Jonathan Farrington's Blog

Most sales leaders will not have experienced such a severe economic downturn before.

My advice is quite simple: “Stay focused, constantly challenge paradigms, but always keep the overall sales strategy sharply in focus”

One of the key tasks of a sales manager is to continually seek ways to improve the way in which their team operates – constantly challenging paradigms and questioning “the way we do things around here”, will ensure the team remains at optimum performance levels.

However, it is also important to stay within an overall long term strategy and not effect change for change’s sake. Here are some thoughts on moving forward in a structured manner.

First, keep the key management functions in mind:

• Define objectives (your own and others)

• Plan (and time) action

• Communicate (throughout the process)

• Support others’ action

• Evaluate performance (and link to the future)

• Then relate this to the task, the team and the individual people

Keeping the Overall Management Process in Mind:

Define Objectives:

• Task – Identify task and constraints

• Team – Set targets and involve the team

• Individual Needs – Agree targets and responsibilities

Plan:

• Task – Establish priorities

• Team – Structure and delegate

• Individual Needs – Assess skills, train and delegate

Communicate:

• Task -  Brief and check understanding

• Team – Consult, obtain feedback

• Individual Needs – Listen, advise and enthuse

Support/Control:

• Task – Monitor progress, check standards

• Team – Co-ordinate, reconcile conflict

• Individual Needs – Recognise, encourage and counsel

Evaluate:

• Task – Review, re-plan and summarise

• Team – Reward success, learn from failure (and success)

• Individual Needs – Appraise, guide and train for the future

This view encapsulates, and simplifies, the whole process.

With this picture in mind certain key issues are worth a mention:

Link to the Future:

Ongoing success as a manager is influenced by:

• The attitude you take to the transition

• What you do before you move into a new appointment

• The early focus you bring to bear on key issues

• The relationship you thus cultivate with staff

• The working habits you create for yourself (and others) in process

Together, all the above influence early success in the job – and how you take things forward into the future.

Key Issues:

From the beginning, always operate on the basis that managing people:

• Takes time – you cannot get so bound up in your own workload that you skimp on time you should spend with others

• Takes effort – it is challenge, there are no magic formulae or quick fixes that will do the job for you

• Needs thought – the obvious or immediate answer may not be best, things may well need research, analysis and thinking through

• Is not a solo effort – seek and take advice from where you can, including your own staff

• Will not always go right – as Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is the name so many people give to their mistakes”: admit your mistakes (publicity if necessary) and learn from your experience

Remember too that managing people:

Is a process of helping others to be self-sufficient – this implies trust and that management works best when you take a positive view of what people can do (and do not see your role as a sort of corporate security guard)

Is based on good, regular and open communication – something that pervades many issues.

Needs to be acceptable to people before it can be effective– hence the crucial role of motivation as part of the management task

Become self-sustaining when it works – i.e. if people find your management helpful (to the job, the organisation and to them) then they will support it and support you

Overall, management is not what you do to people but the process of how you work with people to help prompt their performance. Work with people from day one, and go on doing it throughout your management career.

At the end of the day success comes down to a considered approach. Charge in, desperate to make an impression, go at everything at once in order to make an impression, and disaster may closely follow. ‘Twas ever thus:

“First organise the near at hand, then organise the far removed.

First organise the inner, then organise the outer.

First organise the basic, then organise the derivative

First organise the strong, then organise the weak.

First organise the great. Then organise the small.

First organise yourself, then organise others”.

General Zhuge Liang

Perhaps we should highlight the last sentence: “First organise yourself, then organise others”

Last Word:

Being a manager is a challenge but it is also almost infinitely rewarding to create and maintain a team of people who deliver excellent performance and produce whatever results are targeted. It is a task that takes time, requires effort and needs a considered approach.

All sorts of things can help, but only one person can guarantee that you become a good manager – and that’s you.

You may also enjoy:”What Is Successful Leadership Really About?”

Today’s News: OK, the upcoming gig I am presenting with Jill Konrath and Kendra Lee, is filling up – here are the details:

Ask the Experts: 3 Leading Sales Gurus Answer Your Most Pressing Sales Questions
Free Webinar brought to you by Landslide Technologies
Wednesday November 12th, 2008 – Free!
1:00 PM Eastern
Register Today! - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

“How can I keep my sales team focused and producing results in the current business environment? ”

“How do I increase my team’s close ratio to compensate for a smaller pipeline?”

“What are my customers and potential clients thinking right now? ”

“How can I best position my company and its services to decision makers?”

Right now you probably have a lot of questions similar to these and would like to have some answers.

Please join Jill Konrath, best-selling author of Selling to Big Companies, Jonathan Farrington internationally renowned sales consultant, and Kendra Lee, best-selling author and expert in selling to SMBs and IT decision makers, to answer these and other questions you may have about selling more effectively to BtoB prospects.

You can either come loaded with questions or sit back and listen as some of the best sales consultants in the business talk about the realities of today’s selling landscape and answer the sales questions that keep you up at night.

Register Today! – CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Tomorrow: I will be back with the latest instalment of JF Uncut, so do please join me.

The JF Guest Author Spot

Kevin Dwyer

Be assured, one of the most asked questions that I receive from my own clients, is with regard to compensation. I have my thoughts, based on trial and error, plus forty year’s experience.

I do of course, have much to say: However,today, enjoy the thoughts of my good friend and incredibly wise associate. JF

Misaligned sales incentives are, at best, a waste of money. At worst they cause high turnover of staff.

Aligned sales’ incentives can cause triple digit percentage increases in sales.

Alignment of sales incentives means alignment with:

Country norms
Industry norms
Sales process and roles
Company goal and culture

Country norms

Geert Hofstede gives us an insight into how, for multi-national companies, the remuneration model may need to be different to incentivise sales performance.

For example, in Hofstede’s research, Individualism is the highest dimension for the USA at 91. For Thailand it is the lowest dimension at 20.

Individualism is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. In individualist societies we find the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Additionally, Long Term Orientation is the lowest dimension for the US at 29, compared to the world average of 45 and Thailand’s mark of 81. This low LTO ranking is indicative of the USA societies’ belief in meeting its obligations now.

In the US, rewards for short term individual goals (performance incentives) work well. In Thailand, in equivalent roles, longer term, team based rewards such as salary and annual team bonuses work better.

