Decision making is an essential requirement of management and the very best leaders appear able to make crucial decisions effortlessly “standing on their feet” But what exactly is a decision – and what is it not?

According to the dictionary, the verb ‘decide’ means ‘to determine, to end, to resolve, to settle and to make up one’s mind’, while the noun ‘decision’ is ‘the act of settling, making up one’s mind’, etc. Someone in a position of power is said to be a ‘decision-maker’ and we refer to those who do make up their mind as ‘resolute’ or ‘decisive’.

The Latin root of the word means to ‘cut away’. This points to what a decision really is: to cut away the surrounding clutter, to enable one to see a path to an objective and, by taking a decision (or a series of decisions), to follow that path with all of its implications.

What it is not – A decision is not allowing events to take their course willy-nilly. If you did, an outcome would still occur – but one not influenced or decided upon with due regard to the surrounding circumstances. Such an outcome represents an inability or lack of desire to analyse and reach a conclusion; control has been surrendered. This might not matter – for example, when merely choosing what perfume to wear – but can be of major consequence where commercial or other vital decisions are required

Decision-making is about deliberately opting for one choice from two or more, proactively to optimise a situation or outcome and not let it happen by default.

It is also about trying to minimise the element of chance or risk in life, by taking decisions and actions that will influence the outcome in one’s favour.

To sum up, decision-making is:

• The selection of an option over others (which could include no action)

• Under conditions that are uncertain

• Which exposes you to a risk

• In order to reach a specified goal, objective or outcome.

There must be a choice and it must be taken proactively, otherwise it is merely an occurrence.

You may also enjoy: “Why Some Decisions Are Harder Than Others”

Today’s News: I have talked about my presence on CanDoGo before, but this is a timely reminder of what a fantastic project this is – 140 of the world’s leading sales gurus, sharing their wisdom, including: Zig Ziglar, Tony Alessandra, Jill Konrath, Keith Rosen, Paul McCord, Joanne Black, Leslie Buterin – oh and me. Do check it out for yourself by clicking on the banner below.

Last couple of interesting blog posts for you this week:“Salespeople Spending Less Than 10% Of Their Time SELLING” from Niall Devitt and “Fighting The Urge To Do Useless Tasks” from Jill Konrath

Tomorrow: I have just arrived back in Paris, so it will be a time of re-acquainting myself and doing some chilling. Just to say……………. have a great w/e, and be sure to make it back on Monday – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

Shane Gibson

Edification is what they refer to it as in the direct sales industry. When selling in a team, edification or promotion of our team mates ensures that the whole team can contribute to closing the deal and servicing the client.

Every team has a rainmaker, or star and they’re often the senior sales rep, sales manager, or even the CEO. In complex or high level project selling, these stars need the whole team to collaboratively sell and service the client.

Too often the lead seller and provider dominates the pitch when courting the client, and then later on they wonder why the rest of the team can ’t do their part and close the deal. If you’re the point person in a team sell, make sure you known why everyone of your team mates is talented and important to the deal, and the client. Most importantly find tasteful and timely ways to demonstrate their purpose and importance to the client and the success of the solution when presenting your product as a team.

Every sales person and executive has experienced meetings where one person dominates the sale in a team sell format. They sometimes neglect to tell the client, why they even brought their team mates, and what they can do for them. Then they expect the team to have the credibility needed to close the deal and service the client.

By knowing the value of each team member and discussing as a team how we can maximize everyone’s profile we allow the whole team to contribute to closing the deal. This strategy also takes the weight off of the CEO, Sales Manager, or Senior Sales Rep. It all comes back to the question “imagine what we could achieve if we didn’t care who got the credit.”

Shane Gibson is President of Knowledge Brokers International and author of Closing Bigger the Filed Guide to Closing Bigger Deal. With 14 years as a professional speaker Shane is in high demand as a conference speaker and a sales training and sales performance specialist. KBI’s clients include organizations such as BMW, Siemens, Ford, Vodacom, the Vancouver Board of Trade and dozens of professional associations and corporations in Canada, USA, South Africa, South America and the Middle East.

He is also a member of the Top Sales Experts team and you can read more about him here

Today’s News: My good friend and business colleague, Leslie Buterin is presenting her next webinar today over at Business Expert Webinars and you can grab one of the remaining places by clicking on the banner below.

Elsewhere, Clayton Shold is interviewing Rick Johnson and you can listen to the short but very interesting conversation by clicking on the banner below.

A couple of very good blog posts for you:From Dave Stein – “Your Least Credible Point Of Customer Contact”

And from Paul McCord – “A Sales Training Question”

Tomorrow: If you are one of those people who has trouble making decisions, you will love tomorrow’s post and even if you are incredibly decisive, you may learn a thing or two!

