeks

This Futureproof programme is a powerful facilitation exercise that can assist you to make important decisions about what drives you, your career or your business, how you present yourself to the wider world and how to increase your influence and your sense of professional control about the future.

Through a series of over 90 thought-provoking questions I want to guide you through nine key developmental levels:

1. Meaning & Purpose

2. Vision

3. Control & Influence

4. Work/Life Balance

5. Performance

6. Communicating and Influencing

7. Profile and Personal Branding

8. Sales and Business Development and

9. Delegation.

When faced with crisis and change on an everyday basis many of us tend to reflex or to react unconsciously to what is going on around us.

This kind of response (while sometimes appropriate) can often create more problems for us as we tend to allow ourselves to get ‘dragged into’ the problem and therefore end up constantly ‘fire fighting’ while not making any significant change in our circumstances.

The stress and the sense of a lack of control over things just continues to grow – along with a fear of the future.

The unique and powerful set of questions in this programme can help you to move to a position of ‘reflection’ rather than ‘reflexion’ allowing you to effortlessly move to a more (and therefore usually more effective) considered response rather than a ‘knee jerk’ reaction response.

Level 1: Meaning & Purpose;

Living a life based on meaning and purpose is the one

certain way of living a life full of personal fulfillment and satisfaction.

However, we do have a tendency to compare and contrast ourselves (usually materially) against the lives that others lead and often find ourselves wanting in that process of comparison.

There will always be those greater and lesser than we are. It is the nature of things. But living a life that we have chosen, a life that resonates with our values and our true spirit, is the only life that will provide us with the sense of a life well-lived that we all seek.

Having some understanding of what is meaningful for us is a powerful thing. For some, it takes a lifetime of seeking. The following questions however may help you on that journey. Sit back, relax and listen.

1. Why do you do what you do? Why is it of value or of importance to you personally?

2. How would you rate the importance of what you do for you - not your business or your company or your team? What drives you? What is your fire? What animates your soul?

3. How do you feel about what you do? What do you get personally from your business or your career that you truly value?

4. Are your mental images of yourself at this time in your life/career in synch or in balance with the work or the role that you do? Are you where you wanted to be at this time in your life? If not –what do you need to let go? What do you need to build on?

5. What do you understand as a meaningful life/career? What do you understand as personal fulfillment – what do you feel or see when you think of it?

6. If you could do something - anything - else, that would have even more meaning and value for you – what would it be?

7. What could you change, such that, if you were to change it, would create even greater meaning and personal fulfillment in your current career or business or role for you?

8. What specifically would you need to do to change that? What actions must you take?

9. How might we go about making that happen? What first steps could begin the change to a life well lived?

10. By when would you like to see this in place – when will the idea become reality for you?

Governance in Selling

2011-03-24T11:15:00.003Z

Governance is the term used to describe a company's responsibility to look after the interests of their shareholders (or for that matter their clients) - it is the absence of this sense of ethics - this 'duty of care' - that has left the markets in the state that they are currently in.

I feel that it is time to include the concept of governance in the training and development of sales professionals.

I have always believed that selling has been treated as the poor and ugly step-sister of business - it is not perceived to have the same value as other business 'professions' such as marketing or finance or technology. It is fundamentally an 'accidental profession' in that few if any sales people choose to go into selling as a career choice - and if they did they were quickly dissuaded from doing so by parents and peers concerned at the lack of status and the negative stereotype of the job.

Yet nothing happens without a sale - and there is little need for other business professions unless a sales person engages with a client and has them invest in the product or service on offer. I believe that we need to re-claim selling from the old stereotypes and place it into a 21st century perspective.

The old image of selling is dead anyway - bringing information to the client is no longer a part of a sales person role - the client's got Google.

What they need now are advisers and partners - skilled in ethical and personal engagement and interpretation of information. They want people who can add value to their decisions - especially as the buying cycle now begins on-line long before there is even a selling cycle.

There must be a new day for selling - returning to its original root of being of service. Creating a greater sense of ethics or a concept of governance must be something that sales educators and leaders alike must see as fundamental to the shaping of tomorrow's (and today's) sales people. Only then can we truly begin to create a new image and a new stereotype. Only then can we say that we have stepped on the road to being a true profession.

What Makes You Memorable?

2010-10-08T13:14:00.001+01:00

We are living in an attention deficit society - people's ability to focus on one thing seems to be rapidly deteriorating - and yet it's as important as ever to get people's attention.

So the question is - what makes you memorable? What is it about you that defines you - a value, a look, a voice, a strongly held principle, a brand? For me it's adopting the title Rebel in a Business Suit - people say it is me. It is congruent with my style and approach to life. I look like a 'suit' but I have the heart and soul of a 'rebel'.You never quite know what to expect!

I'm comfortable working in the corporate world, I fit in there but I don't belong to the corporate world.That allows me to deliver insights and new perspectives to the people that I work with there - but I don't follow the corporate rules. I think differently, I challenge the norms - and I have fun. It's what I do and there are many people in corporate life who wear the suits and would love to be a rebel - if only they would trust themselves. Today - we need less 'suits' and more 'rebels'. Innovators, creatives, people who drive things forward and take risks and share the accountability and the fun.

What do you do? What are you passionate about that you can bring to who you are and stand over it so that everyone else gets to see it too? What makes you memorable?

Networking is Not Natural

2010-09-27T10:41:00.002+01:00

Networking is not a natural phenomenon.

Most of us are uncomfortable with the idea of putting ourselves in the position of being in a room full of strangers - who all seem to know each other - because the potential for rejection and lack of acceptance is perceived to be very high indeed.

As humans our highest need is to be accepted - we are herd animals - so the idea of voluntarily putting ourselves in a position of being rejected is not an attractive one - unless of course you like the adrenalin rush of 'extreme personality sports'.

However networking can become a lot easier when we learn the strategies and tools for effective networking which can move us from being 'worked by the room' to 'working the room'. However these strategies are not of concern to me here. (click here for a short article on hints and tips).

In this blog I want to remind us of the value that networking can bring in the current competitive market:

1. ACCESS: Networking allows us to avoid the pitfalls of email, voicemail, gatekeepers and the ability of propects to 'hide' behind technology and (once we pick the right events to attend) can give us immediate and personal access to the decision makers and potential referrers of business.

2. CREDIBILITY: By attending events at which existing clients and stakeholders are also attending we can leverage our relationships with them to access others - and this time with the added bonus of credibility. A personal introduction from someone our prospect already knows and respects gives us 'collateral credibility' and a greater chance of getting another meeting at a later date.

3. ATTENTION: In a world where the attention span is devolving to that of a gnat, access and credibility go a long way to ensuring greater attention from the prospect. Attention is a priority for getting positive decisions.

4. TRUST: All of the other three points lead to this one. When someone trusts us they listen and take on board suggestions and advice that we make. This will only happen when we are connected personally with the prospect or corporate stakeholder. This cannot be accomplished at a distance - only through 'close quarter networking'.

Therefore whether you are an executive looking to access key corporate stakeholders or an advisor looking to grow or retain clients, being skilled at networking is now a necessity not an option.

Trust v High Trust

2010-09-02T17:44:00.001+01:00

People are often confused by my differentiating between a 'trusted' executive or advisor and 'high trust' executive or advisor - why the difference they ask?

For me the difference is simple enough.

You probably have relationships with people that you trust, right? But you probably do not share everything about you or all that's happening in your life or business at any given time with them. Consciously and unconsciously we tend to set limits on our levels of trust with different people. We are selective about what we do or do not share with people based on our perceived level of trust with them.

However in a 'high trust' realtionship we have no hesitation or mental reservation whatsoever about sharing stuff with that person. We almost feel compelled to share our challenges and reality with them. We see them as people who genuinely care about us, who are genuinely interested in our well-being, safety and prosperity. They are someone that we will gladly collaborate with to find solutions.

Thus a high trust executive or advisor connects at a deep level with their colleagues and clients and is seen as an indispensable 'non-equity partner' in their projects and businesses. Not a part of the project or business, not an owner or a seeming benficiary but a fundamental means or resource by which the project or the business can become and remain successful.

This is where we can truly be of service to people and - where we provide real service - reward soon follows.

Getting Time and Attention Through LinkedIn

2010-07-01T12:00:00.007+01:00

I have a policy of removing contacts from my Linkedin contact list that do not allow me to see their contacts.

For me it is a policy that I've adopted that seems to get support. Linkedin is a networking site and should be about people helping each other to reach out to each others contacts - sharing and collaboration.

In a world where getting the attention and the time of prospects is getting harder Linkedin can be a great tool for initial introductions. However it can't work if people block or hide their connections from other people they are connected to. If you don't trust them to see your connections - why did you connect with them?

Access to your contacts allows me - through you and with your permission and support - to reach out to your contacts who I feel might benefit from my work.

If you have used me and value what I deliver then you should be happy to refer me (as someone that you know can do the job) to your own personal contacts and friends for their benefit. To help with that introduction, I would typically send a short script that you could use and then you use the introduction facility on Linkedin to put us in contact with each other.

This is as I woild say on my ClientEQ High Trust Advisor programme - I'm just looking for their permission to call them and get a meeting for coffee - once I'm there it allows me to research their needs and look at areas that I can bring value to them. If I can't, I move on and thank them for their time (and buy the coffee!) and of course, I've asked permission to link through Linkedin if I haven't already.

If I'm referred to them through Linkedin from a trusted contact of theirs - this gives me a visibility and trust factor right from the word go. Just like being introduced to someone at a 'live' networking event - I get their attention and a higher chance of getting to meet them.

Networking is about trust and sharing and those that don't share don't get to play with me.

To be fair people sometimes don't know that they have their settings set on Linkedin to prevent their contacts beeing seen - and this is just a matter of ticking the box in the Settings section to make them visible.

But for those who deliberately keep their contacts private and aren't willing to share - it's like 'you show me yours but I won't show you mine' - sorry but I don't play that way. Transparency is king.

I have deliberately removed even good business acquaintances who are equally firm on their own policy on not allowing people to see their contacts. For me that just defeats the purpose of networking in the first place and serves no value to the wider community.

So think about sharing and collaborating - it just makes for a biggger cake for us all.

Traditional Sales Training Doesn't Work!

2010-06-17T10:28:00.001+01:00

Traditional sales training doesn't work.

Sticking people in a room for a few days just doesn't get the long-term results that either the trainer or the client hope will happen.

Even those of us who provide it have always lived with the hope that something will stick, some change will happen, one magic point will get through that can change at least one person to make a greater difference to the bottom line.

But both clients and trainers have to face the fact that it is behaviours and habits (as well as skills) that most need to change and that takes time to change - something a few days in the training room just won't change. For example sales confidence and motivation are not sustainable from just one training day. Real change comes from internalising lessons and creating new habits and behaviours.

There has to be a new way of engaging sales (and management) teams to learn - especially in times of greatest challenge (although it never ceases to amaze me that companies that rely on sales for survival and growth still cut sales training budgets as if it should be part of the same budget as admin or IT training - but that's another story).

My view (and now my approach for my clients) is that a 3-stage 'blended-learning' (a mixture of live facilitation and courseware materials such as on-line surveys, CDs, DVDs, workbooks etc) works best and that 3 stage (or what I call the '3m Method') engages the Manager (so that he or she is intimately involved in their own development as a manager while also facilitating the development of their team), is Modular (delivered in small modules that can be understood, digested and most importantly, applied and assessed and become part of their behaviours in the future - and also that such modules can be repeated without the need of an external facilitator) and finally should be based on developing Mutual Trust both between the manager and their team and between the team and their clients.

Perhaps it's time for a general review of traditional training and how we deliver results for our clients in our own commitment to delivering excellence.

Edison's Hidden Secret

2010-06-14T13:55:00.004+01:00

My first video blog (without lighting and makeup!) and wanted to share something with you - the 'hidden secret' behind the Thomas Edison Lightbulb story

Feng Shui for Sales Managers

2010-06-08T16:43:00.001+01:00

Feng Shui your client list.

Feng Shui is the Chinese art of moving and placing objects within a room or space, so that positive energies can flow and benefit the inhabitant of that space. It can be used to create a highly relaxing environment or to attract health or even good luck to a room or building. To me, while I am sure that there are powerful and ancient principles at play, it often seems like it’s an exercise in de-cluttering and minimising.

De-cluttering is a good thing to do. It frees up space (either physically or mentally) and allows the opportunity for new things to come and occupy that space. Therefore we should consider de-cluttering our client databases.

Over the years we have collected clients that are neither productive nor profitable. These clients act as a drain on our time and resources. The demand, they complain and they want everything for nothing. In tough time s there is a tendency to hold onto these clients - that some revenue from them is better than no revenue at all. Wrong kind of focus.

Instead of holding onto these clients we should actively remove them from our databases or de-prioritise the communication or the degree of sales contact that we give them.

They can create opportunities for sales executives to ‘hide behind’ and justify their poor performance. They serve as ‘black holes’ for productivity and profit. They cause unnecessary, time-absorbing, problems at a time when we must keep a storng heart and a clear head.

Get rid of them – aggressively. Give them a business opportunity elsewhere. You want them out so that good clients can inhabit the space and benefit from the resources the ‘bad clients’ are currently draining.

Then Feng Shui your sales team.

Ditto for the team. We have people on the team that our good performers are carrying. We have people who have been able to ‘coast’ because the market was up and people were ordering. They weren’t ‘hunters’ and they are average ‘farmers’.

To continue to carry people who have neither the skills, the aptitude and (most importantly) the attitude to perform, is demoralising for the rest of the team and stressful for the leader. This is a weight that will only get heavier as the months progress to the close of the year.

Act now. Be clinical. Quick, surgical cuts heal cleanly. It’s possible that they may prove more successful in another role or another firm. If you procrastinate it will only make things worse. Assess your people and make the choices. Do it now.

High Trust Business

2010-05-31T12:07:00.000+01:00

The collapse in the global business markets in the ‘noughties’ was followed by a collapse in trust in business and the institutions of business. In fact the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao at one point is credited with saying that now ‘trust is more valuable than gold’.

Trust is a powerful thing – nothing moves and no-one acts without first having achieved some form of trust in a person or an undertaking. It is essential in business and what happens when trust is lost is things spiral down to a stop and we face recession. Banks don’t lend, businesses don’t invest, jobs become insecure and consumers don’t spend. In fact you could say that nothing moves without trust.

Where there is trust there is acceptance and where there is acceptance there is influence - then change can happen and decisions can be made.

If there is to be trust in business again it will become the job of the foot soldiers – the business owners, the accountants, sales people, account managers, client relationship directors, entrepreneurs, in fact anyone who has a revenue responsibility by getting face to face with prospects and clients – to re-build it, one person at a time.

Many of these sales and account management ‘professionals’ then get promoted to managers and directors and we find ourselves with business where sales managers and directors manage by spreadsheet and not through expertise, mentoring and high staff engagement.

Selling needs to return to being transformational – focused on people. Where selling becomes what it should be – not about the product or the service – but about the experience that the prospect or customer gets through having that product or service – and that experience starts with ‘first contact’.

Niche Niche Niche!