Industry norms

Using a stereotype to make a point, door-to-door insurance sales is a much shorter sales cycle and lower customer-salesperson relationship industry than selling multimillion dollar mining equipment.

We would want a door-to-door salesperson to concentrate on the result and whilst we would want them to build rapport with customers it is not the main aim. We want to incentivise results.

A mining equipment salesperson, however, needs to create long term relationships across several departments in a mining organisation. We want to incentivise them to build customer lifetime value, not just the short term result.

The proportion of benefits which accrues to salary, superannuation, vehicles, loans and other long term incentives should be much higher in the case of our mining equipment sales person. Conversely, the proportion of benefits which accrues to commissions, quarterly bonuses, overseas trips and other short term incentives should be higher in the case of our door-to-door sales person.

Companies need to position their rewards within the industry norm such that they get a more or less aggressive behaviour than is normal for their industry. For example, if I wanted, as a mining equipment CEO, to have an emphasis on short term results, I would set commission within the remuneration mix, whereas my competitors may not.

Sales process and role

Consider two elements of the sales process when creating a rewards mechanism.

Firstly, the overall sales process favours short term incentives if the sales process has the following characteristics:

Short sales cycles of smaller value products to many customers
Sales people get most satisfaction from the sales result
Sales is the predominant measurement of success
Sales people own the sale and how the sale is conducted

If the converse is true, long term rewards are warranted.

Secondly, within a sales process there may be roles which are, relatively, at either end of the spectrum. Getting warm leads may be a role which fits the short sales cycle description, whereas the conversion of those leads may fit more with a long sales cycle.

For instance, a team of sales people in a call centre charged with getting prospects to attend conferences or seminars have a transactional relationship with customers. It is their job to run a short campaign to get people to attend. It is another sales person’s role, once the prospects have attended the conference, to establish long term relationships and begin what may be a lengthy sales conversion.

People must be rewarded appropriately for their part in the sales process.

Company goal and culture

Companies which want to control sales adapting to market pressures over the long term should favour long term rewards such as salary, superannuation and medical insurance.

Companies which want to empower sales people to react to individual customer needs and favour a competitive internal environment should favour short term rewards such as commissions, bonuses, and awards.

©2008 Change Factory

Kevin Dwyer is a pragmatic change management advisor and founder of Change Factory. He comes from an old school that experienced and led change first and learnt the theory later.

Kevin’s interest in sales is in developing the reinforcing loops of corporate goal, strategy, marketing and sales tactics, KPIs, recruitment, career and competence development, coaching and counselling that influences more customers to move through their buying process with the selling organisation. You can learn more about Kevin and the Change Factory here

Today’s News:

Yep, we had a real “D’oh!” moment: We were so immersed in all our other initiatives, that we forgot to wish ourselves a “Happy Birthday” greeting.

So, here we are, two years old – amazing. With visitors growing at the rate of 10% every month – you are in great company: To the thousands of you that come back every day – thank you, from the bottom of my heart

Enough of that sort of sentimentality – over at Salesopedia, fellow Top Sales Expert Bill Sayers is in conversation with my old buddy, Clayton Shold – “Does Looking Good Matter?” Just click on the banner below – as usual.

Tomorrow: Erm – let’s complete our birthday celebrations first, but you know it will be good?

One of the main differences between negotiators is how confident they feel when negotiating. Typically, the more confident we feel, and the better we are prepared, the more successful will be the outcome of our negotiations.

Personal power comes from many sources. To build up and increase our confidence as negotiators we need to step back and analyse the sources of our personal power and compare them with those of the people with whom we are negotiating.

Power is not absolute. In most negotiating relationships the power balance moves with time as the negotiation progresses.

Here are just a few examples of sources of power:

Information Power:

Information power comes from having knowledge that will influence the outcome of the negotiation. Planning and research can increase our information power, as can asking the right questions before we reach the bargaining phase of the negotiation.

Reward Power:

Reward power comes from having the ability to reward the other party in the negotiation. It could be the power a buyer has to place an order for goods and services or the power a salesperson has to give good service and solve problems

Coercive Power:

Coercive power is the power to punish. This is seen most commonly in the buyer-seller relationship, but can be a feature of other types of negotiation.

Situation Power:

Situation power is the power that comes from being in the right place at the right time. A customer is desperate to place an order and you are the only source of supply in the short term. Having an effective network and keeping in touch with what is happening can increase your situation power.

Expertise Power:

Expertise power comes from having a particular skill which you can apply and which can influence the outcome of the negotiation. Improving negotiation skills helps you win better deals. Other areas of expertise could also help the outcome of the negotiation.

And Finally – Referent Power:

Referent power comes from being consistent over time. If people see you as having a clear, consistent strategy as a negotiator, you will increase your referent power.

Having standards that you stick to and being consistent will help to increase your referent power. In the eighties, Margaret Thatcher wasn’t universally popular, but was respected by many for being consistent in her views and behaviour. In the end she failed because her approach was too rigid and she was unable to adapt to changing circumstances.

You will find a number of other articles on negotiation here

Today’s News: Amazingly, Business Expert Webinars has just delivered it’s 100th session - incredible how time flies. This is the message I received from CEO, Lee Saltz.

Business Expert Webinars Delivers its 100th Business eLearning Training Session!
October 28, 2008, Minneapolis, MN – Business Expert Webinars (BEW), the leading provider of business eLearning, achieved a major milestone today when they delivered their 100th for-fee webinar.

“I am proud of this significant BEW accomplishment. I’m not aware of any other program that has
delivered 100 for-fee webinars in this short period of time. BEW has clearly demonstrated that people are willing to invest in business eLearning as a way to enhance the skill development of themselves and their employees. As the economy has tightened, companies and business professionals have been forced to find alternative strategies for skill development. BEW offers an affordable way to increase business aptitude on a limited budget,” said Lee B. Salz, President and CEO of Business Expert Webinars.

“The BEW platform is incredible,” says Jeb Blount, BEW speaker and CEO of SalesGravy.com. “It has provided professional business speakers with a venue to reach a global audience. Participants learn relevant information that they can immediately use in their business career.”

