On a personal note

Today I went through all my old files from my previous business. It was time to clean out storage space where it was stored and it ended up in my living space. As I went through each box representing 6 years of my business (life), I was amazed at how much I had grown over those years. I also saw the progress I had made, and I enjoyed the walk down memory lane. Yes, I felt some sadness, but only for a brief moment. I also know that is not who I am today.

For me I realized what I do now is what I am really passionate about. Helping people solve their problems, develop new and effective process in their world and create a financially rewarding future is the most amazing thing. I think that is why looking through all those memories was not as painful as I expected, because I was ready and I had moved on to where I am supposed to be. Pretty awesome.

If you don’t take care of your customer’s . . .

Someone else will. Dianna Booher, President of Booher Consultants, defines customer services as: "Good customer service is no longer enough. It has to be superior, WOW, unexpected service. In a nutshell, it means doing what you say you will, when you say you will, how you say you will, at the price you promised-plus a little extra tossed in to say I appreciate your business."

Ed in our last class gave a tool to do just that, take care of your customers. It’s like a maintenance check with a call for action at the end. Here are the five steps:

• Appreciate: Call them and let them know how much you really appreciate them and their business.
• Changed: Ask them if anything has changed in their business lately. It might turn out that things have and you have something you can offer them or you can refer them to someone who can help them.
• How are we doing?: Yes, ask them. And then really listen and want to know. Now is the time to deal with any issues. If you ask you are a hero. If you don’t and there’s a problem, they will go away and you won’t know why, but chances are lots of other people will.
• If you were me, what would you do to improve the process/service/product? This is powerful. Give you clients a chance to be CEO for a minute and give you their feedback on what you can do better. Or what you should stop doing.
• Introduction: At this point you can see if there is anyone they would feel comfortable introducing you to.

By the time you have gotten to the last step, you have become a trusted advisor and they will be thinking of someone they can call on your behalf. It is important to do this all the time. This is part of the sales process and it will allow you to go back and re-sell over and over again.

"Successful people ask better questions and, as a result, get better answers."

Tony Robbins

The Sales Funnel

I have been doing some study on the sales funnel, what it is, what to do with it and why it is important. Since I am a high Visual I needed a spiffy graphic to help me understand it. Here is one I found that really describes it in simplistic terms.

What became apparent to me is that you need to first identify who fits into section "C" or what is your niche and who is your target audience. Then you need to find them for section "B" and make them aware of your product or service. You will then need to facitilate a process to allow them to be in a position to buy it from you "A."

On a tape that I have been listening to it even suggests that you attach a dollar value to each of the potential customer so that you can track the potential dollars you can earn. When you don't get the sale, you can see what that might have cost you. The goal is to then debrief and see why it didn't happen and then determine what each transaction cost you. The best part is you can really learn from this and create strategies for the future on how you handle future opportunities.

Be there or Be Square

I have to tell you that when my alarm clock went off at 5:30 this morning I was not jumping for joy to get up to get to an early morning networking event. I actually thought, well it wouldn't be so bad if I missed this one, I'll just go to the next one. Then I heard the responsible adult say, get up and make it happen. So out of bed and out the door I went. I took the kids to the before school program (which they love-helps with the guilt) and got to the meeting. This was an interesting exercise in itself since there is a huge convention at the convention center and all the gates were closed to get in and the room was not set up for anyone to easily find the meeting. Finally, I arrived and was able to sit down and enjoy my meal and some great conversation.

The presentation was terrific. Actually, it was alarmingly short which allowed for a great interaction with the group and some really deep conversations. I felt really good about some the feedback I was able to contribute and the contacts I made there. Overall it was a great event.

So what's my point? At any time in the process I could have bailed on going to this event. I could have let being tired keep me from being there. I could have been frustrated with getting into the facility be enough to send me back to the office. I persevered and kept my focus on the goal which was the consistent behavior of being out there to capture opportunities. The good news is that this was a fruitful event that will lead to a qualified future. All in all a successful event.

Nuggets from the Room

It was a great class on Tuesday. It usually is, but the energy this week seemed to be pretty amazing. Some great stuff was said that really stuck with me. I am sure I heard some of it before, but it really hit home this time.

• You can't manage time, you manage behavior. Basically, we all have the same amount of hours in a day, so what we do in the hours is what matters.
• Presidents Club and Quick Start was likened to the need to consistently sharpen a knife after some use because it gets dull. So for those of us in the trenches, selling and/or allowing our customer's to buy from us, we need to be in the room on a regular basis to make sure we don't get rusty, dull and loose our skills. That is when we hone them.

