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The Biggest Thing Sales Leaders Overlook: SALES!

May 16, 2013 by 1 Comment

REALITY QUESTION FOR SALES MANAGERS: Why would you, as a leader, take an improving salesperson who is having the best year of their career, and tell him or her they’re “not making enough calls”? Why not do something to actually help?
REALITY ANSWERS: (Pick any or all that apply.) You’re an idiot who knows nothing about leadership, coaching, or creating winners. You’re a micro manager with little or no current sales talent yourself. (You may have sold before, but that was before the internet – and you’ve probably never tweeted). You’re an unschooled leader, following the old way rather than learning what’s new. You’re using CRM as an accountability tool, rather than a sales tool. You’re totally clueless about your customer base and what will grow more and profitable sales. OUCH!

Successful sales leaders…
• Manage the sales cycle, not call activity.
• Measure the sales cycle, not sales activity.
• Help make follow-up calls with their salespeople to learn more about the sales cycle.
• Study the last ten sales to help understand what will make the 11th.
• Discover their most profitable customers – and then go on to uncover WHY they’re the most profitable.
• Find where the profit comes from in every sale.
• Discover their most loyal customer – and WHY they stay loyal.
• Make a few sales calls together with their people.
• Teach salespeople to ask better questions that emotionally engage.

REALITY: Maybe by spending more VALUE time with each existing customer it will increase their wallet share and your market share, and referrals will go UP.
REALITY: Maybe making too many calls is actually hampering growth. Someone measuring activity and numbers would never know that. Pity.

“Measuring activity” gives you a false read on the reality of sales. And as a leader, a manager, a coach, a teacher, you have a far greater responsibility to help increase sales than to just bellow out “more calls” as your cure-all answer.

And maybe more calls IS the answer, but until you uncover the other ninety nine possibilities, you have no right to destroy or discourage your best salespeople from becoming better.

Or worse, they quit because they’re sick of you and your style.

Sales management and sales leadership is one of the hardest jobs in the world. First you have to know each of your people, why they’re working, why they’re working for you, and what will make them better. Second you have to know your customers, why your customers buy (beyond price), and what keeps them loyal. Third you have to be a better salesperson than they are. And fourth, you have to be a great teacher – able to convey your knowledge in a way that others WANT to hear you.

You know these things so that when your salespeople come to you with issues, you can actually help them make the sale – not make more calls.

Make more cold calls? Huh? In 2013? Really?

If you’re looking to become a hated sales leader, with lots of turnover, make your people make lots of cold calls.
If you’re wanting to drive your best people to the competition, make your people make lots of cold calls.
And if you’re looking to have low morale and poor performance on your team, make your people make lots of cold calls.

NOTE WELL:
• The new cold call is a social media connection. Start with LinkedIn.
• The better cold call is an expanded relationship with an existing customer.
• The best cold call is a referral. One that you earn, not ask for.

BIG REALITY: The object of sales leadership is to IMPROVE INDIVIDUAL SALES, not improve “team” sales.
BIGGER REALITY: Your encouragement and enthusiasm – to them, and with them – will help build both their confidence AND their sales.
BIGGEST REALITY: Managers somehow believe their salespeople want to be on their team and win for the team and the company. To hit some big goal arbitrarily set by management. Nothing could be further from the truth. Salespeople wanna win for themselves and their families – and they wanna win for their customers. Not for you, your other employees, or the company.

Get a grip on “why” salespeople want to win. Give them real-world help. Coach them, and it will have a major impact on their sales, and your leadership success.

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The Importance of Likability in Leadership | Jeffrey Gitomer

May 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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The Golder Rule of Leadership, and Life.

DO THE RIGHT THING ALL OF THE TIME – Jeffrey Gitomer

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What Are You Really Asking Of “Your People?”

April 25, 2013 by 3 Comments

“I want my people to be accountable.”

“I want our people to be MORE accountable.”

“Our main issue this year is ‘accountability.’”

