Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

Performance has many components: For example, activities and abilities are typically where many organisations focus on. Yet beneath the surface, our beliefs about ourselves, our customers, our job, can either help or hinder our performance. You may have heard the expression, “Whatever you believe you can do, you will and whatever you believe you can’t do, you won’t.” It’s as if our beliefs (which are unique to us all) become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our beliefs can act as huge barriers that stop us giving 100 percent to something.

Here are six beliefs that can have a positive impact on your performance.

1. Every Individual is unique and their perceptions are true to them. Because we each absorb 2 million pieces of information unconsciously and can only process around seven chunks consciously, we each have our own unique perception of the world around us. If everyone reading this was asked to explain beliefs, each individual would give a different explanation.

So who’s right? Everyone is right because your perceptions are true for you. That’s why the more respect we have for every other individual and the more we seek to understand the viewpoints of others, the richer our communication becomes. Respecting the opinions of others doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to agree with them, we just have to acknowledge that every individual’s reality is the one based on their own unique perceptions.

2. Communication is successful, only if it achieves desired results. It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve communicated well or if you think you’ve been crystal clear, what matters is that your communication is received and acted upon in the manner you wanted.

How many times have you said something to another person who has totally misinterpreted what you meant? Equally, sometimes we are on the receiving end of communication that makes us feel inadequate. If we can look beyond the communication and try to see a positive intention behind another person’s behaviour, then our relationships and interactions with people become more constructive and empowering.
When we communicate with people and if they are ‘not getting’ our point, then the responsibility is ours to adapt our approach until they do. For example; if we have communicated a price increase and the reasons for that price increase, and our customers have not understood those reasons, the responsibility for this mis-communication lies with us. Therefore we can only judge the success of what we have communicated based on the reactions we get from other people.

3. Resistance from another person usually signals a lack of rapport. Rapport is a vital ingredient when developing relationships because it builds trust and allows communication to flow. When that state of rapport is there, communication is a lot easier even if you don’t agree with the other person. When we don’t feel that rapport or connection we have a tendency to ‘nit-pick’ or find fault. Customers respond to people they perceive understand their position and are on the same wavelength. If we are encountering lots of resistance from a prospect or a customer, then it helps us to notice that we haven’t built sufficient rapport. Even if our prospect doesn’t agree with what we are saying, rapport enables us to have an open discussion where we can get an honest reason for their reaction rather than a ‘prickily’ brick wall.

4. Flexibility improves success. The greater your flexibility, the greater your chances for achieving what you want. If we accept that every person is a unique individual then we have to accept that each prospect and customer will require a different approach. Using the same approach with all prospects and customers is like playing the lottery, the chances of getting it right are extremely low. If we have high levels of flexibility that allows us to adapt to each prospect and customer’s style then we are able to build more rapport and reduce resistance.

Einstein gave the definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over whilst expecting a different result. As an example, think about a fly…..have you watched how many times a fly bumps its head trying to fly out of a window? I guess that’s why it’s a fly.

The more we are able to adapt, the more opportunities we create. If what you are doing isn’t working, try something different and if that doesn’t work try something different again. Flexibility of thinking and behaviour creates awesome sales people. Your team are also unique individuals requiring a unique approach with how you manage them. The greater your behavioural flexibility the easier it is to connect and develop better working relationships.

5. There is no failure, only feedback. Of course there is failure. If you take a driving test or exam you either pass or fail. Your sales people will either succeed in achieving their monthly sales targets or fail to meet them. The key is how you perceive ‘failure’. Every failure can be looked at as a learning opportunity that is beautifully epitomised by Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Despite more than ten thousand failures, he stood by his dream until he made it a physical reality. He said that every discarded idea took him one step closer towards finding the idea that would work.