2010-05-24T14:06:00.000+01:00

There is huge value in identifying and targeting niche markets for your service offerings. Getting highly-specific about what markets you want to reach has, apart from making best use of your time, the following benefits:

1. Special Needs/Higher Value: Niche markets can have very specific needs and servicing these needs can add a lot of dollars, euros and pounds to your margin. Identify the possible niche markets in your business and create a survey sheet as to their specific needs. Simple research can allow you to identify and tailor solutions that can be perceived as higher value because they are specifically targeted at the niche.

2. They Are Easier to Identify and Target: once you know your niche, it’s easier to target them and this again saves us time and money. Local directories provide the names of relevant local associations and local or profession-specific advertising and marketing campaigns can be targeted to be highly specific and highly cost-effective. Speaking at their professional meetings or contributing to their publications also helps raise your profile – and build a significant referral base.

3. Multiple Niches: Think about how many niche markets that exist in your business and decide which areas that you can package and re-package your services and products too – become known as the supplier of choice for these particular interest groups - and re-interpret your offerings based on the unique needs of the niche.

4. The Law of Social Proof Works Best with Niches: Credibility is a powerful factor in selling and when you can prove that customers with the same profile as the people you wish to market your services or products to have already invested in your offering - it increases buyer assurance and smooths the process - making the sale easier.

Niches have the potential of providing huge value to businesses that learn to address its market with the principle: '1 inch wide and 1 mile deep'.

Master Minds - The Power of Synergy

2010-05-18T10:12:00.001+01:00

Ever consider creating a master-mind group of like-minded individuals? Create a “group mind” dynamic when you get 4-5 other people to start meeting regularly. The value of having other business people appraise and feedback on your business can be enormous.

In using a master mind group, you can have many minds working on one agenda – ideally your business agenda. The value of gaining the input, perception and experience value of other people in different businesses is enormous. Think about meeting once a month and dealing with two businesses at a time – everybody gets to benefit.

Master Mind Groups have been used by the 'greats' of business for centuries because they recognise the power of synergy. There is something about a group convening for a specific purpose that attracts a creative and powerful energy.

The rules are simple - a regular meeting, committ to be there (prioritise like a meeting), make time for each person to bring their issue to the table, be honest, be practical, stick to the time allowed.

The value of such a committment - done regularly - is huge. I attend a regular master mind group with some respected professional speaking colleagues. Being able to share challenges and hopes with like-minded and professional colleagues is enormous.

In a time of challenge look to the power of the master mind group to forge new horizons and new hopes for the future.

An Attitude of Excellence

2010-05-06T12:48:00.003+01:00

My mentor and friend the speaker and thought-leader Dr. Denis Waitley (www.DenisWaitley.com) said in the mid -90's that America's greatest challenge was going to be 'an emmigrant with a laptop' - an intelligent, educated, ambitious and hungry non-American working from their own countries who would successfully compete with Americans over the internet for work.

So it has come to pass that over the last few years Western Europe has seen a rise in educated and ambitious young men and women from Eastern Europe who compete for work and do so with great attention and a sense of service. In the main they demonstrate an 'attitude of excellence' - a desire to provide far more than just 'getting the job done'. They are unencumbered by a sense of 'entitlement' and understand that the quality of service and the experience that a customer has in dealing with them relates to the degree by which they can retain business in the future.

I've had cause recently to deal with people from Moldavia and Romania. The first were tradesmen (Vadim and Tony) decorating and making changes to my home. Smart, polite, courteous, professional and focused on delivering a quality outcome - they have my business for life (and that of my neighbours and friends). Exactly the same service from Romanian Ovi Bernaschi a DCU computing student (BSc Hons) and national martial arts champion who also has a company as an IT consultant - www.ovitech.eu - where nothing is too small and nothing too difficult to address.

An 'attitude of excellence' - it takes nothing more than to focus on the customer's needs and do more than is required or paid for. This is the simple secret to winning the loyalty of customers. Surprise them with excellence.

High Trust Advisors HTAs

2010-04-20T20:23:00.000+01:00

I recently launched a 'compelling business relationship' programme for creating High Trust Advisors (HTAs). It's doing very well too with both Microsoft and British Telecom running programmes for their account managers and professional sales people.

But what is a 'high trust' advisor. Here are just some of the things that define them and sets them apart from the 80% of sales and business professionals in the world today:

1. 'High Trust' means that there is no hesitation or mental reservation in the mind of the client when they deal with a high trust advisor (HTA) - we can trust people but may be hesitant about sharing everything with them - not so where the advisor has created a high level of personal and professional trust and a compelling business relationship. In this case they are seen as a 'non-equity' partner in the business - an essential, non-dispensable, part of the team - and included in everything.

2. High Trust Advisors understand they power of the emotional connection with the client and will adapt their language and their style to create a powerful emotional response in the mind of the client. HTA's understand that emotions manage decisions - not the other way around.

3. HTAs understand that what they sell to the client is not a product or a service - it is the experience that the client gets from using same. They understand that it's not about providing information - it's about intepreting it in a way that makes sense and adds value to the client's perceptions and business and lastly

4. A HTA understands that it's no longer about communicating with the client - it's about connecting, involving and engaging them in the process completely.

So there's some of the things that set our HTAs apart. If you'd like to find out more - check the video here or just email me at info@seanweafer.com

Micro Goals

2010-04-13T12:08:00.003+01:00

Clarity is the root of control, which is the root of confidence, which is the root of intention and then change.

Clarity of thought is an essential ingredient of success and even more today when uncertainty surrounds us. Pre-determined goals provide clarity of thought and a greater sense of personal control.

I have discovered recently that even well-defined goals may not be enough to respond to the uncertainty of the markets. Micro-goals - small, repeatable, well-structured clear statements of intent timed at no longer than a month however can help clear the mind and focus one's efforts.

'X number of companies/clients at X amount of income per month - every month' may serve as powerful personal motivators and affirmations where the timeline of greater goals seems too far to be able to predict.

Pareto's People

2010-03-31T12:29:00.004+01:00

I've become convinced only about one-fifth of the business population make things work. It's not that the other 80% don't get the same opportunity for education and training but they seem not to want to do anything with that opportunity - in fact they actively attempt to avoid it. It's as if they are afraid to face their insecurities and failings and therefore it's easier not to do anything at all or (even worse) rubbish the very things (and people) that can help them evolve and somehow feel better in themselves for doing that.

An ex-colleague and a good friend of mine once said 'you want to be working with people who want to be in the room' and I think that defines it rather well. As an educator in sales and leadership I want to be working with people who want to be 'in the room' - yet I find that even some companies (highlighted by the fact that their people often lack common courtesy in their dealings with people) - aren't even at the races when it comes to committing to excellence. At best they are mediocre and get in the way of those who aspire to excellence.

Then there are those individuals and companies that do commit to excellence. The 20%.

I call them Pareto's People (from the 80/20 rule - Pareto's Principle?) . These are the people who get us out of the messes caused by the 80%. These are the one who want to learn who want to excel and who make a personal committment to excellence.

They are today's heros - they are the one's who re-shape the world - often ignored, they are the ones that the pace of human evolution comes down to. They sort the mess. So here's to Pareto's People - the people 'who want to be in the room' - you know who you are and I salute you!

Constraint to Trade?

2010-03-08T09:04:00.005Z

I read an interesting article recently by Una Coleman of Codega Consulting http://bloggertone.com/global/2009/11/09/know-local-country-data-protection-laws/ about the increasing restrictions to cold calling and outbound marketing being mandated by government bodies in Europe.

While I am a supporter of rights for consumers, completely support the right of people to remove themselves from lists and databases and absolute hate unsolicited irrelevant emails (and especially) faxes..it does pose the question that if business advisors cannot make outbound calls, send relevant and timely emails to stimulate interest then how do we otherwise open up the market place or identify likely customers and clients.

For larger firms they have the option of above the line marketing (press, ads, tv, radio) and for us smaller guys its social networking (LinkedIn and Facebook) and increasingly face to face networking. But I'd really be interested in learning how firms are planning to address this issue or indeed if firms are planning for this at all? Comments and thoughts most welcome.

Based on the feedback I'd plan on putting some short blogs up on effective networking strategies and tips as a means of professionally creating building business contacts.

Spreadsheet Sales Management

2010-02-09T18:54:00.005Z

At what point did sales managers start managing by spreadsheet?

At what point did sales management forget the fact that their job was to help other people become profit centres? That their job was to lead, support and manage the efforts of their team members to generate focused activity and effective client engagement.

I know why it happened. We've had years of transactional or process-focused selling because it was easy - people were buying without us having to find them - and the guys who were good at this got promoted. Now the need is for a different kind of selling - transformational or people focused - and the managers just haven't the background. Hence the spreadsheets.

I know why - I just don't know when. Maybe when the tough times hit and the beancounters started managing the costs and not the people.

Present Perfect

2010-02-05T14:46:00.003Z

We all recognise the power of goal setting - creating plans, articulating a personal and professional vision and manifesting our thoughts into reality by the power of 'thinking in ink'.

That said, not many of us take the time to set goals and then those of us that do often set ourselves up for failure by writing those goals in the wrong tense.

By that I mean how many times have you seen people's goals written with the words 'I will do this...'? Two things wrong with this.

1. 'I will' creates pressure - what one might call a 'modal operator of necessity' - 'I will do this' is almost creating a stress-based response to the goal - using short-term, stress-based motivation to accomplish the goal.

This is very appropriate behaviour when you are likely to get hit by a bus...immediate response...but not the best motivation for a longer term requirement like making annual sales targets.

2. The second thing that is wrong is that we are using the future tense.

The brain is composed of two levels of awareness - the conscious (what we critique and make sense of the world with) and the unconscious (that bit that does everything else - breathing, emotions, feelings, immune systems etc - and where our real motivation resides).

The conscious recognises the future tense (I will) - the unconscious does not. It operates only in the present tense (imagine the heart thinking 'you know I'm feeling a bit tired...I'll have a heart beat again next week....'). Not very effective eh?

Neither is using the future tense in goal-setting. 'I will' only speaks to the logic but 'I want to' or 'I can' speaks to the passion.

Plan in the 'present perfect' and watch your dreams become reality.

Sales - It's Not a Profession - It's a Life Skill.

2010-01-04T15:17:00.007Z

A new year and a new decade - I would even say a new age - an age that strives to move forward and to leave behind the remnants of the old age - an age where things we held in esteem have cracked and crumpled under the strain of maintaining their facade.

Isn't it time that we in professional selling recognised our own facade as well? Isn't it time that we stopped pretending that selling is a profession - like medicine or law or engineering? It isn't - and despite the plethora of institutes and associations - I do not see a time when it will become so.

There are many professionals who sell but what defines a sales person is more than just knowledge of a subject or a body of knowledge or a way of doing things. It is a synergy of many things.

It is IQ - which is the technical knowledge that we bring of our service or product or our planning and sales processes but more than that it is also EQ - the ability to connect, involve, engage, create trust, establish a relationship.

It is rapport, integrity, sincerity, it is service, it is a duty of care, it is vision, enthusiasm, courage, persistence, patience. It is idealism and pragmatism. It is innovation and adaption and the ability to go on when others would turn back. It is initiated by financial reward but then we go beyond just money. It is hope and it is the ability to rise from defeat and rejection and scale the heights of success. It requires boldness - and the future belongs to the bold.

It is all these things and how can these things be condensed into something as limited as a 'profession'.

Selling is more than just a profession - and it's time we let people know that - it is a vocation and a calling. It's not for the many but the few who are brave enough and foolish enough to go where many others fear to and accomplish that which many can not. It is for those who would change the world by what they bring to the market. It is for those who will bring this world from it's financial knees to where we can find prosperity once again.

Reflections on 2009

2009-12-24T07:52:00.002Z

It's been a tough year. No-one can deny that - everyone has suffered - unfortunately some more than most.

But adversity can be the forge of creativity - 'fire tempers steel' - it depends on your mind set and your physical circumstance. It's all very well to say 'cheer up' or 'be positive' but if your physical surroundings or physical self are in tune then such exhortations are wasted. 'Psycho' (the mind) and 'soma' (the body) are intimately connected.

A wounded animal will rest to heal itself - it will eat if it can - but mostly it rests. We are all a little wounded but now is the time to rest and re-couperate. Spend time with those who mean the most to us, remind ourselves of the value of connection and love, by sharing it we receive it in turn. Take time to be grateful for what we hold and refresh our energies to re-build and grow.

Adversity is never wasted when we use it a spur for creativity, learning, adaptation and change. The new decade will demand a new approach. The old world and old the ways of doing things is coming to an end. Where before there was competition now the demand is for connection. Where before it was 'me' now it's 'we'.

'They' never taught us this. We must learn it ourselves and seize control of our personal futures if we would make them all we would wish them to be for many years ago someone defined magic for me as the ability of the magician to bend the world to his (or her) will.

But first, we rest.

Then we begin anew. Fare well (and 'to all a good night' on this Christmas eve....)

The Power of Specificity

2009-12-21T11:36:00.005Z

Ambiguity ruins a relationship.

Anywhere there is a lack of clarity or a lack of specificity in a business relationship it impacts on trust and diminishes the perceived value of the offering.

In negotiation ambiguity works in the favour of the person who is doing the buying - not the seller. One can find oneself committing to discounts and extra offerings after the deal is done because the terms of agreement were not clear.

Yet ambiguity can be banished with a simple word. When asking questions - Rudyard Kipling's '6 Honest Serving Men' (how, what, where, why, when and who) come to mind - we need only to add one small word to change the quality of the conversation. That word is 'specifically' .

The word 'specifically' (as in 'how specifically, where specifically, what specifically') removes ambiguity, banishes doubt and clarifies the obligations and expectations quickly.

In setting your objectives for the coming decade - try it on yourself. This can be the word that raises you and your potential and how you impact with clients to a new level.

Compliments of the season and act to make the world as you would wish it in the coming year.

Coaching - A Devalued Currency?

2009-12-08T15:59:00.003Z

I recently resigned after 5 years as a founder member and an Honorary VP of the Association for Coaching. Not because there was anything wrong with the association or the commitment of their members but because I want to move away from coaching and the things that it's become associated with. I believe that it's a currency that has become de-valued.

I still believe that coaching and mentoring are powerful interventions that bring unique insights and change to people who are engaged in these processes. I still believe that it has a place in collaborative management and leadership - and especially so in selling where there are unique opportunities to apply it - such as after field visits and appraisals.

However when you show up at a conference and a speaker asks 'to be saved from 23 -year old 'life coaches' who can't find their way to the bathroom' I have to agree. The influx of people into coaching in the last 7 years who manage no more 'than a cup of coffee and a staring match' - the lack of structure, format and measurement of outputs, the numbers who were trained by counsellors and can't differentiate between a business imperative and a personal issue is depressing - and they're everywhere.

I still intend to continue 'coaching' but I'm searching for a better name - one that represents the kind of value that can be brought to the client during the process (and long after the process).

I define coaching as 'a collaborative partnership between a coach and a client and a system that identifies perceived obstacles, generates solutions, sets objectives and implement actions based on personal accountability' (Weafer 2001) - but lately I've started to refer to it as 'structured conversations'. Conversations that facilitate joint-insights, create plans and measures the outcomes from those plans.

I'd love to have something more succinct.