Sound familiar? Accountability is the number one recurring theme throughout sales leadership in the United States. Sales leaders want their salespeople to be more accountable for their actions, activity, numbers, and (of course) sales.

And it’s TOTALLY WRONG, TOTALLY BACKWARD, TOTALLY INSULTING, and TOTALLY ANTI-SALES.

How’s that for an opinion?

REALITY: NO SALESPERSON WANTS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE. They got into sales so they WOULDN’T have to be accountable.

But sales leadership, even in their current CYA situation, has no concept of “field reality.” Rather, they implement some form of accountability through CRM (customer relationship management), and wonder why NO ONE uses it, much less keeps it up to date.

CRM is an advanced form of database that that helps salespeople keep track of customers, and on the surface it seems like a great tool. But it’s complex, cumbersome, and requires additional work. Leadership, who bought CRM for the wrong reason, expects all salespeople to document everything. But salespeople don’t.

CRM programs are the most-purchased, least-used software in the history of the computer. Why?

The reality is: CRM doesn’t help salespeople make sales.

Which brings me to today’s subject: accountability versus responsibility.

Sales leaders who want their people to be accountable are passing off their leadership duties to someone else, and then blaming them for failure. Wrong approach.

Leadership and accountability are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, especially the sales spectrum.

THINK ABOUT IT THIS WAY: You’re accountable to me. (Not good.) I’m responsible for you. (Much better.) And responsibility has a much more inclusive meaning.

As a leader, you’re responsible for your actions, responsible for your people, responsible for your attitude, responsible for your leadership skills, and certainly responsible for your results.

As a leader, the only person you’re accountable to is yourself.

And if you pass on the same strategy and philosophy to your people, that THEY are…

• responsible for their actions

• responsible for their customers

• responsible for their attitude

• responsible for their sales skills

• responsible for their results

…your acceptance and respect as a leader will ensure positive growth.

If a salesperson takes responsibility for his or her knowledge, pipeline, customers, sales, income, and success, your job as a leader shifts from a paranoid accountability manager to an encouraging, supportive leader.

What’s the difference?

• Accountability sends the wrong message. It implies forced leadership and micro-managing. It has at its base “you are” and “you must” as a process. It’s “childish.”

• Responsibility sends the right message. It’s individualized and team-oriented. It’s “I am” and “I will” as a process. It’s “adult.”

• If I’m accountable, it’s less likely that I’ll ever do my best or be my best. Rather, I’ll do what’s necessary, and report at the deadline – or just after.

• I’m responsible has a chance to include character building and pride in my achievement and work.

• I’m accountable lowers morale and creates disdain on the part of salespeople.

Here is the most telling difference:

“You’re accountable” indicates a corporate directive, and an order.

“I’m responsible” indicates a personal decision, and a success opportunity.

As negative as accountability is, there is one place it fits. You are accountable to yourself. You face the accountability mirror of truth every morning and every evening – in your bathroom. You are accountable to yourself for your attitude, your actions, you’re your results.

And in the end, accountability will still be “on message” and erroneously rule the sales airwaves, even though what I have written is truth and reason.

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Filed Under: Leadership, My Books, Sales Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Self-Evaluation of the Basic Elements of Leadership

April 18, 2013 by 1 Comment

AM I THE LEADER I WANT TO BE? Leaders rarely get to evaluate themselves. Below is your opportunity to take a brief look in the mirror. Take a few moments and give yourself an honest response as to your present skill level.

NOTE WELL: If you only look at this list and don’t actually circle a number, you will not improve, nor will you have a guideline by which to do it. When you circle the numbers, you’re telling yourself where you are and giving yourself an opportunity to grow to where you want to be.

This is a self-evaluation of the basic elements of leadership. To determine where you stand, note the number to the right of each statement that represents your personal status.

