What a good problem to have.............in some cases anyway. In todays world, not many people can claim being overwhelmed with opportunity. Overwhelmed with busy work? Probably so. But overwhelmed with business to win is an extremely fortunate situation.
We're all well trained on how to drum up business, and how to organize and manage follow-up. But managing opportunities when they all seem to drop at once is something that isn't generally covered in sales training programs. With an excessive amount of bids to compile, research to gather, items to pull together...........and finally deliver professionally and on time............it takes real time management and team work to not let anything slip through the cracks. The goal is to treat every opportunity with our 100% best effort from every angle, and come out the other side to find that we won our fair share (or more) of the opportunities attempted. The fear is that efforts get watered down with less than 100% of capability, only to find that you lost it all in the end as a result. The management and collaboration it takes to pull this off is as big of a challenge as we will face in the sales world. And the margin that differentiates you from winning big or losing all is extremely minimal.
Like I said, this is a very fortunate problem to have...........but a daunting task nontheless. Do what it takes, and sleep when the results come in.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Tougher the Days, the.............
the what? The bigger the load to carry through? The sweeter the celebration of victory? The more the potential for growth? The higher the reward? The less hair on your head? The better you become? The more you appreciate the good days?
I would imagine that a combination of a few of the above is true. Some cases will end more positively than others. I believe that all of these days will come with a learning experience. All of these situations present opportunities to learn and get better. Some "valleys" are longer and deeper than others, and take endurance and perserverence to pull out of. All valleys lead to a mountain top, which in our case represents victory.
Tough days will make you stronger, and can prove to be a stepping stone in achievement if you approach them as such. There is no magic formula to get through tough days, or tough times. We can't sit back and wait for things to get better, we must aggressively create the opportunities to make progress. Trek through the valley with an undying commitment to succeed, and before you know it you will find yourself climbing up the mountain.
I would imagine that a combination of a few of the above is true. Some cases will end more positively than others. I believe that all of these days will come with a learning experience. All of these situations present opportunities to learn and get better. Some "valleys" are longer and deeper than others, and take endurance and perserverence to pull out of. All valleys lead to a mountain top, which in our case represents victory.
Tough days will make you stronger, and can prove to be a stepping stone in achievement if you approach them as such. There is no magic formula to get through tough days, or tough times. We can't sit back and wait for things to get better, we must aggressively create the opportunities to make progress. Trek through the valley with an undying commitment to succeed, and before you know it you will find yourself climbing up the mountain.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
What Are My Competitors Doing?
Our world runs on competition, as it should. I respect worthy competitors, as they continue to raise the bar to make me better. This doesn't mean that I root for them, or wish them luck..........but I respect what they do and acknowledge that honest competition is a good thing for our clients.
I constantly find myself attempting to benchmark my actions against those of my competitors. Are they working harder than me? Smarter than me? More efficiently than me? More aggressively than me? What is it that they do that wins business away from me at times? Do I need to wake up earlier? Work later? Become more knowledgable? Dress differently? Present differently? Provide differently?
I don't track this as if I'm "chasing," as I beleive that presents the wrong intentions. I need to stay a step ahead. As they get faster, I must get faster. As they get better, I must get better. If I stay the same, I'll get left in their dust.
It's intriguing to me to think of what they do on a daily basis. Are they comfortable, or are they scrambling? Perhaps this is unhealthy, but it's intriguing nonetheless. I think the awareness keeps me on my toes. The unaware will be surpassed before they even realize it.
I constantly find myself attempting to benchmark my actions against those of my competitors. Are they working harder than me? Smarter than me? More efficiently than me? More aggressively than me? What is it that they do that wins business away from me at times? Do I need to wake up earlier? Work later? Become more knowledgable? Dress differently? Present differently? Provide differently?
I don't track this as if I'm "chasing," as I beleive that presents the wrong intentions. I need to stay a step ahead. As they get faster, I must get faster. As they get better, I must get better. If I stay the same, I'll get left in their dust.
It's intriguing to me to think of what they do on a daily basis. Are they comfortable, or are they scrambling? Perhaps this is unhealthy, but it's intriguing nonetheless. I think the awareness keeps me on my toes. The unaware will be surpassed before they even realize it.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
What Are You The Best At?