Business Expert Webinars began delivering for-fee webinars in May 2008 and has built a portfolio of over 150 business speakers, with a schedule of over 750 live business eLearning seminars on a wide array of subjects. “What makes BEW unique is that our speakers are not using these sessions as marketing events, but are using the technology to deliver their teachings to audiences around the world. Not only are BEW’s participants worldwide, but so are the speakers. We have speakers in Canada, France, Australia, Egypt, and the U.K. Our mission is to deliver high-quality, business education in a cost effective environment.” said Salz.

“As a result of delivering business eLearning sessions with Business Expert Webinars, I’ve been able to provide business professionals with new ways to affordably benefit from my services,” says Leslie Buterin, BEW speaker and founder of ColdCallingNetNews.com. “With training budgets being squeezed, BEW offers a means to develop teams without breaking the bank.”

About Business Expert Webinars
Business Expert Webinars (BEW) is the leading provider of business eLearning. BEW has an
international community of business speakers that comprises best-selling authors, award-winning
speakers, and business gurus delivering training for business professionals. For more information, visit
BusinessExpertWebinars.com.

Upcoming Event: On November 12th, Jill Konrath, Kendra Lee and I are presenting an open workshop, hosted by Landslide Technologies – it’s FREE, and I feel certain you will not want to miss it – just click on the banner at the bottom of this post, for full details.

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Spot I am delighted to welcome back Kevin Dwyer, the second internationally acclaimed leadership guru to appear this week.

As well as being a great friend, Kevin is one of the wisest men I know and I have never held it against him for being Australian!

The JF Guest Author Spot

Read the newspaper, watch the television or walk down the hallways of your offices and you may notice a surprising (and alarming) lack of decency.  Before I continue, let me say that I am neither a prude nor a cynic, but the increasing lack of courtesy and decency are a problem for us as individuals and as leaders.

Maybe I am over-reacting a bit to the deeply biting and highly judgmental comments being made by people on both sides of the U.S. Presidential election, but I don’t think so.  The increasingly judgmental and nasty rhetoric by those in the news and on the sidelines raises a significant issue for us in our organizations – How can we cultivate relationships, build teams and create cooperation when these factors are at play?

It’s Not About Conflict

These observations aren’t meant to imply that we should avoid or support conflict deflecting behaviours.  To the contrary, healthy conflict and difference of opinion are needed for us to reach the best decisions, and foster creativity in any group.  We all learned it in elementary school – you can disagree and not be mean.

As leaders we want to foster and support disagreement on issues in order to find the best solutions.  We want to promote people’s passions and opinions, so that they can be heard and be engaged.

But we can  . . .

- disagree without being disagreeable
-  have opinions without being opinionated
- be passionate without being pushy

And the balance that is found in all of these is decency.  If we want to build teams and relationships and have a healthy working environment, we must, as leaders and individuals, strive for decency.

It’s About Culture . . . and Results

These behavioural habits are truly components of our culture.  Whether we regularly verbally attack our competitors or each other, left unchecked or unexamined, these behaviours become the norm and become accepted.  And, like any other element of a culture, it will have an impact on organizational results.

Choose wisely the culture you want to create, and recognize as a leader you play a role everyday in accepting or challenging the prevailing culture.  If you want to guard against the decline in decency, or know you need to turn the tide, consider the following actions:

- Be a model.  If you want more decent and courteous conversations, be more courteous.

- Expect it of others.  Let people know your concerns.  Be specific as to your concerns and make sure you talk about why you are concerned.

- Ask for and give feedback.  Tell people that you will be giving them feedback – both praise for avoiding the negative conversation and correction when you notice it.  Encourage them to give you feedback as well.

- Be consistent.  If this is something that matters to you and the organization, don’t make it your “cause of the week,” but be vigilant and consistent in both your behaviour and your expectations of others.

Experience shows that awareness and consistent modeling will go a long way to adjusting these types of behaviours, especially if they aren’t deeply engrained when you begin.

I hope you aren’t noticing these problems on your teams, but if you are, I encourage you to consider the steps above – they will help you personally and professionally to change your behaviours and be a leader in the same changes for others.

As a final note – I referenced the U.S. Presidential election at the start of this post.  If you are interested in gaining a wide variety of leadership lessons from U.S. Presidential politics, go to http://RemarkablePresidents.com to download a Special Report entitled, Remarkable Leadership and U.S. Presidents.

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. You can learn more about him  here

Today’s News: I have been keeping myself fully updated with the story of Bob Beck – Bob who? – that’s Bob Beck The Plagiarizer. I mentioned it last week? OK, here is the latest from Jill Konrath:

Outing a Plagiarizing Sales Expert
The sad case of Bob Beck: author of Mutual Respect, founder of the “Quid Pro Quo” sales training.

When my colleagues began posting last week about Bob Beck’s plagiarism, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe any professional would stoop that low.

But the proof was overwhelming. You can read about it here:

Dave Stein: Hey! Stop Plagiarizing My Content!
Charles Green: Plagiarism, Concealment or Coincidence
Colleen Francis: Hey! That Sounds a Lot Like Me!!

So tonight I decided to investigate if Bob Beck had taken any of my content. Within moments, I discovered an article of Kelley Robertson’s that had been co-opted and immediately notified him.

Then seconds later, I found the smoking gun!  His article called Low Hanging Fruit was a mirror image of my article on The Seduction of Low-Hanging Fruit.

Here are the first six paragraphs from my article:

I remember the first time it happened. It was on a Thursday, about 4 pm, and I was worn-out after a day of cold calling. I hadn’t uncovered even one viable prospect. Enough was enough! Time to go back to the office and do some paperwork.

When the phone rang, I answered it tiredly. But by the time I hung up I was a new person. I had just talked to one hot prospect!

Her company was BUYING! Not just looking – BUYING! They needed several new systems to handle their growth. And they wanted to make a decision quickly.

“Can we come in for a demonstration,” she asked.

How could I refuse! They came in the following Monday and we spent about two hours together. We discussed their needs and I showed them several possible options. Things seemed to go really well. In parting, they asked me to call back early the next week.

Tuesday morning I left a message. Wednesday and Friday too. My calls were never returned. It wasn’t till a week later that I finally got my prospect on the phone. She thanked me for my hard work, fast service and excellent demonstration. Then, very apologetically, she told me they’d selected another vendor.

He writes (or should I say copies) this on his The CEO’s Trusted Advisor (ha ha!) blog:
(Note: His blog is no longer on line, but is still viewable in Google’s cache.)

