It’s the dawn of 2012 – the year we’ve all been waiting for, thanks to the Mayans and their spooky calendar forecasting the end of the world in December. Some of my friends have jokingly threatened to max out their credit cards, take up smoking, stop exercising, move to a beach house, and live it up this year. Why not, right? If the end time is coming, who cares about bad credit scores, smoker’s cough, or expanding waistlines?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to throw in the towel just yet. The Mayans may have foretold doomsday, but I’ve got my own set of predictions for 2012. I’m not suggesting who’s going to win the next election or the Super Bowl. My predictions are less about events and more about dynamics – the nature of the dynamics between us and our companies, our colleagues, our families and friends, and our communities.

If we’re not careful, gridlock will become a way of life. In 2012, we’ll continue to see gridlock in politics (neither side of the aisle is willing to compromise), travel (out-dated and under-funded infrastructure vis-à-vis our roadways, the FAA, and a lack of fuel-efficient travel alternatives), and customer service (a generally lackluster and synthetic approach to handling customer service issues). Whether it’s in politics, travel, or customer service, gridlock is evidence that assets have been overleveraged; that there is little more to give. So, if all signs point to more impasses, more stalemate, and more logjams, is gridlock something we’re going to have to get used to? Maybe not… I think 2012 has the potential to be the year of anti-gridlock.

What follows are 10 things I think will influence all of our relationships in the coming year to help push through the gridlock that was 2011, whether the Mayans were right about the End of Days or not.

1.  Non-traditional education is in. We all agree that computers (and iPads) should be used in school, and that we should tailor teaching to the way our kids learn, not the other way around. In 2012, we will see the needle move in our antiquated education model. There will no longer be a devotion to one-size-fits-all. The curriculum is no longer a sacred cow. The Khan Academy and Moodle are testaments to this. Open source learning platforms like these will make it possible to get curriculum from anywhere in the world, quickly and inexpensively. This is a game changer.

2.  Tablets will rule the day. The same way smart phones revolutionized the way we navigate our world (now, we can even use our phones to pay for a cup of coffee at Starbucks) so too, will tablets. Tablets are going to be an essential part of our everyday lives, for everything from reading books to shopping to doing our jobs. American Airlines is even allowing its pilots to use iPads in the air versus carrying on hefty flight manuals and charts, and the company estimates it’s going to save over a million dollars a year in fuel costs as a result. Just another environmentally-friendly step closer to eradicating paper. In fact, I think tablets will be the nail in the coffin for conventional newspapers.

3.  Videos, videos, and more videos. Whereas social media was the hot item in 2011, mobile media will be all the rage in 2012. I’m not talking about high-end production in terms of video quality. No, it’s all about the content. It’s so easy for anyone, anywhere, to capture a moment, an experience, or an event and then quickly distribute it worldwide; and what’s going to distinguish all of those feeds will be the content. People will gravitate to what’s most valuable.

4.   The ball is in the employee’s court. Throughout the late 2000’s, providing an excellent client experience was the focus of the most successful companies. But beginning in 2012, we’re going to see the emergence of a talent war which will force companies to not only provide an excellent client experience, but also a superior employee experience. Even though we still have high unemployment rates, there are tens of thousands of jobs available because there is a lack of qualified workers to fill them. There is going to be more competition for talent than ever before, especially in highly technical fields. Those who are qualified will be a hot commodity, and employers will have to compete to attract and keep the best and brightest.

5.   Stories still sell. This is a prediction that would probably come true every single year, not just in 2012. We, as human beings, are always going to be compelled by the will-to-win story, the story of a person or a company who had to struggle to overcome a challenge. We love the underdog because their stories give us hope, which is something we always need. So, stories will be the continued medium for how we communicate – and how we sell.

6.   Grit is the new currency. This goes back to #5: we will really begin to appreciate people who have worked through hardship and persevered. The more challenge you’ve overcome, the more trustworthy you are. In fact, grit is the leading indicator to trust. There’s something pure about someone overcoming a challenge versus someone who’s won the lottery or who’s famous for being famous (Hello, Paris Hilton! Hello, Snooki!). The latter do not inspire compelling, lasting relationships built on trust. They’re the antithesis of grit, and people will soon tire of them.

7.   Advice is a must. In a world where competition is fierce, people will be looking for every edge they possibly can. With fewer resources, less energy, and less to leverage, every decision becomes more critical. They’re looking for the newest, the best, the tried and true – whatever it is that’s going to help them move forward more quickly and efficiently. From consulting to continuing education, if it’s going to help folks net better results, people are going to be into it.