(1=never, 2=rarely, 3=sometimes, 4=regularly, 5=all the time)

I maintain a consistent positive attitude.      1  2  3  4  5

I embrace change as opportunity.                  1  2  3  4  5

I deploy courage.                                              1  2  3  4  5

I take risks.                                                        1  2  3  4  5

I listen with the intent to understand.            1  2  3  4  5

I communicate to be understood.                   1  2  3  4  5

I delegate and empower others.                      1  2  3  4  5

I understand others.                                         1  2  3  4  5

I understand myself.                                         1  2  3  4  5

I understand my situation.                               1  2  3  4  5

I am committed to being my best.                   1  2  3  4  5

I administer with excellence.                           1  2  3  4  5

I am able to recruit the best people.               1  2  3  4  5

I hire the best people.                                      1  2  3  4  5

I retain my best people.                                   1  2  3  4  5

I train everyone and myself.                            1  2  3  4  5

I consistently motivate my team.                    1  2  3  4  5

I consistently inspire my team.                       1  2  3  4  5

I lead by example.                                             1  2  3  4  5

Total your noted numbers from the previous step.

Leadership Scorecard

85-95 You are the leader I want to be taken to. This book
will help you strengthen and reinforce every
aspect of your excellence.

75-84 You’re a good leader. Dedicated and focused.
You’re now ready to go from proficiency to
mastery.

67-74 You’re a leader, slightly out of focus. The
strengths in this book will help you get
back to 20/20 vision.

59-66 You’re leading, but you lack high-level skills.
Dedicate yourself to mastering the fundamental
concepts in this book.

40-58 You’re struggling to lead. Read this book twice,
taking notes as you go, THEN make personal
plans to master the strengths in this book before
you assume any more leadership responsibilities.

GO BACK: Check the box to the left of any element where
you circled a 1, 2, or 3. Use the checked boxes to create
your personal game plan by creating an action plan for how
you will master each element you need to improve on.

 

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Are You the Leader or Just the Boss?

April 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

The leader of a symphony orchestra knows how to play every instrument. He also knows how those instruments blend together to create a symphonic sound. The leader of a choir knows every note that everybody has to sing, and knows how the voices and notes blend together to make harmony.

 

They’re actually called “conductors” – but you know what I mean.

 

When you can take both of these leadership elements and put them together, you have symphonic harmony. You have a team that knows their individual talents, knows their individual notes, knows their lyrics, knows how to play, knows how to sing, and knows their timing of when to do both – to create team harmony. And IF the leader is prepared, in control, and respected, the results can be spectacular.

 

If you’re the leader of these people and these elements, it is imperative that you know how each player must perform, or you will fail. Same in sales.

 

All sales leaders and bosses want their people to be a team. All salespeople resist it, because they just want to sell — but they often need other team members (accounting, production, shipping, service) to make it happen.

 

THE TEAM SECRET IS: Everyone must know his or her own skill and know it perfectly. Until they know themselves, they can’t play well, or sing well with others.

 

THE LEADERSHIP SECRET IS: To be able to extract the excellence of their people’s performance combined with the excellence of their own performance.

 

Often salespeople don’t live up to their potential and don’t do their best, or they make mistakes along the way. This is where leadership can make it happen, or break it down and continue with less than stellar performance.

 

THE LEADERSHIP REALITY IS: If you’re a real leader, you can’t blame the players for poor performance. You have to be the teacher, the conductor, the coach, and the encourager.

 

On the eve of a symphony performance, thousands of people pay to watch the orchestra AND the conductor perform. And at the end there is usually a thunderous applause, cheers of BRAVO!, flowers given out all over the place, and, at the urging of the conductor, members of the orchestra standing one or two at a time to take individual applause and a bow.

 

You, as the spectator (the customer), paid for and saw a one-hour performance.

 

But the outcome was not determined by their performance that evening. The outcome was determined long ago when they were practicing. If they didn’t practice, their performance would not have been acceptable.

 

Same with you. And the key is the message I’m trying to transfer. Leaders and orchestra members PRACTICED TOGETHER. It’s the same in sales. You can’t just be the boss or the manager. You also have to be the leader by example, and the coach who knows the game.