R'evolutionary Leadership

2009-12-02T15:02:00.004Z

I recently attended a meeting about joining a new group that would support leadership - in all it's forms - within society.

The aim of the group is to show how leadership is a part of us all (whoever we are and however we serve - nurses, teachers, janitors, bin people, gardai, students, ) and that we all have the ability to lead through (as George Hook the radio commentator put it when he described Brian O'Driscoll of the national rugby team) 'fortitude, courage and sheer bloody mindedness'.

An example of how the people take back power is in this fantastic website to support those citizens devasted by the floods in recent weeks. It's not just about financial donations it's about the ability to help and contribute even with 'the sweat off your brow'. Often the offer of one's self is the more valuable.

My compliments and admiration for the ingenuity, 'fortitude, courage and sheer bloody mindedness' it took to take action and make change.

Offersofhelp.com

Raise the Pain Position the Gain

2009-11-30T17:58:00.001Z

I've been asked recently to contribute to a new book on how to market professional services. My contribution was around networking and some of the ideas that get us noticed in the very distracting, short-attention span, environment that can be a networking event.

Most people are familiar with the 'elevator pitches' or the 30 seconds in which we introduce ourselves to people when (and if) they ask what it is that we do. However I notice that people still tend to give their profession in the introduction - I'm an accountant or an engineer or a doctor or a (take your pick). Big problem with that is that the other person now has you stereotyped and 'in your box'.

At this point 'selective listening' kicks in as - given that they now have you in a box - they can assume that they can 'fill in' the conversation - or worse, move on.

To make your elevator pitch compelling and remarkable it must be of interest to the listener. So here's what I suggest: 'Raise the Pain and Position the Gain'

If you've chosen your networking arena you should have a pretty good idea of the things impacting on the majority of the people attending the event. With this in mind, research the big issues for these people - what's causing the pain in their market. Then when it comes to a question on what it is you do you just say 'You know the way (insert the pain) well, I (position yourself/company as the solution/gain)'.

Instant attention.

High Trust Advisors

2009-11-18T12:55:00.004Z

We are familiar with the term 'trusted advisor' so what do I mean when I use the expression 'high trust' advisor?

There has been a big shift in the market over recent months and things that in the past may have been acceptable - certain 'axioms' of business - are no longer true. The fact that trust has disappeared is obvious and the only way that it will be re-built is on a person-to-person level. It also means that we have to re-define our roles as sales people.

The professional sales person has to become not just an information provider - speaking the language of their business - but a 'non-equity partner' in the customer's business - acting as an interpreter and architect of knowledge about how their company service or product information becomes a solution to the client's real concerns.

In addition they need to become part of the 'experience' around the product or service that they are selling - and become a facilitator of a collaborative and co-creative approach with the customer or client in the definition and solution of their unique needs.

Before we get there we need to create an even higher degree of trust with people than ever before. A client might listen to me and my information if he trusts me - but she will only share her deepest concerns and needs when I have built a deeper relationship, showed the value of the knowledge that I bring and presented a solution - what I term the 3 P's - People Product and Positioning.

It's about People first - if I can develop my skills to a level where I can consciously and effectively develop high trust relationships with my prospects and clients' that is when the fortunes and potential that still exists out there can be unlocked and allowed flow. Put simply 'trust' is not enough - 'high trust' and the perception that it creates in the minds of our prospects and customers - is the key to success.

A Lifetime's Value

2009-11-07T16:08:00.005Z

I ran a short network master class recently as a favour for a good friend of mine, John McCormack, for the parents association of a Dublin school celebrating it's 150th year. Afterwards, over coffee (which I really have to stop drinking) I was approached by an elderly gentleman called Joe Grehan.

Now Joe is 91 years old. Quite a feat in itself but not only that, he is officially 'the oldest toastmaster in the world' - as he took great delight in telling me. Now tell me that there isn't something to learn from a man like that? So when I asked Joe what he spoke about - his message to his audiences from his lifetime of experience - he spoke three simple words which I'll share with you now.

For me they sum up everything about the understated, classic, professional elegance that we should bring to being a trusted advisor, a sales professional or leader.

Simplicity, Sincerity and Service.

'Nuff said.

Kung Fu Business

2009-11-02T14:21:00.005Z

I've been a student of martial arts for many years and there is a case that business and martial arts share many similarities.

Timing, being balanced, your distance (closeness) to and from your customer - the 'invisible strategies' that make martial arts work have some applications with our clients and customers (and no, it doesn't include the use of violence as and when you might feel like it with certain prospects and clients....!)

My youngest son has recently taken up training and his first martial path is the Chinese art of Kung Fu. Bringing him to class every week I get the chance to learn something of this ancient art (as it applies to 6-10 year olds). They have an excellent young instructor who connects very well with the little guys and each week has a message for his young charges. The two that have struck me most where as follows:

1. Kung Fu actually means 'hard work' - to accomplish anything of value takes concentration and effort.

2.'Horse Mind' is a reflective, attentive mind while 'Monkey Mind' is the 'all over the place', distracted mind - knowing which one to use and when is important.

Effective use of 'Kung Fu' and 'Horse Mind' together with patience and persistence, is what's needed to help us through the challenges we face in business today and emerge victorious from the commercial battlefield.

It is our focus, our intention and our expectations that drive our outcomes. What we hold within our minds is the pattern that we project onto the world.

Sales Uniqueness

2009-10-29T09:37:00.005Z

What makes us truly unique in selling? I have dedicated my professional life to identifying what are the things that make the top sales professionals the best in their field and then to help others to role model those traits.

In 25 years of selling/account management/sales leadership the key thing that stands out above everything else is the ability of the sales person/account manager to create powerful rapport and trust within the relationship and then to use that to create the environment where a client will freely and happily share their challenges, wants and needs with the professional with a view to a satisfactory resolution of their problem.

Its said that there are only 4 ways to make a sale: 1. solve a problem 2. save time 3. save money 4. make the client 'feel good' (the EQ or emotional quotient of the sale).

I was therefore gratified yesterday after sitting down with a new partner company Deep Insight who can actually measure the quality of the sales relationship - the level of trust - that exists between you and your clients, partners or indeed staff. It did my old engineering self good to realise that there is now an effective tool for quantifying 'trust' for 'what gets measured gets done'.

Their model for sales uniqueness was similar to my own

Uniqueness = Problem Solving + Relationship

in which they measure problem solving and relationship as unique factors, even if I probably would put the relationship part first - for no one will share a problem unless they have a good relationship with you first.

Sales people, account managers, trusted advisors - whatever the term that we use - have a changed role in today's world. Where before it was just bringing the message to the market, now it's about interpreting and tailoring that information so that it becomes a solution to the unique problems that our individual clients face.

Between Deep Insight's ability to measure and my ability to educate professionals in becoming 'trusted advisors' through our new SellingEQ telecoaching and sales leaders programme, I think that we now have a winning (and measurable) formula for all our clients.

Where's Our Pride?

2009-10-21T10:56:00.006+01:00

It's been a while since my last missive - mainly because I'm actively considering resigning as a Fellow of the two sales institutes of which I am a member.

Why? Because I'm no longer convinced that I can in good conscience remain with them as I am no longer convinced that they are doing what is best for selling. I recently resigned from the Association for Coaching as an Honorary Vice President because of what I see as the increasing mediocrity in that 'profession'. I am seeing the same in selling as the 'transactional' model of selling has come crashing to an end.

What are we as sales people - are we sales 'professionals' really? I know that many of us are professionals in specific fields (engineering in my case but medicine, law, art etc) but are we a 'profession'. I'm not convinced we are and I remain to be convinced that there is any serious efforts to move us in that direction by any of the institutes or associations that exist out there. Certainly I'm not convinced that there is much being done about developing leadership skills in selling. Where are the standards, where are the benchmarks of excellence?

So are we trades people? Are we technicians - are there tools that we apply that allow us to sell? Or are we 'craft' persons - is there a dedication to our work, a tradition of knowledge and a pride in shaping our skills to create lasting relationships and conduits of commerce.

I am not convinced that there is much pride in our role as sales people - hence the scramble for other titles ('client relations and account management specialist') - so maybe this is what we first need to address. Pride in who we are and what we do and discard the stereotypes of an older age. A celebration of our work and what we bring to commerce.

There was a time when we were messengers - bringing information that the client needed - but they don't need that anymore - they have Google. So do we become 'non equity partners' in our client's business? People committed to the client's success but without sharing in their profits? Trusted advisors is the new phrase I'm hearing now - but where is 'trust' in the lexicon of those who see the old sterotypes of sales people.

I'm still struggling with it but I think that these are key questions for us to consider as we struggle with our challenges in the market in this time of transition.

Loving the 'NO''

2009-10-09T13:17:00.003+01:00

I overheard two sales directors speaking at a conference recently and one of them was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't get his sales guys to ask the right questions and 'go for the close'(I've heard this complaint more than a few times - if you have it check here).

Well first, 'closing' the sale is soo 20th century - if the sales person has built trust and rapport, asked the right qualifying questions, identified the clear needs of the prospect, associated those with the prospect's emotional values and then built a pitch around that - then the sale can be 'assumed' - once all those needs can be met favourably.

But we have two problems with this scenario - 1. most sales people still operate on a 'transactional' selling model - take the order that someone gives you. They are only slowly waking up to the fact the the world has returned to a 'relational' model of selling - where the personal relationship that you build with that person plays an even greater part in the sale than ever before (and in case you get confused - 'relational' selling doesn't mean bringing the prospects to more golf games and dinners!)

2. Most sales people fear the word 'No'.

Look, 'No' doesn't mean 'No'. It means 'No - the timing is not right', 'No - I'm not the one who makes the decisions' , 'No - my budget is shot' 'No - I'm not convinced', 'No - I don't understand you're talking too fast...'

A 'No' is where the conversation gets started not ended. So identify the reason behind the 'No' and work that through with the prospect. You may not always get the sale but if you're prepared to start 'Loving the 'NO'' you'll be surprised how many of them start turning into a 'Yes'.

Creating Emotionally 'Smart' Sales Teams

2009-09-28T15:44:00.001+01:00

When rookies first come to selling they are told that (now repeat after me class…) the key points of selling are Features Advantages Benefits. After spending a number of years in selling you finally realise its all baloney. There is only one thing that counts in selling – the ability to create trust between you and the client.

There is no substitute for a relationship with a client where you are seen as a trusted advisor. That is why cold calling is of limited use today and why I tend to focus on networking or personal introductions (LinkedIn anyone?).

With the prevalence of answering machines, auto responders, the desire to avoid being ‘sold to’, PA’s – and the seeming lack of any professional ability to return phone calls in the corporate world – cold calling is, if not dead, then on its last legs.

To get in you have to realise the value of the personal relationship and that can only come about when you meet them through seeing the whites of their eyes - personal engagement at suitably targeted networking events.

This is where your potential client gets to meet you for the first time – in a neutral environment – where you can begin the process of establishing interest and need – and more importantly rapport (and without jumping in to sell to them at the first available opportunity!).

Rapport is critical because we are seeking to create an emotional bond with the prospect – because emotions are at the heart of decision-making. Manage their emotions and you go a long way towards managing their decisions.

It’s because of this that I also believe that the idea of USPs (unique selling proposition) is sooo last century. Today selling should be about what I call PCRs.

For year's in selling we've talked about USPs or Unique Selling Points by which we could differentiate our offerings and make ourselves stand out to prospective customers from the 'white noise' of competition.

However I would submit that in the current market that it's not USPs but PCRs that we need and by that I mean 'Points of Compelling Relevance'.

A Point of Compelling Relevance is one that makes the prospect want to give us their left/right hand for whatever it is that we are offering them. It makes them want to sign up NOW and commit whatever they have for whatever it is that we are offering.

USPs tend to appeal to the intellect or the reasoning ability of a prospect - it speaks to the surface of the sale - the logical benefits available by considering the offering.

However a PCR speaks directly to the emotions or the feelings of the client where the benefit of the message is so relevant, so emotionally compelling - that they buy now - the rationale is over-ridden in place of the emotion. That emotion can be trust, greed, envy, profit, ambition, status but it is a compelling emotional trigger.

Of course, to create Points of Compelling Relevance requires more thought and testing and tend to be unique to a particular prospect or prospect group but the effect is immediate and unconditional. They buy. Now.

To take on board the idea of PCRs (and create emotionally ‘smart’ sales managers and teams) we need to review how we train our sales managers and sales teams.

Yes we need to look at sales process – this has been the emphasis of sales training over the last decade or so. But now we need to look at selling relationships. The process might be the ship but relationship selling skills are the engine that drives it.

However there is something else that we need to take into consideration as well. Building emotionally ‘smart’ sales teams isn’t just about giving them the understanding of why emotions are important – we need to show how they are important.

The only way we can do this is to have the sales leaders be role models and examples of how emotional selling also works in the form of emotional leadership. Sales leaders need to review how they engage with their teams. I regularly see in organisations a split between the team and the leaders because they don’t trust each other.

We are seeking to lead in a time of fear or anxiety. People have been let go, the market news is poor, and no-one knows whose next, focus and motivation are low – this can cause tensions and breakdowns between leaders and sales professionals.
I’ve always believed that the most compelling of leaders are skilled sales people. They understand that everything needs to be sold and sold at an emotional level. I’m not sure today’s sales leaders understand that or that the pure meaning of selling is ‘to be of service’.

All selling must be a continuum – from the sales director to the sales managers to the sales team leaders to the guys on the ‘front line’ – the message and the way it is conveyed must be aligned and ‘congruent’. One message, one expectation, one belief.

In the few organisations where this is the case there is huge loyalty, commitment, motivation and productivity.

As leaders we must ‘sell’ the message internally – long before the team can sell it externally. To build emotionally smart sales teams first requires emotionally smart sales leaders who can successfully demonstrate the power of connecting, involving and engaging with their people.

The question is – does your organisation embrace the need to sell internally, to understand and demonstrate the power of emotion in selling and leadership and if not – what impact is that having on your bottom line?

Trust Yourself

2009-09-14T13:13:00.003+01:00

Being a bit esoterically inclined I tend to be a bit 'woo woo' from time to time so I'm quite comfortable when people start saying things like 'trust the Universe' and 'the Universe is abundant'.

Actually it's not. The 'Universe' is a capricious and self-serving entity and while it might be abundant - it is abundant in it's own good time and seldom in time to meet the needs you might have at a given moment. Yep, maybe this does have something to do with the fact that energy moves slower on this level of existence but I like to feel that if I can think fast why can't things change just as fast?

Trust yourself and never mind the bloody Universe.

In this time of change and challenge I'm reminded of an excellent piece of advice 'luck is when preparation meets opportunity'. Lucky people tend to be the ones that have prepared or continue to prepare for when circumstances (or the Universe) catches up with what they have readied themselves for.

Such people do not 'buy into' the myth of the herd. As the philosopher Goethe says - they 'first act and Providence moves to aid you'. They are not waiting to predict the future - they act to create it.

They trust themselves and act on what they believe to be true - and THEN the Universe moves to provide it's bounty. But it won't do it if you are sitting on your backside waiting for a handout. The Universe just doesn't work that way.