8.   Emotional intelligence finally breaks into the MBA programs for real. At last, the idea that ones’ emotional intelligence is as important to their success as their IQ will become institutionalized, and it will happen in an incredibly important place: the programs that train our business professionals. The notion that it takes more than book smarts to be a great business leader has been teetering on the brink of mainstream thinking for quite a while, but this year it will finally take flight in American MBA programs. It’s about time.

9.   This will be a reinvesting year… again. 2012 will not be a year to make withdrawals, but rather to continue making deposits. Reinvest, reinvest, reinvest, reinvest. I know we’re all tired of this. We’ve been doing it ad nauseam for three years now. But it is what it is, and we can’t expect the economy to be massively different than it was in 2011. Don’t expect to work any less hard. In fact, be prepared to work twice as hard, and be prepared for it to take twice as long to get us back to a pre-2008 economic landscape. We will probably have to do the same thing again next year, too. I know that’s blunt, but there’s no way to sugarcoat it. This is our new reality. It’s about living within our means. Being pragmatic with our finances. Investing in relationships and reinvesting in our companies, in our infrastructure, in our health, and in our communities. Trust me; these investments really will pay off… eventually.

10.   Gratitude is the common ground. Despite the difficulties we’re bound to face in 2012, we still have a pretty unique opportunity in this country. So if we want to find something to rally around, it would be in the form of gratitude, because it can always be worse. Our situation is not permanent. It’s not the end of the world. We have such incredible freedoms and opportunities, and so many choices compared to people in other countries. Sure, we have challenges headed our way, but at least we can be grateful for another year to be who we are, to really begin to share our perspectives with each other, and to listen to one another’s stories, because I believe that could actually move us out of gridlock and into a brighter tomorrow.

Joe Mechlinski is the President of entreQuest and has partnered with countless leaders to effectively improve their team’s performance, their clients’ experience, and their company’s profits.

At the core of every company is a promise to improve its clients’ lifestyles in some way.  Oftentimes, this promise is articulated in a mission statement or story.  It is practiced through corporate values and behaviors.  It is delivered through the employee and client experiences.

In the Microsoft Partner community, this promise is understood to fall somewhere along the lines of improving efficiency and effectiveness for individuals and enterprises by providing the best technology.  Or, in the exact words of Microsoft, “to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.”

Assuming that Partners are already wired up with the latest, greatest software programs (created by Microsoft of course), how else can you come to realize your full potential as sales-driven businesspeople aspiring to grow client rosters and revenues?

The reality is that you could come up with hundreds of products and services you have bought into to help improve your job performance.  Let’s see if we can come up with five of them for a quick hit list right now.

1. The chair you’re sitting on – Did it promise to supply more comfort than other chairs, thereby improving your ability to sit longer at your desk and finish more work?
2. The sticky notes placed on top of your papers – Did they promise to help you stay organized, thereby improving your ability to remember what work was the top priority?
3. The local business newspaper in your inbox – Did it promise to keep you in the know of your network, thereby improving your ability to keep your work strategy relevant?
4. The high quality suit you’re wearing – Did it promise to portray your professionalism with style, thereby improving your ability to make good impressions while at work?
5. The energy drink you’re consuming – Did it promise to recharge your body, thereby improving your ability to boost your work output?

Notice that each one of the promises involved the term “work” because practically everything we do and everything around us before the workday and during the workday is part of a self-created process we routinely go through to perform better at work.  Even if it’s watching TV or going to the gym after work to unwind, you’re often doing it to de-stress and refresh before the next day begins and it’s time to get back to work.

At entreQuest, we love all of these activities and accessories.  In fact, our team has invested in hundreds of them combined.  However we are all well aware that there is a shortcut.  We could bypass all of our purchases and programs and get straight to the heart of what drives human progress and organizational optimization.

There is really only one tool that actually has the power to bring in better results.  It cannot be bought, it cannot be consumed, it cannot be checked off.  On the flip side, it can be utilized whenever and it can be developed continually.  It can help you reach your full potential and its full potential is all dependent on you.

It has been the number one weapon in our arsenal here at entreQuest when we gear up to accomplish our corporate goals since the day we opened up our doors.  It is the first principle we have been consulting our clients on and training their sales team with for over ten years.  It is how our network of partners has been surviving the economic recession and how our community will continue to thrive in the future fiscal years to come.