Good stuff. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, because I love what I do so much.

Focus Grasshopper

You are probably wondering what happened to the posts. It has been a month since the last post. Well, for me life kind of got in the way, and I am just now getting back into my grove. I had a death in the family, there was a week of vacation and the back to school dance which now translates into the more time for Lia shuffle. So now that I have a handle on my schedule, and I've sorted through the last month, what is next?

The Power of Focus!!! I am creating a plan with behaviors that will generate quantifiable results. The plan is well rounded to include both cold and warm activities as it relates to prospecting as well as the activities of nurturing current clients. I am sharpening my saw with new tools that will help me help my clients and grow as a professional. All in all it is a great time.

Although the last month was a bit hectic and more like a roller coaster ride, it was a time for growth and great insight which will lead to giving me the ability to go from good to great.

Sharpening the Saw

One of the things that I do to Sharpen My Saw is to participate in Toastmasters. It serves many purposes. My main goal is to develop my speaking skills so that I will be prepared to train for Ed when the time comes. It also helps me develop meeting planning and implementation skills as well as leadership skills. This year I have been fortunate to be elected President of the Club. The most important piece has been my ability to think on my feet. Something that is critical in my line of work.

Last night was the Humorous Speech Contest and the Table Topics Contest. Table Topics is an opportunity to give a 2 minute impromptu speech about what ever the person wants you to speak on. They escort the contestants out of the room and each one is brought back in to answer the same question. The one who most effectively answers it is the winner and goes on to the next level. Sounds easy, right. After all it is a Humorous Speech contest, how hard can the Table Topic be. That's what I thought. Imagine my surprise when Ash presented me with the following table topic "You come face to face with a Suicide Bomber, what do you do or say to him."

Don't ask me what I said, it's all a blur. I know I breathed a lot, like Ed taught us. Before the night was over, I was surprised to find that I had won that portion of the event. I am always looking for ways to keep sharp and stay on top of my game. Who know when I might have to answer that question again, hopefully never.

Farmer's Need Hunters

The results are in regarding hiring the right person. As you may know, there are farmers (generally people who service their customers) and hunters (people who bring in new accounts - sometimes called rainmakers). For me the ideal candidate is a hunter who knows how to farm (cultivate). Afterall what is a farm without rain, barren. I just saw some statistics that were eye opening based on companies that use assessments. See for yourself.

In a recent analysis of the last 5000 sales candidates assessed, the data showed that 24%, 1 out of every four candidates, could not, do not, and will not prospect for new business. How would you like to hire one of them? Oh, you already did?

The same data showed that 45%, nearly 1 out of every 2 candidates could not, do not and will not close. I'm certain that you've hired some of them. In reality, 92% of all candidates will have fewer than 23% of the attributes in the closer skill set and 36% of all candidates will have fewer than 53% of the attributes of the hunter skill set.

What does this mean?If you don't use a pre-employment assessment, that can identify the small percentage of candidates who will close and the small percentage of candidates who will hunt, your chances of hiring a winner are quite slim.

Source: http://www.objectivemanagement.com/

So when I look at sales people I look for someone who can hunt and also has the ability to farm. What does this do? Well they will find and close, and then they will service the heck out of them. After that they will reap the benefits of the seeds they have sown by way of referrals. Sounds good to me.

The Results Are In

I didn't set my goals high enough. I am learning our new Sales Accountability Software by utilizing it myself. As part of the program, you set activity goals for your self. Except for a few I exceeded my expectations. That does not mean that I am that good, by no stretch of the imagination. What it means is that I need to reach higher, stretch. I also might need to better understand the goals that I am setting to see if I really am being realistic. To make my point here is my week.

Activity	Goal	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Total	Percent
Cold Phone Calls	15	17	0	5	0	0	0	22	146%
Follow Up Phone Calls	15	2	0	11	1	2	0	16	106%
Conversations with Decision Makers	5	7	0	3	0	1	0	11	220%
Appointments Set	2	1	0	2	0	0	0	3	150%
Referrals Asked For	3	0	1	0	0	2	0	3	100%
Networking Events	2	0	1	0	1	1	0	3	150%
Client Calls	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	50%
Client Notes Sent	3	0	0	2	1	0	0	3	100%
Prospects Disqualified/Closed Files	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	20%

When I really look at this I realize that when I was filling in Cold Calls some might have actually been warm calls. So I need to be careful that I am really understanding what my standards are so that when I fill it in that it is accurate so Ed and I can use this as a tool for me to grow.

