We celebrated Memorial Day this week, and it caused me to reflect on, and be thankful for, those among us who are so committed to what they value that they are willing to risk their lives in defense of the rest of us. In the business world, there’s a core value that more than any other, compels individuals to deeply commit on a personal level. Whether your values include exceptional customer service, initiative, quality, innovation …
Teams can become stale over time, losing their drive to elevate performance and improve results. Some team members drift towards doing the tasks that they always do because they’ve proven that they can do them well. Others become bored doing the same tasks; they want more of a challenge. Best-selling business and motivation author, Daniel Pink, offers 3 tips to elevate team performance. These 3 points can rejuvenate the team, refresh their purpose and lead …
Customers are busy. There are many times when a customer may not be certain about what they want to achieve. They may have a sense of their goals and why they are important, but often, they have not yet validated their thinking, quantified their targets or determined how they will evaluate alternatives. What kinds of questions are most effective in compelling customers to focus on these issues and crystallize their thoughts? Which questions can transform a sales …
As organizations grow, communications become more formal and standard procedures are implemented to sustain the consistency and quality of work, and to boost productivity. But the drive for conformity increases bureaucracy that can inadvertently stifle the very creativity and initiative your people are encouraged to practice. Innovation is then compromised. How can you balance structure with initiative to drive growth? While structure and bureaucracy provide a foundation on which to build a business, one consequence …
PricePoint Partners is a pricing management firm that helps clients leverage market based pricing to improve earnings, company value, and cash flow. Grolistic and PricePoint share a common pricing strategy which states that “value produced for a customer” drives price level. One of PricePoint’s clients just completed a price negotiation that shocked their largest customer when they offered to say, “Goodbye.” It’s a story and a model worth your time. Here’s the background. PricePoint delivered …
Few strategies are actually implemented as planned. Circumstances inevitably arise to disrupt the best of plans. Every experienced business leader understands this reality, and the need to adapt. With this certainty of uncertainty, what then makes the difference? What produces success? Business planning is still an essential, productive exercise. But leaders recognize that it’s the planning process that is most valuable, not the plan document that emerges. The process of developing the plan engages leaders …
Manufacturers typically partner with distributors to increase sales by expanding market coverage. Distributors benefit from the relationship by utilizing an additional product line to increase sales through market share growth. As a result, the working relationship between manufacturer and distributor can often become defined by sales quotas. This model works well as long as demand and market share continue to increase; the level of trust and commitment in the relationship remains acceptable as both parties …
Teams typically commence their activities with the best intentions in mind. But over time, dysfunction can creep into the group, destroying its productivity and wasting precious time. These teams are toxic to themselves and the organization. What triggers this deterioration and how can the decline be stopped? Dysfunction is always triggered by a team member’s behavior. Someone on the team behaves in a manner that is inconsistent with the other team members’ expectations about how …
One of the more challenging customer conversations every salesperson faces is the negotiation discussion. It’s almost inevitable that the climax of this dialogue will be the customer’s request for a concession. What’s the most effective way to manage this conversation to ensure that both parties win? The first step in a successful customer negotiation is planning. What factors favor you vs. which favor the customer? What additional information is needed from the customer to better …
Leaders communicate purpose, vision and goals. But no action or change can begin until your people engage to move in the direction you’ve specified. As the constant companion of change, fear of the unknown must be overcome. Paralysis persists as the assessment of what could be gained or lost continues. If your team cannot visualize the goal, if they can’t see how the future will emerge, then you must help them push through the fear …