It is MINDSET.

Mindset sits at the foundation of the Access to Achievement – or the module that entreQuest conceived to explain what drives professionals to reach their sales goals.  We use it with our clients in the context of both individual employees and organizations as a whole.

Shaped like a large triangle, at the base sits MINDSET, which takes into account an individual’s beliefs and values as well as a company’s mission and story.  It is the “why” we do what we do and the “why” our business exists.  Mindset is the foundation of all business activity to generate sales, build better relationships, foster good morale, and enhance the greater community.  It is the platform on which sits the next layer of the Access to Achievement triangle – PROCESS.

For an individual, process involves the tasks we must do to generate revenue.  It is the “how” we are going to accomplish what we originally set out to do.  Many of the items we listed in the original hit list including writing reminders on sticky notes, reading through the local business news, and gulping down energy drinks, in addition to making cold calls or following-up with contacts or doing anything extra that will enhance the employee and client experiences, would be placed in the process section.

Finally, sitting at the top of the triangle is RESULTS.  These make up the “what” we define as measurements of our personal goals and our company’s success.  Results are the product of processes and they are only attainable and sustainable if the entire vision and strategy are determined by mindset, inspired by mindset, and maintained by mindset.  Without this all too important foundation, processes and results will not last the long term even if they prove lucrative in the early stages.  The right mindset is how team members and companies effectively and efficiently grow.  It is how everyone can reach their full potential.

Imperatively speaking, Microsoft Partners must make up their mindset to accomplish their goals.  It takes focus, commitment, and effort.  It involves keeping your word, investing your passion, and learning from your mistakes.  It requires delivering excellence and demonstrating exceptionalism.

To control your mindset, you must first understand what it is made of and entreQuest defines this combination as “your recipe for success.”  There are three ingredients: patterns of your physical movement, patterns of your speech, and patterns of your thoughts.  After all, there is a way that you move when you nail a presentation, right?  There is a way that you speak when you’re on during a meeting, isn’t there?  And there is a way that you think when nothing can stop you towards hitting your goal, oh you better believe it!

Successful businesspeople have noted the differences in their movements, their speech, and their thoughts when they achieved results versus when they lost out on opportunities.  They then made a conscious decision to maintain their movements, speech, and thoughts in a positive light so that their recipe for success continually cooks up a mindset that conquers challenges, defies failure, secures satisfaction, and revs up revenue.  You can have this too.  entreQuest teaches its client company teams and seminar trainees to check-in with their mindset as much as they can throughout the workday with a simple six-letter phases: “I move.  I say.  I think.”  Just like a chef has to respect the fact that a master meal can only result from the proper ingredients, so you must remember that a master mindset only brings results with the right recipe for success.

From here, we suggest you go back to your work goals and review them.  You had confidence when you created them so know that you can access the achievement.  It is only a matter of determination and planning accordingly.  In addition to being present at all times to your movement, speech, and thoughts in order to maintain them at the levels required for your special recipe for success, there are other areas you can apply the master mindset.  For instance, where can you make adjustments in your routine to take the extra step with your clients?  How can you hone your explanation of your offering to gain more prospects’ trust?  What are the risks you are not taking or the tasks you are not completing and what is preventing you?  Make up your mindset now to reach your full potential!

Of course the other things come into play too.  Comfortable chairs, sticky notes, local news, business suits, and energy drinks all have their place in assisting us through the challenges of the daily grind.  Microsoft Partners’ products and services obviously add incredible value when it comes to improving business operations so we would never suggest any professional works off mindset alone.  It must be said, however, that if everything on your desk and in your schedule suddenly vanished, a sales-driven professional can still succeed as long as he or she is sourced with a winning mindset.

Mindset is the force behind the saying “always find a way.”  Mindset is the push behind “there’s always room to grow.”  Mindset is even the champion over an excuse like “it’s always something.”

From us at entreQuest to you at every Microsoft Partner around the world, it’s always MINDSET that will access businesspeople to their achievement.  No matter what kind of improvement you need to make in your work, trust us that mindset is the all time greatest hit of the hit list.

By Mark Slatin, Outsourced VP of Sales at entreQuest

Frank Eastham, the Director of Leadership Development and Diversity Training at Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, MD walks the talk.  Today he issued a challenge to over 2000 attendees in the audience: “Don’t take Martin Luther King Day off.”  A hush rolled over the anxious congregation until he continued with: “Take Martin Luther King Day on!” “Mmmm” resonated from congregants as they contemplated the challenge.

