Tips: On Leadership

Leadership or Salesmanship?

When my son was a lot younger, I had a difficult time getting him to put his toys away. I would continue to tell him over and over again, to put his trucks away, take his ball back to his room and just about everything I could think of shorting of bribing him didn’t work. Then one day I asked him if he wanted to roll his ball back to his room or bounce it back? He said he wanted to roll it back and away it went.

Taking that thought process further; I had difficulties getting him to stop his activities in time to take a bath at night. I asked him how fast he thought he could get it done and we made a contest out of it. We got showers down to less than a minute! And he felt that he was winning a race!

Leadership is getting others to do something that you want done AND making them feel that they wanted to do this all along!

So, what do sales people do? We convince both our internal & external customers to do things that we want in order to provide a win-win situation between those two parties. We lead the process; we maneuver, manipulate and scheme, so that others feel like they really wanted to either purchase or provide that service. We do so with every good and ethical intention, and we know that everyone will be better off for it. Just like my son was cleaner after he got done racing into the shower and out again, he won the race and I had a clean child.

So, when you are in the process of sales, are you getting people convinced that it’s the right thing to do? Or are you forcing the sale, with hard closes and take it or leave it scenarios. Just like when you were a child and your parents told you to do something without any options, give your prospects and internal customers (sales support people) the options that will best service you and them.

If you are having issues in leadership, maybe some coaching can help. Give Pinnacle Sales a call today and start the process of improvement!

Tip: Best Way to be Productive

 

You’ve all read articles on how to focus, what to do, and it always includes writing out your goals, and to-do lists. My recommendation is also to write out ‘what not to do’ as well as you want to accomplish.

How many times have you gotten into a project, and the phone rings with something that sidetracks you for hours?  We have certain customers that call and get us chasing our tails, or a boss that asks us for mundane reports that may mean nothing to us, but are supposedly the most important thing in the world to them.

So, what do you do to stay focus and on task? In the past, I used to say if it isn’t on this list, I won’t do it. That isn’t enough anymore. What I suggest, is that you write down the specific items that you can’t do every day. You look at your schedule and think about it, and be specific:

• Do not pick up the phone between 10-11am
• Do not spend time with low margin prospects, especially ABC, Acme and …
• Do not check emails everytime you hear the notification signal
• Do not agree to impromptu meetings with no specific agenda or goal
• Do not pick up the phone from unknown phone numbers at all

There are so many distractions in our daily lives that prohibit us from being productive. Add up the amount of time not spent on hi priority items, and it will fill weeks in your calendar. Remember, there is always a choice, either do this or that … everytime you are faced with that choice you can go to these lists.

With the reductions in staff, and increase in workload, we still have to remember that it is okay to “NOT” do something on purpose, as long as what you are doing is of greater priority.

Time management for a sales person is a key element to being successful. If you’re having trouble, give us a call at Pinnacle Sales.

mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

(734) 516-0221

 

Tips:Living the Dream

Once in a while, I borrow a post for my blog. This week I’ll be sharing something from one of the greatest of all Americans, Ben Franklin … Living the dream is a good way to organize your life and after 200+ years, this advice is still worthwhile.

Enjoy …

Benjamin Franklin is regarded as one of the wisest and most practical men in history. The following list describes the most important standards he ever subscribed to. In his autobiography, Franklin dedicated fifteen pages to this short list of principles – the most he had ever dedicated to one subject. He felt that he owed all of his success and happiness to this plan and concluded that he hoped “therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit.” Although Franklin was revered as wise, he did not always come across this way. So if you are wondering if you are feeling up to the task, consider this: Benjamin Franklin had only two years of schooling; and now, 150 years after his death, the world’s greatest universities are still showering him with honors! If a man with TWO years of education could make this work, we would be considered foolish not to try it.

THE PLAN: Apply, in order, these principles, one at a time, for an entire week. When you have finished, begin again with number one and repeat the cycle. After one year you will have completed the 13 principles a total of 4 times. In doing so, these principles become habits, your productivity, confidence and the way you are perceived will advance greatly.

TIP: Each week carry your assignment on a 3×5 index card and review it throughout your day as a reminder.

1. Temperance – Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2. Silence – Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. In other words, learn and apply the art of listening, you have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

3. Order – Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have it’s time. Apply order to all parts of your life: your daily routine, your desk at work, your schedule and appointments

4. Resolution – Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. Even if in the past you have not completed your resolutions, make a small one to work on this week and stick to it. It can be as simple as resolving to hit the gym twice this week, actually look people in the eye and great them good morning before you slide into your office, or making one new friend.

5. Frugality – Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e. waste nothing. This does not necessarily mean pinch every penny, nor does it only apply to finances. Our gifts and talents are things we often forget to share. Search for ways in which you can bless others as well as yourself with your abilities, do not let them go to waste.