Are you the best salesperson? Are you the best at managing? Are you the best at developing, launching, and seeing something through? Are you the best at creating a buzz? You need to be able to answer "yes" to one or possibly two of the above questions in order to make a name for yourself. If you answered "yes" to all of them, you likely have a clouded view of your skillset. Would others answer these questions the same as you, if they are asked about you?
The key is not to be the best at everything, as you will spread yourself to thin and decrease the likelihood of being the best at anything. Find your natural talents, recognize them, exhaust every angle to improve them..........and delegate the rest. A "Jack of All Trades" will generally lose out to a specialist. Good baseball teams will have a couple of players that can play multiple positions on the field when needed. However, that player is usually not better at 2nd Base than the everyday starting 2nd Basemen. This isn't a bad thing, as the multi-position players are in high demand and usually have long and successful careers. Which one do you want to be?
Growing up I played football, baseball, and basketball.............every season up until middle school. At some point I realized I had a choice. I could either continue to play all three sports, and accept the fact that I would be an average contributor...........or, I could focus on only one sport, and give myself a chance to be the best. I chose football, and I never reached the "best" status. But, I'm confident that I became better with focus and dedication than I ever would have become had I tried to develop in all three sports equally.
There were a few kids that had the natural capability to be the best in any sport they played, all the way through high school. These kids represented a rare few, out of a lot. Even these kids had to make a choice later in life, one or the other.
To pursue a route of becoming the best at everything will only hinder where you go. Give serious thought to the avenue in which you can truly succeed. Where you can truly set yourself apart. Where you can truly make a difference. Then pursue it with every ounce of energy and integrity that you have. Good things will happen.
The key is not to be the best at everything, as you will spread yourself to thin and decrease the likelihood of being the best at anything. Find your natural talents, recognize them, exhaust every angle to improve them..........and delegate the rest. A "Jack of All Trades" will generally lose out to a specialist. Good baseball teams will have a couple of players that can play multiple positions on the field when needed. However, that player is usually not better at 2nd Base than the everyday starting 2nd Basemen. This isn't a bad thing, as the multi-position players are in high demand and usually have long and successful careers. Which one do you want to be?
Growing up I played football, baseball, and basketball.............every season up until middle school. At some point I realized I had a choice. I could either continue to play all three sports, and accept the fact that I would be an average contributor...........or, I could focus on only one sport, and give myself a chance to be the best. I chose football, and I never reached the "best" status. But, I'm confident that I became better with focus and dedication than I ever would have become had I tried to develop in all three sports equally.
There were a few kids that had the natural capability to be the best in any sport they played, all the way through high school. These kids represented a rare few, out of a lot. Even these kids had to make a choice later in life, one or the other.
To pursue a route of becoming the best at everything will only hinder where you go. Give serious thought to the avenue in which you can truly succeed. Where you can truly set yourself apart. Where you can truly make a difference. Then pursue it with every ounce of energy and integrity that you have. Good things will happen.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Attacking a Challenge
New Challenges bring fear, stress, heartache, headache, humility, and reality. Yet we thrive in challenging times. We love when the challenge presents itself. We anticipate the opportunity, and we yearn to face the challenge head on. Why? Because succeeding through new challenges is one of the few tangible evidences of improvement. You have accomplished something that people doubted you could. You succeeded in an arena that even you didn't know you could.
It goes back to the obstacle courses we faced in elementary, the ropes courses we faced in middle school, and the pushup contest we faced in high school. Or for some of us.........the reading, writing, and arithmatic that we faced accordingly.
None of us want to sit back and bow down to the challenge, giving into our fear of humility and reality. We don't want to watch the opportunity of improvement and success pass us by. But it's the choice that you make at that moment that will hasten or delay your development. Challenge is opportunity. But you must choose to face it head-on immediately, or risk missing out on seeing what's on the other side.
It goes back to the obstacle courses we faced in elementary, the ropes courses we faced in middle school, and the pushup contest we faced in high school. Or for some of us.........the reading, writing, and arithmatic that we faced accordingly.
None of us want to sit back and bow down to the challenge, giving into our fear of humility and reality. We don't want to watch the opportunity of improvement and success pass us by. But it's the choice that you make at that moment that will hasten or delay your development. Challenge is opportunity. But you must choose to face it head-on immediately, or risk missing out on seeing what's on the other side.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Convenient Improvement
When I'm on the road, each night as I'm winding down in my hotel room, it seems that I refect on activities that occured throughout that day and key in on areas that I need to improve. I got to thinking last night that I have created a habit of improving when it's convenient to me.