Like the Law of Reciprocity in selling - you got to do something first before it returns it ten fold - we got to act first not fear first to make a change. Trust yourself.

Passion

2009-09-04T09:48:00.007+01:00

Dr. Denis Waitley a good friend and mentor once said, that one should 'chase your passion and not your pension'.

I thought that I understood this as I had committed myself to a business - a vocation even - that I loved. Helping people to self-actualise, achieve their potential and evolve.

But if that's the secret, why was life still so tough? For years how come the mystical 'flow' wasn't working - how come I still had to seem to work hard for everything that I achieved - so much so that eventually it wasn't any fun anymore. How come if I worked so hard at what I was so passionate about I wasn't haven't more fun and when eventually (dear God) would I get to that mythical place of balance between my personal and professional selves?

The answer only struck me recently (and I do appreciate that I AM slow...). Passion isn't just about what you work at. Pension isn't just about the money - it's about the health, the friends, the family, the personal joy, the interests, the loves that you develop as a person.

Chasing 'your passion not your pension' isn't just about the money and the work - it's about all of you and all that you do. Life is a 'now' thing. Joy is something we choose.

When we realise that the living the balance is what matters most, when we chase the passions in our personal lives as well as the passions in our working lives - then the 'flow' comes.

Give yourself permission to chase your personal passions and the joy and the energy that you get from that will unlock reservoirs of energy for all your other endeavours.

Points of Compelling Relevance

2009-08-26T12:17:00.005+01:00

For year's in selling we've talked about USP's or Unique Selling Points by which we could differentiate our offerings and make ourselves stand out to prospective customers from the 'white noise' of competition.

However I would submit that in the current market that it's not USPs but PCR's that we need and by that I mean 'Points of Compelling Relevance'.

A Point of Compelling Relevance is one that makes the prospect want to give us their left/right hand for whatever it is that we are offering them. It makes them want to sign up NOW and commit whatever they have for whatever it is that we are offering.

USP's tend to appeal to the intellect or the reasoning ability of a prospect - it speaks to the surface of the sale - the logical benefits available by considering the offering.

However a PCR speaks directly to the emotions or the feelings of the client where the benefit of the message is so relevant, so emotionally compelling - that they buy now - the rationale is over-ridden in place of the emotion. That emotion can be trust, greed, envy, profit, ambition, status but it is a compelling emotional trigger. For more on emotionally 'smart' selling click here.

Of course, to create Points of Compelling Relevance requires more thought and testing and tend to be unique to a particular prospect or prospect group but the effect is immediate and unconditional. They buy. Now.

Here Comes the Fall (Autumn)

2009-08-17T11:50:00.000+01:00

I think every business person comes to a stage when they must decide whether their business needs to be a lifestyle or a growth model. Maybe I've reached that stage in life when I've realised that 'growth' is the only option really - building something that is greater than the sum of your own parts is the real business challenge.

So, I've come back from my hols with the quickening beat of Autumn (Fall) in the air with a new plan for the coming years....build something. It is with that in mind that I have re-addressed the thorny question of my digital footprint and what I want it to do for me. Good people have told me that the content I provide is of value - but how to take it to the greater world?

My business site, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook - they are all there but I'm concerned that they all hang very loosely from each other and exist in independent worlds.

The challenge now is to grow an information marketing business - one that can be sustained beyond my little self - to create a website that captures names and builds list, markets quality information, products and services to a highly defined group of quality clients.

As for me I have to recognise that I am not enough on my own and now to seek quality people to join the team and live the dream. To grow requires a recognition of one's overriding critical value to the business and that other skills - even if you have them in spades yourself - must be recruited and hired. That is the next step.

..and so it begins. What will you build this year that is greater than the sum of your parts? Raise the bar of your passion.

The 6th C - Competence

2009-07-24T11:19:00.000+01:00

The 6C's of Success - Competence

The 6^th (and final) C in the model is Competence.

In the blogs to-date we have reviewed Context or environment, Clarity (or focus), Control (the specific actions that need to be addressed to make change), Confidence (which comes from Clarity and a sense of Control) and Communication (how we reach out to others to accomplish our objectives). Put all of the above together and we come up with top-level Competence or performance.

In challenging times everything must contribute to performance. First thing we do as business owners is reduce our costs, our organisation, our people - the initial impulse when times like these hit tends to be to cut, cut and cut. Of course it is appropriate to be rigorous in our approach to cost and financial outlay, cash flow is everything - however, too much cutting can negatively impact on performance.

The firing of colleagues, the removal of incentives and bonuses, reducing expense allowances and so forth can have a detrimental effect on the morale of the remaining people in the firm. Focus is affected, concerns and anxieties start to drain energy from people and fear causes performance to fall.

Just as in the market, trust can become a tenuous thing in the firm - and can only be re-built on a one-to-one basis. As business owners, in order to re-build that trust and the willingness of staff to engage and up their performance we can use the 6 C model in reverse.

If someone is not performing or their performance has dropped significantly, the first thing we can address is how well they are communicating with us.

Have they been keeping us clearly informed of the work that they have been doing, what have they been doing well and what has been working, have they kept us up-to-date on challenges with clients and colleagues or on their own professional concerns? A lack of Communication between owner and staff (the 5^th C) can lead to misunderstandings, anxiety and concerns that negatively impact on performance. By creating the opportunity for two-way communication we can quickly identify the challenges and what we need to do to address them at an individual level.

So if they have not been communicating why not? Do they not feel sufficiently Confident (the 4^th C) to do so, are they clear about what they want to say, can they feel that they can approach us and discuss their concerns?

How well are they communicating with the market, are they clear on the message that we as a firm want to give our clients? Have they stopped communicating with clients or have they come to believe that nobody is doing business and as a result, no longer communicate with clients and so clients are no longer doing business with us (a self-fulfilling prophecy and a factor on performance).

So if they are not communicating, is their confidence affected? How confident are they with the future direction of the market or the firm? Are they edgy or nervous and if so are they projecting that to clients? Poor communication directly impacts on their confidence and the quality of the message they project to customers. If customers find that they are dealing with less than confident and convincing people - then they make look elsewhere for their suppliers. Recently, the Chinese premier said that in today's market ‘confidence is more valuable than gold' - this is why.

So what builds confidence - this is the 3^rd C - Control. A loss of sense of control directly impacts on confidence and in a market that is in constant flux, a sense of control is the first thing to disappear. Control is the understanding that we have power over the steps or actions that make change. A sense of powerlessness automatically leads to a lack of confidence.

Where does this sense of control come from? Here we return to the 2^nd C - Clarity.

A clear set of goals and outcomes is critical in challenging times. Once we understand the What (what we need to focus on to make change) and the Why (what motivates us to commit to making that change) then all the other C's tend to flow.

We help people gain clarity by making time to allow them to reflect and consider the 1st C - the Context or the environment in which we are operating and defining the things that can make the most amount of change for us.

All of the 6C process comes from the willingness and ability of sales managers to create periods of active reflection for staff. A time to collaboratively reflect on the environment in which they work and together, to create goals and action steps for them to follow.

If you would like more information on how to apply this model to building a powerful sales organisation contact us at sean@seanweafer.com

Communication - My 'C.I.E.' Model

2009-07-15T01:40:00.000+01:00

Communication

The 5^th C in the model is Communication.

Once one has reflected on one's environment, determined the direction they wish to take (and why they wish to take it), seized control of it by breaking objectives into achievable actions and found that their confidence and self-esteem starts to rise with each successful action accomplished, this then impacts on communication.

Businesses are networks of individuals and networks function only as effectively as information is transferred through them. The essence of good communication in today's businesses can also be defined in another simple idea of mine - the "C.I.E." model: Connect Involve Engage.

Just ‘communicating' with people is no longer enough - telling people what to do or think is no longer effective. We have to connect with them, get them involved and engaged - make them partners - both as employees and customers.

These things can only be accomplished not by ‘directing' or ‘telling' people what to do anymore but by engaging them through skills such as generating rapport and trust and then - having created an environment where they are willing to listen to a congruent and convincing message - influencing them through powerful questions and suggestions.

So why would we need to "Connect, Involve and Engage" more effectively in business today? Because today, Humanity is moving through a revolutionary time in our history. We have come to live in an age where access to information has been made so easy that it is changing the very values of society.

Nowhere is this more clearly visible than in business today, where a whole generation of business people (Gen Y) are interacting with each other in a radically different way than the generation before them (Gen X).

They are ‘digital natives' intimately familiar with the cyber world and using it to network with each other, multi-task and collaborate and communicate with people internationally on a daily basis. They belong to cyber communities or social networks - through which they can project their on-line ‘brand', interact with friends and seek out career/business opportunities.

Through wider access to ‘always on' information, the values of an increasing number of people (employees and customers), evidenced through the rise of social economics and social entrepreneurship, are changing to a ‘partnership' model of business (joint ventures, networks, co-creativity, coaching) rather than the old style ‘dominator' and directive model.

In a ‘partnership' model the key principle is what I call the Co-Creative Principle or ‘that which we co-create we own'. Ownership is shared by the business owner, the employees and through on-line feedback, interactive web sites and on-line ‘rating' of businesses, products and services - the customer.

In such an information rich and volatile environment, our business messages can no longer be a ‘monologue' i.e. just us speaking at people - they must be a ‘dialogue' - involving more than just us. Of course, in a market where there are so many competing messages and offerings as well - many can become overwhelmed by the amount of information available.

Therefore, a business or a person with a clear sense of direction, of control and of confidence is a person or business than can create a message that is well thought-out, clearly focused and highly congruent (what they say is in keeping with that they do) - and therefore, highly convincing.

They can also comfortably take time to invest in learning the core skills of the new ‘partnership age'. Techniques such as active questioning and listening, establishing rapport, reframing, networking, profiling people and defining their communications preferences and then adapting our business style to suit them.

This business or this person, above all others, quickly becomes the most convincing and the most attractive to employees and the market - attracting the best of talent and the best of customers.

Building Confidence

2009-07-09T10:34:00.000+01:00

Confidence

In this blog I cover the fourth ‘C' of my 6C Success Model which is CONFIDENCE.

Let's recap on where we have come so far. In the beginning, we covered CONTEXT - our environment and how we respond to it. Most people tend to re-act whereas the most effective of people pro-act. To move to that, we said that CLARITY (or our Focus) - what we focused on and most importantly why we focused on it - was critical and from there we were in a position to move to the ‘Third C' or CONTROL. Breaking our Focus into the individual steps and actions by which we can take back control of things and no longer feel overwhelmed by what we must do to succeed.

Each step that we now take moves us inexorably towards their goal. They see that with every action they take, they are moving closer and closer to their success. Imagine the impact that has on growing our confidence and sense of self-esteem.

With control comes a greater sense of self-esteem, a belief in our ability to deliver. Self-esteem is increased once we have clear goals and the power to exercise them. Confidence is boosted by the successful achievement of quick "hits" or small actions. Success breeds success and with growing success comes even more energy, more self-belief and more self-confidence.

In the turbulent times in which we live today - where we are not just struggling to make profits but to survive - confidence is a commodity that is in short supply. Yet it is essential to our success because it provides us with two key things.

First, it banishes FEAR: Fear is ever-present in the world of business today. Companies are closing, people are being laid off, where trust has been destroyed in so many essential relationships - in the market, in the banking system, in the government's ability to deal effectively with the crisis.

Fear is a virus that spreads from person to person, it is fed by the ever present bad news from the media, in the language that people start to use - crisis, meltdown, closures, unemployment, market shrinkage, volatility.

In such an environment confidence acts as a powerful antidote. Why? Because confidence cannot stand still.

It drives people to take action, to move forward, to create innovation and to seek new ideas and new ventures. It encourages people to maintain a positive ‘state' or feeling about things and thus make decisions and take risks for change - which others in the grip of the fear virus cannot do. It encourages and supports people when they choose not to take part in the herd mentality of the recession.

Yes, things are bad - confidence is not an unreality pill - but things can only change when one has the confidence to act. All our decisions are fundamentally emotionally-based - what we decide and how we decide is driven by our feelings. It stands to reason that someone who is confident (based on proper reflection and defined goals) will make the kinds of decisions that will identify and exploit the opportunities that remain in the market place - leading to their success.

Secondly, it inspires people. In times of crisis, people like someone who can step forward and lead the way, show them a path that they can focus on and move forward.

As sales managers we have a responsibility to both our staff and clients to act in a determined and positive manner. We have a responsibility to start to create and manage the expectations of those around us. As a business development coach I know and have seen time and again that expectations drive behaviours.

By creating confidence in ourselves, we imbue those around us with confidence too because they consciously or unconsciously ‘model' our behaviours.

They are intrigued and want to know what it is that keeps our spirits up and our energy strong. They want to do business with us because we become a search light in the gloom that surrounds them. We become people who can loosen them from the bonds of fear that surround them everyday. They want to do business with us because we strengthen them whereas the market frightens them.

By following the 3 C's we inevitably reach the 4^th - Confidence - and start to transform the world.

Taking Control

2009-07-02T05:58:00.000+01:00

Taking Control - the 3rd C

In this blog I cover the third of my 6C model which is CONTROL. In a world that is continually speeding up - control is something many people fear they no longer have. The reality is that they do have control. However, what they do not do is regularly take some reflective time to decide what their priorities or what their needs are. In the first two C's - Context and Clarity - we have already discussed the importance of defining your own course and taking control of your own environment. One of the ways of doing so was by setting some specific goals to create the vision of an environment that can maximise your degree of success. Once we are clear about our objectives and how they will change our environment, we then have to break every goal down into its constituent parts. Every goal is made up of a series of actions or steps that can be taken to ensure that we invariably accomplish the goal. The Chinese say that ‘every journey begins with the first step' so consider that each action we take to accomplish a goal is a necessary step on the way to success. However what's important here is that an action is as simple as possible. An action can be defined as ‘something that you can do when you leave the room'. In other words, it is something that can be done and has an immediate outcome or result. Make a telephone call, draft a list, tidy a desk - it is something simple, highly specific and immediately has an outcome. An action is not something that can be broken down into something even smaller - for example ‘take a training course'. Taking a training course requires several actions to come into being - book a time, get approval, find the budget - so this might be called a sub-goal. When you have broken your objectives in to highly specific, small achievable actions you will suddenly realise that each action should fall into three categories. The categories are defined in a model which I call CIA: "Control - Influence - Accept for Now". "C" stand for Control - do we control this action, can we act on it now, immediately? This is the first order of change - what we control, we should act upon. "I" stands for Influence - if we do not control this action, can we reach out to someone who does, someone who might act on this for us, can we influence them? This is the second order of change, what might be called a "relationship" action and finally.... "A" stands for Accept for Now - if we do not control it and we cannot influence it, then walk away, for now. Focus on what we can control and influence and "park" what we have no control or influence over. Many of us tend to spend a great deal of our time worrying over things that we can neither influence nor control. By acting on what we control and influence, that which we have to "park" for now, may fall within our control and influence in time. Taking back control means that we have to realise that change is in our hands - and it's in small steps. Once we can start taking action on simple, highly defined steps, that fall under our ability to deliver on - then we take back control and decide the degree of success that we intend to enjoy in even the most turbulent of worlds.