6. Industry – Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. Sincerity – Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. Practicing sincerity is a quick way to gain confidence as a loyal person. This trait will earn you respect as well.

8. Justice – Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. Moderation – Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. Cleanliness – Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habitation. Being presentable in appearance as well as in habitat speak volumes for the type of person that you are. If you take the time to keep these in top shape, you will be viewed as a well established, put together individual who handles that they have with care.

11. Tranquility – Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. The greatest leaders are those who can handle a pressure situation by remaining calm and collected.

12. Chastity – Never misuse venery to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

13. Humility – Imitate Jesus of Nazareth and Socrates. The humble are not the shy and meek, they are the bravest warriors of them all for they possess both confidence and selflessness.

Live The Dream,

Sales Tip: Best Way to Relax on Vacation (?)

From this view, I can still check my mail on my laptop, SmartPhone, or IPad …

 

It is coming up to that time of year … SUMMER VACATION! … Remember how it was to be a kid? Take off 3-months and have fun, not a care in the world, and when you got back to school in the fall, you just kind of started where you left off.

Well, as sales professionals, we are always on – we really never leave and start up gain. When is it okay to take a break? And how long is it okay to go without checking email, voicemail or other customer contacts?I believe that we all need to take time away, and as Steven Covey states “sharpen the saw”, but the real question I see people struggling with is how long?

How can I walk away from my business for a week or two, without addressing concerns that come up with my customers? I personally have never been able to walk away for more than a day; does that make me a work-a-holic? Or maybe an over concerned sales person?

I work with Europeans, and it is in their culture to walk away for weeks, let alone days. Shut off the cell, laptop and phone and not respond to anything. I don’t know how they do it, or how they handle the stress of coming back to an email inbox that has hundreds, if not thousands, of unanswered mails?

Personally, I check mail every morning, vacation or not, and spend 15-30 minutes addressing anything that needs my input. I take the rest of the day that I’m on my holiday and enjoy it, knowing that there isn’t anything that I overlooked. I also know that with all the cutbacks that have occurred at our factories and companies, there is much less support available that will take care of my issues.

 I feel more relaxed doing it this way then I could possibly come back to 600+ emails after a week “off”. Reading those emails will waist 1-2 more days of not selling, or what our customers think, ‘not caring’ …

There is nothing wrong with taking your laptop with you on vacation, or scheduling 30-minutes a day to review your inbox. If you write a mail during this time, it’s also okay to tell your customer “I am on vacation this week, but will have this person look at it, or will get back to you next Tuesday” … Believe it or not, our customers are people too, and they will (should) appreciate that you need some time off just like they might.

This blog is not a suggestion; it’s just the way I handle my time off. If you’ve felt more stressed after that first day back from vacation then before you left, you might be able to work and play at the same time!

If you are having a problem with time management, give us a call at;

Tips: Do it right the first time, don’t get HK’d

 

This is one of my favorite stories, and I like to read it (and share it) as many times as I can. The reason I’m writing about it today, is because of the numerous reminders that I have had recently about rushing things, just to get them done. We’ve all heard “measure twice, cut once”, or “why do we always have time to do it again, but never enough time to get it right the first time?”.

I don’t know if this story is true, but I think you’ll all get the point …

 

I call this, “Don’t get HK’d”

            The famous Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had an intern working for him. On one random Thursday morning, Secretary Kissinger asks the intern to write a position paper on a certain topic.

The intern is excited and spends the next three or four hours writing this paper. He’s excited, and leaves it on Secretary Kissinger’s desk at the end of the day. He is pretty proud of his achievements, so he goes to the bar with a friend of his and has a couple of drinks, boasting that he is now writing positions for the Great Secretary Kissinger.

As the intern drives into work very early that Friday morning, he’s excited to hear what the Secretary thought of his paper. He’s all smiles as he walks the halls of Foggy Bottom and comes to his desk to see his paper, positioned directly in the center of his desk, with a handwritten note …

“You can do better than this”

HK

            A little deflated, the Intern plopped down at the desk, read the paper and realized, objectively, that he could have done better. So, he pushed his workload aside and began to tackle this paper all over again. He tore it apart, re-wrote passages, did more research, and worked pretty much all day on this new revision. He had worked straight thru lunch and finished around 4pm.

He knocks on the Secretary’s door to find that he wasn’t in, and drops the paper on his desk again proudly. Thinking, he’s got to like this.