I remember the first time it happened. It was on a Thursday, about 5 pm, and I was worn-out after a day of cold calling. I hadn’t uncovered even one viable prospect. Enough was enough!

When the phone rang, I answered it tiredly. But by the time I hung up I was a new person. I had just talked to a hot prospect!

Her company was BUYING! Not just looking – BUYING! They needed several new systems to handle their growth. And they wanted to make a decision quickly.

“Can we come in for a demonstration,” she asked.

How could I refuse (not applying the Quid Pro Quo Sales approach)! They came in the following Monday and we spent about two hours together. We discussed their needs and I showed them several possible options. Things seemed to go really well. In parting, they asked me to call back early the next week.

Tuesday morning I left a message. Wednesday and Friday too. My calls were never returned. It wasn’t till a week later that I finally got my prospect on the phone. She thanked me for my hard work, fast service and excellent demonstration. Then, very apologetically, she told me they’d selected another vendor.

The only difference? He inserted 6 words about his company. The rest of the article is virtually identical. He never identifies me as the author. In fact, he ends the article with:

You will find more stories and tips like this in the book Mutual Respect www.MutualRespect.net  To learn more about the Quid Pro Quo Sales Approach visit www.SalesBuilders.com

If it was a singular happening, I’d let it go with an admonition to add attribution. But it’s not. It’s a clear pattern of behavior. I suspect if I searched more, I’d find other articles that have been plagiarized. 

I’ll be sending Bob Beck a note shortly. If necessary, I’ll get my attorney involved. In the meantime, I don’t want any of you to be fooled.

Here are all the links I could find for Bob Beck’s sales training business:

Sales Builders: http://www.salesbuilders.com
Mutual Respect: http://www.mutualrespect.net
Bob Beck International: http://www.bobbeckinternational.com
Beck Products: http://www.beckproducts.com
SalesBuilder at Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/bobbeck
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/salesbuilders

Also, besides billing himself as a “sales trainer” of Quid Pro Quo selling, Bob Beck also calls himself an international keynote speaker, sales guru, best selling author and trusted advisor.

What makes this so sad is that Bob Beck is probably good at what he does. He didn’t have to use other people’s words as his own. But he did – and it totally destroys his credibility.

Tomorrow: All about negotiation and power!

There has been increasing evidence – unsurprisingly - that sales professionals and sales captains are working longer and longer hours, thereby putting health and family relationships at risk. This is not a topic that we can simply sweep under the carpet, it is not going to go away, and I am witnessing it more and more frequently.

Pressure to complete and meet the ever-increasing demands of customers (as well as the need to achieve higher sales quotas) and finishing the year strongly, is forcing people to spend more of their time working -not to mention a stagnant market, that will only become more so in 2009.

Whilst stress does have its benefits, too much can cause errors of judgement, mistakes, accidents and damage to health. Some people are more vulnerable to stress from overwork than others.

American researchers have identified two types of managers – Type ‘A’ who, though thriving on stress, are vulnerable to its effects, and Type ‘B’ who rarely let events disturb them.

Not only are there Type ‘A’ managers but also Type ‘A’ organisations – is yours one?

Types A & B:

Type A: 
• Try to do more and faster 
• Concerned with speed, performance and productivity 
• Tend to be aggressive, impatient, intolerant, hard driving and always hurried 
• Preoccupied with time
• Start early
• Strong competitive tendency
• Always want to succeed
• More likely to have heart attacks

Type B: 
• Easy going
• Take difficulties in their stride 
• Spend time on what they’re doing
• Rarely harassed
• Less prone to heart attacks 
• Take time to ponder alternative
• Usually feel there’s plenty of time
• Not as preoccupied with time

Stress What Is It?

Popular definitions include: ‘the result of a person being pushed beyond the limit of their natural ability’ When used in physics, stress is defined as ‘the external pressure applied to an object’, the resultant change is called ‘strain’

Applied to people, we mix up the two terms, using ‘stress’ to refer to both the pressures we’re under and the effect it has on us

What Causes Stress?

• Where you work – Red tape, changes, demands from customers, uncertain future

• Your Job – Volume of work (too much/little), deadlines, pressures, being responsible for staff

• Your career to date – Still not found your niche, no clear goals, reached your plateau

• Your Relationships – Colleagues, friends, partner, boss, staff, children and families

• Conflicts – Unable to find a balance between work and home; worried about money

• Self-imposed – Giving yourself a hard time, low self-image, poor self-management

What Are The Signs?

• Physical
Headaches, indigestion, throbbing heart, allergies, infections, twitching, nausea, tiredness, weight loss/gain, vague aches and pains

• Mental
Indecision, making mistakes, forgetfulness, poor communication, easily distracted, worrying more, making hasty decisions

• Emotional
Irritability, anger, alienation, nervousness, apprehension, loss of confidence, tension, cynicism, job/life dissatisfaction

• Behavioural
Unsociable, restless, unable to unwind, appetite loss/gain, diminished/increased interest in sex, increase in drinking/smoking, taking work home, too busy to relax, poor personal management

In Summary: Stress Techniques for Handling Stress

Remember, you have some choices – do nothing, fight it or learn to manage it by:

• Identifying what causes you stress and how it shows itself (this will give you a clue about what you need to tackle)
• Concentrating on what must be done and cutting out all those non-essential meetings phone calls and visitors
• Learning to delegate and trust others; none of us is indispensable
• Pacing yourself; have 10 minute breaks throughout the day
• Being tidy and organised; untidiness creates its own problems
• Learning to relax and switch-off, don’t take work home  
• Learn to say ‘no’ – don’t take on everything that comes your way
• Get a balance between work and home; your life is important too!
• Eat properly, avoiding too much fat and sugar
• Improve you listening skills; many busy and energetic people are bad listeners
• Take breaks – make sure you use all your holiday entitlement
• Get yourself on an anti-stress programme if necessary
• Develop breathing and relaxation techniques eg: yoga
• Keep fit – try swimming and/or walking
• Learn to manage your time more effectively

And Finally – Prime Time, When Are You At Your Best?

We all have a ‘prime time’ during the day when we are at our best and fully alert, the secret is to recognise this and complete those activities that require energy, application and thought, when you’re at your sharpest.

When energy is low, we are sluggish and tend to make mistakes, so watch what you eat – a heavy meal and wine make a lot of people sleepy; a healthy meal can provide energy hours.