Frank, who is also the Principal of Oakland Mills High School, succeeds famously at fostering reconciliation in the heart of culturally diverse Howard County, MD,  because he disrupts the status quo.

So this is my “taking on” Frank’s challenge; bridging Dr. King’s message about reconciliation to the lesson for those of us in the world of selling.

What does his message have to do with success in selling?

With no disrespect to those who bravely fought and risked their lives so others could have freedom, let me suggest that reconciliation happens person-to-person, one heart and mind at a time.  The parallel is about building relationship with people we find challenging – and not just customers.

Despite the injustices he aimed to overcome, Dr. King articulated the need for reconciliation in his I Have a Dream speech:  “But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice.  In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.  Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

Selling Secrets Debunked

The single most important factor consistent in top career producers across all industries is not measured by looks, charm, methodology, luck, or even hard work.  It’s woven in the fabric of Dr. King’s speech – the message of reconciliation.  Salespeople who sustain success build bridges in all directions.

Most sellers understand the need to build relationships with their customers.  Too often, they’ve taken their role of “customer advocate” as a license to steamroll the rest of the team.

Complete sellers know something else.  They build relationships in a 360 degree circle, even with colleagues, business partners, suppliers, etc. that others find exasperating.

I’m not suggesting it’s easy, but hey, the emancipation proclamation existed for over 100 years before racial equality made significant strides in the U.S.  Anger didn’t work, violence didn’t work, and separatism didn’t work.  Although I’ve seen them all tried in sales, they aren’t sustainable strategies in their either.

A Self Examination

Where can you build deeper relationships?  Maybe it’s that associate who gets under your skin each time you think about interacting with him or her.  Maybe it’s that person who gives you a hard time while others get a smooth ride?

In his article, “My Client is a Jerk” co-author of the Trusted Advisor, Charles H. Green suggests defining your client in malicious terms creates a horrible problem statement because:

1. It’s highly unlikely to be accepted by the client.
2. It’s highly subjective.
3. It’s unverifiable.

Instead Green suggests we begin with ourselves.

“What’s true of clients is equally true for us. Particularly in selling, we are loaded with fears. We are afraid, first of all, of not getting the sale.  And it goes deeper.  We’re afraid of our boss, peers and loved ones knowing that we might not get the sale — afraid of their judgment.  We’re afraid of the judging of the client, too — feeling that if we don’t get the sale, it means they think less of us.”

So we fall into the blame game.

“One of the most emotionally attractive ways out of the tyranny of self-judgment is to blame others.”

Complete Sellers Reframe

He suggests we consider reframing the problem statement to one which has YOU in it.

Here are three tips:

1. Don’t get held hostage to the outcome. We’re not responsible for our client’s actions, we can only inform them as best we can.
2. Check your ego at the door. The best way to lose a sale is to try too hard to get the sale.  Focus on building the relationship.
3. Be curious. Ask what is the client fearful of?  What might they be reluctant about?  What’s at stake for her?

I love his overarching statement, “There aren’t any difficult clients.  Not really.  There are only relationships that aren’t working well.  And nearly all of those can be fixed.  But it must start with us.”

Resentment, it is said, is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

Martin Luther King, Jr. shared a message of freedom.  This MLK Day “free” yourself from difficult relationships – live the message of reconciliation.

Who do you need to reconcile with?

Karate Kid – Grape Zone

Not necessarily a good place or a bad place, The Grape Zone is an opportunistic standstill.  For leaders in business, it’s either choose to settle for business relationships exactly where they are OR take action to ultimately drive better results in sales across the board.

But first, let us discuss the origin of this area we call The Grape Zone.  In the movie “The Karate Kid” (the original version, not the new one with Will Smith’s son although I’ve heard this is a decent remake), the following dialogue unfolds between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi after Daniel has gotten his butt kicked a few times at school and Mr. Miyagi is willing to begin Daniel’s training in the art of karate.

Mr. Miyagi: Now, ready to learn Karate?

Daniel: I guess so.

Mr. Miyagi: Daniel-san, must talk. Man walk on road. Walk left side – safe.  Walk right side – safe. Walk down middle – sooner or later, get squished just like grape.  Same here.   You karate do “yes,” or karate do “no.”  You karate do “guess so,” squish just like grape.  Understand?

Daniel: Yeah, I understand.

Mr. Miyagi: Now, ready?