This is way too cool.

Sales Accountability - What's That???

Picture managing a sales force with targets they are supposed to reach and behaviors they are supposed to perform. At the end of the week they don't seem to be bringing in the results. So what's the problem? Now picture a sales person who is surpassing all their goals. Hmm. What's going on? Now you can know! And now there is a tool to help you manage the sales people who are not performing to their potential and learn from the ones who are exceeding your expectations.

Sales Accountability is a program that you can use online to manage your team. Each team member creates a profile with realistic goals and objectives. Then on a daily basis they quickly update it, online, no matter where they are. Then at a quick glance they can see how they are doing. No surprises at the end of the month or quarter.

When you have a team member who is struggling you can coach them on their behaviors and what they are doing and help them discover what they could be doing differently to get better results. Check out the web site and let us know if you want to try it out. We can set you with a demo to see this tool.

I have been using it and I can tell you it is eye opening. No more head in the sand and sad sob stories of why things aren't happening. Now I can focus my attention and work on what I need to in order to get the job done. Wow, for me it is awesome. I love what we do.

Dog Days of Summer

It is interesting what you hear in the summer. Everyone I talk to says how they are so slow and can't get anyone on the phone to do business with. So what do they do, they stop behaving, after all what's the point. Right????

One thing I have learned over the years is not to let the outside conditions such as weather affect my game plan. As you develop your cook book and then your list of activities, it should be the same Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall. Sure you might need to adjust a little, for example, I find that it is hard to get a live person on Friday's in the Summer so I call on Thursday.

Sage advice I received when I first started in business was to create a marketing plan and market whether you are busy or slow and you will never be slow. It was so true. When I waited till I had time to market then I had lots of time. But if I built it into my plan, I was always busy. Same with sales. Always be behaving no matter what the weather.

Thinking For A Change

I just started a new book called "Thinking for A Change" by John C. Maxwell. One of my fellow Toastmaster's recommended it highly. Within the first 10 pages I can see why. In Chapter 1 - Understanding the Value of Good Thinking, Mr. Maxwell opens with the following quote from Benjamin Disraeli

"Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts."

Wow! That spoke volumes to me. We teach that through our I/R Theory and how you will only attain what you believe you are worthy of attaining. So in order to raise your "I" you must feed you mind with strong, positive and great thoughts. Read great books and spend time with great people. In a short time your "I" will grow.

Monday Monday

As I sat in my air conditioned office (thank goodness for air conditioning) I reviewed what I did last week. Then I set up my plan for the day. I only had 3.5 hours to work on my activities, and I wanted to get the most bang for my buck. At the end of my 3.5 hours I was not sure if I had done enough so I took a moment to reflect. What did I get done?

• I made 20 calls (cold and warm).
• I actually had four meaningful conversations that gave me two qualified "no's," one qualified future and an appointment.
• I wrote and mailed two letters to follow-up on networking meetings.
• I finalized a document I needed for Toastmasters and made copies.
• I organized my schedule for the week.
• I sent out several emails and printed some articles to read.
  

Although that might not seem like a lot to some, for me it was a huge accomplishment. What does this all represent? The continuation of my behavior that I defined in my cookbook last week. I am seeing that as I behave each day and do that consistently, I am seeing results. So I am thrilled for the day and my activities and see it as a step in my gradual and incremental growth. Have you looked at your daily activities lately?

Cook Book

I was meeting with Ed and getting some advice. I felt a bit confused on how to allocate my time. I have several things I am involved in as well as the work that I do. I am a Toastmaster and this year they elected me President of our Club. I am a member of Women's Network of York and I am serving on a committee to promote an event that is happening in October. I am involved in the Chamber's Partnership campaign. And I also need to fit in my behavior for Staub & Associates.

My dilemma is that I have about 10 hours a week to work at this point on pay-time activities. Ed noted that I was talking cook book. It's funny how I was talking cook book, some thing we teach and yet it did not seem that obvious to me. Then it hit me, I do it naturally without labeling it. So right now my recipe for success has to only include those things that will provide me with tangible results in a short time. Once I defined the results needed to be successful, it was easy for me to decide where to spend my time.

I love our system.

