The most significant change in the selling landscape in the last 10 years has been the way prospects buy; sadly, not the way salespeople sell. It is just as important to understand and master the prospect’s buying process as it is for salespeople to master a systematic sales process.
A sales call shouldn’t be something that happens by accident; it should be a planned event. When sales calls aren’t planned, they often result in wasted time and effort, resulting in a no sale. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make a sale on every call but, as a minimum, you should be…
Detailsby Rob Goffee & Gareth Jones Harvard Business School Press, 2006 ISBN #1-57851-971-3 Reviewed by Ian Cook People want to be led by a person, the authors contend, not by someone with a fancy job title or a manager who has amassed a vast chunk of organizational turf. Employees will choose to follow only a…
Detailsby Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan & Gareth Jones McGraw-Hill, 2008 ISBN #978-0-07-148499-2 Reviewed by Ian Cook If you are like me, and like most of the managers we all know, you have a default strategy for influencing people around you. You TELL them what they should do! You SHARE your wisdom…
DetailsEngaged employees demonstrate three characteristics: commitment, involvement and enthusiasm. Employees become engaged when their employers meet their basic needs, create meaningful opportunities to contribute, foster a sense of belonging, and provide chances to learn and grow.* Employee training is likely to be a key factor in the implementation of any organizational strategy aimed at improving…
DetailsMost companies and their salespeople covet their value add, their features and benefits, and their value proposition as if it were the Holy Grail. The reality is all value propositions are inherently valueless. The feature and benefit style of selling that has served companies so well in the past no longer works. It is tried,…
DetailsI worked recently with the Board of Directors of a large public power company. They needed stronger governance systems. I mentioned how efficient boards operate. I broke down our approach. “With our framework,” I told them, “the board expresses exactly what it wants the organization to achieve in the form of policies. By defining what…
DetailsEach person on the planet has their own unique ideas, interests, talents, skills, and motivators. Even twins who share similar DNA have different opinions, interests, and motivators. So if we understand this, why do so many organizations have one set of motivators to try and change the behavior of the masses? Does anyone else see…
DetailsIs your upcoming meeting a strategic planning session? A sales or project launch? A departmental communications day? Or, perhaps, teambuilding for an intact management or project team? Whichever it is, it undoubtedly involves a significant investment.
First there’s the suffocating volume of e-mails. That’s complaint number one. But the next biggest gripe I hear from my clients is that they are spending way too much time in meetings. Do any of these comments ring true about meetings where you work? too long no agenda (or, if there is one, we don’t…
DetailsMost salespeople don’t know when to quit. They don’t know when to quit talking… when to quit selling… and when to quit trying. They talk too much, sell too long and give up too soon. What’s worse, not only do some salespeople give up too soon, they often don’t even get started! In a survey…
DetailsBy Carol S. Dweck Random House, 2006 ISBN #1-4000-6275-6 Reviewed by Ian Cook John McEnroe reached great heights in the world of professional tennis but, by his own admission, he did not fulfill his potential. Whenever he lost, it was not his fault. Even his defeat at the 1984 French Open he blamed on sound…
DetailsWhen people ask me to describe our change management model at LRI, I tell them it boils down to three principles. Principle number one: Focus on the first five percent. To guarantee a successful outcome you must gather champions, set expectations, how extensively you engage stakeholders, and how well you paint a picture for people…
DetailsThey had a momentary pause of puzzlement when I asked them. So, I put the question to my audience again, “What is your current edge for development?” “What do you mean?” they ask. “I mean,” I say, “if you could snap your fingers and instantly improve significantly in one aspect of your work that would…
DetailsBy James M. Citrin Rodale, 2007 ISBN #978-1-59486-358-5 Reviewed by Ian Cook Ground-breaking tennis great Billie Jean King won 20 Wimbledon titles, 13 US Opens, the French and Australian Opens, and was ranked the world’s No. 1 woman tennis player seven times. She went on to do pioneering work on Title IX legislation for women’s…
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