The JF Guest Author Spot

Billy Cox

If you want to earn the big bucks in sales and achieve all your goals and dreams, you have to gain a mental edge. Gaining the mental edge is all about preparing yourself upfront, ahead of time to execute when the time is right.

Too many sales people think they are good enough to “wing it.” Many times salespeople pull up to an appointment after weaving through traffic, 5 minutes late, shoveling down their hot dog and washing it down with a Big Gulp while trying to wipe the mustard off their shirt. This is the surest way to the sidelines.

There is one word that stands out above all others as far as “what it takes” to make the big sale. This word is preparation. That’s right; preparation is the foundation of any level of achievement. You have to prepare yourself ahead of time if you want to gain the mental edge it takes to land the big one.

The following seven steps are key in preparing yourself with the mental edge.

1) Know your customer. Take time to research everything you can about the company and the individual you are going to see. Study everything you can about their products and services. Find out about the individual’s hobbies and preferences. If appropriate, go as far as finding out what he or she will wear for your meeting, what they like to eat, and about their family and children.

How do you find out?
a) Research the internet.
b) Ask the people that know them. This includes their assistant, receptionist, or the person who referred you. If the person has purchased from your company review previous sales files or ask other people who have dealt with them.

Learning as much as you can about the customer and their products and services will put you at ease and give you confidence because you will already feel like you know the person and their company.

2) Dress for success. Dress professionally, wear clean clothes, groom your hair neatly, and brush your teeth. Research has proven time and time again that you perform better when you look better. When you look better you feel better and the customer responds to the way you feel.

3) Be organized. Make sure you have reviewed your paperwork and presentation materials and neatly organize them so you can access them easily. The worst experience you can have is going into an appointment, open up your brief case, and start shuffling through stuff unable to find your information.

4) Know your stuff. Review your materials, know your products, practice and record your presentation, listen to it over and over again.

5) Get focused. On the way to the appointment, you need to totally focus on the end result you want to achieve. If you have a long drive, you may want to listen to an inspiring audio that has a positive message or of someone closing a sale or one of your own recordings. In the last few minutes of your drive, turn everything off, relax and focus on the ultimate outcome…securing the sale.

6) Imagine. I teach all salespeople to take at least 5 minutes to mentally prepare before every appointment. I recommend pulling over into a parking lot close to your appointment area or on the side of the road and taking time to visualize in your mind the end result you want to achieve. See yourself shaking your customer’s hand, developing rapport, giving an excellent presentation, and agreeing on a win/win situation.

7) Arrive 3 to 5 minutes early. Punctuality is important. You can lose sales because you failed to keep your appointment time. It is better to arrive early than late.

Following these steps will give you the mental edge that will help you make the big sale. Preparing yourself ahead of time is a small difference that separates the superstars from average performers.

Internationally recognized business leader, author, and inspirational speaker Billy Cox energizes people to dream big, take action, and achieve results. His message comes from the authenticity and credibility of his own inspiring, all-American success story. Billy Cox now teaches the essentials that led to his own success – he has lived what he speaks. Billy pairs his powerful message with a high-energy, passionate, and down-to-earth style. Visit his website at http://www.championshipsales.com/ or email him at info@championshipsales.com

The JF Guest Author Spot

Paul McCord
In Part 1 we looked at the actions and attitudes of That Guy who is guaranteed to fail in sales.  We saw that That Guy comes in many forms from a self-centered know-it-all to a guy so fearful of rejection that he can’t make the prospecting calls that are the foundation of selling to the guy who spends all of his time putting on the airs of success so that he has no time to actually become successful.

So now that we know what the guy who fails does, it’s time to find out what the actions and attitudes of That Guy who succeeds are.  Whereas we found 14 easily identifiable actions and attitudes of that failure guy (we could have found many more but stopped at 14 for the sake of time), there are far fewer actions and attitudes of that success guy.

What are the success actions and attitudes of that sales success guy?

1.That success guy concentrates on doing things that create sales.  Where that failure guy does busy work, that success guy spends his time connecting with quality prospects, meeting with them, taking care of them.  If the action isn’t directly related to making a sale or serving a client, he wants no part of it.