Has your business started to take a turn for the worse recently? Are your cash flow worries keeping you awake at night?

The following ten questions will help you to determine if your business is the lean mean fighting machine you believed, or a bed-ridden sick note, coughing and spluttering its way on a wobbly pair of last legs.

1.Increase in staff turnover

If you’ve watched a number of your key employees walk away from the business recently you should sit up and take notice. Staff is arguably a company’s most valuable asset and if your people are leaving, it’s often the first sign that something is going wrong.

The problem is not just the associated cost of recruitment, but also training new starters and the additional burden on remaining staff while the new team members get up to speed, that add further strain on the business.

Remedy

One of the best ways to keep track of staff morale is to hold regular reviews where employees can air their views on both the business and their specific concerns without fear of recrimination.

2. You lose a key account

It’s believed that winning a new customer is seven times more expensive than keeping an existing customer happy. Small businesses are often too reliant on a couple of main customers, as demonstrated in the collapse of MG Rover and Courts a few years back.

There are a number of reasons key accounts could defect: Your product or service is not of the standard promised or expected, or you could be beaten on price, quality or service.

Losing a key account can have a serious impact on your cash flow. Credit companies such as Experian offer a credit scoring service which can be invaluable when setting credit terms for key accounts. This is important: You wouldn’t lend a stranger £20,000, so why offer new customers this kind of credit facility without checking their financial strength? In order to manage this risk further, there is a wide range of bad debt protection policies available which pay out in the event of your customer going under.

Remedy

Take a long, hard look in the mirror and discover the underlying reasons for your clients’ lost faith. This way, you’ll have a much better chance of either winning the client back, or at least making sure you don’t lose others going forward.

If your customers’ satisfaction isn’t a priority for you already, it should be now! Paper trails for every transaction can be an extremely effective way to guard against disputes and to keep an eye on quality control. Obtain written purchase orders to back up your invoices and always get a signoff from the customer to say goods have been received or a service completed satisfactorily.

3. Orders are rising fast

This is not something that would be immediately cited as a sign of problems. However, when your business is growing quickly you need to be even more careful about your cash flow.

We’ve all heard the phrase “cash is king” and this is never more true than when you’re struggling to keep up with increasing demand for your products or services.

While most resources will be occupied meeting that demand, it is worth remembering the income from these orders may take three to six months to come in. That means you’ve got to be able to cover your costs for at least that period to keep the business afloat.

Remedy

Two of the most effective ways to manage your long term cash flow are to use factoring or invoice discounting services and to lease your manufacturing or office equipment.

Factoring and invoice discounting raises up to 90% of your invoice value ‘up front’, enabling you to invest back in the business. You get the remaining monies when your customer pays the debt, less a fee.

4. Waiting longer for payments

If your customers are taking longer to pay your invoices but you’re still working to fulfil a growing order book, you’re going to start having problems. And it may happen sooner than you think.

A customer who puts in repeat orders is important for your business success. However, if they take too long to pay, you have to ask if it is worth accepting their next order until some agreement has been made about payment.

Remedy

Too few small businesses employ a designated credit controller to collect invoice payments and chase up late payers. If you’re starting to notice customers taking too long to pay, it’s worth sitting down with them and discussing the reasons.

Business is built around mutually beneficial relationships and the better you, your suppliers and your customers understand each other, the more flexible the relationship will be.

Be understanding when you’re asking for payments but remember that you have rights, including being able to charge interest on overdue invoices. Make sure that all credit terms are stated on each invoice, along with the due date for payment. If you don’t, your customer can quite rightly say they didn’t know when they had to pay.

Remedy

Factoring companies can also collect your outstanding debts. They’ll effectively buy your outstanding invoices, release up to 80% of the value and take their fee from the remainder when payment is collected. If you do not need an external credit control facility but would still like the funding it can generate, an alternative product is available called invoice discounting.

5. Unrealistic assets on your balance sheet

Many businesses have valuable assets on their balance sheet, including machinery or equipment owned outright. All assets depreciate over time – how long has it been since your business assets were valued?

Out of date and inaccurate valuations make a business look healthier than it actually is and may cause problems when you’re looking for growth investment or calculating your profit and loss statement.

It’s also worthwhile considering that older assets lose their market value very quickly and can start costing more in operating and maintenance costs.

Remedy

Leasing and asset finance services can help simplify cash flow by enabling you to use the equipment you need without actually owning it outright. This financing mechanism is available for both existing and new machinery.

6. Increasing stock levels

Unused and unsold stock isn’t just cash tied up in the business, it’s also a depreciating asset with a diminishing return on the money you invested to produce it. In other words, it’s a waste of money.

