Pick up a typical company report today and what words do you find? Verbs like analyse, forecast, plan, assess, and schedule, are used in pursuit of organisations that are efficient, productive, and predictable.

What set of people are required? Obviously, people who are efficient, effective, proficient, competent, productive, and co-operative.

I believe we need to go beyond – we need to be inspired, motivated, creators, who are enthusiastic and able to consistently deliver against our key objectives.

We should be developing individuals who are not afraid to challenge paradigms, who are prepared to go that extra yard in search of excellence and who understand that success is 80% attitude and only 20% aptitude.

For a group of people to remain consciously competent at optimum performance levels, they require frequent injections of stimulation, motivational guidance, prompting and directing, otherwise they can easily lapse into becoming unconsciously competent or worse, unconsciously incompetent.

The primary objective of a professional Sales Manager has to be:
“To achieve consistently superior results, through the performance of every key individual.”

The Acid Test: When thinking about your own sales force:

- Do you understand their motivators – what is driving them?
- Do you have visibility of their numbers – year to date, forecast vs. required performance?
- Activity levels – are they working hard and smart enough?
- Engagement – are they talking to the right level in their prospects/accounts?
- Messaging – are they capable of delivering an appropriate message at the right level?
- Qualification – are they only spending time on deals where they can compete and ultimately that they can win?
- Closing – are they constructing successful campaigns and closing business?

Summary:
Top performing Sales Directors and Managers understand instinctively when a situation requires them to Direct, Coach, Support, or Delegate but learning these skills takes time and practice and underpinning this advanced approach to management must be a range of core competencies…

Today’s News: I am convinced of the value of “social media” of course. I am a big fan of LinkedIn, Twitter, Plaxo et al, but I am still not getting the most out of the experience, and I have written myself a “must try harder” note. If you are like me, you will enjoy this excellent post from Brian Carroll, over at The Customer Collective: “Can a social media like Twitter boost your lead generation results?”

Earlier in the week, Jill Konrath asked this question: “Are you still trying to figure on how to get LinkedIn to work for you?”

“If so, then you need to meet Patrick O’Malley. He’s a true LinkedIn Wizard who has helped me take my profile to the next level. Check out this video.”

Click here to learn more about Patrick O’Malley, his LinkedIn expertise, coaching & training programs. He has more great articles, videos and tips on his website.  

Finally, you may also be astounded at some figures I read yesterday:

“LinkedIn adds 400,000 users a WEEK, Facebook is adding over 400,000 a DAY. Twitter has grown 900% in 6 months. A year ago, MySpace and Facebook were the same size.  Now Facebook (at 160 Million) is twice the size of MySpace and the gap is widening.

What is happening?  Business users, predominantly LinkedIn users, are adopting these other well-known platforms as a sort of “add-on”.

Twitter recently turned down a $500 Million offer from Facebook!  LinkedIn is valued at $1 Billion, Facebook was once valued at $15B (now estimated closer to $4B), General Motors is worth $2.5 Billion.  None of these make a dime.

Their value is in YOU and their relationship with you.  They are built to be sold and you go with the sale.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  You wouldn’t want to be left behind would you?

With 30+ Million customers, LinkedIn has 350 employees and recently had to layoff 35 people.  People wonder why they can’t get their problems resolved.”

If you would like to follow me on Twitter, you will find me here

Tomorrow: I am travelling and writing next week’s blog posts on the hoof – as ever, wherever you are, have a great weekend – JF

Decision making is an essential requirement of management and the very best leaders appear able to make crucial decisions effortlessly “standing on their feet” 

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

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

Here then, is a selection of my published articles on this very subject – I do hope you decide to continue reading- It’s your decision of course! Simply click on the banner below to download the FREE eBook.

Today’s News: Craig Klein’s excellent FREE five part series: “Double Your Sales In 2009″ concludes today.

Part Five, is called “Pour In The Jet Fuel” – here is an extract:

“There are good leads and not so good leads. Many times, you instinctively know the difference. Other times, you’re completely surprised by the results.

You spend a lot of money and time to generate these unpredictable results.

The leads your sales team pursues is the fuel in your sales engine. Right now, you’re pouring all sorts of different types of fuel into the tank. Premium, Plus, Regular, Deisel, etc.

