Posted: March 15, 2012 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

 There are some indicators that our economy is getting better, and you may be one of those whose business and profits are robust.  If so, here is some wisdom I will pass along to you courtesy of the late Peter Drucker:

“An organization should not grow faster than its ability to manage”

 That is the “what”.  Now we can turn to Ben Franklin to get a better idea of “how”.

Benjamin Franklin built his success on defining and living by clearly defined virtues.  He used these virtues every day to check the rightness of his actions or thoughts.  He originally had 12 virtues.  After a short time, he realized he needed to add one more – humility.  As he put it, “Every time I find myself getting very good at something, I start to feel too proud about it”

In his painfully helpful book, “How the Mighty Fall”, “Good to great” author Jim Collins analyzes five key phases in the decline of success.  Sears, GM, Motorola, and Circuit City are some examples he studied.  Here are the five steps as outlined by Mr. Collins:

1. Hubris born of success

2. Undisciplined pursuit of more

3. Denial of risk and peril

4. Grasping for salvation

5. Capitulation to irrelevance or death

He also emphasized that stage #1, “Hubris of success”, is the trigger that leads to the remaining steps of decline.

Let’s see how Webster’s Dictionary defines “hubris” and “humility”

Humility:  Refrain from boasting. Minimize personal accomplishments in favor or building others.

Hubris:  Wanton insolence or arrogance resulting from excessive pride.

Which word do you like better?  (I thought so)

Many businesses believe that their toughest challenge is generating more revenue.  In my experience, I find that the most stressful situation is when we are making tons of money.  There is a strong tendency to let our pride get out of hand, and when that happens, we can make some stupid decisions.

GM didn’t see foreign cars as a threat.  Sears didn’t take Wal-Mart seriously.  Motorola chose to be more engineering driven that customer driven.  As Mr. Collins puts it, “they lost sight of the underlying factors that created their success in the first place.”

So if you are at the top of your game, and enjoying profits beyond your dreams, take some time to do the following:

1. List the underlying factors that created your success

2. Determine which one needs the most attention

3. List and commit to one or two specific action steps you can do to improve the area of focus.

Have a “healthy discontent” with where you are at!

Posted: March 7, 2012 | Categories: Management, Team Building

Earlier this week, I was talking with a client whose company is substantially ahead their revenue goals for 2012.  That is exciting, especially considering we are not even finished with the first quarter.   You are probably asking how this is possible.  How did they do it?… Was it luck?.. .Did they just have the right product at the right time?…Was it good management and planning?  The answer:  All of the above.

You have probably heard the expression, “Luck is where opportunity meets preparation”.  Looking at what we can control, let’s take one of the most operative pieces of preparation:  CLARITY.

Clarity of goals:  This business owner (Jim) took the time to craft his 2012 business plan in November of 2011.  At the top of his plan in bold letters were his specific revenue goals and profit margin baseline.

Clarity of strategy:  If you were to ask Jim how he planned to achieve the goals, he would enthusiastically detail all the actions and categories of activity that would lead him to his goals.

Clarity of roles:  If you were to ask each of Jim’s team members what their role was, each of them could clearly tell you.

Clarity of responsibility:  Each role contains certain responsibilities in terms of desired results.

Clarity in tracking and accountability:  Everyone on Jim’s team clearly understands what is expected of them.  They all have an action plan with specific steps containing deadlines and benchmarks.  Each member does their best to do what they say they will do when they say they will do it. When they fall short, the group comes together to focus on the problem and agree on a plan of action.

Clarity in goals, strategy, roles, responsibility, and accountability can defeat finger-pointing and excuses and can enable a team to “advance confidently in the direction of their dreams”, as Thoreau once said.

To put these fundamentals immediately into play, check you clarity on the key areas mentioned.  If you find something fuzzy, take the time to make it clear.

Posted: March 1, 2012 | Categories: Sales

Ask the most successful salesperson you know about how they manage their pipeline.  They will know what you are talking about and they will give you your money’s worth.

So why talk about pipeline management?  To be consistent in our production and meeting our goal, we need a repeatable process with predictable results.

To start with, let’s talk about software.  Fancy CRM’s (Customer Relationships Management) like ACT or web-based Salesforce.com are nice.  They do require an investment.  Conceivably, you could use a simple Excel sheet for tracking and pipeline management.

Now we begin our sales activity so that we can “feed the system”.  Before going any further, I am assuming you have your business plan and sales strategy in place.  (If not, refer to planning blogs written on 11/28-29 of 2011)

Our strategy typically includes activities such as prospecting, cold calling, networking, public speaking, attending luncheons and special events, golf outings, generating website leads, and social media contacts.