Although this is more relevant to manufacturing businesses, the underlying factors behind this problem should be a concern for all businesses – if you’re producing something that isn’t selling, how long do you expect to last?

Remedy

Keeping a close eye on patterns of supply and demand and having the flexibility to adjust to these changes is the difference between a growing business and a dying business. By automating your ordering process, wastage is minimised and the business has moves closer to a just in time delivery structure.

7. Cutting prices

While a popular tactic for promoting new products or gaining short-term market share, reducing your prices without cutting your production costs can seriously damage your business prospects.

Remedy

Instead of cutting prices if sales start to fall, try to find the reason sales have slowed. It’s possible that your market sector has reached saturation point or it could be a problem with the quality or perceived value of the product.

There are a number of ways to differentiate products from the competition. There might be an alternative to cutting prices that will strengthen your business and its prospects, rather than eating into your profit margins.

It’s often worth spending a bit of money to market your product more effectively, or by hiring a designated sales person to reverse the downturn in sales.

8. Rising debts and slowing growth

Getting into more debt is not the best way to finance business growth. The quicker you can get your business trading on profits rather than debts, the better.

That said, some forms of borrowing are more sustainable than others and can reduce the time it takes your business to begin trading on your profits.

The debt to asset ratio of the business becomes serious when your assets (including book debt) are outweighed by liabilities (including creditor’s ledger and longer term liabilities such as director’s loans).

Remedy

VAT and PAYE payments are often tricky to keep on top of if you are experiencing a change in your sales volumes. While many companies pay their VAT quarterly, if it might be easier to pay monthly. Many VAT offices will be happy to change to this structure.

The Crown has lost its preferential creditor status and so is under increasing pressure to secure payments from companies which look a little shaky. If you do anticipate problems paying the Crown, you should immediately meet your tax officer to discuss a payment plan.

Agree in writing to clear your arrears and guarantee future payments. As long as you stick to the terms, this should stave off further action from the Crown on outstanding monies.

Most businesses have a number of assets that can be used to secure much-needed capital – including your outstanding invoices, machinery, equipment or company vehicles. Two of the most effective ways to manage your long-term cash flow are to use factoring or invoice discounting services and to lease your manufacturing or office equipment.

Factoring is essentially selling your outstanding invoices to a company that will release a percentage of those funds immediately for you to invest back in the business, for a fee.

Also, don’t be afraid to have another look at your business plan. The most successful businesses have management teams that can spot opportunities and have the flexibility to adapt to these opportunities.
Don’t rely on your yearly accounts for the day to day financial management of your firm. Even simplistic management accounts, if kept up to date, can be invaluable.

9. You don’t admit the truth

Are you still trying to convince yourself that everything will be alright? Do you find yourself hiding from bills and avoiding contact with your accountant, investors and staff?

Covering up the truth about your financial situation will not only stop you getting out of the mess you’re in, it may get you into deeper trouble. Investors aren’t going to penalise you for getting into problems – every business faces financial difficulties– but if they don’t know what’s going on, they can’t help.

Remedy

Investors will be far more likely to help if you are open and honest with them, so that potential problems can be caught earlier rather than later.

Your investors will have put a significant amount of money into the business and would undoubtedly prefer to invest more money than to lose it all because they were never told of the difficulties.

10. It’s not fun anymore!

Think back to the reason you first got into business. It’s generally because of the excitement and the challenge, rather than the opportunity to make a quick buck.

If you wake up in the morning and can’t stand the thought of going to work or is it that the company has evolved beyond your interest or control, then perhaps it’s time to consider getting out.

Many entrepreneurs enjoy the challenge of getting a company off the ground but once the business has become reasonably self-sufficient, they lose interest and need to move on to the next challenge.

Remedy

Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about how you can start delegating more authority to employees that you trust as part of your exit strategy.

By giving some of your key employees the authority to make decisions, you can free up more of your time to concentrate on the parts of the business that still excite you, and potentially even get the passion back that made you start the business in the first place.

The main thing to remember in all of these cases is that they do not necessarily mean that your business is on its last legs. If you catch any of these signs early enough, they can all be turned around so the business ends up stronger in the long run.

For more informative articles on Organisational Development, please go here

Today’s News: The excitement is building and places are being filled rapidly. The 2008 Sales SheBang is gathering momentum – you should really consider booking early – this promises to be THE sales event of the year. Just click on the banner below for full details.

Complimentary Sales SheBang Preview Calls – here are the details:

You don’t want to miss these COMPLIMENTARY Preview Calls where Jill Konrath will be interviewing the Sales SheBang presenters. You’ll have a chance to learn from these savvy sales experts – even before the conference.