2.That success guy takes responsibility for his own success.  Certainly, he takes advantage of every growth opportunity his company gives him, but he doesn’t rely on the company for his training and professional growth.  He invests his time, his energy and his money in his own training and coaching.  His success is his responsibility—and reward, not the company’s.

3.That guy is the luckiest guy in the world.  Well, not really—he just appears to be lucky because he works hard to be in the right place at the right time.  He “stumbles” into so much business because he has put himself in front of so many people and developed so many relationships that when they do need something, he’s “lucky” enough to be there.

4.That guy has the confidence to expose himself to success.  He knows not everyone will buy.  He knows that he’ll hit some homerun presentations, presenting solid solutions to prospect’s problems and still not make the sale.  He doesn’t let those disappointments control his life.  He’s a winner and he knows it.  He isn’t arrogant or conceited; he just knows that he has the skills and the work ethic that will produce the results he wants.

5.That guy knows what he is doing and why he is doing it.  He has a disciplined, proven process that guides his actions—and consistently produces the results he wants.  Unlike that sales failure guy who wakes up in a new world everyday where he must constantly reinvent who he is and what he does, that sales success guy leaves nothing to chance.  He has a replicable process for every aspect of the sales process that he knows works.

6.That success guy is driven to succeed.  He has to win.  He won’t, can’t settle for just being in the running.  There’s something in his gut that demands he find a way to be top dog.  If that means making more cold calls than anyone else, that’s what he does.  If it means working twice as many hours as his sales team mates, that’s what he does.  If it means investing more time and money in learning more effective strategies than his team mates, that’s what he does. 

That sales success guy is really pretty simple—he simply is committed to learning and executing proven, effecitve strategies that will result in producing the results he wants.  He doesn’t waste time.  He doesn’t feed his ego and starve his bank account.  He doesn’t do the things that lead to failure and expect to be successful.

You are That Guy.  The only question is are you that sales failure guy or are you that sales success guy?  The good news is it really is your choice.  You don’t have to be that sales failure guy.  You can just as easily be that sales success guy.  It just depends on whether or not you’re willing to do those things that lead to success.

Paul McCord is the president of McCord Training, a Texas based international sales training, coaching, and consulting company. He is the author of the Amazon and Barnes and Noble best-selling book on referral generation, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons, 2008), and SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales SuperStar. He may be reached at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com or visit his training website at www.dynamicsalesgrowth.com

Ahead of my follow-up Top Sales Masterclass next week, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to look at the 40 most common mistakes made by negotiators ….. here we go.

• Failing to prepare effectively for negotiation

• Underestimating your own power

• Assuming the other party knows your weaknesses and strengths

• Being intimidated by the status of the person with whom you are negotiating

• Concentrating on your problems, rather than those of the other party

• Forgetting the other side has things to gain from agreement, as well as yourself

• Making assumptions about what the other side wants

• Having low aspirations for yourself

• Giving too much credence to time deadlines set by the other side

• Assuming the other side is aware of the short and long-term benefits of reaching agreement

• Being intimidated by rules set by the other side

• Misunderstanding tactics used by the other side

• Talking too much

• Failing to listen effectively

• Believing everything the other side says about you, your service, your competition, etc.

• Being forced into discussing price too early in the negotiation

• Revealing your “hand” too early

• Aiming too low with your opening bid

• Accepting the first offer

• Giving away concessions for nothing

• Conceding an important issue too quickly

• Making concessions too easily and raising the other side’s expectations

• Feeling guilty about asking for a concession

• Making concessions before knowing all the other sides’ demands

• Failing to make concessions conditional on final agreement being reached

• Making concessions of equal size to those on offer

• Paying too much attention to price, rather than value
 
• Discussing issues for which you are not prepared

• Being inflexible

• Losing sight of the overall agreement when deadlock is reached over minor issues

• Responding to a high demand with a counter offer, instead of challenging the validity of the high demand

• Assuming deadlock means agreement is not possible

• Feeling deadlock is only unpleasant for you and not the other party

• Trying to be liked during the final stages

• Bluffing without having a strategy ready should your bluff be called

• Taking things personally

• Offering to split the difference

• Being intimidated by “This is my final offer”!