One of the most powerful self-coaching questions sales people can ask is, “What will I do differently next time?” or “What can I learn from this?” Sales people who make mistakes and learn from those mistakes have a tendency to do better than sales people who are scared to fail. Therefore if your team can be encouraged to see that when they don’t achieve their targets they have an opportunity to learn, because they have been given great feedback on what not to do next month.

6. Accepting 100% responsibility creates transformation. Every action you take creates a reaction that is based on the formula of cause and effect. Everything that happens is the effect of an underlying cause. Most people spend their lives operating at effect….”It’s not my fault I always end up in bad relationships.” “Life’s so unfair, things always happen to me.” “We’re in a recession, that’s why I haven’t achieved target.” “If I could only match our competitors prices, I’d win more deals.”

True personal power can be achieved when an individual accepts 100% responsibility for what they create in their lives. To put it another way, you get one of two things; the result or outcome you want or the reasons why you didn’t (you may recognise these as ‘excuses’!)

The more you focus on the reasons (excuses) and blame circumstances beyond your control you push away your personal power. Therefore, if you believe that you are in control of the situations that life ‘appears’ to throw at you, then you are in control of your thinking and emotions, and therefore in control of your own life. This belief has given thousands of sales people the determination to breakthrough so many barriers and overcome countless challenges when at times it was tempting to wallow in self-pity. If something good or bad happens, ask yourself, “How did I create that?” This question enables you to tap into your brain’s infinite potential and it will give you all the answers you need. If you’re prepared to commit 100% to taking responsibility for your own life, the results can be extraordinary.

Today’s News: I probably get alerted to new site launches two or three times every week, but this is one that looks really good and I have every intention of getting involved, think you will like it – http://www.publisheddaily.com/

In addition, it is some time since I mentioned Sales HQ - what a really good looking site – now edited by the amazingly talented Kit Richert PhD – if you haven’t discovered this site, you really should do.

Tomorrow: My learned colleague Maureen Blandford needs to get something off her chest, and so JF Uncut returns tomorrow with a vengeance – be sure to join us.

In 1957, Roger Bannister became the first athlete to break the four-minute barrier for running a mile. Prior to Bannister’s achievement, on that evening in May at the unassuming Iffley Road track in Oxford, most athletes considered a sub-four-minute mile impossible. But that same year, sixteen other athletes also ran a mile in less than four minutes.

Did they become super-human overnight? Or, more simply, did their beliefs change? That is the way it works – if one person can do it, we can all do it, we just have to believe we can.

Our Colleagues Can Exert Positive Pressure:
Like those milers, salespeople have their own unique sets of beliefs, some of which limit their potential in sales. For instance, during a recession, the members of a sales force may all believe that strong sales are impossible. But if just one person increases their sales, what seemed an inevitable fact will suddenly appear more like a thin excuse for poor performance.

We Must Challenge Negative Beliefs:
Sales Captains who challenge negative beliefs with good questions can help create shifts in mindset. Take a look at these examples of negative beliefs and examples of questions that challenge them.

Statement:
“Our solutions are too expensive.”
Response:
“Compared with whom?”
“Compared to what?”
“How do you know?”

Statement:
“I’m hopeless at cold calling”
Response:
“According to whom?”
“What prevents you from being good at cold calling?”
“What would happen if you were good?”

Statement:
“My sales target is too high this month, I’ll never achieve it”
Response:
“What do you need to do so that you can?”

While challenging questions may not instantly create a belief change, over time, they can enable salespeople to shift their perceptions of their beliefs, recognising that there are other possibilities and options available to them.

Developing Self Worth:
Organisations that recognise the importance of helping their salespeople develop a strong sense of self worth are many times more likely to produce high performers. Self worth is vital to everyone but especially to salespeople who hear “no” more often than they hear “yes, I’ll buy”. A salesperson’s self-esteem can sometimes take a hammering, but organisations that find ways to build their salespeople’s self-esteem reap an invaluable dividend. Self–worth translates into attitude, that small thing that makes such a big difference.