These calls are open to EVERYONE! Even if you can’t make the call, sign up. As soon as it’s posted online, we’ll send you a link to listen at your convenience.

Wednesday, August 20th at 1 pm ET

- Leslie Buterin, author of Secrets to Scheduling the Executive-Level Sales Call, will discuss the challenges selling to senior management and tips you can leverage to get in the door.

- Brooke Green, the Ultimate Sales Chick podcaster, is passionate about claiming your worth. She’ll give you ideas you can use to strengthen your personal and professional value.

- Anne Miller, author of Metaphorically Selling, is the force behind “making what you say, pay.” She’ll share tips you can use to sell, explain and persuade anything to anyone.

COMPLIMENTARY Preview Calls! Register now:

Wednesday, August 27th at 1 pm ET

- Kendra Lee, author of Selling Against the Goal, will talk about traps that sellers encounter that derail their consultative sales efforts – and how you can get out of them.

- Ardath Albee, power blogger at Marketing Interactions, will share what it takes to catch and keep your prospects’ attention – especially when they’re busy decision makers.

- Michelle Nichols, former savvy selling columnist former Savvy Selling columnist for BusinessWeek and founder of Hug Your Kids Day will talk about the fallacy of work-life balance.

COMPLIMENTARY Preview Calls! Register now:

Wednesday, September 3, 1-2 pm ET

- Kim Duke, founder of SalesDivas.com, will talk about why you need to stop being just like everyone else as well as strategies you can use to stand out from the crowd.

- Lori Richardson, AllBusiness.com sales blogger is a master at setting up alliances and partnerships. She’ll share useful strategies you can apply right away.

- Debbie Mrazek, author of The Field Guide to Sales, will give you insights into what prevents sellers from achieving their goals as well as tips you can use today to have your best year yet.

COMPLIMENTARY Preview Calls! Register now:

Finally, I recently accepted a request to publish my work on a brand new site called Insightory – I have been really impressed with their professionalism and I think you will be too – just click on the banner to find out all about them.

Tomorrow: One of the most recent recruits to the Top Sales Experts team Shane Gibson, makes his debut on The JF Guest Author Spot, with an excellent article about team selling – it’s true, the “Lone Ranger” style of selling, really is consigned to the annals of history!

The JF Guest Author Spot

Kim Duke

I was browsing through the bookstore today (which for me is very close to achieving Nirvana) and I bet you think I was hanging out in the SALES and BUSINESS section.

Nope. You’ll hardly ever find me there in fact.

Nooooo…I like hanging out in the cooking section, the new age section, the history section, teen and kids section, how to make a macaroni collage section… You get the picture.

One of my little secrets to selling has absolutely NOTHING to do with selling and EVERYTHING to do with expanding my creativity. And I end up making tons more money almost by magnificent default!

Why?

You Have To Burst Your Bubble NOW To Get More Customers!

OK pay attention. If you:
* Attend one more boring tradeshow related to your industry
* Read one more self-absorbed trade magazine
* Listen to one more long-winded teleclass from your “own circle”
* Read one more book written by one of your industry “experts”
…I guarantee your brain is going to shrivel up in rebellion and you’re going to end up singing the Sesame Street song over and over and over. And that would be a sad thing. Plus – it’s exactly what your competitors are doing.

So instead – why not give your brain what it has been BEGGING you to do?

Break The Boredom Bubble!

My buddy Albert Einstein said this:”A problem cannot be solved by the same factors that created it.”

Yes – he was talking about YOU!

Do you know what customers really, really want?

Yeah – tell me what they want, what they really, really want!

FRESH IDEAS.
FRESH PERSPECTIVE.
FRESH EVERYTHING.

And my darling reader, that simply cannot happen if you’re living in a bubble of You, you, you.

5 Sales Diva Activities You’re Going To Do NOW!

1. Read a book that is about gravity. Or how to fly an airplane. ANYTHING you wouldn’t normally read.
2. Read 3 magazines that are totally bizarre -ie/ crocheting, Millionaire, How To Live With A Gecko.
3. Check out a ie/tattoo store, or an antiques store or a store that only sells lollipops.
4. Attend a tradeshow about boats, or motorcycles, or the chess convention.
5. Meet with 5 new people and take them for coffee….at a truckstop.

Don’t Keep Looking For Answers In The Same Old Places!!

So you’re thinking…”HOW is that going to help me Sales Diva???”

Well you’re going to see:
1. A new font style you love
2. An idea of how to create a new product or service
3. A new perspective on advertising
4. New ways of offering guarantees and customer service
5. How other companies promote themselves

And the list goes on and on and on and it’s so exciting!

Hmmm I bet you’re wondering what EUREKA moment I had in the bookstore today?
Well – it was HUGE and it will be worth at least $30,000 per year for me…and not hard to do either.