• Not preparing for the possibility you may need to walk away

• Carrying out a “post-mortem” with the other side

How many of those mistakes have you made? Be honest!

Back to that Masterclass: “The Dirty Secrets of the World’s Best Negotiators - Part Two”

Registration is free, if you would like to join me – full details HERE

News: It is true, I often complain about my experiences with French customer care/service, and the difficulties that I regularly endure. Recent strikes have caused mayhem, and I think you will be appalled when you read of  the challenges faced by four young men, who are currently “enjoying” the European experience. One of them is the son of my good friend Clayton Shold of Salesopedia

Here is the link to their blog – http://bigadventureslittlemoney.wordpress.com/?ref=spelling

Finally, two great guest posts over the w/e, so do try and join me if you can?

When we agree to an idea or proposal, it’s because there’s something in it for us. It’s hard to influence people who can’t see what’s in it for them. Sounds one-sided, but it is true. Call it self-interest, selfishness or whatever. It is only human nature to ask, ‘What am I getting from this?’

People will say ‘yes’ to your ideas if they meet their needs or match their view of life in the following areas:

• Principles and values

• Beliefs and opinions

• Needs and wants

So Why Not Give People What They Want and Need?

People agree to ideas and suggestions that match their needs or views of life. Underpinning all our lives are certain principles and values that we hold to be true. These become guidance for how we conduct our lives. They influence and mould our behavior. They can differ greatly from person to person and successful influencers always take principles and values into account.

But how?

• Notice what principles and values drive other people

• Ask questions and invite comment and reaction

• Check with those who know them well

Some examples of principles:

‘Integrity and fairness are an integral part of business dealings.’

‘I think that older people deserve courtesy and consideration.’

‘Moral behavior is part of the fabric of daily life.’

It would be unproductive to spend time attempting to dislodge these deep-seated principles. Instead, harness them to add leverage to your suggestions.

Beliefs and Opinions

Beliefs and opinions can be transient or short-term. Remember when you used to believe in Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy, giants and witches? Proof can easily dislodge a belief – so too can time.

An early step on the road to influencing others may include having to change lingering beliefs or convictions before you can proceed further.

‘I think that BubbleClean washing machines break down more often than the Tumblingsystem range.’

‘I think that all politicians are corrupt.’

‘I never make decisions on the 13th.’

Each of these beliefs can be dealt with by logical questioning or providing proof or data.

Needs and Necessities

These are fundamental requirements – they have to be met if you are to influence others. Typical needs include: reliability, security, achieving a deadline, meeting a budget, keeping up to date.

‘Because of increasing competition, it is essential that we maintain an image and at the same time keep up to date.’

‘My team members are under great pressure, so it important to maintain their morale.’

‘The system must not only be reliable, but secure as well.’

Having uncovered needs, you may have to mould or reshape your ideas to dovetail with the requirements of others. Often, people have a hierarchy of needs, so it may be important to discover and use this:

‘Which is most important to you – reliability or security?’

Wants and Wishes

Wants and wishes are not essentials, just a wish list: ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely … if only’.

But their fulfillment can be the cherry on your influencing trifle, placed on top with a flourish, after the other person has agreed to your proposal.

Depends What’s on Offer

Question: How will your suggestions benefit the other person?

The person or people you are influencing will interpret the benefits of your suggestions in different ways. Some will be interested in the features – the fine details, the nitty gritty of ideas. Others will say ‘How will I benefit?’  Others will seek out the advantages of proposals – how the benefits are different.

 Features, Benefits and Advantages

No doubt you are familiar with the differences between features, benefits and advantages, but it is worth re-iterating.

Features

These are built-in aspects of your idea or suggestion – timing, costs, resources etc. They will remain locked up in your idea, whether the other person agrees or not.

Benefits

These are far more important than the features of your proposal. They translate boring old features into exciting statements which show clearly how others will gain.

‘This new hardware is made in Germany (feature) which means that we will save time and money on spare parts (benefit).’

Advantages

These are comparative benefits e.g. – increased revenue, greater savings, and faster turn-around.

In Summary – The Benefit Balance Sheet
      
Most people do not agree whole-heartedly to an idea. There is usually something that niggles, however well you’ve addressed their concerns.