In Summary – The most successful salespeople take care of their attitude and they understand that:

Great Attitude = Great Results,
Average Attitude = Average Results,
Poor Attitude = Poor Results.

The second commonality with successful salespeople is that they expect to be successful and they want it badly enough that they bring about its happening i.e. fulfilled expectation.

Tomorrow: I am heading back to Paris. It has been a great week and I’ll be here for you on Monday as usual – JF

For companies to remain competitive now, their sales organisation must be able to respond positively to changing economic tides. As businesses strive to establish customer orientation, sales partnerships and a strategic approach to selling, they are demanding more and more from their salespeople but ensuring that these new methods are widely practised and smoothly implemented falls to sales management.

Building Productivity:
Sales productivity is a strategic issue. That’s why problems in this area stem from salespeople being unclear about their company’s priorities i.e. what their message should be and what they should be selling.

The trend in industry of removing layers of management between the sale force and the general manager presents a challenge to those sales managers who remain. To begin with, the sales manager becomes an essential link between company strategy and what takes place in the customer’s office. He or she must not only grasp the corporate vision but be able to communicate it to the sales force in terms of the real effects on sales practices.

Creating Direction:
Sales managers with an intimate feel for the selling process succeed because their staff regard them as part of the sales team but coaching the team is as important as playing in it. In other words, sales managers must be prepared to provide training, feedback and support to every individual within the team.
Once committed to the training process, they must routinely reinforce new ways of behaving in real sales situations. They must provide a clear sense of direction on a daily basis, not just at the monthly sales meeting / quarterly review / annual appraisal.

The very best sales managers engage in frequent coaching and feedback, even when their sales people work in remote locations. While encouraging salespeople to air their problems openly and discuss their concerns, sales managers must be able to offer clear and specific feedback for improving sales performance.

Rewarding Change:
The sales manager is charged with translating the company’s reward system into specific improvements in sales performance. Both salespeople and corporate managers count on the sales manager to recognise and reward outstanding achievement, formally and informally.

The process of promoting new attitudes about the customer and the role of the salesperson can be frustrating and slow. Reverting back to recent research there is compelling evidence to suggest that companies will see results sooner if they recognise and reward salespeople – “you get more of the behaviour and results that you reward.”

The trend in sales compensation appears to be away from commission to guaranteed salary, from compensation based on orders to compensation based on delivery and sign-off. Interestingly some organisations we know, base their ‘salesperson of the year’ award on the basis of customer satisfaction or customer retention rather than sheer volume of orders or activity.

Today’s News: Three Top Sales Experts are presenting over at Business Expert Webinars this week: Cheryl Clausen, Anne Miller and Leslie Buterin – you can get all the details here

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot, Colleen Francis – “Make 2009 the Year You Reinvent Your Sales!”

I first began to recognise the need to be able to benchmark sales performance more objectively and more rigorously over twenty five years ago. The motivation to do this was strong, because I knew I was wasting thousands,if not hundreds of thousands of pounds on sales skills training programmes which were not providing me with a proper return on my considerable investment. But I needed to prove my theory, because without an accurate analysis of my requirements, I would continue to abdicate that responsibility to the training providers, most of whom had only their own interests at heart.

So, with this quote from Drucker, “The most effective way to manage change is to create it” firmly in my mind, I set about my task – a task that became a journey, which began in 1981 and is still ongoing…

By taking an analytical approach, I arrived at the following equation:

Attitude + Skills + Process + Knowledge = Success

My initial reasoning was this: Attitude is fundamental to any achievement, because individuals with the right attitude are far more likely to embrace the essential Skills, recognise the control that Process brings and have the desire to continually expand their Knowledge.

Skills are the ‘tools of the trade’ and have to be developed on an ongoing basis. They also need to be specific, because too much time can be wasted over-burdening employees with inappropriate and irrelevant skills without any identifiable plan for their future requirements.

Process brings organisation, efficiency and control – both for the individual and for management. Effective process provides objective analysis and indicators, which can be benchmarked and accurately measured.

Then, there is of course a need to build in Knowledge – and that must include knowledge of products, industry, market sectors, competitors, business, own company and last but not least, self!

Attitude:
Let’s then begin by looking at Attitude. I was fortunate enough to have discovered the “Hertzberg Theory “- Professor Frederick Hertzberg has promoted a theory of motivation, which goes a long way forward from the original theory of “Carrot and Stick”, or indeed its extension ‘The Reward Theory’  still used by many managers and companies to try and exhort greater efforts from their staff.

It stems from two statements:

What makes people happy and motivated at work, is what they do.
What makes people unhappy and de-motivated at work, is the situation in which they do it.

Hertzberg suggested that managers needed to become familiar with three new letters that would become increasingly important in the management of people in the future. The three letters are……………..

You can download the FREE ebook here and continue reading.

Today’s News:A message from fellow Top Sales Expert, Kendra Lee:

Free Email PowerProspecting Teleseminar!

Get the latest email prospecting tips

Email is the #1 tool for prospecting – surpassing the phone according to a KLA Group survey of sellers. Yet it’s even easier to delete than a voicemail because you don’t have to skim it to make a decision.

So what’re you going to do to entice contacts into opening your prospecting emails?

Top IT seller, sales advisor and business owner Kendra Lee’s book Selling Against the Goal won a silver medal award from Sales Book Awards – a joint venture between The Sales Corporation & Sales Gravy - and she wants to celebrate with a FREE teleseminar to answer this question – just for you.

Come to this 1-hour teleseminar for fresh techniques that work without gimmicks and tricks:
 What never to say
 Enticing subject lines
 Lead-generating salutations and signatures
 Add your personal style and build instant rapport
 Sample emails
 Follow-up strategies that grab attention without hounding
 Ask your toughest questions on email prospecting

Join Kendra January 29 at 12:00pm Eastern.

Normally $79, this session is FREE to our first 75 readers who sign up. Just enter the coupon code “WIN”.

As an added bonus you’ll receive:

A session recording, handout, and copy of the Email Prospecting chapter from Selling Against the Goal, all included with your registration.

Remember: enter coupon code “WIN” to attend for FREE!

Tomorrow: Lee Salz is in the JF Guest Author hot-seat – “The Unprecedented Sales Management Challenge for 2009″

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

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.

You would think that particularly now, as we shiver under the dark clouds of financial uncertainty, we would be compelled to leave our comfort zones, and go off in search of greater security?

Not “most” people, because “most” people are too afraid.

I often quote this:

“Prince Rabadash’s army lay close behind them, Anvard ahead. If they did not reach Anvard before Rabadash and his horde, their journey, their entire lives, would have been wasted. The horses, Bree and Hwin (both of whom could, of course, talk) galloped. Certainly both horses were doing, if not all they could, all they thought they could do; which is not quite the same thing. But a lion appeared out of nowhere and with the spur of terror; Bree now discovered that he had not really been going as fast, not quite as fast, as he could“.

This extract is of course taken from “The Chronicles of Narnia”, that fount of a million, simple and usually overlooked truths, and it illustrates perfectly what it takes for some of us to be steered out of our comfort zone.

Perhaps of all the temptations we meet in life, money, power, sex, alcohol, drugs and fame, the subtlest of all is the comfort zone, that invitation to settle for less, to go for content when the stresses of over achievement beckon. The way that takes you out of the comfort zone is the route less travelled by. Most of us when we come to that place where the two paths divide prefer the one that leads to safety, to warmth and to comfort.

Both in sport and in business, I have witnessed countless companies, friends, colleagues and team mates that underachieved, despite having far superior skills and talents when compared to others who have made it to the top. The reasons have always been the same, fear of leaving the comfort zone and entering into the unknown, the land potentially of failure and rejection.