Work in periods of time; a maximum of an hour before you give yourself a break – this way you’ll concentrate better.

If you want help in identifying your time robbers, this originally titled article will help: “How Identify Your Time Robbers”

Today’s News: I did suggest that the latest Top Sales Experts e-book, would be the last – we plan to go into hardback in 2009.

However, I have relented, and we are producing a Special for Christmas – “How To Sell & Survive In An Economic Downturn – And Have A Great Christmas”

In fact, we are going to install a unique area on the TSE site very shortly, to provide advice and support for front-line sales leaders and sales professionals, including an “Ask The Expert” facility, providing direct access to fifty of the world’s leading sales gurus – more soon.

I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying writing JF Uncut on Saturdays and Sundays – if you missed this week’s posts, simply scroll down.

Finally, to make you smile: “McCain versus Obama – The Dance Off“ - well it made me smile

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot I am delighted to welcome back a very good friend and one of the foremost leadership gurus on the planet - best selling author and good all round egg, Kevin Eikenberry – you will not want to miss his pearls of wisdom. 

JF Uncut

As sovereign governments of major countries in the world come under severe pressure to inject fresh funds in concert into their financial institutions and national economies, their tax revenue and customs departments are gearing up to crack down on private banking tax havens at lightning speed. 
 
In March 2005, the Tax Justice Network (TJN) published a research finding “The Price of Offshore”, demonstrating that USD 11.5 trillion of personal wealth was held offshore by the rich and ultra rich – High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) – across the globe.  This was based on data from many consulting firms and financial institutions including the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland. The findings estimated that a large proportion of this wealth was managed from 70+ tax havens with Switzerland at the top of the black money pyramid.  The USD 11.5 trillion of assets held offshore would generate a return of about USD 860 billion a year at a 7.5% rate of return, and a consequent tax loss of USD 250+ billion for sovereign nations, more than three times the OECD countries’ official development assistance to the entire world. 
 
Surprisingly, India – still regarded as a poor country by many – has USD 1.5 trillion in Swiss banks, which is more black money than the rest of the world combined. This is thought to be unaccounted money earned in India by inappropriate means as otherwise any Indian citizen or corporation wishing to open a bank account abroad has to take permission from the Reserve Bank of India and records do not show any such permissions granted for deposits in Switzerland.  A 2006 report of the Swiss Banking Association claims Indians are the biggest depositors of black money in banks located in Switzerland.  Top five countries in terms of such deposits are:
 
India:  USD 1,456 billion
Russia:  USD 470 billion
United Kingdom:  USD 390 billion
Ukraine:  USD 100 billion
China:  USD 96 billion
 
With private account deposits of USD 1.5 trillion in foreign reserve which have been misappropriated, an amount 10 times larger than India’s foreign debt — USD 155+ billion — one needs to rethink if India is a poor country?  Many Indians regard this money as public loot since independence from Britain in 1947 and are asking, “Can we bring back our money?” 

It is argued that once this huge amount of black money and property comes back to India, the entire foreign debt can be repaid immediately, still leaving a huge surplus amount of foreign exchange reserves in India.  Some 80,000 Indians travel to Switzerland every year, of whom 25,000 travel very frequently. “Obviously, these people won’t be tourists. They must be travelling there for some other reason,” believes an official involved in tracking illegal money. And, clearly, he is not referring to the commerce ministry bureaucrats who have been flying in and out of Geneva ever since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations went into a tailspin!
 
South Asia has been hit hard by the “The Great Unwind” because it is an important part of the global economy which has caved in. Under pressure from the West, India opened up several sectors in the last two decades. However, it has been seen during the last few weeks that the Western financial institutions, hedge funds and capital providers have been the first to sell their shares in various Indian companies, bringing the share market tumbling down. It is estimated that in India alone the Western investors have been withdrawing USD 1+ billion in foreign exchange per week as they experience margin calls, unwind carry trades, and confront liquidity problems and greater hardship in their originating countries.
 
The Swiss Banking Association’s startling disclosure that Indians hold USD 1.4 trillion of their USD 2.15 trillion black money deposits is intensifying pressure on the Indian government to get access to that money as global financial pressures intensify and there is this accelerating flight of capital abroad.  The well known economist Professor Arun Kumar estimates black money generation in India to be currently 50% of the GDP.

The growth of black money in proportional percentage to the GDP has shown an alarming increase in recent years, from 20% in the 1980s to 45-50% at the turn of the century.  It is further estimated by experts that one per cent of the world’s population holds more than 57 per cent of total global wealth, routing it invariably through tax havens. 

A recent preliminary investigation to analyse the Swiss banking chain and to assess Indian wealth in that single country, suggests that the number is much larger than the USD 1.4 trillion figure and is more likely to be near USD 3 trillion.  The larger figure can be derived from the deposits in vaults of gold, diamonds and other precious gems alongside assets managed out of Switzerland in other tax havens.  There are some well known ‘slush parks’ like St Kitts, Antigua, Bahamas, Isle of Man and Liechtenstein that multiply such holdings manifold with the central management points in Switzerland.
 
Raymond Baker, a US-based expert in illicit financial flows, in his widely referenced book “Capitalism’s Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free Market System” estimates that at least USD 5 trillion have been shifted out of poorer countries to Western tax havens since the mid-1970s.  He estimated cross-border flows of global dirty money in a range between USD 1.1 to USD 1.6 trillion annually, about half of which came from developing and transitional economies, and two thirds of which is commercial dirty money.

In April 2007, the World Bank endorsed Baker’s figure.  Using his lower USD 500bn estimate for developing and transitional economies, Baker has said, “Through most of the 1990s, aid was running at about USD 50bn a year from all sources. It has edged up slightly in this decade. USD 50bn of aid in; USD 500bn of dirty money out. For every USD 1 that we [the West] have been generously handing out across the top of the table, we’ve been taking back some USD 10 of illicit proceeds under the table [via tax havens and other means].

There is no way to make this formula work, for poor or for rich.” The USD 500bn coming illegally out of developing and transitional economies is equivalent to 8% of their GDP.
 