In the end, when we finally say ‘yes’ to a proposal, it is because the benefits outweigh any disadvantages.

As you plan and prepare your influencing case, list all the benefits and advantages of your suggestions. Use them to tip the balance in favor of ‘yes’.

Countless surveys suggest that front-line sales professionals are constantly citing the fact that their biggest challenge by far right now is generating high quality leads. I accept this: The market place is becoming far more competitive, and we should anticipate that it will get even tougher, for a host of reasons.

But you know, in our haste to continually find “green field” opportunities, we often overlook – neglect even – the accounts that we already have because a vitally important sales activity is that of managing existing customer accounts to consolidate and grow the relationship. Yet unfortunately, when compared over time, the customers’ interest levels increase while salespeople’s interest levels tend to decrease – This creates a “relationship gap” and is due entirely to complacency.

Another major issue is that, too often, the salesperson fails to expand his/her “contact base” – as this next survey proves – which results in vulnerability and exposure to competitive activity.

Periodically, the Financial Times conducts a survey of British industry (and I have no reason to conclude that it is any different anywhere else) to establish how companies go about their purchasing. The survey is very comprehensive, broken down into many kinds of products and services.

From a Sales Director’s perspective, these are very worrying statistics…

Customer size (Number of employees): Less than 200

Average number of buying influencers: 3.43

Number of influencers visited by salespeople: 1.72

Customer size (Number of employees): 200 – 400

Average number of buying influencers: 4.85

Number of influencers visited by salespeople: 1.75

Customer size (Number of employees): 401 – 1000

Average number of buying influencers: 5.81

Number of influencers visited by salespeople: 1.90

Customer size (Number of employees): 1001 +

Average number of buying influencers: 6.50

Number of influencers visited by salespeople: 1.65

In essence, without a sustained approach to ongoing servicing and support activities, customers that took months to win are ultimately lost because there was a lack of interest from their supplier.

Today’s clients/customers are looking for vendors who can be business partners, who are willing and able to share risks and who are able to properly manage the entire sales process.

Fact: It now costs fifteen times as much to locate and sell to a new customer as it does to an existing one.

Is that compelling? If you do not love your existing customers, eventually they will fall out of love with you too!

To some, networking means simply meeting or calling someone new for what might be a one-off discussion or event. In this limited sense, networking is only a trading relationship in which two parties seek to discover whether they have anything of mutual interest to talk about. They either make some sort of exchange or quickly move on. This makes networking a highly ‘transactional’ subject, much like buying and selling or negotiating with someone.

My view is very different, because I believe that networking has a much wider definition, now that we can enjoy the power of all the “Social Media” sites. In fact, it can be a major social and life skill to be used in both a business/organizational and personal setting.

Network and Relationship Building

The ‘relationship building’ aspect of networking is a long-term commitment to knowing more about yourself and others and what you may be able to do together that you couldn’t do (or couldn’t do as well) alone.

The reality is that anyone can systematically adopt effective networking as an individual strategy. It can play a key part in linking you with a wider range of people who can help you to achieve more – whatever ‘more’ means for you.

The Benefits of Networking

The benefits of effective networking are many. For example:

• It is the most cost effective marketing tool available

• Networking referrals will typically generate 80% more results than a cold call

• 70 – 80% of all jobs are found through networking

• Every person you meet has 200 – 250 people with whom they connect who can potentially assist you

Oh, and anyone that you might want to meet or contact in the world is only five to six people contacts away from you.

As if these reasons were not enough, a healthy and active link to a network is a vast resource available to every individual at a low personal cost. It can help you to achieve a range of goals that otherwise might be too hard or out of reach.

A key point to understand is that networking is achieved at low personal cost not no personal cost. I am not suggesting that networking is a quick fix or fad idea that can be easily adopted to make things better for a while. However, it can provide immediate results for those prepared to invest their time and energy.

The Concept of Networking

Many of the definitions of networking highlighted in the next paragraph may surprise some people, in as much as they suggest that networking is an altruistic activity involving giving and sharing, rather than taking.