Daniel: Yeah, I’m ready.

Depending on your market, your product, your service or your technology, there might be several steps to the process of enrolling a new or even an existing client.   And yes, there is a Grape Zone between each step in the process, and often a big one right before the papers get inked.  Confidently be aware though that you can always get through any Grape Zone.

If you find that most of your opportunities are in The Grape Zone in one way or another, then chances are that you’re not asking them to go to the next step in the process, whatever that is.   And if you don’t ask, they can’t say yes.   If you don’t ask them for the sale or to take the next step in the sales process, or if you don’t let them know that no is okay, you will be “squished like grape.”

In order to make this topic very clear, let me use entreQuest as an example.

We spent a fair amount of time early on beating our heads against the wall with prospective clients that just didn’t get us.   They were name-brand companies that we wanted to work with, and wanted to work with us – or at least wanted the results that other companies were getting from the relationship.  We looked at these opportunities and thought they would be reference-able accounts with name recognition or cache, so we pursued the leads – after all we’re a sales growth firm, we know what to do with leads.

The result?

Well, we landed a decent amount of business, but, in several cases, we accepted clients we shouldn’t have. We were then contractually obligated to work with companies whose cultures were drastically different from our own, and it was a nightmare. Since then, whenever we meet a prospect whose company’s culture is drastically different from ours, we tell them, “No, thank you.”

“No, thank you” mitigates the risk of the nightmare client happening.   To make sure we aren’t saying no to good companies, we have developed a screening system that helps us assess which companies we can consult for successfully, and which we cannot.   We call it “E.P.I.C.”

E.P.I.C. companies, as a matter of corporate culture, are those that:

Embrace Change

Progressive leadership

Innovative in their fields

Culturally driven (they care about their culture)

It’s what works for us at entreQuest and it can be what works for other businesses.  With a few modifications to fit your unique business model of course.

See you next week,

Joe

As the applause died down in the Board room, my stomach turned.  Linda Ferri, CEO of Advanse International, had an incredible story to tell about how her firm helps companies, governments and institutions in Europe, North Africa and North America with the tools and support to implement their plans globally.  Despite the accolades from the other five board members in attendance for her dry-run, I knew her presentation was doomed for failure in its current state.

The Numbers

• 10 – maximum minutes permitted for Linda’s presentation
• 25 – other vendors presenting to Algerian government agencies, businesses, and institutions
• 72 – hours remaining before her flight would take off for Algiers
• 100 – hours of preparation already sunk into project
• 500 – people in audience
• 4,200 – miles between Washington, DC and Algiers where Linda’s presentation would take place
• 10,000 – dollars invested in the presentation

When our meeting broke, I approached Linda with a restrained urgency, “Linda, um, would you be ok if I took a shot at re-working your presentation?”  “Absolutely, but my plane takes off in 72 hours Mark … I don’t think that’s enough time…plus I still have to translate it into French.”  “Linda, I can’t let you go half way around the world and tell your story this way.  I know how hard you’ve worked for this opportunity and how much you have on the line.”

Underestimated Power of Presentation

Linda’s scenario isn’t unique.  For their “moment of truth” opportunity, most people open up PowerPoint or Keynote and start typing.  The payoff for educating yourself on basic design and presentation skills is ridiculously high.  Nancy Duarte, author of Slide-ology and creator of Al Gore’s presentation in An Inconvenient Truth says, “presentation is the killer skill we take into the real world.  It’s almost an unfair advantage. “  So if it’s such a killer skill, why do so many get an early burial?

Four Key Reasons Why Presentations Fail

#1 – Confusing – Is there a logical sequence?  Are the slides straightforward and easy to follow?  Is there too much information on each slide?  Have you overdone animations?  Is there a beginning, middle, and an end?

#2 – Boring – Bullets in guns can kill people, bullets in presentations can kill your message.  As Alexei Kapterev illustrates in his slideshare Death by Powerpoint, we tend to  dump data; pack too much information for an audience to understand.

#3 – Irrelevant – Who is it intended to reach?  What message needs to get across?   What’s in it for them?  Too often, we get focused on us, on what we can’t wait to tell them – about our businesses, our project, ourselves.  If they don’t see the relevance for them… and quickly, they’ve tuned out!

#4 – Self-promoting – We must be careful not to turn our presentation into an infomercial.  Even if our purpose is to persuade, if our audience perceives us as snake oil salesmen, we’re toast.