In the 1990s, US Treasury department officials told Baker that illicit inflows into the US stood at around USD 250 billion per year, and in a good year they seized USD 250 million of that. This equates to a failure rate of 99.9%. The volumes have increased since then, but there is no reason to think that the failure rate has improved.  “Laundered proceeds of drug trafficking, racketeering, corruption, and terrorism tag along with other forms of dirty money to which the United States and Europe lend a welcoming hand,” Baker concluded. “These are two rails on the same tracks through the international financial system.” It is not possible to tackle any of these seriously without tackling them all. Baker’s opening speech at a recent conference explains some of the issues in stark detail, “No one I have ever talked to thinks dirty money is declining or that anti-money laundering efforts are stemming the global tide of illicit proceeds. Indicators point in the opposite direction.” Baker broke down his data like this:
 
Cross-border annual flows of Global Dirty Money – Low – High
 
1.  Criminal — USD 331 – 549 billion
2.  Corruption — USD 30 – 50 billion
3.  Commercial — USD 700 – 1,000 billion
 of which:    
 Mispricing – USD 200 – 250 billion
Abusive transfer pricing – USD 300 – 500 billion
Fake transactions – USD 200 – 250 billion
 
TOTAL -USD 1,061-1,599 billion
 
Experts point their finger at the new investment environment of the last two decades which shunned state intervention and favoured massive deregulation.  The retreat of the nation state ensured that the restraint exercised on capital to keep its greed in check was diluted and some amount of the black money went into the process of being legalised.  They point out that in a free market environment takeovers were much easier. Those who possessed black money tried to buy legal businesses to gain legitimacy for their shadow wealth.  The Great Unwind has reversed this process.  Watch out particularly for the United States, Euro-zone countries, United Kingdom, China, India and Russia in regard to the coming sovereign crack down of tax havens worldwide.

Today’s News: One of the most jaw-dropping bulletins ATCA received this week was the announcement by Volvo, the world’s second largest truck maker.  In the third quarter, Volvo received just 115 net order bookings for new trucks in Europe, down from 41,970 a year earlier, ie, a degradation of 99.7%.  In Europe it had almost as many cancellations as new orders.  Year-on-year orders at Volvo crashed 55% in the third quarter.  The company said that the slowdown appeared to be spreading to emerging markets and its orders in North America had failed to recover. 
 
Why?  Volvo’s customers are apparently holding back on replacing vehicles because of the economic uncertainty, and some are not receiving credit to finance new trucks because of tighter credit market conditions.  Scania — majority-owned by Volkswagen — which is not present in the depressed US market, has also received 41% fewer orders than in the same period last year, with a 69% decline in western Europe.  Both Volvo and Scania have declined to give an outlook for next year given the financial uncertainty.  Both truck makers have been cutting production by cancelling shifts and laying off temporary workers. 

Tomorrow: It is business as usual, so be sure to join me.

JF Uncut

Watching a French TV programme last week all about “the haves” and “the have nots” in Moscow, where a very wealthy woman was purchasing a punnet of six strawberries for the equivalent of $50, I was reminded of a story that was related to me a few weeks back…..

Two elegant Russian women arrived at a Heathrow check-in desk at the same time, and were admiring each other’s Vuitton luggage, which was identical in every way: “$10.000 from Paris” the first one claimed, with considerable pride. “$17.000 from Moscow” the second retorted, almost disdainfully.

So there we have it, a perfect example of why Moscow is now, irrefutably, the most expensive (and vulgar) city in the world – the rich are getting richer and the poor are looking on, in total disbelief.

Well the rich were getting richer, up until very recently, and I watched another superb French documentary this week about Russian “oligarchs” (Don’t go thinking that I indulge myself in French television, it is not that good – just two hours this week, the rest was crap! – thank God for satellite dishes and the good old BBC)

Oligarchs? Here’s what Wikki has to say:

“Oligarchy (Greek Ὀλιγαρχία, Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military powers or occult spiritual hegemony. The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for “few” (ὀλίγios olígios) and “rule” (ἄρχeiv arkhein). Such states are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children were heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy. This type of power by its very nature may not be exercised openly; the oligarchs preferring to remain “the power behind the throne”, exerting control through economic means. Oligarchies have been tyrannical throughout history, being completely reliant on public servitude to exist. Although Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich, for which the exact term is plutocracy, oligarchy is not always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged group.”

Financial sources estimate Russia’s oligarchs have lost as much as $230 billion during the recent fall of the world’s stock markets – that’s almost $7 billion per oligarch.

“They should take us all off the Forbes list” of billionaires, said Alexander Lebedev, who owns 30 percent of the Russian airline Aeroflot and was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world’s 358th richest man.

Lebedev said he may have lost nearly half of his estimated $3.1 billion stock portfolio, The Times of London reported Saturday.

“The bell has started to ring,” Lebedev said, noting the financial meltdown may bring some sanity to the lives of Russia’s big spenders, the Times reported.

It’s “reach for hankies time”

Roman Abramovich, a steel magnate who owns Britain’s Chelsea Football Club, (Now known in the UK as “Chelski”) is estimated to have lost more than $20 billion in recent market trading, while Oleg Deripaska, reportedly Russia’s richest man, has lost billions of his estimated $28 billion empire, the Times also reported. 

There were fewer than 150 billionaires put on the Forbes list twenty year ago. Nowadays things have changed. The 2006 Forbes list of billionaires contains 793 entrants. The computer genius Bill Gates has retained the title of the world’s richest man for the twelfth consecutive year. He added about $5 billion to his net worth this year.

There are 33 Russian billionaires on the latest list. Next to New York, Moscow has the biggest number of billionaires – and yet when it comes to “standard of living” Russia is 57th in the world?

Unsurprisingly, most Russian billionaires reject the Forbes ratings. Nearly all of them make statements claiming they cannot be that rich. Boris Berezovsky seems to be the only exception, he is still out of reach of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office. However, none of the tycoons has sued the magazine for libel.

Therefore, we can assume that the Forbes ratings are quite accurate.

One of the very few consolations of all this financial turmoil and chaos, is the daily dose of revelations.

Stories of even more obscene gluttony, greed and astonishing financial mis-management.

I watched Greenspan this week, looking totally bereft of an explanation, describing our current experience as a Tsunami, and that in itself, is probably the most pathetic and implausible utterance this once revered man has ever made: Note to AG.

Dear Alan,

For the record, a Tsunami is known for it’s suddenness; it strikes without warning and almost always leaves a path of total destruction in it’s wake.