In Summary – Networking Definitions

• A power that comes from a spirit of giving and sharing

• A willingness to honour ourselves, our relationship and our connections with the universal flow

• A way of sending out into the system what we have and what we know, and having it return to re-calculate continually through the network

• An organized way of creating links from people we know to people they know for a specific purpose

• Giving, contributing to and supporting others without keeping score

• People caring about people

• Fostering self-help, and the exchange of information; seeking to change society and work life and to share resources

• Ensuring the right to ask a favor without hooks

It works for me!

PS: Want some really hot news?

Yes please Jonathan, JF, Mr. Farrington, I hear you respond, almost breathless in anticipation .. ok then:

The inaugral “Annual Top Sales Awards” ceremony takes place online on December 16th!

There are ten categories, including: “2010 Top Sales Personality”; “2010 Top Sales Blog”; “2010 Top Social Media Site”; “2010 Top Sales Resource Site”; “2010 Top Sales Star”; “2010 Top Sales Book”; “2010 Top Sales Tool” … I think you get the picture?

We will also be creating a “Top Sales Hall Of Fame” and inducting the first six “sales legends”

You will have the opportunity to vote in many of the categories, and we anticipate having full details available in around two weeks.(Note to technical team – I have committed you!)

Gerhard Gschwandtner of Personal Selling Power and I will be hosting the event, and we will be welcoming a glittering array of guests – anyone who is anyone in the sales space!

As you will anticipate, numbers are going to be limited, but I will have 100 FREE places to give away during early December  ……. more soon

PPS: Have you been around the “World” lately? You know it changes every day!

You know, I am often asked by sales leaders, anxious to recruit the best salespeople they can afford, just what is it that makes a consistently top performer – what are their characteristics, where are their strengths, and what differentiates them?

I consider myself very fortunate, in as much as I have, in a very long career, filled every position within the company hierarchy including: Frontline salesman, sales manager, VP Sales, Sales Director, Managing Director, CEO, President and Chairman.

Further, over the past twenty years, I have trained and developed thousands of sales professionals, from foundation right up to “master craftsman” level. This unique experience has given me the opportunity to formulate an accurate profile of the very best achievers, and believe me, the choice of software tools, CRM packages, and adoption of Sales 2.0 principles, is just a small – important, but nevertheless small – element in the equation.

So What Is It That Top Performers Do?

They:

• Position themselves with the real decision-makers and avoid those without ‘approval power’. They are able to first identify and then access the formal decision making unit.

• Not only get the order, but a satisfied customer, repeat sales, enthusiastic reference sites and constantly increase sales penetration within their accounts.

• Know how to minimise the uncertainties of a cold call on a new account, by careful planning and rigorous opportunity assessment.

• Recognize when to treat an old account as a new prospect and keep the relationship fresh, alive and maintain profitability.

• Never entertain business they do not want, because they recognize that it takes just as long to work an unprofitable opportunity through the sales funnel, only to lose it at the death, as it does a profitable one. They trust their own judgement, but also rely heavily on objective assessment.

• Readily identify and know how to deal with the four different buying influences present in every sale – i.e. Economic Buyer, Technical Buyer, User Buyer and Ally.

• Understand how to prevent sales from being sabotaged by an internal enemy – they insulate themselves by developing strong allies within.

• Are able to recognise fail-safe signals that indicate when a sale is in jeopardy. This comes from experience, but also information supplied by their allies.

• Are rigorous in tracking account progress and are able to accurately forecast future sales, because they use proven methodology which allows them to weight every opportunity in the pipeline.

• Avoid ‘dry-months’ by allocating time wisely to their critical selling tasks – i.e. Prospecting for new business, covering the bases with existing opportunities and finally closing the best few.

In summary, the very best sales performers do not achieve that status overnight. They work tirelessly to develop and hone their skills-sets, insist on regular top-up coaching, and seek out those who are outperforming them so that they may learn and improve still further. They have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of their industry and sector.

Finally, they concentrate on eliminating any weaknesses and are anxious to be assessed and receive feedback on a regular basis.
PS: They do not spend hours and hours on Facebook, Twitter, and all the other social media sites, if their clients and prospects are not there – which in most cases they will not be, if they are selling into high-end B2B markets.

News: Thinking about CRM Solutions – here’s a message from Dan Waldschmidt …

“The Problem.