So there.

Love From Your Bossy Sales Diva,
Kim

Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report “The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make” at www.salesdivas.com

Ed: If you want to catch The Sales Diva live, she is one of the all-star speakers at this year’s Sales SheBang – details over in the left-hand column.

Today’s News:

Every now and again, I work to expand my network on LinkedIn, because I think it is an excellent business project, which has connected me with so many great people. I am always open to linking with new contacts but here are some guidelines if you wish to connect with me.

1. I love connecting people to great resources and other people that can assist them in achieving their professional goals, so yes please feel free to connect – I always try to respond to emails within 48 hours.

2. I will always accept invitations from friends, business acquaintances and clients to join my network on LinkedIn

3. If we haven’t met, I am open to connecting but please send an introductory note providing a little information about your background and how we would both benefit from connecting – a standard LinkedIn request to connect won’t be responded to.

4. As I consider connecting people in my network to others as a recommendation and therefore want to ensure a quality connection for all concerned I will not usually forward requests to connect you to members of my LinkedIn network if I do not know you and your work.

5. Please ensure that you spend a little time writing a thoughtful and detailed request as to the benefit to the person in my network and why they would benefit in connecting to you. In return I promise to only send you relevant, well written requests.

And if you have any tips on how you get the most out of LinkedIn or guidance on how to ensure that you manage your online network effectively, perhaps you’ll share them here with our JF Blogit Community

My LinkedIn profile is at the top of the left-hand column.

Finally, a couple of excellent blog posts for you:From Jill Konrath “Sales Challenges… Reverse Auctions and “Low Bid Syndrome” – there is an excellent white paper to download here too from Dave Stein’s blog.

And also “Self-Driven Sales Motivation in a Tough Economy” from Mark Hunter, is an excellent read.

Tomorrow: Ten signs that your business may be heading for trouble and a FREE commercial health-check for you.

Travelling in the UK these past few weeks has given me a much clearer indication of just how much social standards have deteriorated and just why I have become “a grumpy old man”

Every time I visit, I think to myself “I must leave these shores – and soon” and then, rather like awakening from a bad dream, I realise that I already have and being here is just a temporary inconvenience. You cannot imagine the relief.

Most of all, I have witnessed the death of “common sense”

Here is his obituary:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense,  who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old  he was, since his birth records were lost long ago in bureaucratic red tape.
 
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the  worm; Life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
 
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children,  are in charge).
 
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but  overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
 
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
 
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have
an abortion.
 
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
 
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
 
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
 
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his four stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim.
 
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

(With gratitude for the collusion, to a fellow “grumpy old man” living down under – my very good friend and leadership guru, Kevin Dwyer)

Today’s News:

A very familiar winner of Top Sales Article Of The Week - and she was thrilled!

Over at Business Expert Webinars this week, you will, as usual, find lots of Top Sales Experts presenting:

Secrets to Overcoming Objections
Topic: Sales
8/11/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Kelley Robertson

Sell at Higher Prices by Becoming the Emotional Favorite
Topic: Sales – Business Development
8/13/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Craig Elias

Powerful Networking Strategies!
Topic: Networking
8/13/08 2:30pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Craig James

Reach the Top Dog: Crafting the Compelling Cold Call Scripts Prospects Simply Can Not Resist
Topic: Sales – Business Development
8/14/08 2:30pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Leslie Buterin

To see full details of any of the above sessions, please just click on the banner below

Finally, just one interesting blog post for you to enjoy today: It’s that man Christian Maurer again with “Get the business=get the respect… why doctors are more respected than salespeople”

Tomorrow: It’s the return of the very sassy Sales Diva, Kim Duke herself on The JF Guest Author Spot

Motivation is a dynamic state that results in the desire, directional intensity and persistence of behaviour to achieve a long or short- term goal. Without motivation our sales performance, and consequently our results can be severely impaired. When we are feeling motivated, we light up our performance like a Christmas Tree, and equally when we feel de-motivated, everything seems to be much harder work.

As sales people, if we continually look to find motivation from outside of ourselves, then we are placing ourselves in a risky situation because it may not always be possible to have a drip-feed of motivation feeding us when we need it most. That’s why, the more we can understand about what motivates us personally, the more it helps us to tap into our internal motivational power.

We are all unique individuals and are motivated by what is important to us personally. The factors that are important to us can be described as our values and are the fuel that drives our behaviour. Our values are unique to us and we each have a different set of values based on different aspects of our lives. For example:

 - Career
 - Relationships
 - Finances
 - Health and Fitness
 - Family and Home
 - Social Life
 - Personal Development
 - Spirituality

If we can discover our values in the context of our career in sales, we are consciously able to identify what is important to us and can therefore begin to notice ways to leverage our own motivation.
If we are doing a job that satisfies our most important values then we will feel highly motivated and energised. Sometimes when we feel de-motivated, it’s because we are not consciously aware that certain aspects of our job role are aligned to our career values.