Creating Focus

2009-06-29T05:41:00.000+01:00

Creating Clarity or Focus

In this blog I cover the second of those C's which is CLARITY. Another way of defining clarity is Focus or that which we pay close attention to.

It's interesting how so many people who come to me for coaching always raise the issue of ‘time management' as a problem for them. When they do I tend to quote my old mentor Dr. Denis Waitley who always said that ‘time management is a fallacy. An hour cannot be made longer than it is nor yesterday called back into today'. Time management is not the problem, he would say, but management of one's focus. When one learns to management one's focus - then time moves to aid you.

When we have taken the time to consider what sort of an environment we are operating in and are likely to operate in for the foreseeable future (see Context) the next step in the game of becoming proactive in business is to define what we are going to do about that and then why that is important to us.

Focus is composed of two things, not just one. It is composed first of the ‘What'; as in what specifically is it that I want to be doing here to make a difference. But there is a second part to that focus which is often overlooked and that is the ‘Why'.

The ‘Why' is the personal reason as to why it is important to accomplish the ‘What'. In coaching, I call it the emotional trigger behind the goal. It is often overlooked or assumed - it should be spelled out every time when defining a goal.

When the ‘what' and the why' are defined and then brought together we now have a very powerful goal and a focus for the future. We are now starting to shape in our minds the kind of ‘context' we want to be working in.

An example of a what and why might be ‘I want to drive sales targets to 110% this quarter so that I can take my kids to Disneyland with my bonus cheque' - the ‘what' benefits the business but the ‘why' benefits the self.

There are other guidelines when setting your focus or goals for the future:

1. They should be written in the present tense - people often make the mistake of writing their goals with the future tense ‘I will'. This does not take into consideration the motivator behind goals which are the emotions. Emotions are based in the subconscious part of the mind which does not recognise a future tense - only the present tense. So, by writing goals and saying ‘I will' instead of ‘I want' - you have already sabotaged yourself.

2. They should be personal - written with the personal pronoun ‘I' - we have to take ownership of our own futures.

3. They should be particular - so the more specific you make the goal the more likely it is to happen. If you say ‘I want to make more money' then you will but without a specified amount it could be anything. Whereas if you say ‘I want to make an additional £100,000' that's the goal that the mind now sets out to achieve.

4. They should be passionate - in that they should have a powerful ‘Why' attached.

5. They should be positive - as in written with the positive outcome in mind. Words have power and we should ensure that the words we use when crafting the business future should be words that attract success. So choose your words carefully, for whatever you ask for shall be given.

Setting the goal - and defining clearly it's ‘what' and ‘why' components is the first stage of creating success. The next stage is taking ‘Control'.

Managing Your Business Environment

2009-06-18T11:02:00.000+01:00

The 6C's of Success - a Road Map to Successful Business in Challenging Times

As entrepreneurs and sales people, success is something we strive for everyday, so here is a simple model for business success that should help to serve as a ‘road map' in the current challenging times.

I call it the 6C Model and it is comprised of the following: CONTEXT, CLARITY, CONTROL, CONFIDENCE, COMMUNICATION AND COMPETENCE.

CONTEXT: The first part of the model deals with Context or, to be more specific, the environment in which we find ourselves working.

In recent months that environment has changed beyond recognition. Not only have world economies moved officially into recession but the global banking crisis has impacted on what liquidity there might have been in the markets - causing a credit squeeze on businesses looking to ‘gear up' while ‘scaling down' to face the worst of what is yet to come.

All of this we know from the constant bombardment of the media - a key factor of our context or environment. We have come to live in the ‘sound byte' world where sensationalism and instant gratification for news become the rules by which we are delivered information. Yet at what cost?

This form of information can cause many of us to react to our environment by making rash or wrong decisions. We quickly find ourselves working in constant fire-fighting mode, simply holding the line against the rapidly changing world and working at such a pace of change that we find ourselves reacting to the changes rather than being proactive.

Fear can start to take hold. We start to believe what others would have us believe. Nervousness dictates our decisions and eats at our confidence - at the precise time when we need to take very rational decisions in order to stay on top of the situation.

When pressurised we often tend to "Reflex", or simply unconsciously respond to stimuli, when we should "Reflect", or consciously choose the course of action that is most beneficial.

It is at times like these, more than at any other time, that we need to be creating the environment in which we work. We have to take control of our context by determining what we allow to colour our perceptions, who we choose to associate with or listen to, to take the time to review our needs and to define our objectives and our wants.

It is also at times like these when we need to review the other factors that make up our business environment.

The markets we are working in - are they too narrow or too broad, are we developing effective pricing strategies, effective cost reduction strategies, where do we shift our spend, do we decide to ‘hunker down' and ride out the storm or do we develop aggressive sales strategies now that everyone else is retrenching?

What about our staff and our teams? Do we have the right mix of people? Are we carrying people we know we should have let go long before this? What are the hard decisions that we need to be making? Are we investing in the skills that they will need to be productive or cutting back on that as an unnecessary expense?

Our business systems and our office environment - what are we doing here?

One final key area that we need to reflect upon is the future context that we may find ourselves operating in. Are we simply relying on what the media and market pundits are telling us or are we engaged in researching our customers and our markets? Are we asking the people who matter to our business the kinds of questions that allow us to start to build forecasting models and sales funnels as to what business is likely to be there in the next 3-6-9-12 months? Are we taking control of our own destiny?

Being aware of the dynamics of what creates the environment allows us to take control of that environment. A critical part of that taking control is making the time for effective reflection so that we do not simply respond on reflex.

Once the environment has been assessed we now move to the next level which is Clarity which we will look at in next week's blog.

Top Gun Sales Directors

2009-06-12T08:45:00.000+01:00

'Top Gun' Sales Leaders

What does it take to create 'Top Gun' best of breed sales directors? Directors who can communicate and connect with their board and with their teams to achieve extraordinary sales performance in challenging times?

In the Eighties film of the same name, one of the scenes that sticks in my mind was the one where the pilots were welcomed to the ‘Top Gun' academy. This place is reserved for the best of the best only. It was hallowed ground where they would compete for the honour of being the very best

Let's take a look at just some of the ‘Top Gun' questions that I ask my sales management clients to consider so that they can compete successfully for ‘Top Gun' honours of their own.

1. How secure am I in terms of my ability to deliver sales targets in the next 12 months?

A key skill for directors is sales forecasting, as well as having a keen understanding of the commercial elements of the sales process and how it contributes to the bottom line in the business.

Forecasting allows us to be able to plan to do the best with that we have, identify the resource gaps that we might need to deliver on the objectives as well as getting a good sense of the kind of environment we are likely to be facing along the way. Only by effective forecasting can we start to create the sales environment in which we can be consistently successful. Forecasting and planning are key skills for sales directors which often do not come naturally to us.

Effective forecasting is not an option, especially in challenging times such as these, because it allows us to get the kind of clarity and create the kind of conviction that we need in our communication with our board - and if we are to empower our ‘troops' on the front line.

Also, we need to be constantly alert to what else is happening in the business and company environment. Are we fully staffed, what level of skills have our sales people, how up-to-date are our customer databases, are we on top of our customers and have we ‘locked them in', what special events or offers might add revenue.

Our security is dependent on our ability to spot what's coming down the line and ‘adapt, innovate and overcome' to whatever challenges there may be.

2. Do I have clarity about what specifically I should focus on to ensure success?

Success has always been defined as the achievement of pre-defined goals. As sales leaders, we should have highly specific goals for our business and what the business expects us to deliver.

For many of us our business goals tend to be just top-line goals - a sales number or a figure maybe but with little ‘soul' or ‘heart' imbued within it. By ‘soul' or ‘heart' I mean that all goals - as well as having the ‘what' piece - most certainly should also have the reason as to ‘why' the achievement of that goal has a value for each and every person concerned with that goal.

This is what I term the ‘emotional trigger' behind the goal. When you make the goals happen - what do you personally (forget the company for a minute) get out of this - what will you have that you don't have at the moment when the business goal is achieved? What will your managers have, what will each and every individual sales executive have when the goal is reached?

Try these two questions when asking your staff when setting their sales objectives 1. ‘What specifically do you want to do about your sales targets?' and 2. ‘Why specifically is that valuable to you - what will you have that you don't have at the moment when you make this happen?' Try these questions and see what the responses are. You may be surprised.

If you want to empower your team to reach new heights - goals for each and every person should be clearly broken down into what is expected of them (right down to the actions or steps that they need to be taking) and how they will benefit personally when it's done. (Hint: it's not about the sales bonus, it's about what they can do with the bonus).

That clarity must start with us first.

3. Am I in control of the process or am I too reliant on external factors?

Being too reliant on external factors, means that we cannot exercise sufficient influence to make change in the market place - and sales is always about making change in the market place. By not exercising effective control we are forced to constantly react to the market demands instead of creating and implementing the most effect means of accomplishing our sales objectives.

However, not recognising what it is that we do control is equally dangerous as we can expend our resources and energies needlessly and to little effect.

I created a simple model to clearly identify where I need to be applying my efforts to get the most results, which I call CIA filter: ‘Control, Influence and Accept for Now'.

"C" stands for Control - do I control this action, am I in charge of it, have I the resources and authority to action this now, immediately? This is the first order of change - what we control, we should act upon.

This implies that we should have absolute clarity about our objectives (see Question 2).

"I" stands for Influence - if I do not control this action, can we reach out to someone who does, someone who might act on this for us, and can we influence them to do this for us? This is the second order of change - what might be called a "relationship" action.

To exercise this ‘second order of change' we are required to have extensive personal networks. Networks allow us to leverage our influence way beyond or sphere of personal control.

Networks also need to be both external and internal. In selling, it is natural enough for us to build networks in our market place, establish a little profile, set ourselves up to attract new clients. However, real ‘top gun' sales directors spend as much time building their internal networks with the departments (and their directors) that is responsible for supporting our operations on the front line of selling.

They focus just as hard on building their personal brand or profile within the firm, positioning themselves at the heart of key company networks, identifying and connecting with the key stakeholders in their success and then using these links to provide support to others as and when required - so that they can reach out to them for a favour when we are most in need.

Finally: "A" stands for Accept for Now - if I do not control it and I cannot influence it, then I walk away, for now. Focus on what you can control and influence and "park" what you have no control or influence over.

Many of us tend to spend a great deal of time worrying over things that we neither influence nor control. By acting on what we control and influence, that which we have to "park" for now may fall within our control and influence in time.

4. How effectively am I communicating with the board and with my team?

Staying in control of the sales message is the remit of the sales director. We have a responsibility to manage that message upwards to the board and down to the front line sales team. But the message needs to be interpreted differently for both parishes.

For the board, the message needs to be couched in the language of the board.

What terminology do they use when they discuss the business? What are the expectations of each of the other directors for the business? What are the metrics that they use - how do they measure success and how do they know (in their terms) when we are proving to be successful?

Do they understand the dynamics of the sales process and what are their unique views about how they interact with the customer? Do they understand that all their staff are equally involved in creating and keeping customers and do we (as sales leaders) make it clear that everyone in the business is selling.

For the front line team, what is the consistent message that we carry to our customers both in times of challenge and in time of plenty? What are there needs from us - how can we serve them better? What are their current unique challenges? Am I acknowledging and reassuring them as appropriate. We need to connect, involve and engage with our teams and our people. In the new world of the ‘soft power' market place management from the ‘ivory tower' is ineffective - we need to lead by inspiring and by being of service to our people.

In the new collaborative and contemporary market place - and for ‘Top Gun' sales directors - there are no ‘little people', everyone is deserving of their attention.

In the competitive world of sales and sales management only the best qualify for Top Gun.

Hibernate or Activate

2009-06-02T09:13:00.000+01:00

God I love good weather and it is 'cracking the stones' here in old Dublin town...loving it. The sun is shining and the summer is coming. But we have a question to ask ourselves.

Traditionally the summer is a time of rest and relaxation, the kids are off school, the traffic is lighter in the cities and we like to feel that the pressure comes off a little - we start to hibernate. We rationalise that people are on holiday, nobody wants to make decisions, everybody is away and so its ok to take it easier.

Not this year. There is no time to hibernate this year. By all means set a holiday date and take it. R&R is critical for mental, physical and spiritual relaxation - and more productivity as a result. Enjoy the break but before and after we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal.

Holidays are not what they once were. People stagger holidays, some take winter holidays and others take it off-peak. So there are people working - decision makers are in place and doing business and so should we be.

Activate. Get focused, engage in even more focused activity, set a specific personal and sales objective for the summer season and reach it. Stay in the game when others head for the sidelines. It'll make all the difference to making the numbers when it comes closer to the end of the year.

So don't hibernate - activate.

New Sales Coaching Podcast

2009-05-13T04:10:00.000+01:00

A recent presentation to sales managers at the Sales Institute of Ireland has just been released on a podcast. Its a full seminar of about 70 plus minutes so feel free to listen at your leisure guys.

Sales Coaching Podcast by Seán Weafer

The Perfect Sales Storm

2009-05-11T02:57:00.000+01:00

I know that this has a phrase that has been beaten to death recently with regard to reporting on the recession but I thought it summed up the situation we are facing in B2B selling right now.

I had lunch with a successful senior executive last week to discuss how he was getting on with a recent role move. His job is to re-invigorate a very large sales team within a very well established firm and a very well known name. To his horror he has discovered something of great interest to all of us charged with leading the way back from the brink.

It's not just that his sales people have neither sales process nor sales relationship skills - but his sales managers don't have it either and so can't support the front line sales people. Yes folks the truth has dawned - we are dealing not just with sales people who have been order-taking and not really selling (actively acquiring and building profitable relationships) but a whole generation of sales managers have been promoted who don't have the skills of relationship or process selling either.

Traditionally sales managers were good sales people who were promoted to keep them and their sales ability within the firm. They might have traditionally lacked leadership skills but at least they had the sales skills. Many of today's generation of sales managers have neither the sales or the leadership skills - and that is the perfect storm.

I work with firms to provide a three-tiered intervention that deals with just such a scenario. if your firm is facing just such a 'perfect storm' and you'd like some complimentary guidance on how best to resolve it drop us a line here and let's talk. We've got the skills to help you ride out the storm.

Microsoft Get it Half-Right

2009-05-01T04:04:00.000+01:00

Listening to Paul Rellis MD of Microsoft Ireland speaking at the Ireland US Council lunch on Wednesday in Dublin it struck me that he (and through him Microsoft I assume) only get the message half-right when they talk about fuelling the economy.

Paul said that IQ is what's required to get things back on track economically and that we need is to be training engineers and scientists from pre-school. Fair enough, but technology and IQ alone is not going to get us out of the economic mess in which we currently wallow.

The economic woes which beset us at this time are fuelled by a lack of trust - in people and in the pillars of the market place. That is not fixed by IQ but by EQ - or more specifically what I term 'We-Q'. Rapport, trust, quality relationships, faith in others - these are the corner stones of improved confidence, joint ventures, collaborative business and sales models - this is what cuts to the heart of what can drive the economy again. Trust, rapport and good faith, clarity of thought, passionate focus.

I know a lot of engineers and technical types with great IQ and little EQ - they got the solutions but they couldn't communicate them to a duck - let alone get the duck to buy-into their ideas. How many companies have low morale, porr confidence, detached and fearful workers, cautious and confused clients, poorly trained consultants and sales personnel? Look at the mess that causes.

