The Mystery of Mastery

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Leaders seeking higher levels of engagement have learned that clarifying the purpose of their business (the reason they exist in the marketplace), enabling their people to increase their autonomy, and encouraging the development of mastery in the workplace have increased collaboration and commitment among the workforce, producing higher profit. Of these 3 components, the pursuit of mastery, the drive to get better at something, can be most challenging.  The definition of “mastery” continues to evolve, …

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6 Factors That Enable Influence

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Leading a business, or driving a change initiative, or proposing solutions to a customer requires that you influence others. There are 6 factors that enable you to persuade those you need to convince. Much has been written about the art of influencing others to follow your lead. One of the best known works is called the “The Science of Persuasion” by Dr. Robert Cialdini and it describes six principles that are most productive for generating a …

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Three Excuses That Reduce Sales

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When working with sales teams, three excuses are often cited as obstacles to earning new business. Ask yourself “why” you think it is an issue when you are tempted to mention one of these excuses and try a different approach 1. “If we don’t offer the lowest price, we don’t get the order.” If you make no effort to learn about your customers’ business, and offer nothing novel or compelling to help them achieve success, …

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3 Questions for Leaders in Crisis

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Every leader faces a business crisis during his or her career. It’s the defining moment of adversity that tests that person’s leadership competency. What decisions must be made now? What vital actions must urgently be taken? Proven leaders consider 3 key questions when confronting a crisis. 1. What is the current real situation? Leaders first seek to gain a comprehensive understanding about the actual scope of the crisis. This is the diagnostic assessment.  What caused …

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Intimacy and Opportunity

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Prospects have stated and unstated needs. Discovering the unstated ones results in getting the order. Intimacy is the key that unlocks these hidden unstated needs and begins to build the emotional connection with a prospect that leads to an order. What is the best way to foster intimacy with new prospects? Your first three minutes with a new prospect is your chance to put the person at ease and gain insights into his or her …

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WIRE-Net Seminar Series: Are Your “Peddlers” Killing Your Business?

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WIRE-Net Seminars, presented by U.S. Bank, are affordable, convenient, and timely—keeping you up to date with the latest trends. You can learn from industry professionals with first-hand knowledge of current best practices and trends in areas that matter most to manufacturers. Register Here! Are Your “Peddlers” Killing Your Business? Customers have many options available to fill their needs. It’s easier to treat every possible supplier like a commodity. When your sales people respond to inquiries …

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Preserving Balance

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Leaders are increasingly challenged to preserve balance between their corporate responsibilities and their personal core values. The inability to sustain this balance can cause conflicts for the leader and confusion for those who depend on her or him. A prolonged imbalance can breed distrust in a team. One way to help leaders preserve balance is for them to measure the energy and skill invested in their key activities versus the benefits they receive back from …

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Customers Are In Charge

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The vast amount of information available via the web has radically altered the selling process.  Potential customers can reference websites, blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other web-based tools to gather volumes of data before they ever reach out to a salesperson. If you are not careful, when that inquiry arrives, your response will convince them that your product or service is just like the other commodities they see all over the web and they …

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The Priority of Engagement

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Leadership is the practice of influence. Inspiring people to follow your lead requires a commitment to personal engagement – an investment of precious time to be prioritized versus other stakeholder demands for your attention. Where does personal engagement fit into your priorities? People choose to follow you because they believe in you and where you are leading them. When they stop trusting you, your ability to continue as leader is over. This is why engaging …

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Creating Value

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Doing more than expected is time-consuming and expensive. Sustaining this level of effort is difficult. There’s always a shortcut available – why not take it? Creating value frequently involves this choice. Which path would you choose? Our world of connectivity provides access to reams of information and promotes instant gratification. Many folks are so addicted to their smart devices that it’s hard to have a cogent conversation with them…the phone rings and their focus is …

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