by Admin | Mar 13, 2017 | Business Relationships, Culture, Mindset, Prospecting
Are opportunities plentiful for you with your relationships? Or are you experiencing a ‘drought’? “In like a lamb, out like a lion” is the phrase commonly used to describe March weather and we can certainly identify with that in Kansas. This is a state where you can literally experience all four seasons in one week, from blizzard to spring thunderstorms – we affectionately call this ‘Thundersnow’ (cue AC/DC playing Thunderstruck in the background). I think these crazy weather patterns really provide great insight into the rhythms we adopt in our prospecting effort. We start and are gung ho with tornadic breeze levels of effort, lightning fast execution of basic ideas and then it fades into a gentle breeze that doesn’t even move a leaf along. I had the distinct pleasure of sitting in on a presentation on innovation given by 9 Steps grad Jon McGraw of Vision Pursue and Jose Pires of Black & Veatch Leadership Institute of Business Excellence. During this presentation, Jose spoke about how ideas are everywhere, discipline to execute however, is very rare. I see this so often with professionals I engage with in the community and recognize that the majority of the value I bring as a coach/mentor is to remind them to identify the right level of activity and follow it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. of EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. of EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. Yes I raised my voice. The biggest lesson you learn when embarking on any journey is to stay the course and recognize it is a very long, arduous journey full of fun pit stops and distractions that can divert you from...
by Admin | Jun 26, 2015 | thought leadership
TED Talks, Ignite, and Steve Jobs created a new art form—the thought leader talk. While we tend to idolize our favorite TEDx speakers, the real news is that you—yes, YOU!—can be a thought leader in your industry. In fact, investing the time into crafting provocative presentations might be the most worthwhile thing you can do to bolster your business to new heights. Thought leader talks are a little different than a persuasive or educational speech. It’s not a sales pitch, a motivational speech, or an informational presentation, but something completely different. A thought leader talk can be a story, or an exploration of new ideas. Thought leader talks can be very personal. Above all, a thought leader talk needs to offer your audience new insights and challenge conventional thinking. Creating talks like this can be challenging, but the rewards for putting the time and energy are incredible. Here are just a few ways that thought leader presentations can expand your influence and supercharge your business. Increased opportunities: Thought leader talks can position you as an expert in your field. The more you demonstrate your knowledge, the more you can attract bigger clients and larger opportunities. In effect, you’re probably not going to make bank as a speaker or generate millions from your YouTube channel. But by creating useful, intriguing content, you’ll be building up your credibility and professional reputation, all of which is great bait for attracting those bigger fish. Connection: Attracting clients is one thing, but it’s just as important to attract other like-minded people who can help you along your way. It’s not just about getting “likes”...
by Admin | Apr 28, 2015 | Business Relationships, Prospecting
When can landing new business be a dangerous thing? We work diligently in our prospecting effort to land the next BIG ONE. I wrote a previous post on how to land your biggest client ever. It’s a topic that is often discussed as a primary goal to your business development action plan. Let’s talk about when it can be a disastrous move for your business. Size matters in your prospecting effort. Bigger is better. More is Good. It’s all about Excess in Prospecting. Every workshop I teach my participants are all about bagging Bear. Not always is it a good idea to go find a big client, let’s talk about why this can be a bad thing. You have a limited reservoir of the most critical aspect of relationship building and management – time. Every client relationship you bring in – even if someone else does the actual work in delivering your product, requires an ongoing investment of time with you. People buy you, they don’t buy your company. Your reputation and referrability is tied directly to the quality of experience your client has, if it’s stinky, you won’t get referred by them or used by them again. This means you need to know the different transition points within a client engagement – when does the relationship mature. Think of it like dating. There’s the initial attraction stage, the chase, engagement and finally marriage. I’ve been married for more of my life than not married so as the years pass, it’s harder to remember that initial moment when I fell in lust with how he looked in a pair of...
by Admin | Apr 19, 2015 | Business Relationships, Mindset
Are there days you ask yourself why you do what you do? I know many of the professionals I coach will stop and ask themselves this question. Often when they are experiencing not so great results from a lot of hard work. We spend 1/3rd of our days at work, sometimes more. And that’s ½ of our waking hours. We enter the workforce when we are 20 (sometimes sooner) and we exit at 70+ (remember the ‘new normal’ with retirement planning and social security- don’t get me started) that’s 50+ years you devote to a professional career. God promises us 3 score and 10 (translates to 70 years in non-Bible math) in our life. So if we are promised a lifespan of 70 years and more than 2/3rds of that is devoted to our profession, shouldn’t it be something worthwhile? I ask you these questions to get you thinking about what you do in sales. I was visiting with a group of sales professionals who thought by expanding their relationship with their clients it would appear as if they were ‘just selling more stuff’. Is that really what you consider a career of sales? People buy solutions from people they know, like and trust. I don’t know about you, but if someone is ‘just selling something’ they don’t fit into the ‘know, like and trust’ category. There are a few really smart people I know that are always seeking innovation. They adopt new habits, buy new technology and hire the best service providers. I call them when I am looking for a solution. I do this because I –...
by Admin | Feb 4, 2015 | Business Relationships, Prospecting
In an introductory meeting this morning I had a potential referral partner make a profound statement. He said ‘my number for my clients needs to be 1-800- HELP – ME’. This was shared as he related the position he consistently worked to achieve with his clients. He wanted to be the first call they made when they had an issue and his role was to serve as a gateway to whatever solution his clients needed. He just happened to be a financial advisor. Note he didn’t say he wanted to be the gateway to whatever financial solution his clients had, but any issue they had. What this highly successful professional recognized is that to earn a position of trust with your relationships, you need to invest effort in building emotional capital through serving their needs, beyond his self-interest. What advice do you provide? Are you strictly a subject matter expert about your field? Or are you smart about business and an avenue to resources needed? One of the first areas of self discovery to explore with your clients is how do they view you. This is one of the most important discussions you can have with them. You notice the conversation needs to take place with your clients – this is not an exercise in contemplation of your navel. I don’t care about what youthink your clients think about you, I care about what they actually think. Their perception is your reality. Like it or not. By interviewing your clients you gain insight into your true value proposition and also this gives you the chance to explore all of the issues on the periphery of you...