However, I believe there is another way to motivate individuals and coax them out and it relies on one simple fact; most people do not know what they want from life. Certainly, the majority working in a commercial field will say they crave success but without understanding what success means for them. Of course, describing success is difficult, because it will be different for all of us. The definition I prefer is ‘The achievement of a worthwhile goal’

I also believe that I can speak with authority about the comfort zone, but in my case, I was lucky enough to discover Earl Nightingale, probably the greatest motivational speaker and personal development guru of our time,and yes, I include Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Tom Peters et al in that assessment.

If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to listen to Earl, I strongly recommend you seek out his work - I can honestly say that no other single person has had such a profound effect on my own work. 

My experience is that you cannot have everything you want, but you can have anything you really want – you just have to know what it is.

Today’s News: Over at Top 10 Sales Articles, we have just announced the Top Sales Article for September – we now have nine finalists for Top Sales Article Of The Year and just three more places up for grabs

They will join a very illustrious group of world-class authors and sales gurus:

Paul Cherry, Josiane Feigon, Ivan Misner, Mike Brooks, Mark Satterfield, Zig Ziglar, Kevin Eikenberry, Jill Konrath and…..

Just click on the banner below to find out who this month’s worthy winner is…….

You have just over a week to claim one of the last few seats at THE New York event of the month – just click on the banner right at the end of this post

Tomorrow: On The JF Guest Author Spot, my guest is good friend Keith Rosen, who having sent me his latest book, was horrified to have it returned on Saturday: Unfortunately, he sent it to my home address and the rules are now that if you are not in when the postman tries to deliver a package, they don’t try and re-deliver, they return to sender??? Such is French customer service these days.

A recent global survey of more than two thousand organisations that I recently read, identified that one of the biggest issues facing Sales Leaders today is that salespeople’s self-limiting beliefs constrain their performance, which obviously in turn, limits their sales results.

I do subscribe to the theory that whatever you believe you can do, you will; and whatever you believe you can’t do, you won’t.

Like everyone, salespeople hold stubbornly to private beliefs about themselves, customers, the market, competitors and the economy – beliefs that can have an enormous impact, either positive or negative, on their sales performance. If salespeople don’t see themselves as providers of value, they’ll be blinkered to the customer’s genuine business needs.

This manifests itself in a number of undesirable behaviours that range from being too pushy, to being far too accommodating. This can also lead salespeople trying to sell customers something the customer may not need or want, and that certainly will not build long-term customer relationships.

Typically, salespeople who believe that if they had more competitive prices they would win more deals, tend to attract more price objections. This in turn leaves them feeling fearful or reluctant to discuss price and their downward spiral becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A salesperson’s state of mind is instantly transferred to their prospect or customer because they unconsciously transmit their attitude in a variety of subtle and even overt ways. Whilst the prospect or customer may not be consciously aware of the salesperson’s underlying attitude, they will just have a feeling that something isn’t right and will put a distance between themselves and the sales person.

This problem is further compounded and validated by research from Objective Management Group Inc who found that the typical sales person possesses a minimum of ten limiting beliefs that are having a detrimental impact on their performance. Once these beliefs are eliminated the average sales person will increase their sales by approximately 25%.

Many Sales Leaders understand the vital importance of the right mindset and those who are able to tackle and resolve the issue of their team’s negative beliefs will see a dramatic upswing in their team’s sales results.

You may also enjoy:”Are Self-Limiting Beliefs Constraining Your Sales Team?”

Today’s News:

Here’s a special message from a very special lady:

Strategic Marketing Ideas in a Shrinking Economy: Referral Expo 2008 (now through October 10th!)

The Referral Expo is a virtual event, conducted over the phone. It’s free to attend, but registration is limited:

* Breathe new life into your business
* Generate more referrals
* Find better quality referrals

Get new, innovative ideas! Bolster yourself against the economy. The Referral Expo 2008: Register now.