No wonder the results are unpredictable. No wonder it seems like parts of the sales engine just are performing the way they should.”  You can download it for FREE here

In just a few days, he will release the entire “Double Your Sales in 2009″ series as one comprehensive e-Book. Don’t forget to register to receive the entire “Double Your Sales in 2009″ series as an e-Book here.

Tomorrow: I welcome back one of the top business development experts in the world, my friend, colleague, and the CEO of The Sales Corporation, Leslie Buterin

It seems that no one is guaranteed a job anywhere any more. The creeping sense that no one’s job is safe means the spread of fear, apprehension, and confusion. An attitude of self-interest is understandably, growing more common for employees confronting downsizing and other changes that make them feel their organisation is no longer loyal to them. This sense of betrayal or distrust erodes allegiance and encourages cynicism. And once lost, trust – and the commitment that stems from it – is hard to rebuild.

If employees are not treated fairly and respectfully, no organisation will gain their emotional allegiance. Sensing others’ development needs and bolstering their abilities is emerging as second only to team leadership among superior managers.

For sales managers, developing others’ abilities is even more important – indeed, it’s the emotional competence most frequently found among those at the top of the field. This is a person-to-person art, and the effectiveness of counselling hinges on empathy and the ability to focus on our own feelings and share them.

Research suggests the best ‘coaches’ show a genuine personal interest in those they guide, and have empathy for and an understanding of their employees. Trust is crucial – when there is little trust in the coach, advice goes unheeded. This also happens when the coach is impersonal and cold, or the relationship seems too one-sided or self-serving. Coaches who show respect, trustworthiness, and empathy are the best.

One way to encourage people to perform better is to let others take the lead in setting their own goals rather than dictating the terms and manner of their development. This communicates the belief that employees have the capacity to be the pilot of their own destiny.

Another technique is to point to the problems without offering a solution: this implies the employees can find the solution themselves. And people hunger for feedback, yet too many managers, supervisors and executives are inept at giving it or are simply disinclined to provide any.

Virtually everyone who has a superior is part of at least one vertical ‘couple’ in the workplace; every boss forms such a bond with each subordinate. Such vertical couples are a basic unit of organisational life.

Today’s News: Here is a message from Jill Konrath.

Free Webinar: Selling in Tough Times

Join me at this upcoming webinar sponsored by GoToMeeting Corporate on Wednesday, January 14th at 2 pm ET (11 am PT).

During this session, I’ll be covering how to:

Shorten your sales cycle and win more profitable contracts.
Get a quick initial order that you can leverage for more business.
Reignite prospects who appear to have fizzled out.
And a few other tricks I have up my sleeve.

Space is limited. Register for this webinar today! http://tinyurl.com/sellingintoughtimes

This is the last time I’ll be doing a complimentary public session for a while. So if the topic is of interest to you, make sure to sign up right away.

If you can’t make it at this time, sign up anyway. GoToMeeting Corporate will notify you as soon as the session is posted online.

Tomorrow: In fact, Jill is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot - “How to Immunize Yourself Against Tough Economic Times” – be sure to join us!

The role of a Sales Leader is to translate the organisation’s vision, mission and values into a meaningful context that sales teams can relate to and feel excited by. If this is achieved then the Sales Leader will have created a sales team with a shared mental model. This transforms an ordinary sales team into a high performing one.

For clarity, here is a brief description of the following terms:

An organisation’s vision is a guiding image of success formed in terms of a huge goal. It is a description in words that conjures up a picture of the organisation’s destination. A compelling vision will stretch expectations, aspirations, and performance. Without that powerful, attractive, valuable vision, why bother?

A mission statement communicates the essence of an organisation to its stakeholders and customers, and failure to clearly state and communicate an organisation’s mission can have harmful consequences around its purpose. As Lewis Caroll, through the words of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland says, “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
 
Guiding principles are the consequence of a mission statement that are intended to inform or shape all subsequent decision-making, which also provides normative criteria allowing policy-makers to accept, reject or modify policy interventions and activities. They are a guiding set of ideas that are articulated, understood and supported by the organisation’s workforce.

Values are beliefs which the organisation’s workforce hold in common and endeavor to put into practice. The values guide their performance and the decisions that are taken. Ideally, an individual’s personal values will align with the spoken and unspoken values of the organisation. By developing a written statement of the values of the organisation, individuals have a chance to contribute to the articulation of these values, as well as to evaluate how well their personal values and motivation match those of the organisation.