When all is still, and there's actually nothing that I can do right or wrong, I come up with ways that I can do things better. The problem is just that, it's on my mind at a time when I can't make a difference. I can justify what I should be doing, but I have trouble maintaining that focus of improvement during the course of the day.......when my improvement actually matters.
In hindsight, things look clearer. I should have done this, and I could have done that. And, if something like this comes up tomorrow, I will respond differently. Then, tomorrow comes, and I can't say for sure that I react as planned. This is a simple exercise of learning from mistakes, and adjusting my actions so that the same mistakes are not repeated.
The conflict is simple, when we get caught in the moment, it is often less convenient for us to improve, and very easy for us to react as status quo. To shape improvement, we must react in a way that is somewhat out of our comfort zone, out of our nature, and do things better than our covenient habits have created. Getting better means learning new habits.......not when it's convenient to us, but when we have the chance to make a difference.
When all is still, and there's actually nothing that I can do right or wrong, I come up with ways that I can do things better. The problem is just that, it's on my mind at a time when I can't make a difference. I can justify what I should be doing, but I have trouble maintaining that focus of improvement during the course of the day.......when my improvement actually matters.
In hindsight, things look clearer. I should have done this, and I could have done that. And, if something like this comes up tomorrow, I will respond differently. Then, tomorrow comes, and I can't say for sure that I react as planned. This is a simple exercise of learning from mistakes, and adjusting my actions so that the same mistakes are not repeated.
The conflict is simple, when we get caught in the moment, it is often less convenient for us to improve, and very easy for us to react as status quo. To shape improvement, we must react in a way that is somewhat out of our comfort zone, out of our nature, and do things better than our covenient habits have created. Getting better means learning new habits.......not when it's convenient to us, but when we have the chance to make a difference.
Let Leaders Lead
A colleague said to me today, referring to another company, "They have great leaders, they just need to let them lead."
There are a lot of leaders out there. People with great ideas, great work ethic, great aspirations, great intentions, great leadership skills. Yet they are handcuffed, reigned in by their leaders, bursting at the seams to implement their skills. This might be because their leaders don't feel as if their ready, or don't recognize their skill set, or fear that this person might be able to do a better job than they can.
Look around you, identify your leaders, and loosen the reigns. They will make you look good. They will help you succeed. And they will help you achieve your own goals and aspirations. Don't hold them back, or the next thing you know they will be leading another organization. If your job security is threatened by them, then it's probably for good reason.
True leaders will find a way to lead. People will follow them, and they will succeed............either with you or against you.
There are a lot of leaders out there. People with great ideas, great work ethic, great aspirations, great intentions, great leadership skills. Yet they are handcuffed, reigned in by their leaders, bursting at the seams to implement their skills. This might be because their leaders don't feel as if their ready, or don't recognize their skill set, or fear that this person might be able to do a better job than they can.
Look around you, identify your leaders, and loosen the reigns. They will make you look good. They will help you succeed. And they will help you achieve your own goals and aspirations. Don't hold them back, or the next thing you know they will be leading another organization. If your job security is threatened by them, then it's probably for good reason.
True leaders will find a way to lead. People will follow them, and they will succeed............either with you or against you.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Clients will tell you how to sell.........you just have to listen to them.
As salespeople, we have an agenda too often. An agenda of what we want to say in our sales meeting. An agenda of what we want the client to hear. An agenda of what we want to accomplish. Good luck accomplishing YOUR agenda.
The reason we are even having the meeting is because THE CLIENT has an agenda, and that's the agenda that matters. But yet, sometimes we sit down and begin spewing out the things we want to make sure we have a chance to say. And then we're left with trying to figure out what we need to do next to put ourselves in a position to sell.
Your position will be drastically improved if you can simply ask the appropriate questions, sit back, and listen to what the client has to say. It won't be long before they make their agenda very clear, and state to you what needs to be done to win the business. Now that you know what the client is needing, forget all of the other items on your list to discuss, and focus on what's been asked.
Take the guesswork out of the equation. Do not gamble and try to guess what the client wants to hear, only to backtrack when you realize your off track. Don't confuse the objectives with your goals. Let your clients tell you the needs and the rules, and prove to them that you can fulfill those needs.