The legacy you have left us with – conveniently stepping down just prior to it’s arrival- did not creep up on us: Most observers with an IQ higher that a gnat’s left testicle, recognised the signs years ago, how come you didn’t? Or maybe you did and chose to ignore them? Why did you take a stand against regulation as long ago as 2004?

“Give me one example where regulatory control would have made a difference JF” I hear you say.

AG, I can give you hundreds, but here is just one:

Fannie Mae misstated earnings for three and a half years, leading to a $9 billion restatement that wiped out 40% of the supposed profits in the period – fair enough?

So many “why’s?” AG

Yours In Total Disbelief

A Sucker

It can only be hoped that in years to come, there will in fact be greater regulatory control and increased visibility. Our trust has been shattered, and as I survey the pieces scattered liberally around my feet, I remain unconvinced that recovery will be as swift as our over-optimistic political leaders would have us believe.

November 15th could represent Bretton Woods II – we wait and we wonder, but we no longer have faith.

Tomorrow: “India Is A Very Poor Country – Oh No It Isn’t” – more revelations here on JF Uncut

The single most common mistake that organisations make is promoting their number one salesperson into the role of sales manager, thereby depriving themselves in a single stroke of their best producer and hamstringing their sales force with an ineffective manager.

The skills required for managing, mentoring and developing a sales team, are totally different from those required for selling.

As a result, it’s not uncommon to find newly promoted sales managers who regret having taken a management position and may even leave to get back into sales.

Insufficient Time for Sales Team Development:
The majority of sales managers – new and experienced alike – say they do not have sufficient time to train and develop their sales teams. They are so focused on sales results – and so accustomed to achieving success through their personal pursuit of those results – that they overlook their greatest potential source of power, the power to increase sales performance by developing their people.

Providing Development for Sales Managers:
Successful Sales Directors ensure that some sort of training and development program is in place to help sales managers continually improving the way they coach and develop their team. Equally important, top-performing Sales Directors look for ways to provide sales managers with the resources they need to perform effectively. This may mean, for example, giving managers tools with which to identify each individual salesperson’s strengths and development areas, providing them with an easy-to-use framework to address development areas, and putting a process in place that helps their team to implement new skills.

Opportunity to Make a Difference:
Every sales manager has a powerful role to play in developing and supporting their team members’ potential so that an increasing emphasis is placed on performance management to enable more salespeople to achieve more of their potential. We have identified the eight most common reasons why salespeople fail i.e.

Wrong or no selection process = The wrong person for the position

Wrong or no training = Insufficiently developed

Wrong or no planning = Expected to do all of their own planning

Wrong or no supervision = Left without competent supervision

Wrong or no motivation = Not properly motivated to meet objectives

Wrong or no stimulation = Not stimulated by appropriate incentives

Wrong or no evaluation = Not regularly appraised against a set of agreed objectives

Wrong or no executive action = Not adequately supported by a competent manager

The Sales Manager has control over all of these factors, including the final one!

Today’s News: Despite what some people think, plagiarism is not in the least bit flattering, and when someone attempts to steal a whole book, it becomes downright criminal. If you are ready to be shocked, read, “Plagiarism, Concealment or Coincidence? The Case of Bob Beck” by Charlie Green.

There is a mounting groundswell of resentment, which I fully support, and Dave Stein is also lending his considerable influence: “An Open Message to Sales Trainers, Authors and Experts”

Tomorrow: I’ll be back with JF Uncut and I will pursue my relentless attack on Wall Street, “Fat Cats”, Greenspan and Soviet financial gluttony – be sure to join me, I think you will enjoy:

“When They Grab Your Nuts, It’s Time To Fight Back”

The JF Guest Author Spot

Dan Adams

Q:    Dan:  When I joined my company several years ago we had the luxury of having a new family of products that were superior compared to our competitors’ solutions. Now that the competition has announced new products it is  harder to win deals. I’m having trouble convincing our marketing department to accelerate new product launches.  Any thoughts to help me to hold my market share until our new products arrive?

Lucy Watt
Phoenix, AZ

A: 
Lucy, Thanks for your great question. Your situation is not uncommon. To solve the problem and help you on your path to superstardom let’s try to see the world differently. Here is the key:

The Product Doesn’t Matter!

True or false: A sales rep’s success is tied directly to the quality of the product or solution she is offering. As a buyer visiting car dealerships, you may have thought you were comparing car A with car B. But actually, what you were really comparing was sales rep A with sales rep B. That’s what happens in customers’ minds.

The sales rep acts as the intermediary between the customer and the product or service, greatly influencing how people buy. The customer bases his decision, for the most part, on the actions of this intermediary (that is, if the sales rep is a superstar). After all, a car is a car is a car. Any of them will get you where you want to go.

Yes, the sales rep does have to have a decent product. But in most cases the solutions are very similar, and it’s the rep who makes the difference. The rep enjoys a position between the product and the customer’s perception of that product. It is the sales rep who can make that product look worse than, equal to, or better than the competitor’s product. Superstars know that the difference between the products is really the difference that the superstar brings to the table in the form of consultative selling skills. Superstars differentiate themselves not by what they sell but by how they sell.

If the sales rep is not a superstar, then the customer makes the decision based on price and features. With no superstar rep in the picture, the customer’s decision is easy: Buy the one with the lowest price. One thing that drew me to sales training was realizing the difference a great rep can make to a company. We’ve all had a chance to observe this. Consider what happens to a company when one of its superstars leaves a territory – sales drop almost immediately. The converse is true when an experienced consultant is placed in a new territory – sales immediately increase. What changed? Has the company drastically reduced price, changed its marketing strategy, or announced a new product? No. After more than twenty years of witnessing this, I have seen time and time again that the cause of the sales drop is the departure of that particular superstar. This proves that the sales rep is critical! 

Lucy, the bottom line is that you must stop looking to your company to provide extraordinary products and look to utilizing your own consultative selling skills as the key differentiator that will earn the business for you.

Good Luck, and Close ‘Em!

Dan

Dan Adams is an award-winning professional speaker, best selling author, and consultant who draws upon more than 20 years of experience in the field of sales and marketing. Having honed his sales skills selling multimillion dollar solutions for Fortune 500 and high technology companies over the past 20 years, Dan founded a profitable sales consulting company called Adams & Associates, utilizing his own strategic selling principles embodied in his program Trust Triangle Selling™.
For more information, please visit www.trusttriangleselling.com or call 630-215-5090.