The process to leverage our own motivation is:

1. Discover what is important to us in our career (these are our career values)
2. Prioritise our career values in their order of importance to us
3. Develop reasons why our current job role can satisfy each of our career values

More thoughts about motivation: “Understanding Motivation – The Fundementals”

Today’s News: I’ve agreed to do two more interviews next week, the first with Eyes On Sales and the second, with my good friend Paul McCord – I will post full details on Monday. If you want to catch up with my most recent ones, just click on the banner below.

Finally, a couple of superb blog posts for you: From Paul McCord – “From Classroom To Paycheck – Making Sales Training Work” and from Dave Stein – “Should You Trust Sponsored Research?”

Tomorrow: I am preparing to head back to Paris, where the weather has been less than seasonal, but that will not bother most Parisiens, who will have headed south for the whole of August, leaving the place to the few of us remaining and a few million Japanes tourists  Americans have been conspicuous by their absence this year – a sign of the economic times, I guess.

Wherever you are, have a great w/e and be sure to join me and my guests next week – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot 

Stone Payton

You won’t see it overtly expressed in many Sales, or even VP of Sales job descriptions.  It’s rarely discussed in account strategy meetings.  Outside of change management consultancies, only the most progressive of firms — a handful of very smart consultants and technical services providers from other disciplines — articulate it as a distinct client benefit and capitalize on it as an “unfair competitive advantage.”  I’ve yet to see it covered to any great degree in any formal sales training courses. 
 
Yet, Leading Change may be the single most important competency today’s salesperson can master. 
 
If your products and services are truly helping the customer fill an unmet need or realize a new opportunity, you are facilitating change.  Even if purchasing the product / service does not in itself represent a significant departure from the established pattern, the customer is almost certainly applying your solutions within a system consumed by change. 
 
So, you’re in “the change business” whether you ever meant to be or not.
 
So What? / Now What?
 
So What? . . .
 
You can and should get better at it (Leading Change) yourself.
You can and should help your clients get better at it.
 
If you do . . .
 
• You’ll achieve differentiation and competitive advantage that no traditional branding effort ever could.
• Your sales cycle will shrink dramatically.
• Your customer relationships will be substantially stronger.
• Your products & services will be used properly — and therefore, generate the results you promised.
• You’ll discover new applications and new markets for your existing offerings.
• You’ll discover (more easily develop) new products and services for meeting your existing markets.
• Your customers will continue to want your counsel (and perhaps your other products & services) to address the next set of changes, and the next.
 
 Now What? . . .
 
Strategic:
 
Start becoming a “student of change” today.*
 
Read the books, review the thought leadership.  Again, you won’t see much out there overtly tied to sales – but there’s plenty of (really good, solid) material on the topic in general, and an ever growing pool of practical resources available to you.  If you directly serve middle or senior level management in some way, get to a course on Leading Change.  The insight gained from hanging out with people who are struggling with change (and trying to do something about it) will be extremely valuable for you – and your clients.
 
* This is a journey you should start on your own — but if the volume of material and resources available gets to be overwhelming for you, drop me a note with a brief description of what you do and the market(s) you serve.  I’ll be delighted help you focus your efforts where you’ll get the highest and fastest return.
 
Tactical:
 
Start integrating the topic of change into your marketing, sales, and delivery processes . . .
 
1.  Even briefly mentioning the “challenge of change” in your promotional materials, and simply sharing the notion that your products and services help make meeting that challenge easier, faster, or cheaper is a) very attractive to prospective customers, and b) a strong, durable differentiator.
 
2.  Consider addressing “change” front and center in your sales calls.  As an example . . . You might review this article on “What’s Changing?” published by Eyes On Sales earlier this year.
 
3.  Demonstrate your Change Leadership expertise.  The quickest and easiest place to do this is through your broader communication outlets (newsletters, blogs, white papers, press releases, podcasts, webinars, etc.)  These are the venues for (elegantly) conveying specialized knowledge beyond the norm in your industry.
 
In client-specific communications — like e-mails, letters, phone calls, and live meetings — Do Not Duck the change issue.  Change is always an issue, always – though it often goes unspoken in the sales process. 

Hit it “head on” – acknowledging (even surfacing) the change-related implications of following your recommendations and purchasing your products / services . . . and describing exactly how you are uniquely qualified to help them mitigate the risks.  Hand in hand with this of course, is also helping the prospect understand a) the price of not changing — and b) the risks associated with acquiring these products / services without the benefit of the Change Leadership support that you and your firm provide.
 