Does this "Sandler Stuff" work in a Commodity Business?

This was a question posed today in our training by someone who was relatively new to the program. In fact, today was week one. So what is the answer? Well, as always, the room came to the rescue with an answer. You know the best lessons come when the students become the teachers.

The example was given that in a commodity business such as buying a truck load of sunflower seeds the client does not always buy strictly on price. Sure that is a consideration. When all is said and done there are lots of things that go into the decision making process. Will the sunflower seeds be there when they said it would be? Will they be in good shape (wet or dry)? Will the process of ordering it and getting it delivered by an easy one? Will the terms be right?

The question then becomes, how do you let your prospects know all of this? By asking the right questions, and finding out what is important to them about their sunflower seeds and the process. How was it handled in the past? Do they currently get their deliveries on time from their current vendor? Are they happy with their current terms?

Sure you might still have to be part of a bid. And, if you do it right, you will develop the "trusted advisor" relationship with your prospects and clients so that the bid is a formality because of the bond you have developed. Why? Because they know you care. You not only asked but you listened and heard. So whether you are selling sunflower seeds or office equipment you still can have an edge over the other vendors who place their bids.

Where should I spend my time?????

Because I am a mother of two young boys as well as a women in business, I find time to be my biggest commodity. As I make my schedule for the week and I know I have behaviors to do, my challenge is not to waste time. Further, I need to utilize the limited time I have as wisely as possible. So today as I did my planning in solitude (at 5:45 am) I felt a little overwhelmed. What to do? When to do it? Where should I invest my efforts?

When all else fails, do the next right thing. If your list is too long and your time too short, prioritize. Figure out what will give you the most bang for your buck. For me, I fit in a meeting and made some calls. I organized my week and got a handle on the rest of the month. Now the key is to implement once the plan is set.

I always have to build in flexibility in my plans. For example, today I needed to reschedule a meeting with an associate due to switches in someone else's plan. The good news is I've learned about having a Plan B.

So make a plan, work the plan and adjust where needed. When all else fails, be flexible and do you personal best.

Cold Calls

Today I sat down to do calls. It's funny how many things need to get done when the phone needs to be picked up. I'd look at my list and then the phone and then I would remember to check my email. Then I'd look at my list and then the phone and then I remembered I needed to fax a document. Hmmm. What seems to be the problem? Yes, even I have to overcome my own fears and insecurities to make those dreaded cold calls.

As a volunteer for the Chamber I can remember sitting in a room full of people and cell phones banging out call after call and not blinking an eye. It was easy because I was a volunteer and it wasn't about me. Yet, here I am calling for me and our training center and I find the phone feels like a 100 lb. weight.

Here's the good news. I can do it and so can you. All you have to do is try. Each time you do you get better at it and it gets a little bit easier. It is like anything you do, with practice and repetition it gets easier. It's like a muscle that you train or a habit you start. Sure there are other ways of getting business. However a good sales funnel needs to be filled with a variety of activities.

So keep in mind the following:

• Cold calls are not forever, just till you build a good referral base.
• It's only part of your program. You need to have other items in your tool box of getting business like networking, marketing and referrals to name a few.
• Finally, no one has ever died from making a cold call. You will live to sell another day.

Take heart, you can do it. If I can, anyone can.

We've Moved

Our new training center is open and it is awesome. When I first walked into the building I was amazed by the size of the building. Then I opened the door to our office. It really took my breath away. The hardwood floors, the beautiful walls and the large training center with the tables, chairs and whiteboard ready to go.

After Ed gave me the official tour of the building I made a pot of coffee. Helps to start the day off right for me. Then I sat down in one of our offices to make calls and work on the computer. It was an amazing feeling. I truly believe this center is poised for big things as we help our clients grow in their businesses. The center is warm and welcoming. I look forward to our next round of training next week.

Don't Give it Away

Tuesday Ed gave a great "ah ha" moment through a cute story. We were discussing getting paid what your worth. He commented that his doctor only charges for a test if it comes back with a diagnosis. Of course everyone had a blank stare on their faces and then he said it again with a bit of a grin. Then the light bulbs went on. Of course the Doctor charges you for his services even if he performs a test that comes back negative. And yet, he noted, professional sales people are still giving things away. It was interesting to watch that moment and the lights go on.

So charge what your worth. Charge for you spec. work or proposals. You are worth it and if nothing else, you were paid for the work you did even if they take your bid and shop you with your competitors.