The Human Capital Development Model, created by Krauthammer International, is a logical process that can take top management concepts, and translate them into a context that has real meaning for staff at all levels.

The key to bringing this model to life is to answer the following questions:
• Do my team understand the organisation’s vision and how their role moves the organisation closer to achieving it?
• How can my sales team translate the organisation’s mission into one that is relevant to them?
• How do the organisation’s guiding principles impact on the day-to-day responsibilities of sales people?
• Which of the organisation’s values does my sales team relate to?
• How can we interpret these values so they become compelling for each sales person?

An effective sales team understands the big picture and the context of their team’s work to the greatest degree possible. That includes understanding the relevance of their job and how it impacts the effectiveness of others and the overall team effort. Too often, sales people are asked to work on an activity without being told how their role contributes to organisation’s vision, much less how their efforts are impacting the ability of others to do their work. Understanding the organisation’s vision promotes collaboration, increases commitment and improves quality.

An effective team works collaboratively and with a keen awareness of interdependency. Collaboration and a solid sense of interdependency in a team will defuse blaming behaviour and stimulate opportunities for learning and improvement. Without this sense of interdependency in responsibility and reward, blaming behaviours can occur which will quickly erode team effectiveness and morale.

Today’s News: I mentioned yesterday that we have a really big week coming up and it all kicks-off tomorrow, with the announcement of this year’s twelve finalists, who will be battling it out for the “Top Sales Article Of The Year” award.

I should explain that the public poll will account for 50% of the marks and the other 50% comes from the panel of sales experts, who I will be introducing tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Tibor Shanto is my guest on The JF Guest Author Spot

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.

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!

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 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.

My personal view is that 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 going to be a BIG week: The Top Sales Experts latest ebook launches tomorrow – 143 pages and contributions from fifty of the world’s top sales gurus – and it is FREE! It went out to them for final proof-reading over the w/e and the feedback was, to say the least, AWESOME. You’ll get your chance to judge for yourselves very soon.

Over on my Sales Manager’s Mentor Blog this week, I provide ten tips for more dynamic sales meetings – here

Ph.D Student Needs Your Help: If you are you a sales trainer, sales coach, sales manager, sales professional, or sales recruiter, Brian Lambert would love to get your input into a survey he is conducting with Capella University.

The free survey and analysis link is here:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227YW7PAAT7

* At the end of the survey you can enter a drawing for a 32GB IPod Touch.
* You will also be able to see how your responses rate with everyone else’s.

Thank you for helping Brian in this aspect of the sales profession.

Fantastic feedback from my two JF Uncut posts over the w/e: “Where There’s Life, There’s Hope” and “More Bullshit – When Will It End?” if you missed them, just scroll down

Tomorrow: Greg Bautz, fellow Top Sales Expert, makes his debut on the JF Guest Author Spot, so be sure to join us.

A Sales Leader’s level of success or failure may be determined by their ability to influence people within their own organisation, as well as those operating in other companies.

Sales Leaders who use their influencing skills well are exciting to be around and they exude a positive energy that attracts people towards them. Your ability to influence others can empower people development, accelerate results and ultimately ensures an easier working environment. Influencing is about understanding yourself and the effect or impact you have on others. Though, it can on occasion be one way, the primary relationship is two way, and it is about changing how others perceive you.

Truly excellent influencing skills require a healthy combination of interpersonal, communication, presentation and assertiveness techniques. It is about adapting and modifying your personal style when you become aware of the affect you are having on other people, while still being true to yourself.

Behaviour and attitude change are what’s important, not changing who you are or how you feel and think. You may try to exert your influence through coercion and manipulation. You might even succeed in getting things done, but that isn’t really influencing. That’s forcing people to do what you want, often against their will. You won’t have succeeded in winning support. Pushing, bullying, bludgeoning or haranguing DO NOT WORK! Like elephants, people will remember the experience. Indeed, if you force someone to do something you want without taking their point of view into consideration, then the impression that person is left with is how they will see you forever. You’re stuck with it, unless you deliberately change what you do in order to be seen differently. People are far more willing to come halfway (or more) if they feel acknowledged, understood and appreciated. They may even end up doing or agreeing to something they wouldn’t previously have done, because they feel good about making the choice.

What Makes An Effective Influencer?