Your competitors probably aren’t doing this, nor will they be nearly as well equipped to address the change-related concerns of your (now more “change-aware and educated”) prospects.
 
In any economy — up or down, the one constant is change.  Your clients are dealing with it now (and candidly in many cases, really struggling with it).  They will continue to deal with it.  Everything else being equal (or even close to equal), they will gravitate to providers who offer some degree of “change relief.”  If you’re in search of true competitive advantage – distinct positioning and unique competencies enabling you to withstand the ebb and flow of market forces outside your control . . . Leading Change should surely be at the top of your list.
 
 
See Ya In The Fast Lane . . .
 
- Stone

Stone Payton is a Sales & Marketing Troubleshooter specializing in helping Training & Consulting firms Solve Their Sales Problem. “The Most Candid Consultant On The Planet,” and the man who literally wrote the book on SPEED®, Stone plies his craft at: www.marketmate.org and http://stonesells.blogspot.com

He is also a significant member of the Top Sales Experts team and you can read more about him here

Today’s News: On the Top Sales Experts team, there are good guys and there are great guys – Mark Hunter falls into the latter group, he “gets it – listen to him in conversation with Clayton Shold over at Salesopedia by clicking on the banner below.

I am doing some real work again this week and I am with clients, so the News today is brief, but I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Is all about self-motivation – yep, that small thing that makes such a huge difference!

Success should be something you don’t just ‘Kinda Sorta’ want to achieve but something you must achieve.

Generally top achievers expect to be successful and as a consequence they usually are. They are driven by a ‘have to’ attitude not a ‘want to’ attitude.

If you have no concrete goals and you have been succeeding in spite of yourself, just think how much more success you could enjoy if you set your sights on a definite path and had a specific time-frame in which you expect to reach your destination.

Setting Goals Keeps You Focussed:

What you should know is that goals give you three distinct advantages, which help you succeed:

• Goals keep you on track.
• Goals let you know when and what to celebrate.
• Goals give you a focussed plan to work with.

If nothing else, goals let others know what they have to aim for to keep up with your standards.

Effective Goal Setting:

Take the time to think about what would make you happy, contented and satisfied and about what would motivate you to become a Top 5% Player.

It’s important to remember that goals are maps; they will guide you towards your success – the more detailed your goal setting the easier it will be for you to reach your destination.

When you are in the first stage of goal setting you also need to remember two important factors – i.e.

• The goal must be better than your best yet – but it must be achievable.
• Goals should be based on productivity not production.

Keeping these two rules of goal setting firmly in your mind will help you to form and stay committed to what is really important to you.

You may also enjoy my summary of Covey’s superb best selling book “The Seven Habits Of Highly Successful People,” here

Are you a great goal setter? Leave me a comment and share your success.

Today’s News: We have posted Top Sales Article Of The Month for July over on Top 10 Sales Articles, and it is a cracker! Just click on the banner below and all will be revealed.

I received a message from fellow Parisien, Christian Maurer last week, inviting me to meet up and it coincided with one of his blog posts, which I had just read and enjoyed – think you will too – “The Sales vs Marketing Debate….. was Peter Drucker right after all?”

You will also appreciate – “Sales Lessons From My Hero, Jimmy Buffet… passion, purpose, personalization” from my good friend Kevin Eikenberry

Tomorrow: Another really nice guy and good buddy, Stone Payton is on The JF Guest Author Spot

The JF Guest Author Spot

Debbie Fay

I have a fabulous FREE offer for you today – but first, here’s Debbie’s excellent piece.

I am a firm believer in the magic rule of threes.  Three strikes and you’re out; the genie gives the lucky lamp-holder three wishes; Goldilocks and the three bears; beginning, middle and end; morning, noon and night; stop, yield, and go; yes, no, and maybe; Larry, Mo and Curly; me myself and I….the list goes on and on.

What does this have to do with presentations?  Everything!  People love threes.  They’re easy to listen to and (more important) remember.  When you begin speaking by telling the audience, “I‘m here today to talk about three main things”, or “There are three reasons why this system works.” you can almost see them relax.  Why?  They know they can hold onto three ideas.  Three ideas will not strain or tax their minds.  Plus, we have all grown up with threes; our minds naturally gravitate toward the idea of grouping things that way.

As you prepare your presentation, plan around the rule of threes.  First of all, every presentation should have a beginning, middle, and end.  How many presentations have you seen that sort of end without an ending?  You’re left holding a group of ideas without anything to tie them together. You’ve probably heard this before, but the simple structure of “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, and then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” is so well known because it works. 