In times like these, building relationships and creating referrals are the keys to success. By attending this virtual expo, you’ll get loads of innovative ideas and strategies for generating referrals – all from the comfort of your home or office.

The Referral Expo 2008:

Tap into 15 world-class marketing experts as they share their best referral strategies. I’m honored to be included in the team presenting at this year’s Referral Expo.

What: Referral Expo 2008
When: Now through October 10th

Each 1-hour presentation will be conducted over the phone on successive weekday evenings.
Monday – Friday at 5:00pm Pacific / 6:00pm Mountain / 7:00pm Central / 8:00pm Eastern

Cost: FREE – Register now!

See you there

Joanne Black

Tomorrow: I am doing my bit for the next Top Sales Experts ebook, which should launch in about two weeks. I am also going to be thinking about the JF Consultancy 2009 strategy – yes, it is that time of the year already – this is me with my thinking cap on

Our graphics designer, Bill Jeckells, has a great sense of humour!

OK, that’s a wrap for this week, so as ever, have a great w/e and be sure to make it back on Monday – JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

Billy Cox

Do you wake up in the morning thinking, “This is going to be a lousy day” or “Nothing good ever happens to me”? If you have an important presentation to make, do you tell yourself, “I don’t have a chance at closing this sale”? If you routinely think this way, how does your day turn out? Do you make the sale? I’d be willing to bet you get exactly the results you expected.

Winners wake up every morning with excitement, enthusiasm, and confidence, knowing that success is in store for them. Top performers set their minds for victory; they set their minds for success.

Setting your mind for success doesn’t happen automatically. You have to constantly tell yourself “today is a great day, good things are happening, and new and exciting doors are opening.” Go out each and every day believing success will come your way.

Now, you may think, “My business isn’t doing well, nobody will buy from me, and I can’t pay my bills. How can I live with enthusiasm? How can I be positive when I have so many problems?”

You gotta make a decision that you’re going to have confident expectancy about everything you do. You have to continually expect that things are going to get better. Positive expectation is a conscious choice and a habit of faith. It is a conscious choice to see a positive outcome instead of a negative one. As you think, so it is created. As you believe, so it is done.

Expectancy is about seeing beyond where you are. Look out into the future and see yourself as successful, happy, and enthusiastic. See sales coming your way, see yourself having all the contacts you want and watch your income soar. See things better than they are . . . see them as you want them to be. Develop a habit of focusing on what’s right in your world instead of what’s wrong, on what you have instead of what you don’t have, on your talents instead of on your weaknesses. You’re probably asking, “What if I do that and it doesn’t work?”

My question to you is, “What if you do it and it does work?”

If you will consistently think about and focus on what you want, you will ultimately get it. By focusing on positive thoughts, you open up your mind to start attracting success. This is why top salespeople seem to effortlessly sell so much more than average negative-thinking salespeople. People want to do business with positive, upbeat, successful individuals.

When things look impossible or you’re tempted to go through the day negative and self-destructive, that is when you have to step up and change your belief level. Expect good things to happen. Expect to rise above your challenges. Expect victory!

When those around you predict doom and gloom for everything from the economy to your dreams and goals, remember that success in life, business and sales is mostly a mental game. Your thoughts will drive your results, your success, even your destiny. So proactively focus on the positive, defend your mind against the negative, and expect victory. You have the power to choose your thoughts and your attitude and, therefore, your success.

 
Billy Cox is a Top Sales Expert and an internationally recognized business leader, author, and inspirational speaker he 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.

You can find out more about Billy here: www.billycoxinternational.com

Today’s News: You could be forgiven for thinking that today is officially “Billy Cox Day” – well it is here!

Now you have the opportinity to listen to Billy in conversation with Clayton Shold – the topic is “Positive Mindset” - over at Salesopedia, just click on the banner below.

Tomorrow: My own thoughts about salespeople and limiting beliefs – I think you’ll enjoy it!