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

Today’s News: Over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with the very switched on, Ivan Misner – “Six Degrees Of Seperation”

Just click on the banner below to listen in:

Here is news of an excellent forthcoming event:

The Ultimate Appointment Making Workshop

Click here for the on-line registration form

In today’s economy, businesses cannot afford to wait for customers to beat a path to their door. Companies must “go on the offensive” and take a proactive approach to finding new sources of revenue. Companies that achieve exceptional revenue growth understand that one of the most critical steps in building a pipeline of new prospects is to get that first appointment. The Ultimate Appointment Making Workshop helps your sales representatives get their “foot-in- the-door” with new prospects so they can begin selling.

“I found the workshop extremely informative and time well spent.  Tibor is an excellent coach and manages to get his thoughts and principles across while also managing to keep his audience engaged for an entire day.  Anyone who (should be) spends their time hunting for new sales opportunities over the telephone should take this course.  Unless, of course you happen to be in the same industry as me which I’d then have to recommend that you stay away.”

The Appointment-Making Workshop enables sales representatives to use proven methods for generating leads, overcome the fear of call reluctance, capitalize upon referrals, and secure more appointments with decision-makers.

“A fabulous, pragmatic approach that is very focused on getting an appointment using cold calling.”

Attendees will develop a complete telephone appointment making approach and effective strategies for anticipating responses and handling issues in order to improve their ability to get that crucial first appointment. Sales representatives will create their own individual approach for qualifying and appointment-setting, build key skills necessary to generate new business, and practice these newfound skills through role-playing to ensure the successful application of what was taught.

Appointment Making Workshop Benefits

As a result of this Appointment Making Workshop participants will:
• Understand the value of building their base of prospects
• Develop techniques for making successful cold calls
• Turn leads into viable prospects by getting that first appointment
• Take a proactive role in filling their sales pipeline
• Create and leverage referrals
• Calling the right people at all levels
• Overcome the fear of cold call reluctance
• Effectively deal with gatekeepers
• Use references to penetrate new accounts
• Anticipate and manage negative responses to their initial call
• Leave voicemail messages that get returned
• Generate more sales as they secure more new appointments
“Thorough – simple – able to put in to practice right away. Expect immediate results”

Participants will see immediate payback for this one-day workshop as participants begin using these new skills the very next day.

INVESTMENT:   $307

PRICE INCLUDES:  Workshop, Workbook, Text book and Audio Book on CD;
Continental breakfast and snacks

SPECIAL BONUS:
FIRST 50 PEOPLE TO REGISTER WILL ALSO RECIEVE AN ABSOLUTLEY FREE COPY OF THE BEST SELLING BOOK: ”ASKING QUESTIONS, WINNING SALES”

Click here for the on-line registration form

Friday November 28, 2008
8:00 am to 9:00 am: Networking, Continental Breakfast and Registration
9:00 am to 3:00 pm: The Ultimate Appointment Making Workshop

Delta Markham
50 East Valhalla Drive
Markham, Ontario L3R 0A3

Directions & Map

Tomorrow: For most salespeople, management is their ultimate ambition – why? And why do so many fail?

Our role in the sales situation alternates between sender and receiver of messages. The very best sales professionals devote a large portion of the sales interview to listening.

“Creative ability” is geared to perceptiveness. Our ears are as important to perception as our eyes.

Understanding people and “human motivation” demands alertness to behaviour clues. Among the most important clues are the words people use.

“Human relations” is all about helping others like themselves. Sincere listening demonstrates sincere interest.

The best sales approach begins with a question. Listening for the answer is our guidepost to the right road.

Solutions to problems are based on what we hear in answer to the questions we’ve asked and good listening is the shortest distance between us and more sales; better sales, faster sales.

Good listening is a skill that requires much conscious practice.

There are many bad listening habits common to most of us:

• We lable subjects dull and uninteresting and tune out.
• We look only for facts, not ideas.
• We stress the speaker’s manner of delivery and speech habits and ignore the contents of their words.
• We let our emotions colour and obscure the inflow. (We judge before we understand, and lose the thread.)
• We permit ourselves to be distracted.
• We pretend to listen but we don’t hear 
• We go off on mental tangents.

These poor listening habits are “pick-pockets” that rob us into mental and sales poverty. Be alert to them and avoid them.

Good listening is real work. But there are many things in our favour. Average speech speed is 125 words per minute. We can listen six times as fast. This gives the listener a time advantage over the speaker.

The good listener applies the ”EARS” Formula to exploit this advantage. They:

Evaluate – search for evidence that the speaker might use to support their statements
Anticipate – tries to predict what the next point will be
Review – mentally summarises the main points the speaker has covered
Speculate – read between the lines to ask: “What is he/she really saying?”

It pays also to listen with your eyes as well as your ears. Frequently a gesture or an expression, will reveal as much or more than words.

Remember too, communication involves four steps:

Step One: Sensing the message and the stimuli that goes with it

Step Two: Interpreting it (to be sure you understand)

Step Three: Evaluating it (never judge before you understand)

Step Four: Reacting (either verbally or non-verbally)

And Finally – Some additional hints on listening:

• Be neutral. Let the other person have their full say.
• Give them complete attention… and reinforcement.
• If appropriate, ask them to explain further.
• Rephrase their main points and “play them back” to them…to help them see if they have said exactly what they wanted to say, and to make sure you understand.
• Put their “feelings” into words. This will help them evaluate and perhaps modify their statement…and it gives further evidence of your understanding.
• At the appropriate time, get agreement. Summarise what you have both said as a preparation for the next step. If possible, have them suggest the course of action.

Listening really is that important: First we seek to understand, and we cannot do that, unless we listen.

I think you will also enjoy: “How To Become An Active Listener”

Today’s News: I have a couple of really excellent events to share with you, but unfortunately, the copy didn’t arrive on time. However, I can confirm that the latest Top Sales Experts ebook launched to very loud “hurrahs” – if you haven’t downloaded your FREE copy yet, just click on the banner below.

Our graphics guy, Bill Jeckells, who was responsible for putting the masterpiece together, has been at it again – I asked if we could have a single leaf design, that incorporated the TSE logo – this is what he sent through last night!

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot I welcome Dan Adams.