And for heaven’s sake, don’t make more than three main points.  I will admit, there are those who advocate having five points, or “benefits” in a sales presentation.  As militant as I am about the magic rule of threes, this I will allow.  Why?  Well, their reasoning is that in a sales presentation if you give the audience five benefits of your project or service they can throw two out and still be left with (drum roll please) three!  Voila!
 
What if you have more than 3 points to make, or five benefits to expound on?   I would urge you to take a close look at your presentation and see where you can pare it down.  I am absolutely unyielding about this, and with good reason.

Think of the last time you listened to a sermon given by a priest, minister, rabbi, etc.  There you are, sitting in your place of worship, intently listening.  He makes his first point, and it’s a good one, second point, you’re right there with him.  Third point, he’s still got you.  When he makes his forth point you sit up a little taller and take a deep breath; you really want to stay with this guy.  Now he makes the 5th point and you’re really hoping for the conclusion.  Your brain is full.  Unfortunately, he goes on to make point number six, at which point your realize he’s gone beyond what you can retain.  You drop all of what he’s said from your short-term memory and STOP LISTENING.  Instead, you start focusing on what you’re going to pick up at the grocery store on your way home.  Worse, you might even feel a little angry, and justifiably so.  This speaker took you outside the boundaries of what you (and most of his audience) could reasonably retain.  All that effort wasted.

So do yourself and your audience a favor. Structure your presentations around the rule of threes.  They will remember you, and your content.  What’s more, they will have enjoyed listening to you because you made the experience successful for THEM.
 

Debbie Fay is the founder of bespeak presentation solutions, a  presentations coaching company that helps clients build and deliver presentations that get heard and get results.  Debbie has helped hundreds of people of all ages and vocations become confident compelling change-making speakers.

Go to www.bespeakpresentations.com or email; beheard@bespeakpresentations.com   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Debbie is also a member of the Top Sales Experts team, and you can read more about her here 

Today’s News: A couple of weeks ago, I highlighted a great offer from The Customer Collective, which is now in full swing – details below – and it really is a “no brainer” My gift box arrived this week and it was a fantastic surprise. I really do recommend you to sign-up, you WILL thank me!

Tomorrow: Is all about success!!

To handle resistance to your ideas and influence, you will first need to pinpoint exactly why there is an objection. Typically, people object or resist because they:

• Don’t fully understand your proposal
• Misunderstand it
• Don’t feel a need to go ahead
• Don’t recognise the benefits and advantages
• Don’t believe your claims
• Are happy to remain as they are
• Genuinely need time to think things through
• Don’t trust you
• Display general inertia

What Type Of Resistance?

Objections and resistance usually come in three identifiable forms:

A condition is a genuine, non-negotiable reason why someone can’t go ahead or agree to your proposal (eg: company policy, legal reasons, a contractual obligation).

An excuse or a put-off, is usually made because people are not convinced of the benefits of your ideas. Excuses cannot be answered – conviction is the only solution.

A real objection can include lack of money or resources, time constraints, happiness with the status quo.

Strategies & Tactics

Resistance can be very frustrating. You are anxious to get on with things and it is hard to see why others are stonewalling. This is the moment to back off and take stock.

• Listen carefully to what they are saying to you.
• Watch their body language – does it contain any hidden messages?
• Step into their shoes; try to see things from their point of view.
• Consider what would have to happen for you to be convinced?
• Plan your responses carefully.
• Take time to construct carefully thought through responses.
• Check that you have provided acceptable responses to doubts and fears.
• Seek areas of agreement and stress them, minimise areas of disagreement.

Categories Of Resistance

It is not enough to know whether people are for or against you and your ideas and proposals. The people you want to influence can be divided into nine categories and you can learn more about each category here

Today’s News:

There are a considerable number of Top Sales Experts presenting over at Business Expert Webinars this week – here is the full list:(Just click on the banner at the bottom for full details)

Business Development for Woman Lawyers – Innovative Strategies
Topic: Legal
8/4/08 10:00am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Joan Paul

HR Can Succeed As Internal Consultants
Topic: Human Resources
8/4/08 1:00pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Maureen Blandford

How to Out Perform & Outlast the Competition
Topic: Sales
8/5/08 11:30am EASTERN TIME
Presented by Cheryl Clausen

The Communication Enigma – Filling the Generation Gap
Topic: Business Communication
8/6/08 2:30pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Drew Stevens

Winning in the 9th Inning
Topic: Sales
8/6/08 4:00pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Terri Dunevant

Crucial Points to Succeed in Sales
Topic: Sales
8/7/08 4:00pm EASTERN TIME
Presented by Alen Majer 

Tomorrow: The delightful Debbie Fay, is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot