Dear Sales Leader,

Is your sales team really achieving optimum performance levels?

Before you answer that, may I prompt you to ask yourself six further questions?

- If you benchmarked your team on an individual basis against the best in your industry/sector how would they fare?

-  What would it take for them to become the very best?

-  Are you able to measure the impact of any investment you have made in training and developing the team in recent years? – i.e. what return have you seen on that investment?

- What further development is required in order for them to achieve optimum performance levels?

-  If any members of the team are currently underachieving do you know why and do you understand what will be required to get them back on track?

- Who in your team is capable of much higher levels of achievement, if they were to receive appropriate coaching?
 
If you were unable to confidently answer any of the above, I would urge you to invest a few minutes discovering ASP Profile

ASP Profile is a unique concept which is rapidly gaining recognition as a world class product in the field of sales team performance assessment and has already been adopted in earlier and current forms by hundreds of forward thinking organisations around the globe including: – Autodesk, France Telecom, Global One, Computer 2000 Group, Northumbria Water, ISI Group plc, F.I. Scotland, CISCO, Platinum Technology, Computer Associates, Belle Systems, Allied Dunbar Assurance plc, Exodus, Mclaren Consulting. Domino UK Ltd and Parker Hannifin.

However, I would add that it is appropriate for organisations of all sizes from F.T.S.E. 100 companies to the S.M.E sector and furthermore, it is not industry specific.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan Farrington
Senior Partner
The JF Consultancy

PS: Please download the full Prospectus here …

The JF Guest Author Spot

Nancy Bleeke
Every effective sales training course teaches sales professionals to ask open-ended questions.  These are the questions that start with who, what, why, when, how, etc.  Why are open ended questions so universally taught? Because:

•    They solicit great information

•    Get the person talking

•    Allow you and them to find out if there is an opportunity

•    Can show your expertise, IF you ask the right questions

All that sounds great, doesn’t it?  Open ended questions really ARE effective.  But not 100% of the time.  When not used correctly, they can make a needs analysis seem like an interrogation.  They can be leading, forced, narrow, product focused and irrelevant.  Sales pros can come off like a militant drilling questions to just get to the information they want that allows them to pitch their product!

Instead, we can demonstrate our professionalism when we use the 3 ‘I’ approach so that our open-ended questions include:

1.    Intent

2.    Intelligence

3.    Interest

Intent. I’ve seen sales pros launch right into a list of questions that might seem irrelevant to the prospect.  The prospect thinks ‘What’s this have to do with anything?” Instead, we need to explain the intent of the line of questions so the prospect can put it in perspective and answer thoughtfully.

An example: Yesterday I received a call for someone who had something to offer.  They immediately asked me “So, what are you working on?”  My response?  “Wow, that’s broad, in what context?” They responded, “Whatever context you choose.”  Well, I was confused.  I knew what this person was selling and thought, should I answer my question based on that narrow interest or is he really trying to find out more?

So, I turned it back to him and said, ‘What are you working on?”  And then he responded. After 15 minutes I knew the flavor of his focus and we continued.

But why should I have had to work that hard?  If I knew where the discussion was going we could have both saved time.

To share intent can sound like this.  “We are going to talk about your human resource needs. What we have learned is that understanding  how this fits into the overall company’s goals and objectives helps us narrow down the approach and we will be able to give you a more accurate picture of how we might help.  The first questions are focused on that broader picture. Then we’ll get more specific.”  Then we go into our list of questions.

Intelligence. Your questions reveal a LOT about you. Here’s how to raise your ‘perceived’ intelligence level:

•    Explain the intent  of your line of questions and ask questions that broaden the dialogue to a bigger more strategic discussion.

•    Focus on the solution or value desired versus just the product.

•    Wait to LISTEN once you have asked  a question. When you ask more intelligent questions, the person may need to think before responding (this is usually a good thing).  How long? According to research, they might need 15-25 seconds to think and respond.  That’s a long time to wait, but it can payoff.

Interest. The questions should be interesting to the person. How?  Make the questions relevant to the situation and person. When it’s about THEM, it’s interesting TO them. Every aspect of the sales process should be wiift focused – What’s in it for THEM? – and this includes your questions!

There you have the 3 necessary “I”s for making your needs analysis productive. With a little forethought and preparation, you will be seen as informative and not an interrogator.
 

 Sales expert Nancy Bleeke, The SalesProInsider helps organizations achieve higher sales them while boosting profitability by hiring, training and retaining the best employees.

Companies can increase sales 5-25% in six weeks using Nancy’s tools and skill training for sales and coaching.  Ready-to-go sales training kits for 30 minute sales boosts are available through Nancy’s Sharpenz.com.  Visit to download a free sales booster.

She shares her expertise with the Timely Tips ezine and her blog. For information on sales training, contact Nancy at 414.235.3064 or  Nancy@salesproinsider.com

Seasoned sales professionals will tell you that they never think about “the close” because it happens quite naturally, but that takes practice and experience. This is what I tell “developing” salesmen and women:

It is time to simply ask for the order when:

– you and your prospect are in line with each other
– your prospect has enough information to make a decision
– your prospect’s attitudes are positive (excited)
– you see positive body language (smiles, relaxation, friendliness)
– you hear positive remarks (“I like that”)
– your prospect appears confident
– your prospect likes your proposal
– your prospect realises that they can afford it
– your prospect realises that they cannot afford to be without it
– your prospect realises the benefits

If having tried all the appropriate techniques in your repertoire, you still fail to close, use the “doorknob” technique:

Smile, thank your prospect for their time, leaving the door open for future sales.

More likely than not, your prospect will relax and you can ask them what you did wrong, what you didn’t do and why you didn’t get a favourable decision.

Then pause for an answer – the real objection may surface – and go for the close again

Sold – Now What?

Make full use of euphoria – the best time to discuss the next potential order is when you have just received the last one

• What else?

• Who else?

• What next?

Today’s News: I am delighted to tell you that you can now catch me over at AllBusiness, where I not only write the Sales Leadership blog, and Chair the AB Sales Star panel, but also fill the:

A weekly podcast, that you can catch HERE

The fundamental difference between selling and negotiation is that selling is a process to identify the fit between what the seller is offering and what the buyer is seeking.

Negotiation is the process of agreeing the terms of the deal and is part of the selling continuum. Yet the negotiation should only begin when there is a genuine commitment from the buyer and seller towards a conditional sale.

It is a bit like dating; usually a person is unlikely to book a restaurant until a date has been agreed to. Equally, the person being asked for a date would not particularly care about the restaurant choice unless they were sufficiently interested in attending the date. Once the date has been agreed it’s simply a matter of agreeing/negotiating the type of restaurant, location and time. When an individual is or has committed to do something, their level of interest rises dramatically, which is why the negotiation phase can be a hotbed of emotional intensity and tension.

Excellent salespeople use the selling phase to lay the ground rules for a possible future negotiation by ensuring that they fully understand their prospect’s requirements and decision making process, whilst planting seeds and setting the tone for the negotiation phase.

If, for example, you do all the giving through the selling phase, you have established the pre-supposition that you will continue to do all the giving in the negotiation phase. The transition from selling to negotiating can only occur when the desire to do business has been evoked in the prospect.

So, always start with the end in mind:

The benefits of a well-negotiated deal can have a major impact on bottom line profit and naturally, when the buyer and seller enter into a negotiation they both want the best possible deal for their own organisation.

It is little wonder that negotiations are viewed as competitions, where the outcome has to yield winners and losers. The ‘winning’ negotiator may experience short-term gains, yet long-term gains may prove harder than winning the lottery. That is why the process of creating an agreement that each party will willingly fulfil is referred to as Win-Win and provides increased probability of sustaining long-term customer relationships.

 Every negotiation has the potential to achieve one of the following outcomes:

 Win-Lose – where your customer wins a better deal at your expense and can lead to an unprofitable long-term relationship, because you have conceded too much to sustain future account servicing and growth.

 Lose-Win – where you win a better deal at your customer’s expense, which can cause bitterness and resentment, resulting in cancellations and a myriad of issues that stem from negative emotions.

 Lose-Lose – which is symptomatic of inflated egos on both sides that are prepared to ‘fight to the bitter end’ just to do a deal. This outcome creates bitterness and relationships are unlikely to continue past the short term.

 Walk-Away – which is actually a better outcome than all the above, because it preserves the possibility of a future relationship that is profitable for both parties.

 Win-Win – where both parties have made concessions, yet both the buyer and the seller are willing to comply with the agreed terms and share a perception that the outcome was fair to both.

Recognizing the importance of Win-Win outcomes is the first step towards planning to create an environment where both people are willing to share information and invest time in the negotiation process.

Some people see themselves as natural, spontaneous negotiators, which may get the adrenaline pumping, yet a lack of planning can result in lost revenues, lost opportunities and lost time. Thorough preparation is more likely to create and instil a high level of self-confidence, as well as create an increased probability for a Win-Win outcome.

Finally, here is a useful checklist of questions that will ensure good preparation practice:

•  Who has the most advantage? (the better bargaining position)
•  How strong is your proposition?
•  How strong is the other party’s proposition?
•  What will you and the other party be asking for?
•  What are your options and alternatives?
•  What is the cost/value of each negotiation point?
•  What are the other party’s worries, frustrations and motivations?
•  What are the fixed and variable points from all sides’ perspectives?
•  What ideally do you want to achieve?
•  What is your fallback position from which you are not prepared to move?
•  What are your fixed points?
•  What can you use as concessions if you decide to trade?
•  What are the real issues for you?
•  Who will be attending the negotiation?
•  What are their roles?
•  What are their positions?
•  Is the decision-maker present?
•  In your team, what roles will you be taking?
•  Who will handle which issues?
•  How would you describe the negotiation style of the other party?
•  How will this affect your own approach in the negotiation?
•  What did you learn from your last negotiation that you can apply to this one?

Today’s News: With all that has been happening this week, I completely forgot to tell you that the jf Corporation has launched! The site is looking good, but the designers are reducing the size of the top banners in the next 48 hours, and then it will be perfect ……. what do you think? Go HERE

For many sales people, the telephone is an important resource that they use to develop their business. Yet, according to a study by Behavioural Sciences Research Press:

40% of established sales people experienced periods of ‘call reluctance’ severe enough to threaten their livelihood in sales.

The average ‘call reluctant’ sales person loses more than fifteen new accounts each month to their competitors.
Whether you are telephoning to make an appointment or seeking information about a prospect, there are some essential pointers that can help you to become really effective when communicating on the telephone!

• People can hear when you read from a script, so prepare what you plan to say by writing it down, read aloud what you have written three times, so that it becomes installed within your unconscious mind. Then throw it away!

From memory prepare some bullet points that summarise the content of your script and use these to refer to when on the telephone. This simple technique ensures that you can devote more attention to the other person and you’ll sound much more natural.

• Plan how you will respond to the objections you experience most frequently and be experimental with trying out different responses.

• Always dial each call yourself so that you feel in control and prepared. Ask for the contact by name and if speaking to their secretary it helps to use the contacts first name as well. If asked who is calling, use your full name and if asked the name of your company, don’t be afraid to give it.

• Use a spontaneous opening (you’ll be able to do this if you focus your attention on the other person) and get the OK signal that it’s convenient for the prospect to talk with you. (Either verbally or non-verbally). If the prospect conveys that it’s not a convenient time then find out when they are prepared to talk with you. Your call will generally be interrupting them, which is why it’s important to be direct and get to the point quickly.

• Hook the prospect’s attention by using their name and providing a reason why they should talk with you. According to Tony Robbins, if people have good reasons to do something, they’ll do anything. It can be really useful before you make a call to develop two or three reasons why the person you’re calling will be pleased to hear from you because you are unconsciously projecting your positive ‘vibes’ that will be unconsciously received by the other person and you’ll feel more confident. If they have been referred, use that person’s name as early as you can because it will warm up their response and you can maximise the relationship.

• Build rapport by matching the other person’s voice speed and volume. Resistance can be dramatically reduced if you can immediately project that there is a similarity between you both. If your prospect is talking quickly, talk quickly, if they are talking slowly, talk slowly. This can be challenging because a natural reaction from sales people is to blurt out their scripted message as quickly as they can. Instead, using a message that is succinct and to the point, yet matching speed and volume can build a connection very quickly.

• Have clear expectations about what you want the call to accomplish. Is it to inform? To establish a need? To obtain an appointment? Unless you are in a telesales role you should NEVER attempt to sell your product or services over the phone, you are ‘selling’ the appointment.

• Clarify that you have all the correct information. For example, confirm you are talking to the right person and they have the authority and not just the title. Even if your call is not successful on the first attempt, you can ensure that their details are correct for future use.

• Research from The Results Corporation Plc shows that 60% of customers say “yes” after saying “no” 5 times, yet 44% of sales people give up after the first “no”, 22% after the second “no” and 14% after the third “no”. These statistics are important when prospecting on the telephone because a typical prospect will require five contacts from the sales person before agreeing to a meeting. That’s why successful sales people develop a “Prospect Nurturing System” that keeps them in regular contact with their prospects irrespective of how many “no’s” they encounter. As the contact increases many people’s reassurance rises as they become more familiar with a person or their company.

• Ask open questions to encourage the prospect to talk and if appropriate ask a couple of questions that probe for pain (Pain can be a powerful motivator).

• Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right. Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach. If you keep a call log of all your calls you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker. For example, traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call.

• The higher up the organisation you go then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker. Try outside the normal office hours that will avoid the receptionist and you may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company – they also have the time to talk! As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling – therefore the receptionist is ‘expecting your call’.

• If you are using the telephone to qualify prospect information, you should aim to discover:

- Who should be talking to regarding the purchase of your product or service?
- Who else would be involved in such a decision?
- When do you believe a budget will be made available for such a purchase/project this year?
- What do you envisage that budget to be?
- Is the budget dependent upon anything?
- When is this purchase required by?
- Is there a particular reason for this timescale?
- Who else are they talking to? (Identified your competitors)
- What are they hoping to achieve? (Checks whether it is within your capabilities)

• Record what you are doing, how many dials you’ve made, how many prospects you were able to talk with and the times of your calls. Studying this information gives you a good reality check because you’ll know how many calls you need to make to get an appointment

• At then end of a call where you aim is to secure an appointment, seek their commitment. For example, “I feel I understand what is required and that we can help, I’d like to discuss your requirements further in person, would Thursday or Friday next week be suitable?”

• Always confirm your appointment either by email or by letter because this provides you with another opportunity of ‘contact’ that helps the prospect with becoming more familiar with you and your organisation. Give appointments either at a quarter past or a quarter to the hour. This conveys that you are busy and presupposing that there are lots of other companies that want to see you.

• Your attitude and emotional state is a vital part of telephone effectiveness. Clear your desk of everything except your prospect records and diary. If your immediate environment is uncluttered it helps free your mind so that you can focus on each call’s objectives. Visualise your prospect smiling warmly when they receive your call. This will help you access a positive state-of-mind. Your unconscious mind can’t tell the difference between a real and imagined event. This mentally rehearses you in feeling good about picking up the phone.

• Finally, stand up, take five deep breaths and smile! According to Deepak Chopra, our mind and body are totally connected. The way you move your body affects your mental state. After every call, review what went well before making your next call. This process enables you to act as your own motivational mentor!

Today’s News: Two last calls to action:

Tonight’s Top Sales Expert’s Masterclass promises to be very good and I cannot imagine you will want to miss it …..

Just click on this banner to claim your FREE place.

And secondly, you still have time to vote for your favourite February article, over at Top 10 Sales Articles

In my view, when preparing a business development strategy you should plan out the whole year and review / revise quarterly.

• List your existing accounts and plan what activities / actions need to be completed in order to fully exhaust all opportunities. You may for instance, plan to cover more bases within the decision making unit or contact associated companies or offices. A Strategic Account Profile can be used as a prompt.

