Breaking Things Makes You Stronger

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Leaders are hired to break things. To generate, and sustain, improved results, they push past the status quo, making a purposeful choice for productive change. And because our economy is so dynamic, breaking things must become perpetual. Managing the risk associated with continuous adaptation, and using energy to defeat fear, is a key characteristic of leadership in this era. A more robust and sustainable business is derived from these benefits of change: Deciding to change …

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3 Factors That Persuade Customers To Choose You

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In this age of limited time and unlimited access to information, customers want more than better, faster and cheaper. They specify 3 factors that persuade them to choose you.  Customers seek to learn if you are more interested in helping them make money or in taking their money. They choose you once they sense your commitment to their success, and evaluate your motivation using these 3 criteria: Sharing valuable insight about market trends. Customers understand …

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3 Steps to Defeat the Initiative Dilemma

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When organizations promote “initiative” as a core value, they often encounter the “initiative dilemma.” How can you encourage initiative and avoid the typical pitfalls that prevent action? Encouraging initiative energizes employees to make improvements, solve problems, deal with change, and provide customers with exceptional service.  When executives were recently polled about the most productive way for employees to advance, 82% responded with: “Ask for more work and responsibility.” When employees are asked why they are …

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7 Questions That Drive Marketing Strategy

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Every marketing strategy must answer seven key questions. 1. WHO are you trying to reach? Specify your target audience and stay focused. 2. WHAT is your story? How credible is it? 3. HOW does your story align with the established perceptions of your target audience? What do they believe?  What do they need? 4. HOW will you alert your target audience to your offering? How will you raise their awareness? 5. HOW soon do you …

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Mastering Mindset

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When your team encounters challenges, obstacles or criticism, they face a choice about how to react. At moments like these, they need you to help them adopt a mindset that leads to success. Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, uses the word “mindset” to describe how people are constantly monitoring and interpreting what’s happening to them, what it means, and what they should do. People can choose to react to challenges or criticism using a “fixed” …

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Revealing Constraints Compels Action

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Discovering why a prospect needs a remedy is what makes the difference between a single commodity sales transaction and a comprehensive solution that produces sustainable value and launches enduring relationships. The most compelling solutions help the prospect overcome constraints that are hindering goal achievement. Why is identifying obstacles the most vital part of the discovery process? Productive sales discovery begins by clarifying a prospect’s current circumstances and stated needs.  With the starting point identified, the …

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3 Steps to Managing Autonomy

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Give people choices, some control over their actions, and their performance improves. This is the essence of autonomy and why it is a proven motivator. But once autonomy is earned, then it must be managed, because the circumstances that originally enable it are likely to change. If you want your high performing, self-directed people to succeed, then monitoring the situation in which they work is critical; one change in your team’s work pattern can cause …

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Why 80% of Qualified Leads Get Wasted

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Since directly linking sales growth to some marketing program is unrealistic, measuring the ROI for these initiatives is often based on monitoring the number of newly generated leads, tracking these through qualification to proposal. But what if the lead-to-proposal process is not being monitored? According to a recent report, 80% of qualified leads get wasted…they never get followed-up by the sales team.   A qualified sales lead is a prospective customer whose need has been …

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You Can’t Achieve What You Can’t See

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Goal achievement is accelerated when results can be visualized. What does exceptional customer service, or extraordinary teamwork, or a successful new product launch look like? How do realized benefits from these initiatives fulfill the Company’s purpose or create momentum towards a Company’s vision. You can’t achieve what you can’t see. Throughout history, humans have practiced the act of visualization, thinking in mental images or pictures. Athletes consistently utilize this technique to help them achieve their goals. …

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With Customers, Think Lifetime

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During the lifetime of a customer relationship, your company benefits from a stream of revenue and profitability that is progressively more difficult to replace if lost. Investing in customer support strengthens your relationships, increasing each customer’s lifetime value With customers, think lifetime, all of the time. Customer support is not a cost center, it’s a profit center. When companies measure their investment in customer support, they often track the cost per hour or other support function metrics.  But …

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