The reason we are even having the meeting is because THE CLIENT has an agenda, and that's the agenda that matters. But yet, sometimes we sit down and begin spewing out the things we want to make sure we have a chance to say. And then we're left with trying to figure out what we need to do next to put ourselves in a position to sell.
Your position will be drastically improved if you can simply ask the appropriate questions, sit back, and listen to what the client has to say. It won't be long before they make their agenda very clear, and state to you what needs to be done to win the business. Now that you know what the client is needing, forget all of the other items on your list to discuss, and focus on what's been asked.
Take the guesswork out of the equation. Do not gamble and try to guess what the client wants to hear, only to backtrack when you realize your off track. Don't confuse the objectives with your goals. Let your clients tell you the needs and the rules, and prove to them that you can fulfill those needs.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Living Priorities
We all have our priorities, and I am not here to push my priorities onto you........only to illustrate an idea using my personal priorities.
When I sit down and list the true priorities in my life, they are: My Christian faith, My Family, and My Job. But that's not how I typically live my day. In fact, I'm guessing that many people would get my priority list incorrect if they had to guess.....due to the fact that it's not how I live my typical day. My typical day is distributed like this: spend as much energy as possible on work related items, whatever is left goes to my family (with a small percentage to my friends and hobbies), and if there is anything left at all.......it goes towards my Christian Walk. Obviously this is not my goal, and not acceptable in my opinion. So how do I change? I've struggled with this for a few years, tried many different formulas, but have shown very few signs of long term improvement.
Maybe I don't have to. Maybe I can combine, rather than change. Maybe I can just live in the hybrid of all three priorities. Can't I be a Christian Salesman who loves his Wife and Kids? There must be a way. Those things will get all of my energy, and anything left will be prioritized. Easier said than done? For sure, but only due to the fact that so many habits must be untrained and retrained.......not because it's unfeasible. I know it can be done, it's only a matter of whether or not I can stick with it and really do it. Living the priorities of life..........
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
There are Clients.....and then there's Everyone Else
I believe that when you get down to the bare bones of our chemical make-up, most of us are not jerks...........and I am no different. However, we all have our moments of "jerkiness" that we're not proud of..........and I'm still no different. We need to be very concious of who sees what side, to what extreme, and how often.
I'm bad at returning voicemails, it's a weakness of mine for some reason to which I can't explain. It's so easy, I just have some sort of block against it. I prioritize the voicemails that I need to return as follows:
1. Clients
2. My direct sales team
3. Family
4. Colleagues
5. Friends
Now let me clarify - if family and friends have an emergency, they always text. Voicemails generally mean that they just want to catch up............
#'s 1 and 2 get a call back within a few hours, without fail. #3 almost always gets called back the same day, but sometimes the next. #'s 4 and 5 might be the same day, but there's a good chance it will be the following day. Herein lies one of my moments of "jerkiness." Colleagues deserve a call back immediately, and friends are right there behind them.
I have experienced a situation where a colleague has left the company to go work for a client. And not just any client, a very important client. We had a great working relationship, but I can't help but rewind and try to recount if there were times when I delayed my responses to him............or worse. I haven't recalled anything earth shattering, but it still leaves me wondering.
As good sales people, we set our clients above everyone else...........as we should. We are always on our game, and don't let anything compromise that. But, I'm pretty sure that we don't give enough consideration that someday "everyone else" could become one of our clients. If you don't have much "jerk" in you, you probably don't have anything to worry about. If you struggle with "selective jerkiness" it may come back to bite you one day. If you're not sure if you struggle here or not, just ask someone..........they'll tell you.
I'm bad at returning voicemails, it's a weakness of mine for some reason to which I can't explain. It's so easy, I just have some sort of block against it. I prioritize the voicemails that I need to return as follows:
1. Clients
2. My direct sales team
3. Family
4. Colleagues
5. Friends
Now let me clarify - if family and friends have an emergency, they always text. Voicemails generally mean that they just want to catch up............
#'s 1 and 2 get a call back within a few hours, without fail. #3 almost always gets called back the same day, but sometimes the next. #'s 4 and 5 might be the same day, but there's a good chance it will be the following day. Herein lies one of my moments of "jerkiness." Colleagues deserve a call back immediately, and friends are right there behind them.
I have experienced a situation where a colleague has left the company to go work for a client. And not just any client, a very important client. We had a great working relationship, but I can't help but rewind and try to recount if there were times when I delayed my responses to him............or worse. I haven't recalled anything earth shattering, but it still leaves me wondering.