• Begin to target new accounts using business directories etc. and set targets per week / month / quarter i.e. I normally allow for eight hours per week as a minimum (Don’t forget to continually refer back to your Ideal Profile)

• Then build in what assistance you need from your marketing function – i.e. qualified leads, seminars, exhibition attendance etc.

• Finally share your plan with your manager and then commit to it.

You should also measure it against S.M.A.R.T.E.R. i.e. is it:

S.pecific
M.easurable
A.chievable
R.elevant
T.imed
E.xciting
R.ecorded

Linking With Your Commercial Plan:

I have suggested that your Business Development Strategy, would link with your Master Business Plan but logically you should also integrate it into your Commercial Kit(this is a document that outlines your monthly,quarterly and annual targets) – specifically the areas that deal with new business generation, account management and development, four tier account lists etc.

These three documents when combined should drive and guide you through the next twelve months and beyond.

Summary:
As I have said often enough “People do not fail because they planned to fail but rather because they failed to plan”

The man or woman who knows where they want to go are more likely to get there, they just have to decide how to get there.

All plans are essentially maps and guides; the strategic element is the ‘How’.

Do be prepared to change course, flexibility is key, and don’t be afraid to experiment, look outside the square.

Here is a free ebook for you – it’s the full works – just simply click on the image below.

Today’s News: It’s congratulations time for my good friend, colleague, Top Sales Expert’s sponsor, and SalesNexus CEO, Craig Klein.

He is now the proud father of one James Wallace Klein – or Jamie, to Mum and Dad!

The increasingly intense competitive challenges of the world economy challenge everyone, everywhere, to adapt in order to prosper under new rules.

In the old economy, hierarchies pitted labour against management, with workers paid wages depending on their skills, but that is eroding as the rate of change accelerates.

Hierarchies are being replaced by networks; labour and management are uniting into teams; wages are coming in new mixtures of options, incentives and ownership; fixed jobs melt into fluid careers.

As business changes, so do the traits needed to survive, let alone excel. All these transitions put increased value on emotional intelligence. Competitive pressures put a new value on people who are self-motivated, show initiative, have the inner drive for outdoing themselves, and are optimistic enough to take reversals and setbacks in their stride.

The ever-pressing need to serve customers and clients well and to work smoothly and creatively with an ever more diverse range of people makes the ability to empathise all the more essential.

At the same time, the meltdown of old hierarchies increases the importance of traditional people skills such as building bonds, influence and collaboration. And that is as true for employers as it is for employees. The task of the leader draws on a wide range of personal skills.

Research has shown that emotional competence makes the crucial difference between mediocre leaders and the best. Indeed, emotional competence makes up about two thirds of the ingredients of star performance in general, but for outstanding leaders emotional competencies – as opposed to technical or cognitive cues – make up 80 to 100% of those listed by companies as crucial for success.

Star performers show significantly greater strengths in a range of emotional competencies, such as the skills of persuasion, team leadership, political awareness, self-confidence, and achievement drive.

Empathy, one of the key elements of emotional intelligence, is central to good management; it is difficult to have a positive impact on others without first sensing how they feel and understanding their position. People who are poor at reading emotional cues and inept at social interactions are very poor at influencing others in the workplace.

Today’s News: Last week, good chum, Jill Konrath guest posted on Hubspot’s “Inbound Internet Marketing Blog” and it created quite a stir.

My natural reaction was to wade in with support, but Jill didn’t need any help from me, and anyway, “inbound internet marketing” is not really one of my areas of expertise.

You will see that a guy calling himself  ”Sales Pro” – real name Luke Brown, amply demonstrates that he is anything but – and no, I am not going to give you a link to his site. In my opinion, he has gained far too much notoriety already.

Anyway, do enjoy the post HERE

And then enjoy Mike Damphousse’s post on that post HERE

The JF Guest Author Spot

Kevin Eikenberry

Every leader I’ve ever talked with has been busy. Some are more stressed by their workload than others, but the reality of work today is that we all (leaders included) have plenty to do. Which should make the title of this article of great interest, I mean, who wouldn’t be interested in better results by doing less?

What are the better results that you’ll see?

If you follow my advice, you’ll soon notice:

- Greater engagement. The people that you lead will be more involved in the projects and processes that they work on. They’ll definitely feel better about the value that they are adding.

- Higher levels of trust. Want those you lead to trust you more? While my advice won’t solve all your trust concerns, it will definitely help.

- More ideas. Do you wish you could generate more ideas when working with a group? This advice will definitely help you create more ideas.

- Enhanced teamwork. People will feel the personal value they add and will be more willing to contribute to the team.

- Greater buy-in. If you want people to believe in the projects and changes you are leading, this advice will definitely help make that happen.

That’s right, I’m telling you that you can have more of all five of those things by doing one thing less. Read on.

The Advice

Those are pretty powerful benefits aren’t they? Chances are, you would be reading on if you thought there was something you could do to get any one of them, let alone getting all of them by doing less of something.

Before I continue though, let me warn you. Doing less of this thing may be very hard. It may take you some time to get better at doing less of this. But the effort will be worth it, I promise.

My advice is that you talk less. Or, to put it more bluntly, my advice is to shut up.

In my experience in observing and coaching leaders, there are sometimes when they talk too much, or at the wrong times.

If you are having a meeting with a team or an individual and you are doing most of the talking about the project or task, how engaged will the other person/people be? How likely are they to feel the value they are contributing? Would they be more engaged if you stopped to get their opinion? You know the answer. So the next time you are in this situation (or hundreds of others), don’t say the first thing that comes to your mind, rather stop talking and start listening.

Talk less and listen more.

As the leader you have power – either real or perceived – over those that you lead. Whether you like it or not, because of your position, your words carry weight. And if you start sharing your ideas when you are trying to solicit input from others, they may be less likely to share their possible solutions. Why? They assume you already have a plan or an answer – after all you have been doing all the talking. Besides if you let them share their ideas, chances are one of them will come up with the same thoughts you had – and if that idea comes from the group – instead of you – it will be much more powerful.

Talk less – at least at first.

Remember that you are the leader of the team, but you also are a member of the team. Consider playing that role more often and more effectively. One of the best ways you can do that is to talk less – don’t take the floor for too long – and give others a chance to contribute more.

Leaders are often told to communicate more – that communication is an important part of their job. I completely agree with that assessment. There are times when you have a message to deliver, reinforce or support. Great leaders are great communicators. But the best leaders know that there is more to communication than talking.

One of the most powerful ways you can communicate is to talk less.

- Talk less and let your curiosity show.

- Talk less and let your interest show.

- Talk less and let others contribute.

- Talk less and sometimes you’ll communicate more important things.

- Talk less . . . and get greater results.

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.

Shakespeare was good about leadership, as about most other things. The spoof letter which caused poor Malvolio to make such a fool of himself contains words that say a lot about the subject. “Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”. Greatness and leadership are so closely akin that the words give us a useful point of departure.

“Born great” has two possible meanings: either being born to a great position, such as that of an hereditary monarch, or possessing natural talents and/or virtues of an exceptional kind. Clearly not everyone born to a great position is worthy of it, and relatively few have the qualities of a great leader. But the greatness of certain offices can rub off on their occupants, who may not otherwise have qualities out of the ordinary.

Some appear to have the gift of leadership, but are found to lack it when tested. Tacitus wrote of an early Roman emperor that he would have been thought capable of ruling if only he hadn’t actually been called upon to rule (capax imperii nisi imperasset). Others are recognised as “born leaders” and exercise effective leadership up to a certain level, but prove disastrous failures beyond that level. It is very hard to judge the point beyond which a person will be overpromoted.

“Some achieve greatness” denotes, above all, those whose greatness is self-made. But all of the really great leaders must be regarded as achievers, whatever their advantages of birth and training. Alexander the Great was born to kingship and inherited a strong army. With Aristotle as his tutor, he was perhaps the most privileged person, educationally, that there has ever been. Nevertheless, what he achieved in his short life was beyond anything that could remotely have been expected of him.

Much the same is true of Julius Caesar. He was a young Roman aristocrat whose career began as a demagogic politician, but who turned out to be a military commander of genius. The trajectory of his career could never have been predicted.

Napoleon is the supreme example of the utterly self-made leader – the man who “achieved greatness” by his own unaided efforts. When he was on his way to St Helena, he was still slightly younger than John F. Kennedy at the time of his assassination. And Napoleon was not a millionaire’s son. Of course, he was privileged in another way, having the good luck to be born in a revolutionary period, when opportunity beckoned to a man of his phenomenal talents. But luck is a precondition of most human achievements. Natural leaders know how to exploit their luck.

Most of those who achieve anything in the world are ambitious, and some have very exalted ambitions which they have never the chance to realise. A few rise higher than they or anyone else could have imagined, and then prove equal to the challenge. Like those born to great offices who prove, against the odds, worthy to hold them, such people have “greatness thrust upon them”.

A case in point was Harry S. Truman. He was not born great, and seemed unlikely to achieve greatness beyond the level of a US Senator. Only Franklin D. Roosevelt’s incredibly casual, last-minute choice of him as running-mate for the 1944 election, soon followed by Roosevelt’s death, precipitated him into a situation where, as he said, he felt that the moon and stars had fallen on him. But he grew in the office of President and achieved a stature that surprised everyone, including probably himself. He was a man who seemed to be overpromoted, but was not.

Churchill and de Gaulle, two of the greatest leaders of modern times, also depended upon chance for the fulfilment of their potential. But they had formidable talent and limitless self-belief. Destiny seemed to wait on them. They were manifestly above the ordinary run of humanity, and made no attempt to conceal the fact.

By contrast, Mahatma Gandhi, though no less extraordinary a person achieved his appeal to the Indian masses by seeming to identify with them. His style was studiedly anti – charismatic, yet it gave him a charisma that was quite unique. Like many effective leaders, he used dress (or in his case relative undress) as a weapon. His loincloth was the PR equivalent of Napoleon’s black hat and grey overcoat, or Churchill’s boiler suit. (When Gandhi met George V at Buckingham Palace, and was asked afterwards if he felt at a disadvantage wearing only a loincloth, he replied cheerfully: “Oh no, His Majesty was wearing enough for both of us”).

Leadership is partly a confidence trick, and those who practice it cannot afford to be too predictable. Some have alternated ruthlessness with generosity. (This was one of Caesar’s trademarks). Others have appeared at times to be listless and drifting, only to spring suddenly to life. (This was Stanley Baldwin’s style).

Democratic leaders have the difficult task of both guiding the people and seeming to respond to the popular will. Autocrats  are obviously freer to exercise leadership, but among them the most successful have been aware of the need to be loved and admired as well as feared, just as many of the best democratic leaders have been natural autocrats, restrained only by conscience and realism. The essential qualities of a good leader are much the same, whatever the environment.

Of all the qualities needed for leadership, only one is indispensable – courage. Without it, all the others are more or less useless. Courage has been shown by all who we recognise as true leaders, from Alexander to Thatcher. A leader must have the ability to take hard decisions and calculated risks. This rule applies at all levels and in all situations – in school, factory, boardroom or sporting arena, no less than on the battlefield or in the council chamber.

Leaders have to give courage to others, while creating the illusion that they know exactly what they are doing. In Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra, when one of Caesar’s officers says something intended to lift his spirits, he replies witheringly: “Do you presume to encourage me?” Shaw, like Shakespeare, knew what leadership was about.

An inspired and motivated workforce is essential for any business that hopes to stay ahead of the competition. But just how do you motivate people? What kind of leadership do people respond to? And how can you improve the quality of leadership in your business?

The Inspiration Gap:

In a survey of more than one and a half thousand managers, people were asked what they would most like to see in their leaders. The most popular answer, mentioned by 55% of people, was ‘inspiration’.

When asked if they would describe their current leader as ‘inspiring’, only 11% said yes. The two attributes that people actually mentioned most often when describing their leaders were ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘ambitious’. As well as this thirst for inspiring leadership, there’s also evidence to support the idea that companies with inspiring leaders perform better.

