Kung Fu Business

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

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?

I've recently resigned 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.

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 advisers 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.

The 6th C - Competence

The 6C's of Success - Competence

© Seán Weafer 2008 all rights reserved

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

Communication

© Seán Weafer 2008 all rights reserved

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

Confidence

© Seán Weafer 2008 all rights reserved

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.

Managing Your Business Environment

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

© Seán Weafer 2008 all rights reserved

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

'Top Gun' Sales Leaders

© Seán Weafer 2008 all rights reserved

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

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

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

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.

New Year New Rules

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.

Objections Are Better Than Indifference

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

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.

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. 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.

Sales Sabotage

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.

Leading the Millennials

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

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

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.

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

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

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.