So. What’s the deal with that sales software you are using?

That little solution your boss calls “CRM”…

Or Customer Relationship Management. Which is strangely ironic because the word “solution” usually comes next.

Somehow trying to passively coerce me into believing that a piece of software has magically arrived with the answer to my need to close more deals. Make it easier. Make it faster. Maybe even pick my groceries from the store in the process.

Heck. Why not? If you read all the features listed on the website you might actually assume this much.

And yet, you can’t find a sales person who actually likes their CRM.

Am I wrong? What other industry is like this — where the craftsman is completely unhappy with all the tools at his disposal?

Like a landscaper who can’t find a rake-maker who makes a useful tool. Or a chef who has to bake all her meals in a toaster oven.

Makes you wonder.

Who is inventing these things?

Maybe I can help you.

Join me for this highly interactive 45 minute Masterclass, and I’ll try to give you some of the answers.”

When? - Tuesday October 26th 2010 1PM EASTERN

Where? – On your PC

How Much? – FREE – Register here

Why? – You need to know!

JF Guest Author Spot

Jeb Brooks

One of the reasons working with salespeople is so rewarding is that they tend to be optimists. And, if I get a choice, I’ll take an optimist over a pessimist any time. They’re more fun. Here’s why:

• An optimist believes. A pessimist doubts.
• An optimist thinks of possibility. A pessimist ponders impossibility.
• An optimist dreams of potential. A pessimist has nightmares of failure.
• An optimist hopes for improvement. A pessimist waits for setbacks.
• An optimist imagines a better tomorrow. A pessimist remembers a bad yesterday.
• An optimist visualizes what’s undeveloped. A pessimist sees pitfalls.
• An optimist takes a chance. A pessimist avoids a risk.
• An optimist likes. A pessimist dislikes.
• An optimist observes the good. A pessimist seeks the bad.
• An optimist stretches. A pessimist withdraws.
• An optimist studies the probable. A pessimist identifies the improbable.
• An optimist believes in the limitless. A pessimist sees limitation.
• An optimist laughs. A pessimist frowns.
• An optimist endeavors to attain. A pessimist works with disdain.
• An optimist praises achievements. A pessimist points out failings.
• An optimist looks up. A pessimist looks down.
• An optimist seeks improvement. A pessimist remains satisfied.
• An optimist yearns for tomorrow. A pessimist fears it.
• An optimist believes in what will be. A pessimist focuses on what was.
• An optimist can. A pessimist can’t.
• An optimist will. A pessimist won’t.
• An optimist looks for a hand up. A pessimist expects a handout.

Of course a dose of pragmatism doesn’t hurt. But overall…I want positivity. Which way do you lean?

Jeb Brooks is Executive Vice President of the The Brooks Group, one of the world’s Top Ten Sales Training Firms as ranked by Selling Power Magazine. He is a sought-after commentator on sales and sales management issues, having appeared in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal. Jeb authored the second edition of the book “Perfect Phrases for the Sales Call” and writes for The Brooks Group’s popular Sales Blog.

The JF Guest Author Spot

Paul McCord

A little over three years ago I wrote about one of the primary business killing crimes sellers commit–prospecticide, which is the killing of prospects through meaningless and self-centered communications that teach the prospect to ignore the seller because all the seller does is waste the prospect’s time.

Since that original article identifying prospecticide as a real and widespread crime, little has been done to eradicate it or to reform the criminals committing it. Salespeople and business owners are still flooding their prospects with communications designed to benefit the seller, not the prospect. Prospects are still learning not to open the useless emails, to ignore the tweets, and trash the snail mail letters without opening them.

But increasingly the postal service is no longer the primary instrument of destruction as social media such as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook kill much quicker and with far less effort–and without incurring a cost to boot.

In the past the primary communications were letters that featured a “special” or a discussion of some new product or service that was of absolutely no interest to the prospect or client. Other hot topics were some award the company had just won or a self-serving discussion of the money the company just gave to a deserving charity or some green initiative. Whatever the primary content of the communication, it had one of two messages–either, we want your money, or see how great we are, aren’t you honored to do business with us?