Winning influencers share a common set of attitudes and behaviours that ensure consistent success. Studies have shown that they:

• Indicate the benefits of their ideas and are able to put a context around these benefits so it creates greater impact on the individual.

• Neutralise resistance, usually in advance. They anticipate, respond and are able to plant a positive association to potential areas of resistance before the other person has even had a chance to voice them.

• Find alternative ways to influence others and demonstrate high levels of flexibility. This means that if the approach they are taking doesn’t get them their desired results they try a different approach. If this doesn’t work they try another approach. Ultimately, the person with the greatest flexibility will always have control over the situation.

• Listen attentively to what others say because this improves mutual understanding and conveys respect for the opinions of others. Giving good attention to people makes them more intelligent. Poor attention makes them stumble over their words and seem stupid.

• Uncover needs and wants because they appreciate that every individual is unique. They have their needs, their own set of problems and their own motives for doing what they do.

• Empathise continuously and are able to adopt different perceptual positions to connect with the feelings of others in different situations. Not only do effective influencers manage to put themselves in their customers’ shoes, they are also able to wear the shoes of individuals in their sales team.

• Have developed high levels of sensory awareness. This means that their senses are fine-tuned to pick-up on the smallest details include non-verbal signals that are sometimes different to what a person is saying.

• Create and maintain rapport throughout their communication that enables them to deepen relationships, build higher amounts of trust and minimise resistance.

• Eliminate weak statements from their language and are able to create multiple positive associations by avoiding negative words and using negations in a positive way. For example; “I’m not going to say that this strategy will be totally successful.” The unconscious mind has to think about the strategy being totally successful, irrespective if the word ‘not’ is contained within the statement.

• Base the success of their communication on the response it produces in others. If other people don’t respond in the way that the influencer was wanting, they accept responsibility and change their communication until they do achieve their desired outcome.

Influencing really is that important!

You may also enjoy reading: “Recognising The Different Influencing Styles”

Today’s News: I posted  over the w/e about the excellent upcoming “Critical Strategies For Winning Big Company Clients” gig in New York (see banner below) - I have to repeat that there are only forty places – simply click here for full details.

Over on Top 10 Sales Articles, we have nominated a top class set of articles this week – you really do not want to miss them – simply go here

Tomorrow: A treat for you on The JF Guest Author Spot – Stone Payton, with an absolutely brilliant piece, all about proposals and proposal writing – you will thoroughly enjoy it, I promise.  

In my role as a leadership coach, a question I am often asked is: “What is the most important leadership trait I should consider developing first?”

Very interesting question, because there are several essential traits that need to be developed as early as possible, but choosing just one – the most important, is a “no-brainer” for me.

Nothing puts you in the “poor leader” category more swiftly than inadequate communication skills.

Staff view an inadequate communicator as someone who is unclear, ambiguous, says too little, speaks up too late, or not at all (keeps secrets unnecessarily) and most importantly, someone who doesn’t relate to their viewpoint.

Leaders should resolve to communicate:
• Using appropriate methods (memo or meeting, e-mail or notice-board)
• From the right perspective (talk about we not I and put things personally – “You will find” rather than “This is the case”)
• Using good communication principles (keep it simple, make it clear, and be precise and succinct)
• Explaining both the what and the why of things.

Because communication is the most important aspect of a leader’s role, if you feel you need to bone up on it, do so. Ignoring failings or uncertainties, risks disaster.

Your early communications will be looked at or listened to carefully. Lines will be read between and inferences about you and the way you do things will be drawn – for good or ill. Take care!

While thinking about communication, make one firm rule for yourself: Always be courteous to your staff.

The old adage that politeness costs nothing is true. Any temptation that staff may provide to descend into insults or even to be offhand may cause problems and will certainly not engender respect. This applies whatever the provocation – and, believe me, sooner or later if you lead people, there will be some!

So keep cool, count to ten if necessary, and moderate your language and your manner.

A final point about communication is that you need to be constantly well informed about what is going on around the organisation and in any other area that is important to you.

Never forget that informal communications are as important here as formal ones.

You need to develop a good network of contacts and here I must flag the importance of the grapevine. This exists in every organisation.
• Discover how it works and who is key to its operation
• Get yourself “plugged in”
• Remember that communication is two-way (you must contribute to receive)

Use it constructively: ignore and do not start rumours, use it for firm information, early warning, and dissemination and keep your eyes and ears open.