The Antecdote

In their NY Times bestseller Made to Stick Chip and Dan Heath use an acronym, SUCCESs (yes, there’s no connection for the last “s” they admit apologetically) to explain why some ideas survive and others die.  Apply  the Made to Stick principles to your presentation:

• S – Simple
• U – Unexpected
• C – Credible
• C – Concrete
• E – Emotional
• S – Stories

There’s a lot to unpack from the book and too much to cover here but there’s good news below if you’re interested in diving deeper!

Results in Algiers

Remember Linda’s presentation and her gracious acceptance of my offer to re-work it for her?  Well we got it done in less than 48 hours.  She converted it into French, packed her laptop, and boarded a 747 for Algeria.

She hit the stage in front of an audience of 500 people and captured the hearts of the crowd with a message that blended her personal connection to the Mahgreb region of South Africa with a powerful and poignant story.  In fact, she was invited to share her message the next morning on Algiers’s equivalent of Good Morning America on live TV!!  She also received a request for three proposals for her services.  She said she could not have asked for better results.

Powerful Presentations

The Algerian presentation was the inspiration behind Powerful Presentations, a full day and half day training program that we offer live.  So far we’ve conducted it three times in the last year, most recently with Italian graduate students from the University of Bergamo.  My favorite part is the before/after of Linda’s Algerian presentation.

Good news – if you’re interested in learning the secrets of how you can create and deliver “sticky” presentations, we can bring Powerful Presentations to your location for a full day hands-on workshop.  Just contact us to learn more.

So we are smart enough to talk less and listen more (yeah right!)?

So let’s assume we are listening…

How can you drive a REMARKABLE CLIENT EXPERIENCE?

Try these questions out… and more importantly… add to!

1. What is your ultimate direction for the business?
2. What are your most important objectives and priorities with this direction?
3. Where are the successes in business you are most proud of?
4. What are the 2-3 key elements in your business which have led to its successes?
5. What are the biggest opportunities to take advantage of?
6. Where do you need the most help?
7. Who is guiding and owning this initiative?
8. What are the resources you can commit to supporting your most important outcomes?
9. What are the other competing priorities?
10. Why is this a MUST do/have/be for the business?
11. When do you have to have this by?
12. Is there anything I am missing?

And seriously… what else are WE missing?  We would love to hear!

Joe

It’s sometimes NOT about the data!

So I was talking with a client the other day whose $40 million dollar company has more data/servers/ERP systems/ etc then pretty much anything this side of Amazon or Zappos (funny that they’re the same thing now) and we got into a solid discussion of how we can cut our data up in so many different ways to help our sales team be more effective, efficient and drive more revenue.

After hours of slicing and dicing the data we had some interesting results that we planned to dig into BUT that’s when the real conversation began. And it started with,”Sometimes it’s NOT about the data!”
• Ford
• Proctor and Gamble
• Goldman Sachs
• Even IBM
All started without one thing in common, computers! So how did they grow and become the leaders in their sectors? Simple, by getting out and talking to their clients.   (This may seem like a common theme to our Client Experience topic… and it is!)

I know it seems easier for a lot of us to sit back and look at our CRM systems and our weekly /monthly sales reports (you do have reports don’t you) but when was the last time you spent time with your biggest client? Your newest client? Your oldest Client?

The real question then becomes, what did you do with what your clients said? That’s the data you need to worry about and trust me no computer solution will deliver that to you.

Be Your Best,

Jeremy

Recently the CEO of one of our newest clients told his team to have no F.U.D.

I like to think I’m hip to current business terms, but I’d never heard this one before.   F.U.D.?    For those of you with me in the unenlightened corner of the room, it stands for:

FEAR

UNCERTAINTY

DOUBT

This is a great way to frame out what often stands in the way of success.

Almost every Microsoft Partner wants to grow or wants to try new sales and marketing initiatives.  Most keep falling short. Why? Because people don’t like to change. Why? Because people don’t like to fail.

Fear of failure leads to uncertainty and doubt, which in turn leads to hesitation and inaction. Usually we know what we ought to do; we just don’t do it.  And yeah, there are always reasons:  time, money, resources, etc.  But what’s the real reason we’re not doing the things we know would make a difference?   F.U.D. plain and simple.

Stop for one moment and ask yourself: What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? For those brave Partners willing to fight the gravitational pull of the status quo, persist through resistance to change, and really step up, we can tell you how to create urgency, build momentum and revolutionize your sales. We’re not talking about dumb affirmations or time-worn techniques to change.  We’re talking about what it actually takes to overcome F.U.D. and create a lasting revolution in your sales.

