In an economy filled with noise and distraction, how do you capture attention? Why should a prospect or customer listen to your message? Why should an employee follow your lead? Here are 7 “connecting” concepts that pay dividends. Share knowledge to earn opportunities. Learn something new that challenges your assumptions. Seek to create value for others. Always do more than is asked of you. Elevate your credibility by trusting someone else. Enhance your worth by …
The most critical part of any sales process is Discovery – seeking to uncover a prospect’s needs and goals. Prospects become customers once they confirm that you have heard their story, can meet their goals as well as their needs, and could actually exceed their expectations. Productive sales Discovery does much more than uncovering a prospect’s needs and goals. It: Encourages prospects to do the talking; Provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate empathy; Enables …
The beginning of each new year offers us the exhilarating opportunity to begin anew. Your new year’s appraisal should build on your achievements and clarify your objectives for 2015. Celebrate success – What worked well last year? What goals were achieved and why? What progress was made towards fulfilling your Purpose and realizing your Vision? Does your team know what was accomplished and how they contributed? Assess direction – Are your Purpose and Vision statements …
‘Twas the day before Christmas And all through the shop There was laughter and goodies Work would soon stop. The people were joyful And full of good cheer Knowing that Christmas Soon would be here. Stories were shared There were smiles all around As everyone realized The joy they had found. They had bonded together To achieve every goal And their customers were happy So they were told. They were proud of their efforts And …
Leaders increasingly recognize that the competency of their people and the consistency with which they demonstrate their company’s values when serving customers can be the company’s most sustainable competitive advantage. Nurturing the engagement of these dedicated employees compels leaders to evaluate and strengthen their emotional intelligence (EI). A leader with high emotional intelligence demonstrates these attributes: Active listening that enables the hearing of unspoken words by paying attention to tone of voice, inflection, pauses, and …
Three decisive moments determine your future relationship with a customer. 1. Your “First Contact” Moment: Customers don’t care about your product or service – they care only about the amount of value your product or service can produce for them. Be customer-centric. Focus on learning their story, needs and goals. How do they plan to achieve their goals? Explore how your competencies can help them. If you work in isolation to solve only a customer’s …
Leaders understand that success is the result of adapting to circumstances. How much direct influence is required to achieve the goal? When a significant change impacts the business or a crisis arises, a more directive approach is necessary. When the organization is functioning well, then a more empowering style can be effective. What remains constant, regardless of the circumstances, is the pull to be drawn into today’s problems, potentially diverting your attention from future opportunities …
We interact with this world through our five senses. We are feeling beings who think, not thinkers who feel. When you care about someone else, you are invested them – what happens to them, happens to you. When your child is recognized for an accomplishment, you feel the pride that they feel. When something bad happens to your good friend, you feel the pain they feel. When your employee or associate is acknowledged for achieving a goal, you …
So goes the common refrain from eager new sales people whose primary responsibility is to find new customers. Here are three ways to breakthrough and get meetings with prospects: Plan your attack. Prospects don’t care about your product or service – they care only about the value you can produce for them. Rather than knocking on any door you see, identify target prospects within market niches successfully served by your company. Learn how your product …
Every business wants to be distinctive. But often, small and mid-size companies are so consumed with surviving that the limited time invested in planning centers on leveraging competitive advantage, without appreciating the reason the business exists, beyond the need to make money. With this approach, the leaders of these businesses lose vital energy to drive action, elevate performance and achieve goals. Rediscovering Purpose motivates employee engagement and releases vital energy that drives action, elevates performance and …