Knowledge is power and IQ serves - but Wisdom is the ability to apply that knowledge and for that we must be able to communicate and engender powerful professional relationships within and without our organisations - We-Q not just IQ is required. Microsoft - you only got it half-right guys.

By the way on my wireless track again - great hotel in London - the Doyle Marylebone - free access, nor room service tray charges, great staff, lovely surroundings and good food. Book here if you're travelling. I'm also staying with them in Bristol by chance next week as well - let's see if the standards maintain themselves.

Wireless...AGAIN!

2009-04-20T02:13:00.000+01:00

I've had the pleasure recently of visiting the United Arab Emirates and am currently still here. For the first part of my trip I stayed at the Atlantis Plam resort in Dubai - about $650 a night (courtesy of a client company I might add..) and guess what? Yep - I HAD TO PAY FOR WIRELESS ACCESS!

Then I moved to Abu Dhabi the capital - a beautiful place and beautiful people, I would be very happy living here and stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel. Another lovely hotel (not cheap either)...and guess what? I HAD TO PAY FOR WIRELESS ACCESS!!

I have just moved all my training and coaching work (back home) to a hotel - because they provide free wireless access.

When are quality (and not so quality hotels) going to get the message? Customer service in the Information Age means FREE access to the web wherever and whenever. Marketing teams in hospitality please note. I for one - where I get to choose - will always vote with my feet to where I can continue to conduct business without the inconvenience or the insult of being charged to connect with my world and on my terms.

Ninja Business

2009-03-31T06:44:00.000+01:00

For many years I have studied martial arts. The art I have studied is not a sport but one which focuses on real life fighting skills or CQBS (close quarter battle skills) as it is sometimes called. Like many martial arts its heritage resides in Japan and my chosen 'warrior way' is known as the Bujinkan or 9 Warrior Schools.

One of those schools is Ninjutsu and the tradition emanates from the Ninja tribes in Koga and Iga provinces in Japan. The school or tradition today is known as the Tokukure 'Ryu' (or school) and dates its lineage back 1000 years through 34 grandmasters or 'Soke', as they are known.

The ninja have become figures of fun and fantasy over the recent years but their skils were very real and extraordinary. They could blend both psychology, physiology and the secrets of timing, distance and balance to overcome all obstacles - or perish in the attempt - such was their commitment.

As sales and business people we could learn much from their tradition. An absolute unswerving comittment to our mission, the ability to thrive, adapt, innovate and use all the tools, environments and networks at our disposal to emerge victorious from battle.

But mostly we can learn from what the word 'Ninjutsu' means. 'Jutsu' means an art form - living , evolving, growing, developing, constantly changing, never the same. Unlike the word 'do' which means a fixed path or 'way' (e.g. Judo) jutsu is inherently present, dealing with the 'now' and constantly flowing and adapting to change and circumstance.

'Nin' means a number of things from survival, to the ability to endure and to overcome.

The art of survival, endurance and the ability to overcome the challenges that face us in the current environment is as relevant to the modern 'ninjas' who operate in today's business world as ever it was for those past warriors who fought to protect their family, their people, their temples and their homes.

After all, do we not share a common purpose? To serve those who matter the most to us.

Networking ...no. Access....yes.

2009-03-23T03:41:00.000Z

This is an interesting year. I am seeing a great demand in people looking to network, to connect and engage with others - both digitally and personally. There is a great upsurge in the interest in networking. Apart from the fact that this is in keeping with the values of the r'evolution that is now here, its also about seeking new opportunties for their career and businesses.

Yet, there is a corresponding fall in membership in business organisations, chambers of commerce and societies. Why?

People think that networking is about attending events in the vague hope that something might come from a chance meeting. It's not about that at all. It's about ACCESS. Meeting the right people, in the right environment, with the right introduction so that LATER they can either make a decision in your favour or you can provide a valued service to them or they can connect you with someone who can assist you.

Networking is fundamentally a mercenary activity. It is about being in an environment where you can actively target and access the right kind of people for your business. Any organisation or event that claims a benefit from networking once you are a member should actually clearly define who you have access to at the events. Without it...it's not worth the cost of membership.

It's not about the opportunity to network...it's about the opportunity to get access. This is the point that needs be clearly spelt out by organisations that trade on the strength of their membership and the opportunities to network.

Rebels or Troublemakers?

2009-03-19T09:00:00.000Z

People often fear rebels and r'evolutionaries. They fear change and rebels are agents of change. However its important to differentiate between a rebel and a trouble maker.

Trouble makers are people who have their own agenda and impose that agenda onto others regardless of other peoples needs and wants. They are essentially selfish.

Rebels have agendas too but they are based on the need for change to improve a situation that we find ourselves in, to move things on and to continue the evolutionary process of perfecting.

The Antidote to Fear

2009-03-12T07:07:00.000Z

Fear is ever-present in the world of business today. Companies are closing, people are being laid off, where trust has been destroyed in so many essential relationships – in the market, in the banking system, in the government’s ability to deal effectively with the crisis.

Fear is a virus that spreads from person to person, it is fed by the ever present bad news from the media, in the language that people start to use – crisis, meltdown, closures, unemployment, market shrinkage, volatility.

In such an environment confidence acts as a powerful antidote. Why? Because confidence cannot stand still.

It drives people to take action, to move forward, to create innovation and to seek new ideas and new ventures. It encourages people to maintain a positive ‘state’ or feeling about things and thus make decisions and take risks for change – which others in the grip of the fear virus cannot do. It encourages and supports people when they choose not to take part in the herd mentality of the recession.

Yes, things are bad – confidence is not an unreality pill – but things can only change when one has the confidence to act. All our decisions are fundamentally emotionally-based – what we decide and how we decide is driven by our feelings. It stands to reason that someone who is confident (based on proper reflection and defined goals) will make the kinds of decisions that will identify and exploit the opportunities that remain in the market place – leading to their success.

If you'd like to drive greater success in your business or department contact us for the best business development and sales coaching available.

The 1%ers

2009-02-25T08:13:00.000Z

Hell's Angel members are known to wear a patch with a 1% sign on it to denote that they are the outsiders, the few, the rejects. So much for the 'dark side' Luke. But what about the other side of the equation?

The world is run by 1%ers. People who 'do' things, people who aren't afraid to act and put themselves on the edge to make change.

People who will act despite fear, who will follow the path that is right for them, who will sacrifice and commit whatever needs to be done to do something, anything, that will make change. These are the people who start businesses, respond to blogs (yes, it does feel that I'm only one in the digital world sometimes), create social entrepreneurship, invest in themselves, continually evolve their skills and talents, make the necessary decisions, create the trust and the activity that the market and the world needs to sustain itself.

Oh there are other people who also do things - they pick up the fad or follow along behind those that lead - they may even develop and sustain what the 1%er has started. But they are the next 'percentage band', not quite on the edge - not the few.

The world is not run by the many but by the few. Those who refuse to be gelded by those who would keep the world in a state of lethargy or fear or the markets in turmoil. In good times the 1%ers are forgotten, overlooked, deemed trouble-makers, fanatics.

But in a time of crisis, in a world of fear - they are the one's who will rise.

Free Wireless 2

2009-02-12T12:50:00.000Z

Then there are times when you have to stay in hotels with pay-for-access wireless - and it doesn't work or you can't send emails or .....!

Come th day and come the hour when the mobile phone will finally have morphed into it's true vocation and when faced with further frustration on a given day I can turly say 'Beam me up Scotty!!'

Free Wireless!!

2009-02-11T03:15:00.000Z

God I HATE hotels that charge for wireless access to the Internet? What century do these guys come from. Nothing is going to spoil my experience of a good hotel than having to pay for wireless internet access - on top of your hotel rates!

I actually now ask when I'm booking a hotel if they have free wireless access - and then decide whether I stay there or not. There are at least 3 hotel chains I refuse to stay at now for this simple fact. The funny thing is that one of them used to provide it for free - and then some idiot clearly suggested that they make patrons pay for it. Really - what does it cost them to provide oxygen to power the information world we live in? I know what it costs them in terms of my custom. Anybody else boycotting hotels because they don't provide free access to the Net - or is it just me?

Trust

2009-02-09T03:15:00.000Z

I hear the media talk about the lack of trust being the cause of the global economic downturn.

I've no doubt that this is true. In any relationship trust is the defining factor that opens up communication, connection and co-operation and if the world needs anything now it is co-operation. Only by working together can we get ourselves out of the mess that has been caused by the self-interest of the few.

However trust is not something that comes easily. For someone to trust another there must first be acceptance. Acceptance is determined by the level of similarity that we can see in the other person and the degree of openess that the other person shows to us.

The challenge of business and government in restoring trust to the world is not one of just numbers and financial figures. It is one of an emotional dynamic - a matter of EQ - it is one of proof of integrity. When consumer and the markets see that honesty and transparency has returned to the market place then and only then can we re-build the trust that is the corner stone of global economic and market success.

Relationship Marketing

2009-01-29T09:58:00.000Z

There's nothing nicer than someone showing appreciation. A handwritten card or note is usually the best but we usually don't do it do we? Write it out....put it in the envelope...search for stamp...go post it ....what's the point?

I came across a wonderful new on-line card marketing system for personal services businesses just recently that I've signed up for www.SendOutCards.com

Now you can do all your card writing on-line and the nice people at SendOutcards.com will print the card for you (you can have one that you make yourself - or choose from a huge range of special interest and business cards), sign it digitally with your personal signature, stick your logo or photo on it) pop it into the envelope and then post it for you. You can send out just the one ...or mount a mass campaign to thousands.

In fact, I liked it sooo much I signed up as a distributor. Just what I like - a value-added service, that I can use in my business, with no inventory, makes life easier and allows me to show my appreciation to my clients - all from the comfort of my laptop.

I'll even be sending my St Patrick's Day cards from it too..! www.SendOutCards.com

I wanted to be an American...

2009-01-21T11:41:00.000Z

I watched Obama make his speech in a well-known hostelry in Dublin city yesterday with Scottish rebel Allan Mackintosh. The silence while he spoke was palpable. They hung on his every motivating word. A voice of hope (we hope).

Just for a while I wanted to be an American- to share at their level the hope and excitement being stimulated by this man. I wanted to be a part of the future that they will have now - with all their resources, their re-building of friends and alliances around the world again, the emergence from a time of fear and ignorance, the reclaiming of what America once stood for - E pluribus Unum - From the Many, One. It's like a bright sun ray on a dark day that catches you in the eye.

Obama uses the language of a r'evolutionary. Inclusive, engaging, connecting and pluralist. Let us hope that he will be radical enough and charismatic enough to carry us on his shoulders into a better world for us all. Let us hope that the enemies of personal freedom do not take it all away.

Hope

2009-01-20T02:38:00.000Z

Today Obama gets sworn in. In a sea of gloom this is one bright hope (however forcefully marketed). Hope is a powerful thing. It raises the vision one has of the road ahead. It lifts our spirits for those extra steps along the road. It fires the belly with determination to see the race through.

Hope is required in this revolutionary time. In a time when we may feel that the world is out of control, spiraling down and lost then hope gives us the chance to look upwards at what can be, what we can create if we just lift our sights. Hope is always about better futures. It sustains us in the darkest of hours. All is lost when hope is lost.

So today let the light of hope shine. Let this one world event prove to us that in the midst of it all, things can and do change. It requires patience and above all persistence. Never stop moving forward and let hope lead your way.

Attention!

2009-01-19T01:43:00.000Z

Attention spans are funny things aren't they? Me..I like to read a good book...and if it's a good book the longer it takes the better. I like to read.

In business it's different, I want everything now, quick information, quick access, immediate satisfaction. We're all the same too. Because of the TV/information age we have developed the attention spans of 'gnats' - and a great ability for selective attention.

We want more information in 'byte sized' chunks and I don't want to read much. 'Where's the beef?' is the catchcry. So, more video, audio and interactive links are the order of the day. Simple website - more content through media bytes.....oh, and a social network for your clients. Prepare for Web 3.0.

New Year New Rules

2009-01-06T11:31:00.000Z

Welcome to 09 - a brand new year, a new world and new rules. The first rule is focused activity. Change either happens to us or we make it happen ourselves. Personally, I prefer the latter - that way I don't allow other people's rules or expectations to dictate my outcomes.

Rebels make their own rules and I've started my focused action by recording and editing a demo DVD (see the video clips on the site by the end of the week) and new promo audio CD for sales directors and entrepreneurs called 'Zero to Hero - Questions that Change'. Should have that up as an audio file as well in the coming weeks. I'll use both to start driving more business for the practice within the week.

I've also written and recorded another new audio/workbook programme called 'Rebel in a Business Suit® - Transformational Questions' which takes you on a journey through 9 levels of development: Meaning & Purpose, Vision, Control & Influence, Work/Life Balance, Performance, Communicating & Influencing, Sales/Business Development and Delegation. Finally, I've just finished the edits to a new DVD/Workbook programme called 'Rebel in a Business Suit® - Rebel Secrets™ for Entrepreneurs'.

So a great start to New Year with new energy. If it hasn't been quite as busy for you - change the rules and take more action. Life should be exciting this year.

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-22T03:50:00.000Z

So, the season is upon us again. The time of good will and giving with the promise (and the fears ) of a New Year around the corner.

May I wish you all a pleasant time with family and friends and remember that it is the journey that counts and those that you share it with along the way. Children grow too quickly and their innocence and childhood is snatched away too quickly from them - so cherish what weeks, months and years might be left of that childhood with them. Loved ones, family (even estranged) and friends all share a unique bond with us in this life that we lead. They are here for a purpose- to help us experience the joy and the pain of what it means to be truly human. Therefore live life to the full and fear nothing.

As for the New Year - ask yourself a question 'What one thing could I do, such that if I were to do it I would live my life on a level I've never reached before - on a r'evolutionary level? What would it take to live my dreams?'. The world around us and everything in it is created on the foundation of dreams of other people. Time to add ours to the mix.

Merry Christmas and a R'evolutionary New Year to you all.

2009

2008-12-16T07:38:00.000Z

Coming to the close of the year the 'corporate panic paralysis' is still in evidence as decisions from the very top on down are being deferred until January. Roll on Obama being elected - maybe that'll be the starting gun for people to come to their senses and realise that the only way out of our current situation is to trade.

People need something to rally around I suppose but what's really needed is the clear and effective intention to do business. No matter how bad the downturn - there is still business there. It requires more focus (that's where coaching comes in) and more skills (that's where training comes in) but it is there.

The main thing is to be able to manage one's perception. We can either work with a perception of 'lack' and 'want' or the perception of 'abundance'. A perception of abundance may not ensure that the money walks through the doors but it does create an expectation in oneself that encourages creativity, innovation and adapatability - all key attributes for those who would be succcessful in the coming year.

Rebel Women 2

2008-12-12T01:59:00.000Z

I've had a mad week this week flitting from Munich to Dublin to London to Dublin. One of the highlights was presenting to a women's network in Dell in Dublin. 120 smart executive and business owner ladies.