Those messages had nothing to do with the prospect’s needs or wants. They often didn’t even acknowledge the prospect or client was a unique human being–other than maybe the auto filled name in the greeting. It was 100% seller centered and thus, had little to no interest for the prospect or client receiving it.

Certainly, those communications still exist. The postal service still delivers pieces of poisoned mail to millions of dead and dying prospects and clients every day.

However, social media has become the primary killing field. We can kill so much faster and with far deadlier content.

No longer do we have to bore prospects with a write up about how great we are because we just donated to a charity. Not at all.

Now we can really show them how self-centered we are by tweeting that we’re sitting in the Starbucks at the corner of 2nd and A Street. It was bad enough when we went out of our way to make sure our prospects knew we’re great citizens and deserved their business because we donated to charity. Now we can really show our ego by believing that we’re so important that they actually care when we take a coffee break.

But our coffee break isn’t the only thing we can use to kill our prospects and clients. I’ve seen sellers post Facebook posts about trying to overcome the hangover from last night’s drunk; a conversation they just had with a jerk customer where they told the customer just where to get off; and even one where the seller was bragging about how he sabotaged a competitor’s demonstration to a prospect.

Yes, these are all errors that few of us would commit. But the tenor of the posts is pretty common–very personal posts that reveal a lack of discretion. The posts are too personal or reveal a lack of integrity or responsibility. This isn’t to say one can’t be personal. I know sellers who tweet and post on Facebook their political and religious beliefs or about their family. I see nothing wrong with that as long as it isn’t a personal attack and the postings are occasional.

Blogs in many cases have taken the place of the snail mail letter–where the discount specials, the articles about the latest award or charitable donation are touted, or where the newest product or service is presented. There is nothing wrong or inappropriate with the occasional blog or letter that discusses new products or services; informs about the most recent award or donation; or toots you or your company’s horn, as long as these are the exception rather than the rule. If all your blog does is brag or present your products and services, I have no reason to read it–unless I happen to have an immediate need for a particular product or service you’re promoting.

So what content doesn’t commit prospecticide? That which brings value to your prospect–articles written by you or others that discuss issues of concern to your prospect, whatever those issues might be; interviews with leaders in the prospect’s field; reviews of books that would be of interest to your prospect. Whatever brings value–real value–to your prospect. Whatever informs, educates, presents potential solutions or expands an interest of your prospect or client.

Quality prospect communication has always been prospect focused. With the increased frequency of contact that social media provides, it is more important than ever that your content be geared toward meeting the wants and needs of your prospects because if they don’t, if they’re just self-centered promotional items, you’ll kill your prospects faster than ever before.

Paul McCord is the president of McCord Training, a Texas based international sales training, coaching, and consulting company. He is the author of the Amazon and Barnes and Noble best-selling book on referral generation, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons, 2008), and SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales SuperStar. He may be reached at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com or visit his training website at www.dynamicsalesgrowth.com

“Some (sales) men/leaders are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Please forgive me “Will of Stratford-Upon-Avon!”

You may have identified just a hint of frivolity?

I thought that as it is Friday, I would expand on yesterday’s post: “What Does It Take To Become A Really GREAT Leader?” and share some thoughts based on an (almost) lifetime of studying great leaders.

“Born great” has two possible meanings – either being born to a great position, such as that of a 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 having 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. Others are recognized 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 over promoted.

“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. (NB: My own personal interpretation of luck is: “When opportunity meets preparation”)

Most of those who achieve anything in the world are ambitious, and some have very exalted ambitions which they have never the chance to realize. 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 over promoted, but was not.

Churchill and de Gaulle, two of the greatest leaders of modern times, also depended upon chance for the fulfillment 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.

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 recognize as true leaders, from Alexander The Great to Margaret 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 ….

So you see, when I am asked the question: “Are great leaders born or made?” there is no definitive answer: They are born with certain personality traits; certain characteristics …. But leadership skills have to learnt. There is always an apprenticeship period to be served.

News: So what are you doing this w/e? Me? I am working on the makeover of JF Consultancy – and that heralds a change of strategy for me …and yes, I will share all of that with you shortly!

In the meantime, you can be assured that I will have two superb guest posts on Saturday and Sunday, whilst I catch up with everything that has been happening on the “World” this week.