As good sales people, we set our clients above everyone else...........as we should. We are always on our game, and don't let anything compromise that. But, I'm pretty sure that we don't give enough consideration that someday "everyone else" could become one of our clients. If you don't have much "jerk" in you, you probably don't have anything to worry about. If you struggle with "selective jerkiness" it may come back to bite you one day. If you're not sure if you struggle here or not, just ask someone..........they'll tell you.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Today makes up for yesterday
I was having trouble finding people working yesterday..........umm, they made up for it today. My early am flight to LAX was jam packed, with people in good moods, eager to get to work. The fact that I landed in LA during rush hour, drove 120 miles and finally made my way back to LAX, means that I have been overcrowded all day. The activity today was a great start after Returning from a slow week.
The most impressive thing today was that everyone I came across was generally happy. Of course you find good moods everywhere during the Holidays, but it seemed that people were ready to get back to work today. I met with a handful of clients, each of which seemed eager to start the year. All of my phone conversations, same thing. So now we need to ride this out as long as we can. Will it wear off in a week or a month? Maybe tomorrow......... I'm not sure at what point the grind begins to wear on us collectively. But as for now, use it to your advantage.........and influence it to last as long as possible.
**. My most recent celebrity spotting is Luke Wilson sitting a the table next to me at Mi Cocina in Highland Park. A very normal guy, wearing wranglers and tennis shoes. I would have never spotted him had he not been pointed out.....I'm sure that was his objective.
**. I'm sitting in the exact same spot on the floor at the airport, in which I slept for 2 hours during my Red-Eye Adventure (reference the lot from November).
Monday, January 2, 2012
What is Today??
Is today the 1st or the 2nd? Tons of college football on, and evidently very few people working. Nobody would meet with me today, and everyone's Holiday "out of the office" email response is still on. The Rose Parade was on this morning??
I know, I know.............New Year's fell on a weekend, so we get the Monday off. But it's time to start the year already!! Everyone enjoy the next few hours of decompressing............and get ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. You're competitors are going to use tomorrow to catch up from the Holidays............you should be out in front of clients.
I know, I know.............New Year's fell on a weekend, so we get the Monday off. But it's time to start the year already!! Everyone enjoy the next few hours of decompressing............and get ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. You're competitors are going to use tomorrow to catch up from the Holidays............you should be out in front of clients.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year. Happy New Start. Happy New Mind.
I just read over a few of my posts from from last January, and I see that I had every intention of carrying positivity and resilience with me throughout the year. Yet, the reason you didn't see any posts from me in the month of December is because I was simply running on empty. I had nothing left in the tank, above and beyond what it took to get me through the end of the year. Nothing extra.
Looking back, I think I accomplished many of my goals, for 3/4 of the year..........then I went into strictly survival mode. I don't make resolutions, but I do get refocused. I want to refocus on endurance. To do what I do more naturally, and consistently. To not miss a beat, to not be off, and to not make excuses.
I believe this is actually a realistic goal. Here's the hard part: In order to accomplish this, I will have to place a higher priority on rest. More sleep, more down time, and more preparation time is the key. And right there, is one of my biggest weaknesses. The "rest" is generally what gets sacrificed to get everything else done. Now I can clearly see that though it gets done, it's not always work that I'm proud of.
Maybe I'll find better balance this year, and finish as strong in December as I start in January? Maybe I'll find the key to endurance? Maybe I'll continue in my normal ways and just try to fight through the fourth quarter? It's going to be a fun 2012, a new adventure in the making.
Looking back, I think I accomplished many of my goals, for 3/4 of the year..........then I went into strictly survival mode. I don't make resolutions, but I do get refocused. I want to refocus on endurance. To do what I do more naturally, and consistently. To not miss a beat, to not be off, and to not make excuses.
I believe this is actually a realistic goal. Here's the hard part: In order to accomplish this, I will have to place a higher priority on rest. More sleep, more down time, and more preparation time is the key. And right there, is one of my biggest weaknesses. The "rest" is generally what gets sacrificed to get everything else done. Now I can clearly see that though it gets done, it's not always work that I'm proud of.
Maybe I'll find better balance this year, and finish as strong in December as I start in January? Maybe I'll find the key to endurance? Maybe I'll continue in my normal ways and just try to fight through the fourth quarter? It's going to be a fun 2012, a new adventure in the making.
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