I'm more and more convinced that the r'evolution is about the emergence of a feminine energy model of business - all the values of collaboration, co-creation and nurture with an increasingly lesser emphasis on the masculine model of pure competition, power and command/control which has seen us through the last couple of thousand years.

So much so that I am now orientating the practice to focus on working with senior women execs and business owners to provide the skills they need to embrace what they have inherently but may not be utilising to the full.

Looking forward to it.

Rebel Women 1

2008-12-02T10:55:00.000Z

I am due to address a group of 120 female executives from the Dell Corporation shortly on the subject of networking. Actually, it's 60 executives from Dell who then bring in 60 more of their female colleagues in other businesses. An excellent idea and a reinforcement of the fact that women have an innate sense of the power and value of connection.

I truly believe that a shift is happening in business and that we are moving rapidly towards a more feminine energy model of doing business. The turmoil that we have faced in recent months and years has been due largely to an over-emphasis on masculine energy values such as profit at all cost. Such values are leading to the destruction of society and the global environment. An acceptance of a more feminine energy model which would emphasise nurture, community, co-operation, communication and connection is needed and is emerging.

However that does not mean that women have a natural edge in this new world. As long as women attempt to play the business game by adopting masculine values and pretending to be males they will not evolve past the 'glass ceiling'. By learning to embrace their natural powers and values while learning the skills sets of connecting, engaging, persuading however the 'ceiling' disappears as they create a new dynamic in business. They also have to become much more supportive of each other in the world of business.

For men, there is equally a need to recognise and embrace the feminine energy within themselves. The ability to listen instead of dictate, to collaborate and create something greater than compete over something smaller, to understand the power of leverage through networking.

It is truly a time of transformation and I look forward to opportunity of working with more women executives and entrepreneurs as the New Year dawns and helping to awaken their r'evolutionary selves to create a bright new future.

Inaction to Action

2008-11-27T03:15:00.000Z

The world is waiting for leadership to move us on from this financial disaster that we are wallowing in at present. Leadership that can inspire confidence and encourage those who cannot lead themselves to take the kind of action that effects change.

When are we going to get the fact that leadership starts with us - that leadership is no longer vested in one man or one woman? I am amazed at the fear and the paralysis that infects the corporate world at present. It's as if people are delighted to have the opportunity to defer, delay and dismiss - 'nothing to do 'til Xmas and we'll fix it in the New Year'. What's required now is clarity and action and that should start at the individual level.

Yes, there is a change happening in the world, the revolution is here. This is a time when values are changing and those that are willing to take action to accelerate change, who can adapt and innovate are the ones that can thrive now. Fear leads to inaction and there may be reasons to fear but only courage can change things. I once heard courage described 'as the ability to act despite the presence of fear'. We need to chose to act despite the presence of fear.

We need to have the courage to take the time now to reflect and gain clarity of purpose, decide on the actions that are required, build alliances and look at innovative ways to create the world as we would have it and not allow ourselves to be driven down someone else's path.

In my own case business has gotten quieter as people live with their fear but I am making plans. I am networking, attending lunches, giving lunches meeting people who can and will make decisions, creating a product portfolio and re-positioning the business to adapt and thrive in the new market and defining key niches that will be the players in the new world order of business.

To do nothing is not an option. Action creates dynamics. It is the way of change. We can fear change or we can lead it. It is a personal choice, your choice. So let us begin the transformation to a new world of business.

Authority - or Power?

2008-11-17T10:16:00.000Z

A classic example of the 'old' age of business is the need to get a 'senior role' - to be recognised as a 'senior' person. To get a 'position of authority'. By getting a 'position of authority' it is assumed that one will also have power. Not so.

Power today is not about position but about connection. It's about your networks, how you manage them and how you provide services and connection to others - thereby building a 'reciprocity reserve'.

A 'reciprocity reserve' is the creation of 'positive' indebtedness in others. Where you have willingly done something for someone else without fear or favour and as a result they have become a person who would willingly and happily return that favour once asked. This is power. In the new age of business this kind of power alows us to leverage and change things that just having a position does not.

By using position to apply power, you are likely to be faced with rebellion. By using connections to apply power through leverage you are more likely to get compliance.

Networks are becoming more important in business - especially in more challenging times. My father once said that there are no 'little people' in business. Everyone counts.

Learning is not an option

2008-11-12T03:57:00.000Z

I've just come back and catching up on my work since being at the Professional Speakers Association conference in the UK recently where I presented my keynote 'Rebel in a Business Suit - Secrets of the R'evolutionaries'.

I totally recommend that, even in these more challenging times, one commits oneself to continuing the journey of continual professional development. For any professional to stop learning simply because things are getting a little tougher in the market place is tantamount to professional and competitive suicide. Learning is not an option it is a requirement.

Preparing yourself, readying your competitive edge and going out into the economic battlefield requires education, knowledge and not a little wisdom. Such things come from a committment to on-going learning and conferences or seminars are ideal locations for this. Connecting with colleagues and competitors, feeling the pulse of the market, being in a place that educates or inspires reflective and creative thought - it can be amazing what can come from this.

For me one piece of insight which occurred on my way home was remarkable. People often ask me to sum up the idea of being a 'Rebel in a Business Suit'.

For me, it's about transformation through balance.

The Rebel in the Suit is the Yin in the Yang, the Light in the Dark, the Active in the Reflective - for me the insight that came was that being a 'Rebel in a Business Suit' is all about is that being the 'rebel' is about having the courage to decide to take r'evolutionary or transformational actions and ideas and what being the 'suit' is about is being able to create or find the system, the process or the method that provides the means for making those actions work. Spirit into Matter - Dreams into Reality

Transformation is about balance - the rebel that decides and the suit that provides.

R'evolutionary Day!

2008-11-05T09:00:00.000Z

The election of Barack Obama as the president elect of the USA, is a historic day indeed. With the turmoil and the fall of financial markets as a result of their love of profit rather than accountability, with the election of an African-American US president on a platform of change and for renewal - who can say that this is not a revolutionary day!

Many Americans today were celebrating not just the election of a new president but the rebirth of the values of America when it once stood for order, opportunity and the good of the common man - which was once enshrined in it's founding principles by visionary men. In the eyes of many of it's once friends and allies, America had lost it's way but may now yet return to what had once made it a beacon of hope for many - personal freedom, liberty and opportunity.

One Inch Wide

2008-10-30T10:46:00.000Z

I received some good news yesterday - I have just been made a Fellow of the Professional Speakers Association. Recognition is always welcome isn't it!

The PSA is a fantastic body with a host of people with tremendous expertise. It's amazing the learning that can be gleaned from rubbing shoulders with this diverse population. There is a further opportunity to do that for me next week when I open the second day of the conference on the main stage with my Rebel in a Business Suit - How to Succeed in the New World of Work.

One (seemingly small) lesson, which has taken time to digest and some amount of courage to committ to, is the lesson of 'one inch wide - one mile deep'. The PSA recommends that tightly nicheing what you do and then providing information in tremendous depth and quality for that niche is one of the best ways of building a business model. It was really only last night that the power of that lesson hit me as I mused on the current market changes in this r'evolutionary age.

A highly-focused approach to a market sector is a powerful way of developing a laser-sharp focus and more income. In this time of uncertainty, choosing to committ to one or two small niches might seem a little crazy but ultimately I believe in a couple of things about 'down times'. 1. In uncertain times customers will pay more (not less) for proven expertise - they want certainty not experimentation. 2. Never compromise on price - but deliver excellent value.

Connections

2008-10-19T07:20:00.000+01:00

Its been a week of connections and connecting.

Firstly presenting key points on the skills and strategies of professional networking in the current market place at the Ulster Reform Club in Belfast, for a group of directors and business owners from the Institute of Directors.

Secondly, connecting with my old friend and NSA buddy Terry Brock in a new Skype project to capture some of the stuff we both do and putting it on the Net for people. Terry is a technology reporter, commentator and speaker and has a great coaching programme on business relationships. Given the synergies between some of what we do, we decided to Skype a call and record the event. Needs work - especially on the camera quality and broadband speed (bit like a dubbed Chinese martial arts movie!) but its a start!

Thank God for Recession!

2008-10-09T11:18:00.000+01:00

I just rang my local cinema to book tickets for a show - their automatic answering service referred me to another automated answering service that informed me that it would cost 15 cent a minute for the privilege of spending my money with them. I hung up.

It's like booking airline tickets - its a great opportunity for airlines to 'do' you for a per ticket (not per booking) Visa charge of Euro6 everytime. So 4 people to fly - that's a Euro24 charge. Is somebody not getting the message here?

In straightened times when people will watch the pennies the businesses that provide you with a real person to talk to and don't use the opportunity to extort you will win the business. Time to get with the r'evolution.

Fire Tempers Steel

2008-10-08T12:14:00.000+01:00

Anyone else finding it tough out there recently? I'm finding it challenging getting people to make decisions around coaching and seminars. It seems like we are in the middle of a huge upheaval in business at the moment - a time of momentous change for all of us and nothing will quite be the same again. R'evolutionary.

A time of fear, nervousness and uncertainty. But also a time when ingenuity, flexbility and innovativeness will be rewarded.

When the news struck last week I was working with a group of bankers on the 7th floor of a hotel. Needless to say I made sure that the doors and windows were immediately locked! These guys did not want to be in my room learning how to coach their teams. My co-facilitator turned to me and said 'so how do we make this r'evolutionary Seán?'. Good questions..wished I'd thought of it.

So we turned the day into a practical exercise on how they were going to coach their reports on how to handle the crisis situation. By role playing they internalised the learnings - and learned from each other. Then we role played using their coaching skills to coach clients on remaining calm - I couldn't have asked for a better example of coaching the 'reluctant client'.

A friend once said to me that 'fire tempers steel' - we are being forged in the fires of chaos now. But the steel will shine through in the end. Innovate, adapt and triumph.

Website Changes

2008-09-29T01:41:00.000+01:00

I am in the middle of updating the data on the web with a view to improving the quality of information visitors can access.

The press page, for example, needs some serious tidying-up! In addition, having joined the Information Marketers Association while in New York city recently, visitors may see the site changing as I release the first of the R'evolutionary Sales CD training packs and start the process of e-commercing the site to provide services to a broader global client base and empower existing clients, with the kind of training products that can make a real difference to imbedding learning in these challenging times.

I am also working on a new article for The Winning Edge magazine - the magazine of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Managers in the UK - called 'Top Gun Sales Directors' - so watch for that on the site shortly.

The current article on how to lead a new generation of Millenial sales people will be up shortly or is available by emailing me at sean@seanweafer.com

The 'Co' Factor

2008-09-17T10:38:00.000+01:00

I was coaching a client on the values and benefits of 'soft power' as opposed to his more traditional 'hard power' directive approach. The client has made huge (and measured) changes in his leadership style - so much so that he is getting positive recognition and re-inforcement of his change from his own immediate boss and is able to influence and persuade his team to move to even higher levels of performance.

However in explaining what 'soft power' means, I was struck by the number of 'co's' that appear in its values. Co-Leadership, Co-Operation, Co-mmuncations, Co-Creation and so forth. It seems that 'synergistic leadership' is a factor of 'Co'.

What is meant by 'Co' - simple - parity of esteem - shared understanding, ownership and commitment (another 'co'!).

Objections Are Better Than Indifference

2008-09-12T06:29:00.000+01:00

I am constantly amazed at how fearfully many sales professionals face objections to their propositions.

Wouldn't the world be a wonderful place if everyone immediately understood the huge value that we bring to them and opened their cheque books and wallets to us without question? But seeing as they don't - we need to consider sales objections in a different light - as something positive rather than negative.

Look, I can work with an objection - I can probe it further, I can change the way I'm communicating. If they're objecting to what I'm presenting at least they are engaged in the sales process and trying to understand what it is we are presenting. They are looking for more information, or clarity or a reason to buy.

What I can't sell to is indifference, where someone has zero interest in what I'm selling. This can only occur where we got our prospecting criteria wrong in the first place and we are talking to the wrong person. Alternatively it may be happening because I have committed some major 'faux pas' that I'm not aware of, that has caused them some degree of annoyance and hence passive resistance to me or the proposal.

Either way, it's time to move on - selling is about service, not about trying to ram what we have to offer down their throats - that was the old days. The age of 'hard power' selling and not the modern market place where 'soft power' selling is required. The world is an abundant place and it is so much easier to sell to those who have a need and desire for our services and products.

Where objections can never be met by probing, engagement and uncovering the real need behind the objection - retreat, re-group and move on.

Feng Shui Your Client List

2008-09-04T04:06:00.000+01:00

I'm working on a new article and CD/workbook programme called Rebel Secrets of Beating the Recession and thought I'd throw a few of the ideas out here in the blog.

The first one is:

Feng Shui your client list. Feng Shui is the Chinese art of moving and placing objects within a room or space, so that positive energies can flow and benefit the inhabitant of that space. It can be used to create a highly relaxing environment or to attract health or even good luck to a room or building.

To me, while I am sure that there are powerful and ancient principles at play, it often seems like it’s an exercise in de-cluttering and minimising.

Over the years we have collected clients that are neither productive nor profitable. These clients act as a drain on our time and resources. The demand, they complain and they want everything for nothing. Instead of holding onto these clients we should actively remove them from our databases or de-prioritise the communication or the degree of sales contact that we give them.

Such negative clients also create opportunities for sales executives to ‘hide behind’ and justify their poor performance. They serve as ‘black holes’ for productivity and profit.

Get rid of them – aggressively. Give them a business opportunity elsewhere. You want them out so that good clients can inhabit the space and benefit from the resources they are currently draining.

Stop Imagining!

2008-08-31T05:36:00.000+01:00

Most of my work as a coach involves helping clients change limiting perceptions and raise their expectations. It is true that expectations drive behaviour and then performance - I have seen it too many times over the last 11 years in this field not to believe it so. But what it is that drives our expectations?

My youngest son (he's only 6..) told me a joke today. He said: 'Imagine you were stuck in a box with chains on it and then they dumped the box in the water - how would you escape Dad' When I scratched my head and told him I didn't know he said: 'STOP IMAGINING!!' and fell over with laughter at how stupid a dad can be...

Stop Imagining....what are the problems we are creating for ourselves through overactive and undisciplined or externally manipulated imaginings. How long will the 'tough times' last in business or will wars continue or all the inadequacies of the world remain - as long as we imagine them or when we can start to imagine (and then act to create) a new and different future.

It was once said that 'whatever the mind can imagine, mankind can create'. We have demonstrated this simple yet profound fact many times through history. Perhaps it's time to start imagining and now creating a r'evolutionary personal, business and societal future.

Sales Sabotage

2008-08-23T01:28:00.000+01:00

Are your support staff sabotaging your sales?

At a time of 0% growth in the UK economy for the first time in 16 years, it would do sales leaders and entrepreneurs well to look at what part their administration and support staff play in either gaining or losing sales for the business.

I've just decided to move my business to a new garage. In fact, not only that but I'm prepared to significantly inconvenience myself and pay more in order to do so. Why? Because the receptionist in the previous garage was incapable of making me feel like I was a welcome customer.