The Three C’s of Successful Change

What it takes to effect real and lasting change in yourself, your organization and your sales are The Three C’s:

CERTAINTY

CLARITY

COMMITMENT

I know the alliteration here makes this sound kind of slogan-y, but I assure you this is way more than a slogan.   With Certainty in direction, Clarity about what matters most and Commitment to see your own direction, vision and goals happen, you can and will succeed in growing your organization

Here’s how it works:

#1:  Be CERTAIN in Your Mindset

Getting results begins with mindset. In nearly every sales organization you will typically see that two sales people in 10 are generating 80 percent of the company’s revenue. This is known as the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Principle.

Despite the fact that the processes, procedures, call scripts, brochures, Power- Point presentations and Web sites are the same for everyone in the department, only two in 10 are putting up the big numbers.

Why? The achievement model rests on mindset. With the right mindset, almost any set of processes aimed at developing new business will work.

A Mindset Case Study

A Microsoft Partner had one particular sales office that was doing quite poorly.  Sure the economy is as bad as it’s been in recent memory, but the other offices were holding their own.   Like any good leadership team, the executives reviewing the numbers chose to hold the sales team accountable.  And they did it in just the right way.

The folks at corporate could have sent in a heavy to lambaste the team, or could have sent in a “rah-rah” sales trainer to rev them up.  They could have labeled it a regional phenomenon or they could have blamed it on the economy.   They could have re-engineered their processes — except they were working for every other office. What they did was none of these.

The Achievement Model

Luckily for the struggling sales office, their leaders  understood the achievement model:  Mindset + Process = Results. The execs knew their processes worked, so the problem had to lie in the mindset element of the equation.

And so it did.  Turns out, the struggling regional sales office believed they could not sell in the market environment they were faced with.  And, wouldn’t you know it, because of that belief, they indeed could not sell in their market environment.

Responsibility – BeThe Cause. Changing anything begins with taking responsibility.  If you want results, you start by taking responsibility.  The regional sales office chose to stop acting like victims and to “BeTheCause” of their own success.  “BeCause” they were willing — individually and as a group  –to look in the mirror, take responsibility and shift their mindset, they were able to literally transform their office, performance and results.  Ninety days from the moment they chose to “Be the Cause” of their success, their sales were up 70 percent, and are still holding steady.

What changed? The processes and the circumstances didn’t change, only their mindset did — and the results were phenomenal.

Where does “Certainty” come in to play?  It is the requirement for a true mindset shift.  “Ummm . . .  yeah . . .  well. . . maybe . . . ” doesn’t get the job done.  If the sales team was only half-convinced that it wasn’t the economy or the market that was responsible for their low numbers, the dramatic improvement we saw would not have taken place.  Before anything could happen, they needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that an increase in the sales numbers was absolutely within their control, and was absolutely their responsibility.  It required 100% certainty. Once they got to certainty, their mindset delivered results.

Success is attainable and sustainable through focusing on mindset first and then performing the processes that produce the desired outcomes. This has been demonstrated over and over and over.  Michael Jordan, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, the NASA moon project and the Declaration of Independence are all great examples.

So why hasn’t this knowledge completely transformed sales teams and sales training the world over?  BeCause, as Aristotle observed, “The hardest victory is over one’s self.”   The mindset of certainty and responsibility is not so easily won. Companies are made of people who don’t want to do the hard work of taking responsibility for earning a victory over themselves.

Eighty percent of any sales team is usually engaged in some battle with themselves. The enemy is self-defeating thoughts like, “He’s probably not at his desk. She’s tired of hearing from me. We don’t have anything new to offer them. We’re too expensive. The economy stinks. Our market stinks. My competition has already been in there. I don’t have the right collaterals. Our business cards are horrible.”

Notice that these statements have one thing in common – they all put the blame somewhere else. The 20- percenters don’t do this. They are certain that they can choose to “Be the Cause” of their success, and then they employ the processes that work. It’s a simple equation:   Mindset + Process = Results.

#2: Get CLARITY about your Tipping Point

The key to faster results in the selling arena is to identify the one concentrated activity that creates the majority of your sales. This activity is known as your “Tipping Point” — and it is the single most important thing you can do.

The Tipping Point concept can be understood within the context of the Paredo Principle (the 80/20 Rule). Your Tipping Point is the 20 percent of activity that can create 80 percent of your production. Finding your Tipping Point in selling is the key to faster results.