The London Sunday Times publishes an annual survey of the ‘Best Companies to Work For’, which is compiled from the opinions of the companies’ own employees. One interesting fact is that those ‘Best Companies’ that are publicly quoted consistently outperform the FTSE All-Share Index. Five-year compound returns show a 5.7% negative return for FTSE All-Share companies against a 13.6% gain for the Best Companies. Over three years, the returns were -11.3% and 6.7% respectively while, in the last twelve months, they were 23.1% and 44%.

The ‘Best Companies to Work For’ have also performed impressively on staff turnover, sickness rates, absenteeism, and the ability to recruit good quality people.

The stereotype of the inspirational leader as someone extrovert and charismatic is the exception rather than the rule.

Looking at best practice across business, though some inspirational leaders certainly do fit this mould, a large number do not.

Many are quiet, almost introverted. The following are some of the most commonly observed characteristics of inspiring leaders:

Strong Strategic Focus:

They are very good at ensuring that the business only does those things where it has the resources to do a good job and where it can add real value.

Lateral Thinkers:

They are particularly adept at drawing on experiences outside their own sectors and taking a much broader view than the norm. They look at things very laterally and encourage their people to do the same.

Vision And Communication:

An inspirational leader has a very strong, customer-focused vision of where the business should be going.

Importantly they are also able to communicate their vision so that their people feel they own it and know where they fit into it. The best leaders are great communicators who prefer plain speaking to jargon.

 Principled:

They are deeply committed, courageous, demanding of themselves and their people and confident, albeit often in a quiet and under-stated way. What singles them out is an exceptionally strong set of values built on honesty, openness and true respect for their people.

What makes an inspiring leader?

Reflective:

What distinguishes them is genuine humility and not being afraid to show vulnerability on occasions. This comes from regular periods of reflection and an unquenchable thirst for learning.

Risk Takers:

They have a marked tendency to ‘bend the rules’, take calculated risks, and, on occasions, be guided by their gut-feelings. They also tolerate this in other people, recognising that a certain amount of flexibility is essential to adapt to circumstances and make real strides forward.

Accessible:

They make time to get out and speak to people. This informal and personal contact is a very powerful motivator. Equally, when they are at their own desk, they aren’t cosseted behind a wall of PAs.

Value Attitude:

They value skills and training very highly, but they also focus heavily on attitude, believing that, without the right attitude and motivation, nothing will be achieved.
 
The question is, why do these traits produce results?

Pay is only one component of job satisfaction. Other factors like respect and prestige can be tremendously important in making staff feel good about their jobs. The reason that inspiring leadership produces results is that it contributes directly to fulfilling many of people’s emotional needs.

The following are some of the ways that best practice in leadership contributes to improved job satisfaction, motivation and productivity.

Why people respond to leaders

Being Listened To:

A business where only senior managers are allowed to ‘have ideas’, rarely achieves great staff satisfaction. Inspirational leaders ask for, and respect, what their people tell them about how to do things better, and they provide the resources to ensure that the solutions are delivered.

Being Involved:

Inspirational leaders involve their people in changes for them to be a success. They give their people the freedom and support to get on with the job. When you walk around these companies, there is electricity in the air – you can feel the energy and buzz.

Having Fun:

In successful companies, people work hard but enjoy themselves in the process. Fun is a great indicator that an organisation is innovative and is also a key innovation driver. At the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ you see a lot of fun at work.

Being Trusted:

It’s no coincidence that, when you ask people what it is like to work in an organisation run by an inspirational leader, they talk about openness, honesty, respect and trust. These firms can boast highly committed staff that has a great sense of responsibility to their work.

Being Appreciated:

Recognition is an absolutely crucial element of inspiration, and few things are more powerful, or simple, than a genuine ‘thank you’. Inspirational leaders know that it’s vital that people feel appreciated and valued, so they show their appreciation through extensive celebration of success – both formally and informally.

Summary:

The best leaders promote a culture where their people value themselves, each other, the company and the customers. Everyone understands how their work makes a difference. This helps to build a commitment to higher standards where everybody is always looking to do things better.

Today’s News:  It’s time for the next instalment of Craig Klein’s compelling new ebook …

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