Sales activity leads to conversations.  Conversations lead to face-to-face appointments.  Face-to-face appointments yield a certain percentage of customers.  This is our closing ratio.

While it is nice to have high closing ratios, it is even more important to crisply, honestly, actively, and relentlessly manage our pipeline.

In the pipeline, you will have two categories:  Leaners and long shots.  A leaner has said, “I want to do it”, but has not signed off on it yet.  A long shot has shown interest, but needs time to think about it.  Here are the percentages you need to know:

Leaners                    50% chance of closing

Long shots               10% chance of closing

Now we can project:  If I have 10 leaners and 10 long shots on my Excel sheet, that means I can count on 6 new clients.  Now I can forecast my income and be confident I can achieve it.

So how can you tell when someone is managing their pipeline well?  There is no fluff, no deception, and every prospect in the pipeline belongs there.  The pipeline is also full.  And what happens when they close?  They are both happy and restless, because they now have a vacancy in their pipeline and they must create a sense of urgency to fill it up.  Summing it up, good pipeline management means:

1.  Building a strategy

2.  Sales activity

3.  Create “Leaners”

4.  Advance long shots

5.  Keep your pipeline clear of “dead wood”

6.  Renew sales activity each time you close

Posted: February 27, 2012 | Categories: Sales, Self-Improvement

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing.  You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.  Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing.

 There is no room for second place.  There is only one place in my game, and that’s first place.  I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don’t ever want to finish second again.  There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers.  It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.”

-Vince Lombardi

In selling, there is no second place.  We either get the order or we don’t.  And if we don’t, we receive nothing – that is no fun.  As Vince Lombardi says, “Winning must be a habit”

An old mentor of mine once said, “A goal mind is a goal mine”.  I was reminded of this last week while talking to a successful financial advisor:  He began his career in the fall of 2008 – not exactly the most fun time to begin.  401k’s were decimated and financial advisors weren’t winning any popularity contests.  Yet Bob boldly began his career and has met or exceeded every quarterly goal since he started.  He is enjoying a comfortable standard of living.

I asked Bob, “What is it you do that makes you so consistent?”  He replied, “I set goals and achieve them.  I make sure every goal is realistic and challenging.  If I were to set a goal and not achieve it, I would become complacent, and accept mediocrity.  I know because I struggled through high school and college. Once I adopted the “set and achieve goals” mindset, my whole life turned around. “

In his 1940 essay, “The Common Denominator of Success”, life insurance sales manager Albert Gray said:

”It is easier to adjust ourselves to the hardships of a poor living that it is to adjust ourselves to the hardships of making a better one.  If you doubt me, just think of the things you are willing to go without in order to avoid doing the things you don’t like to do…”

 So what can we do to attain the same success as Bob?

Set a goal.  Even if it is dialing the phone six times a day – set it.  And once we do, remember the four key fundamentals to ensure you succeed:

1.  Seize the first opportunity

2.  Launch the strongest initiative

3.  Keep the faculty of effort alive with daily practice

4.  Never allow an exception to occur

Happy goaling!

Posted: February 23, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

Years ago there was a popular after shave called “Hai Karate”. In their psyched-up commercials they would always end with the caveat, “Be careful how you use it”

I find the same advice applies to the use of email:  It is a major tool of communication and we must use it wisely. It is like a claw hammer: We can build with it or destroy.

So when do we use email and when do we not use it? I don’t have a magic answer. Since I coach to build stronger teamwork, I have some observations:

Email correspondence seems to work well when the communication is transactional. The exchange of data, schedules, order confirmations, and general exchange of information are examples.

Beyond transactional, there is transformational. We may be upset that a seemingly careless mistake was made. There may be other instances where someone simply doesn’t know what they are doing.  Also, as mortal souls, we don’t always use sound judgment. To me, all of these instances spell an opportunity for some good coaching or re-direction. To achieve these objectives, we need quality conversations that involve interactive dialogue. That means we meet face-to-face, or have a phone conversation.  If we chose to respond to these challenges via email, I recommend two words…”let’s talk”

Counterpoint: At this point, you might be saying, “Wait a minute…I like email. When I take time to express my true feelings in print, that makes me more confident that my words will be absorbed. If we talk face-to-face, I may modify my true message due to tone of voice or body language.”

So what is the answer? I don’t have one. What I recommend is that you and your team agree on how your team will communicate and make sure email communication is part of that discussion. Make a working agreement. There will be better teamwork with fewer barriers and less resentment.