 

Here are two more indicators you’re on the winning path:

 

1. You’re attractive.  Not pretty. I’m talking about people calling you up on the phone because they want to work for you. Did you ever have a college professor that everyone would line up for and hope they made it into his class?  The questions you need to ask yourself are:  Who’s willing to line up and wait for me? Who wants to play on my team? Who wants to sell for me?

 

2. Your former players stay in touch with you. People move on with their careers. I want anyone that leaves to say that you were the best coach, the best leader they ever had. You don’t just win best coach — you win the game of life.

Boss or leader? Boss or coach? Boss or teacher? Boss or encourager? The choices are obvious as they are written. Your challenge is to make them a reality. I hope you do.

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8.5 Qualities of a Sales Leader. How Many Have You Got?

April 4, 2013 by 4 Comments

1. Maintain a positive attitude…Solution oriented. Action oriented. People oriented. A leader’s enthusiasm is contagious. If you get too close, you can catch a serious case of success.
2. Embrace change…Change is certain. Followers tend to resist change. It is the mark of a leader to welcome change and take advantage of the opportunity it presents.
3. Deploy courage…Douglas MacArthur said, “”Courage is just fear that holds out a little longer.”" Good advice. George Patton said, “”I don’t take counsel from my fears.”" Good advice. Leaders choose courage. (Dan Taylor wrote a great article on “”Courage”" in the Business Journal. Call him for a copy at 704/335–8762.)
4. Take a risk…The biggest risk is to never take one. One of the hallmarks of success is the willingness to risk. Leaders are determined to win or try again.
5. Listen…Listen with the intent to understand. Leaders listen to learn. Your prospects know their needs and they know what’s happening on the front lines of their business. Just listen.
6. Communicate…Leaders set the example for open communication. Use their heads. Say what they feel. Speak from their heart.
7. Delegate and Empower…Leaders share responsibility. They don’t dictate, they set examples for others to follow. Leaders encourage growth in others by challenging them to take new responsibility, encouraging them to succeed, and supporting them if they fail. Leaders understand that mistakes are lessons on the way to success.
8. Understand others, yourself and your situation…Leaders understand the importance of an open, inquisitive mind. A constant quest for knowledge brings greater understanding.
8.5 Commitment…Commitment is the catalyst that makes all the other leadership qualities a reality. Daily rededication to commitment is the difference between leaders and would be leaders.

Rate yourself between one and ten in those 8.5 areas. If your score is under 80 (highest possible 90), you need help.

Whether you lead your company, lead your sales team, or lead your peers, how you employ and implement your leadership skills will determine your leadership success.

 

CTALeadershipResilience

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Jeffrey Gitomer | Real World Sales Advice

March 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

photo-5

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Leadership Affirmations

October 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

The following affirmations should be read at least once a month. Post them on a wall in plain sight. Use them as desktop wallpaper on your computer. And record them in your own voice to playback often on your iPod or MP3 player.

I am a leader.
I’m not afraid to decide. When anything goes wrong, I face reality, and decide what’s best for everyone, not just myself.
I know how to respond in an instant. Just do what’s best. Just do the right thing.
I’m candid in the moment.
I think on my feet, and when someone knocks me on my ass.
I’m not afraid to talk without a script.
I’m not afraid to make a mistake.
I take responsibility for my decisions and my errors—I take “blame” out of the leadership equation.
I tell the truth, so I don’t have to mince my words, or have to remember what I said.
I earn respect.
I earn trust.
I select the best people to help me lead (not my best friends)—I will attract the best people in the country, and the best people in the world.
When people offer their help, I will accept their offers as often as I can.
I set goals with my people, not for them.
I stand up for what is right.
I won’t back down from those who seek to harm us.
I won’t back down from those who oppose freedom.
I speak from strength and conviction.
I listen with the intent to understand.
I don’t ask for respect, I earn it.
People may not like my decisions,
But they will like me personally.
I am resilient.
I recover quickly and with a resilient attitude.
I resolve to do better next time.
I do everything I can to build and maintain my reputation.
I’m not just a leader. I’m a student of leadership.

The Golden Rule of Leadership, and Life.