How do you figure out what your Tipping Point is? The first step is determining what doesn’t work. Assess all of the daily activities you do and be honest about which are not working for you. Stop doing them and start trying new things. Most important, never let perfect ruin good. Everyone wants perfection, but sometimes striving for perfection actually becomes the focus, and that will slow you down.  If you have a “very good” draft of the proposal that needs to be sent out, send it. You don’t have to spend four more hours trying to make it perfect. If you accept this philosophy, you are on your way to finding your Tipping Point.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller, The Tipping Point, there is a great story about the subway system in New York City, which was a breeding ground for violent crime. With felonies at an all time high, the city hired a new chief of transit police, William Bratton, to turn things around. The first thing that Bratton cracked down on was fare-beating. An estimated 170,000 people were riding the subway every day without paying the fare.  Because there was only $1.25 at stake, the transit police hadn’t felt it was worth their time to pursue it, particularly when there were more serious crimes such as rape and murder occurring.  But Bratton changed all that.

He directed the cops to start busting fare-beaters one by one, handcuff them, and leave them standing in a “chain gang” on the platform until they had a full catch. The idea was to send a signal to the public that the transit police were cracking down on crime. Bratton also insisted that a background check be run on all of those arrested. It turned out that one out of seven arrestees had an outstanding warrant for a previous crime, and one out of 20 was carrying a weapon of some sort.

After a while, the bad guys wised up and began to leave their weapons at home and pay their fares.  Astonishingly, violent felony crime dropped as a result.

Bratton focused on the smallest misdemeanor infractions, yet the felony violent crime rate fell significantly.  How did that work? Turns out minor and insignificant crimes were the Tipping Points for violent crime. Bratton believed that the epidemic of violent crime could be reversed or “tipped” by dealing with the smallest of crimes. And he was right.

Some examples of Tipping Points for sales professionals include: being out of the office from 10 to 4 daily, making 50 cold calls a day and journaling. These activities seem simple – maybe even frivolous — but just as cracking down on fare-beaters tipped the violent crime rate in NYC, these activities can tip the results for selling success.

To find your own Tipping Point, grab a piece of paper and go to a quiet place. Write down EVERY activity you do in a typical week that is related to sales. Decide which are the most effective activities. Pick ONE and try it as your Tipping Point. Commit to doing it daily for three weeks. Why three weeks? Because research has proven that it takes three weeks to develop a new habit. If the activity you chose drives your sales performance, it’s a Tipping Point. If not, pick another activity and start the process over. Keep going until you find your Tipping Point. Once you’ve found it, make it a habit for life.

The key to the Tipping Point concept is to use it. Commit to doing it on a daily basis, no matter what. Make it a priority, even if it is the only thing that you can get done in a day.  You’ll be impressed with the difference it makes.

#3: Make a real COMMITMENT — and stay the course

You might have noticed how many times the words “commit” or “commitment” appeared in that last section.  In a recent conversation with one of our favorite clients, it dawned on me.  The tortoise was right – slow and steady often does win the race.

But for the Type A’s reading this (I’m a proud member of this tribe and so are lots of sales people), how can you tell us that by slowing down we can actually get more done and get more right?  We simply don’t get that.  And yet, there are hundreds of adages that reinforce this wisdom over and over.

One of my mentors recently said to me, “Joe, it’s not just about doing more with less… but the less that matters more.”  We’ve all read that mastery is not about doing 4000 things 7 times… but about doing 7 things 4000 times. And then there’s the Chinese Bamboo Story.

If you plant a bamboo sprout in the ground, for four or five years (sometimes longer) nothing happens. You water and fertilize, water and fertilize —but you see no visible evidence that anything is happening. Then, along comes year five. In a six-week period the Chinese bamboo tree grows to a staggering 90 feet tall! World Book Encyclopedia records that one bamboo plant can grow three feet in a 24-hour period. It seems incredible that a plant that lies dormant for years can suddenly explode with growth, but it happens without fail with bamboo trees.

The same principle sometimes holds true for us.

If you are certain of your processes, have the right mindset, and have clarity about which activities produce real results, then stay committed and stay the course.  Have the patience and trust that the roots you’re tending will indeed produce stunning growth.  Everyone wants what they want NOW – the real question is can you have the patience, commitment and trust to see it through?

Continue to push yourself through F.U.D., by focusing on the 3 C’s. . . and watch what happens!