After buying my new car I had several reasons (checks, some faults that needed attention, a service) to come back. Everytime that I came into the reception area I was left standing for some time in front of the receptionist while she finished a call or was speaking to a colleague. Not a 'just a moment' with good eye contact and a smile. Not an apology for being kept waiting. Not an indication that I was anything other than an inconvenience. Well, she's the inconvenience and so is the business. How much money have they lost because of this 'glitch'in the customer contact chain.

I rang another garage and was greeted by a receptionist with a pleasant voice, a clear series of questions about my car and my needs, a promise to provide a car or taxi to minimise my inconvenience - if they can manage a smile and 'hello' when I make it in - then they get my business for life.

Time to review and upskill your customer contact chain. In a time of scarcity, when the customer will again be king, we can't afford the sales saboteurs in our midst.

R'evolutionary Selling

2008-08-19T02:44:00.000+01:00

Just a 'heads-up' that am currently completing the transcripts for the new multi-audio CD product R'evolutionary Selling. This should be out by mid-September and will cover some of the key skills for the development and projection of 'soft power' in the world of sales.

Learning how to prospect for high-value clients through networking (Stop Selling - Start Networking!) is just one of the modules - which as well as the transcripts and the CDs, will have coaching sheets which outline the kinds of steps that the listener should be taking to implement the knowledge.

The other modules include Selling in Colour - working with a 4-colour quadrant system to understand buyer personalities and how to strategise your communication to work with them, 2 Minute Selling- which reveals the rebel secrets of building high-value rapport with clients and thus set the scene for persuading and influencing them and finally, Advanced Sales Questions - how to control and manage any sales meeting for the best of outcomes for both parties.

The programme can be used as self-coaching programme or by a sales manager or sales director for their teams.

Watch out for it coming soon...!

Suit Thinking v Rebel Thinking

2008-08-15T03:30:00.000+01:00

Recent interview with management-Issues.com - check out the podcast and enjoy!

Click Here

Soft Power

2008-08-13T07:27:00.000+01:00

We live in a new time - a time when 'soft power' will supercede 'hard power'. 'Hard Power' 'or do it because I'm the boss and I tell you to do it' is antiquated. It's 'suit thinking'.

'Soft Power' the ability to connect with someone at a deep level and have them willingly involve and engage with helping us accomplish our goals is the new power. This is 'rebel thinking'.

The ability to influence, persuade, connect, leverage, develop a credible brand, be tech-savvy and know how to project oneself in a world that has an increasing number of voices and opinions - will determine one's future success.

Where does this 'soft power' come from? From within. When we have a clear sense of ourselves and what we want out of our careers and our lives, then we can begin to learn how to project that'soft power' to get others to help us make those dreams come through. 'Soft Power' cannot be created until we make time to reflect on our environment or our context.

Ideally, that time should be during a period of 'enforced reflection' where we periodically sit with a coach who can bring an external perspective, a synergy and accountability to our quest to define, refine and deadline our dreams.

The constitutents of soft power - provocation (provided by your coach) passion (provided by you) and purpose (refined by you both) - inexorably lead to persuasion and collaboration.

The willing engagement of people to help you create a future that is greater than anything that could ever have been accomplished on your own. This is the power of the rebel in a business suit - this is 'soft power'.

Leading the Millennials

2008-07-31T06:22:00.000+01:00

As a consultant and speaker in r’evolutionary sales leadership (evolving individuals and organisations through the power of ‘r’ or relationships) it continues to be frustrating to find that, after spending time developing a relationship with sales leaders, they are often incapable of following through on interventions that can make a profound difference to their teams and their productivity.

But a change is coming. With the new evolution of business values to more human values such as co-creation, communication, community, accountability and creativity, sales leaders are starting to hear the message of change. This corresponds with the rise of Generations X and Y and the continuing evolution of the Digital Age.

Sales leaders are starting to see that staff are no longer responding to ‘command and control’ management – people are looking for more meaning and purpose in their work and not just a job, people have less interest in security than in personal mobility today. Jobs are no longer jobs – they are contracts. The old ways of business leadership are changing and the leaders need help.

Thus sales directors and managers must choose to become ‘agents of the r’evolution’ and help to bring about a radical change in attitude about how we engage with today’s new generation of sales people and customers. However, they can only do so if they get courageous and are willing to take risks about presenting radical new ways of working to the senior management of the company.

Playing it safe, using ‘tried and proven’ methods won’t cut it anymore. Sales managers have to get radical, both in selling their message to their teams and finding new ways of engaging and making themselves meaningful to their market place in the new world of work.

Sales leaders have to start actively engaging and promoting the new technologies of the work place. They should be creating company sales/social networks and virtual worker or specialist communities, understanding how technologies like Twitter and virtual world simulations such as SecondLife.com can be used to recruit, retain and educate their new sales forces.

Instead of providing generic live trainings, they need to start becoming highly targeted in defining training needs and then, start using more effective, niche-targeted, blended learning methodologies such as DVD, MP3, the Net and effective group and individual mentoring and coaching. (By effective, I mean coaching and mentoring by properly trained staff and not the usual ‘cup of coffee and a staring match’ approach but coaching and mentoring approaches that are pragmatic, meaningful and effective).

It's a new world of work - not only only have we a new generation entering and working in sales today - we have a new generation of customers too. It's time to get into their model of the world to 'future proof' our businesses.

Recession-Proof Attitude

2008-07-28T03:16:00.000+01:00

Oil prices, sub-prime meltdown, banks in crisis, property crashes - things look tough.

There's no question that life in business is going to get tougher. But is that really a problem? Necessity is the mother of invention and when times are good there is very little innovation in business. Staff can charge high salaries and often deliver less results. In selling, less is required from sales people as the money just rolls-in from all the businesses flushed with cash.

Come the first winds of recession however and everyone starts to 'dig-in'. Businesses retrench, budgets are slashed (often reflexively) and people start to hoard their cash.

However to take an attitude of retrenchment in business and especially in selling is disastrous at a time like this. This is exactly the time to start ramping up your sales operations. Coach and train your people now in the best of relationship management techniques - how to find, engage and keep the customer. Many of your existing sales people probably have little skills in networking, influencing and closing business.

As others start to believe that there is less opportunity in the market place - this is the time when we train our sales teams in believing that there is more opportunity. The 'mind set' of the competitors removes them from the market as they fail to see opportunities that their 'attitude of loss' blinds them to.

Whatever we believe sufficiently in - we manifest. This is not psycho-babble but real psychology. Our perceptions are created by our beliefs and expectations. When we expect things to happen they often do - because the brain and our perceptions re-aligns itself with what we expect to see - thus if we see opportunity, the brain will make what opportunity there is clearly stand-out from our everyday reality.

It still means targeted, effective, sales activity is required. But with more opportunities spotted, the competitors hiding in their recession 'bunkers ' and a greater expectation of success in the minds of our sales teams - we can recession-proof our businesses.

Service with a Smile

2008-07-14T02:41:00.000+01:00

I've returned from a recent family holiday to Malaysia and Borneo - part of taking time to educate my young kids to the wider world. The one thing that struck me the most on my return to Europe was the contrast between how people whose work it is to help and serve you - in no matter what capacity - and how they smiled.

Smiling conveys the greatest of human needs - acceptance. It has become a rare commodity in the West. One which I now remark upon when I get one from an airport attendant, a bar person, a hotel person, a coach driver - anyone who works in the 'service industry'.

Whether its just a better quality of training or simply a matter of culture, a smile is ever on the lips of nearly all of those who serve in the East. From room cleaners who meet you in the hallway and bid you 'good day' with a genuine smile, or lift attendants, pool attendants, waiters or restauranteurs who at least appear genuinely happy to get your business.

Maybe it is a cultural thing. Perhaps we in the West see 'service' as demeaning and 'below us' in some way while those in the East do it because they take pride in whatever work it is that they have and do in the service of others. Maybe in the West we have a greater sense of personal entitlement and they don't.

Whatever the reason, when it comes to my choice of rewarding a person's service to me as a customer, I know which kind of person I'm happy to leave the bigger tips with.

Leverage

2008-06-23T02:34:00.000+01:00

I recently had talks with a firm about taking my business systems in sales and coaching/mentoring to a more international audience on a joint-venture basis. I'm looking forward to progressing things.

In a service business - especially when one chooses to work as a micro-business - you eventually reach a stage where you cannot physically grow much larger or create any further revenues - short of increasing your standard fees. At that point the need for leverage becomes apparent.

To grow further or to get to a stage where your IP can be richly mined then in a service business such as mine, there exists the opportunity of leveraging the business through technology - audio/DVD training programmes, the Internet (on-line coaching programmes, e-books and social networks) and
finally through joint-ventures or investors.

Its never easy for an entrepreneur to 'let go' of their business. After all, it's their 'baby'. However we have to realise that it is just that - a business - designed to attract, serve and retain customers for a profit. It is a separate legal entity where one has created a corporation or limited company. Just like any child there comes a time when you let it go in order to grow.

Once you do, you may discover there are new worlds and markets to create and succeed in.

R&R

2008-06-16T13:52:00.000+01:00

Rest and recreation and yes, I am re-visiting the topic. Maybe it's because I'm heading out next week for two weeks in Malaysia and Borneo - with the family in tow and mightily looking forward to the opportunity to take time out and take stock of things. Expensive - yeah, there's always a little financial pain but I learned the importance of not putting money before memories some years ago.

Money can always be earned and renewed but the time in one's life in which it can be used to make memories that sustain you, your loved one and especially your children - to awaken young minds that experience a world that is global and diverse - is finite.

I spent four different coaching sessions with senior executives last week and the theme was exactly the same. Take time out - get away from the job. Give yourself some space - and for good business reasons too.

Most of our creative insights, our new ideas, our renewed motivation comes when we are not working. Typically they come when we take time to go on holiday - or usually when we are asleep and kept awake until the idea forms itself and thus we often lose good quality sleep.

By keeping ourselves at the coal face we fail to see the ideas and the insights that can help us transcend the challenges that we might be facing in the role. Our unconscious minds need time to integrate and synthesise, to reflect and resolve, to connect the pieces - it is from this that the insights which drive our success and creativity come from.

Taking time out regularly is a critical business decision - it boosts our brain power, connects with the universe and shows us the way.

Authenticity

2008-06-07T10:34:00.000+01:00

I've just uploaded another video introducing a fellow r'evolutionary Lesley Everett on Rebel Island TV on the www.rebelisland.net website . Lesley speaks about discovering and promoting your authentic brand and by doing so raising your game and that of your business.

Authenticity is a very hard thing to manufacture - it has to be mined.

One has to look deep within oneself to find one's inner compass and then learn to trust it. I'm a great advocate of the Insights Discovery psychometric tool which allows one to discover one's preferred communication and personality style in a non-judgemental way. I use it for coaching and for team communications and find it both great fun for participants and a great way to establish an intuitive language for communication.

The report often presents us with two aspects of ourselves - our 'unconscious self' which is who we truly are and our 'conscious or adaptive self' - the person or the mask that we manufacture to operate in business.

How different would things be - and how much more powerful would we be in our communications and our relationships - if we truly had the courage to discover and live our natural selves. If we could be fearless and free - if we could release the rebel from the business suit.

Time Out

2008-06-02T22:55:00.000+01:00

Just had the most amazing weather this bank holiday weekend here in Dublin and lots of time for family. Interesting how the sun has such an effect on our natures. The sunlight releases more seratonin for the brain and raises awareness levels - that's why it's such an important resource when conducting training sessions - the more sunlight the better. Seems my teachers had it right when they brought us out onto the football pitches to do lessons on good days.

Time for family - to catch up, to laugh, to heal. Sunlight for the soul.

It's no surprise then that people who take regular breaks are the most successful in business. They give their minds space and time to reflect and create, their bodies time to repair and their souls the chance to integrate.

Ready for the coming week!

Rebel in a Business Suit

2008-05-25T15:33:00.000+01:00

I spoke in Scotland recently at a conference entitled The Re-Birth of Leadership which examined some of the changes required of today's leaders to engage more effectively with the new world of work.

One of the great advantages of such conferences is the chance to engage with one's own peers in the speaking field and get some insights into other professionals' views of your message. Some of those insights have caused me to look yet again at the unfolding message in the ideas of Rebel in a Business Suit and R'evolution.

I guess the idea of the r'evolution that I'm talking about is the capacity to come to understand oneself - both the light and the dark side of oneself. To learn to be courageous in discovering who we truly are so that in doing so we bring a very authentic self into the new world of work - and when one is authentic one is powerful. When this happens the Rebel in the Business Suit becomes an idea of self-integration - the passion being the rebel and the purpose being the suit.

You might say it becomes the idea of the entrpreneur in the heart of the accountant or the artist at the heart of the engineer - the Ying and the Yang and the Heart and Head. An integration of opposites that creates a powerful being. Imagine that unique person as an asset as a leader or rainmaker.

Selling Smarter 6 - It's the WORLD Wide Web Stupid!

2008-05-19T04:03:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the digital age - the evolutionary age - the age which sees the rise of a new set of values and a new type of energy. Communication, collaboration, synergies, networks - it's all about co-creation and the fabric of this new age is built on the Net.

The Internet has been with us so long now and it's so engrained in the fabric of our lives that to conceive of a time when it wasn't here is difficult. Our children are digital natives - they have grown up with technology and it infuses how they engage with each other and learn.

Many businesses have had websites for a long time - but they still remain brochure sites. Us talking at the customer.

My friend, Net visionary and one-time mentor Dr. Denis Waitley said that 'you can't afford to be road kill on the information superhighway' and yet many of us are still only at half-speed on that highway and the juggernaut of the next generation is catching up on us.

Your website today can potentially reach a global audience and with the advances of technology in this space allows us to do many more things than were possible even 3 years ago. We need to be using the Web to have a dialogue with our customers and not just a monologue.

We need to review our businesses to see what aspects of them can be done on-line - both to increase the speed and quality of our services and reduce our costs. We need to look at collecting lists of new potential clients (ethically) and then using the technology to take most of the work out of initial prospecting for us. We should look at creating 'client communities' through social networks that help us become facilitators and the network hub for our client and customer needs.

We have a responsibility to inform ourselves as to the technology and the potential that the Web and increased speeds of access to it can provide for us. The Web has gone mobile too adding an additional dynamic. This is not an option - this is a fundamental need to remain business critical.

Step 5: Sell Internally Not Just Externally

2008-05-12T01:25:00.000+01:00

In selling we have two sets of customers - those that are external, that buy our products and services and those who are internal, who help us to serve the customer to our best ability. Selling is a team game and your internal customer - the people who support the efforts that you bring to the market place - are as deserving of your attention as the external customer.

Take time to nurture the internal relationships that can determine the speed and quality of response that you provide to your customers. Not everyone is commercially aware of the importance of meeting customer needs and its the relationship built on a 'thank you' or a lunch spent with some of your support people in marketing, telesales, customer service, distribution, finance and so forth that can often be the critical lever when you just have to meet a particular client's needs and deadline.

Also these team members can provide valuable information on the client that you may not always get when you are customer -facing all the time. How good are they at paying, what comments are passed when they are dealing with them - information that can be vital to customer management.

So remember to sell internally as well as externally and if you are a business owner, we also need to remember that selling internally also improves the likelihood of improving retention and morale of good quality workers in the new digital age. Welcome to the r'evolution.