I don’t believe The Golden Rule applies to leadership.
The real world of snap decisions, safety, success, emergencies, competition, and events on the edges of reality may create a leadership mindset that precludes “Golden Rule thinking.”
You can’t always employ the do unto others process. In fact, it’s probably not even in your mind as you process decisions, and delegate tasks.
There’s a simpler rule of leadership that will help you achieve more, cause less doubt among your people, and actually ensure long-term success—even legacy.

DO THE RIGHT THING ALL THE TIME.
Simple, meaningful, effective, and powerful.

Excerpted from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Book of Leadership

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: ,

The Lost Secret of Leadership

October 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

If you’re looking for some magic formula—some wisdom of the ages—some quote from someone that ties it all together, that’s not the secret.

The lost secret of leadership is found in one word: Encouragement.

Encouragement is THE key to high self-esteem, high self-image, high attitude, higher productivity, and highest achievement.

Every time someone is seeking to complete a task, complete a project, come close to a milestone, or compete for a victory, your encouragement may be the very words that put him or her over the top.

As a leader, you have the power to influence, and you make a choice to either influence negatively or positively.

The same way you encouraged your one-year-old to walk is the same way you need to encourage your people to succeed, to achieve, and to win.

There’s a deeper secret inside the secret: Once you have encouraged, and once that encouragement has resulted in some form of victory—celebrate it!

When your one-year-old took their first step, did you celebrate? If they weren’t walking fast enough or early enough, did you threaten them with no allowance or no college if they weren’t walking within two weeks? Or did you continue to encourage—continue to cheer them on until they finally took those first steps—and then celebrate with hugs, kisses, photographs, and phone calls to anyone or everyone who would listen?

KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING:

Every poor performance is an opportunity for encouragement. Every great performance is an opportunity to reward and celebrate.

KEY ACTION TO TAKE:

Take every member of your team aside this week. Talk to them about what’s happening in their day to day. Support them with an idea. Pat them on the shoulder and tell them they’re doing a great job. Encourage them to keep hard at it. Tell them you support them and to please let you know if they need anything.

The way you would encourage a one-year-old to walk is the same way you need to encourage your people to succeed, to achieve, and to win. - Jeffrey Gitomer

Filed Under: Leadership, My Books Tagged With: , , ,

Attitude In. Attitude Out.

September 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Attitude In. Attitude Out.

(That’s the Real 360.)

Attitude is at the core of success—yours first! If you’re a leader that’s looking to succeed and leave a legacy of achievement and accolade, then you may want to start higher than your goals and aspirations to uncover the way to make those aspirations a reality.

When you wake up in the morning, how do you feel?

When you get to your place of work, how do you feel?

When you greet members of your team, what is your tone?

When you conduct a meeting, what is your tone?

 

Here are the attitude questions to ask yourself:

  • How are my people affected by my feelings and tones?
  • How do my feelings and expressions affect my team’s attitude?
  • How does my attitude impact their responses to me, to each other, and to outside people?
  • And finally, how does my attitude, my mood, and my tone affect their performance?

The answer to all of those is TOTALLY!

If your mood is sour, and your words are harsh, what could you possibly expect from the people you work with?

If you’ve ever started a meeting with the expression, “Okay everybody, I want to see some better attitudes around here!” maybe you should look at the problem rather than the symptom. The remedy to the problem is a simple one. Start with your own attitude.

Whatver you give, you will get.

Starting your day with a YES! Attitude, and communicating those feelings to others is not an option; it’s an opportunity. I hope you’re taking advantage of your legacy opportunity.

 

KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: You set the tone for your people to follow. If they’re not happy, first look at yourself.

KEY ACTION TO TAKE: Read my Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. TWICE. (This is NOT a commercial; it’s my best recommendation for you to expose your attitude to yourself, which is a critical part of the 360 criteria. My book breaks down how to understand attitude, how to make a game plan for self-improvement, and how to achieve a YES! Attitude and keep it for a lifetime.)

Filed Under: Attitude, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

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