Keep In Touch:
Take away communication from an organisation and not much is left. Yet, the subject is often neglected. It is the foundation of a good relationship between leader and staff and thus the basis for success.

Make sure you take action to create good – two-way – communication by, for example:
• Practising LBWA: that is Leadership by Walking About. Talk to people informally, ask, listen, take notes, and ensure feedback.
• Regularly informing people of your thinking: by memo, e-mail, at meetings, etc. Tell them what your vision is, what you plan, hope and intend, what’s happening – and how it will affect them.
• Systematise the processes involved: make aspects of what you do formal and regular (e.g. regular departmental meetings and updates on operational issues).

Fundamental to good leadership is being seen as open and honest, concerned that people should know what is going on and concerned also to encourage and receive their inputs.

I think you will also enjoy reading this: “What Is Successful Leadership Really About”

Today’s News: In the most recent issue of Fortune magazine, Jill Konrath’s “Selling to Big Companies” was selected as a “must read” book that belongs in everyone’s briefcase.

Jiill said: “I’m honored that it was chosen as one of only eight books recommended – especially since the competitors were all the other good sales books ever written!”

If you want to check out Selling to Big Companies, here’s the Amazon link. Make sure you read the 46+ Five Star reviews. Or start by downloading two chapters on her website.

Also, here’s a link to the entire Fortune article:Download Fortune-SelllingtoBigCompanies-9-08.pdf

Way to go, Crazy Sister !

Final blogpost recommendation of the week for you: “How Acting Skills Helps Selling” from Drew Stevens.

Tomorrow: We are working on the next Top Sales Experts ebook, so I will be fully extended this weekend, plus we are also preparing for the launch of TSE 2.0 -exciting times! As ever, wherever you are, have a great w/e yourself, and be sure to make it back here next week – JF

The responsibility for ensuring that every member of a sales team is successful and performing at optimum levels lies entirely with management and when a salesperson gains promotion to management the first thing they have to do is to quickly acquaint themselves with a new set of working relationships – and a new set of rules.

The salesperson’s primary working relationships are with customers: However the sales manager’s is with the sales force i.e. his subordinates. For example:

Essential Attributes Include:

Successful Salesperson:
- Personal drive (Ego).
- Needs to win battles (Individual sales).
- Able to work alone.
- Persuades customers to see his/her point.
- Needs selling skills, personal skills and knowledge.
- Able to work away from the office.
- Works well with people and numbers.
- Good at implementing sales tactics.

Successful Sales Manager:
- Submission of personal needs to the goals of the Company (Corporate drive).
- Needs to win the war (Meet corporate goals).
- Able to work with others.
- Persuades the sales team to see the Company’s point.
- Needs management skills and marketing knowledge.
- Needs to work at the office.
- Works well with people, numbers, paperwork and the corporate hierarchy.
- Good at developing sales and marketing strategies.

The most common danger in having sales managers who are basically super salespeople is that relations with subordinates including the critical tasks of development and supervision may deteriorate.

When I am asked to diagnose why an individual or even an entire team are not performing at optimum levels, I usually ask just four very straightforward questions:

• Are they visiting/talking to enough clients/prospects? In other words are they pro-active and are their activity levels high? I call this CCT as a percentage of TWT (Customer Contact Time as a percentage of Total Working Time)

• Are they talking to the right people within those client/prospect organisations? Are they able to penetrate the formal DMU (Decision Making Unit) and reach the MAN? (The person or people with the Money, Authority and Need)

• Are they saying/doing the right things? This really means – how strong are their selling skills?

• And finally, how is their attitude – that small thing that makes such a big difference.

From these four questions, I usually discover the answer but actually, it can sometimes be a little more complex and I refer to the“Eight Reasons Why Salespeople Fail”

If you really want to discover how healthy your sales organisation is right now, you can complete this FREE Health Check now and receive an immediate score – I will provide you with further information on what your score means on Friday, or if you want to discuss it personally, e-m me at jf@jonathanfarrington.com.

Today’s News: I am travelling home to Paris and as there was a fire in the Tunnel last week, I am having to break my journey with an overnight hotel stay: If I said the internet connection was “flakey” I would be being very generous, so you’ll get a double helping of news tomorrow – I promise.

Tomorrow:Also tomorrow, Lee Salz on The JF Guest Author Spot, so be absolutely certain to join me!