Since he had worked through lunch, he was pretty hungry and went to the cafeteria to grab a quick bite to eat. He was gone about 45 minutes, and when he came back to his desk, his paper was positioned directly in the center, with another handwritten note …

“You can do better than this”

HK

            “Does he realize that I spent the last 7 hours writing this?” the intern thought, but before he started throwing things around, and getting angry, he objectively tackled the problem. He began to re-read the paper, making small red marks on the pages. Seeing quite a few in the 8-page document, he thought to himself, “maybe I need to compare this to ‘his’ work”. So, the intern digs up old files (physical ones remember, things weren’t stored on the company server back then). And he finds quite a few random position papers that Secretary Kissinger himself had written over the years. He carried the box back to his desk thinking, this is going to be a very long day.

He read them, and not only realized that there were certain angles that he hadn’t considered, but research in so many topics that was missing in his paper. So off to the Library of Congress he went, and spent the entire weekend. Yes, he read, researched, and noted everything that he could on the subject and spent the next three days and nights working on the paper.

At 7:30AM Monday morning, still in the same clothes from Friday, he sat at his desk waiting for the great man to come into the office. As he saw Secretary Kissinger walk into his office, he stood up, straightened the tie around his unshaven neck, and confidently walked into the ‘man’s’ office.

          “Excuse me Secretary Kissinger, I’m sorry to barge in like this”  ..

          “What is on your mind so early?” Kissinger asks

          “Sir, the position paper you asked me to write, and then re-write two times, is now complete. Before you read this and turn it back to me saying that I can do better, you need to realize that I spent the entire weekend reading everything published on this subject, researching every contingency and published thought on this position. 

          I even dug up old position papers that you personally wrote to compare my thoughts and work on what you had done in the past. So please sir, take that into consideration, I can’t do any better than this one”

The Secretary smiled and responded, “Thank you, for that clarification then this one I’ll read”

 

Get it done right the first time, make sure you put the proper amount of effort needed into every project, so you don’t get HK’d.

 

Pinnacle Sales prides itself on helping its clients, customers, and interests by providing “Service Above the Rest”. We chose this motto, because it’s what we believe and put into practice every day.

We look forward to working with you and your team, and providing you the service that is deserved.

 

 

Pinnacle Sales, LLC  418 Main Street, Belleville, MI   mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

Tip: Gaining Credibility

This week is going to be one of the shortest blogs I have posted. I run into sales people all the time, and they ask how to improve sales and long term relationship with their customer base. And the answer is simple:

“Say what you’ll do, then do what you say” 

You don’t have to promise the moon, use the most stimulating closing technique, or even provide the best price. You have to have credibility first, and from there things become a lot easier. I had a conversation with a client this morning, and she said this;

“Mike, you know why we call you? Because we know you will tell us the truth”  They call me, the order from me, they build their business plans around what I continue to deliver, or in some cases refuse to deliver. It really is that simple, if you are in a business that depends on long-term relationships, and contracts, then you need to start with a foundation. That foundation is your credibility.

The higher your credibility, the higher your sales will be. If you are having trouble with this, give us a call at Pinnacle Sales. We can put you on the right path and develop the tools that will help!

Tips: How to be a salesperson, NOT an account manager

One of my functions  is to gather information to provide my principals with some level of market intelligence. In this function, I put myself in front of my customers customer … I try to interview these people with the sole purpose of finding out where they are going, which which will tell me where my principals where to go.

We don’t often get this direct information from our direct customer base, due to several factors like competition and confidentiality. However, this won’t prohibit my principals from gaining this information. We would rather go to our customers with a new advancement that we are sure will be accepted, instead of guessing and wasting time in developments. It is just like Proctor & Gamble doing a focus group with you and I, instead of asking WalMart or KMart if they think they can sell this.  In the industrial sales world, it is a little more difficult to do so, because your customers don’t like us visiting their customers, but I look at it as the best way to gather ‘good’ information.

One of the things that became apparent in these interviews, is that there are very few sales people out there, and a lot of account managers!  I had assumed most of the questions I was asking were already being asked by others, and was told several times that they needed time to think about things, and was very happy that I had asked. It was obvious that the companies calling on them, were managing the relationship, instead of developing it.

Today’s blog is a reminder to you PROFESSIONAL SALES PEOPLE, not to act like an account manager, be proactive, and be respectful of your customers opinions, and concerns. Below I put just a few examples of how to tell an account manager from a sales person. For those of you that don’t see a difference in the approach, you are an account manager … for those of you that can see the difference, make sure you are in the RIGHT column.

Account Manager	Sales Person
How are things going?	What are your upcoming plans?
Our shipments were at 99.5% last month	Which days do you really need deliveries?
Is your demand for part number X stable?	We see opportunities to use your part number X in several different applications, what time can we meet the R&D Group on Friday?
When do you want to schedule our annual negotiations meeting?	We have come up with some great new innovative products that will help you drive down your systems costs. I would like to demonstrate them to your team, what time is better, 2 or 3?
Our annual customer satisfaction survey is coming up, who should I send it to this year?	I get the feeling that you are happy with our performance; please tell me in our own words how we are doing? I am sure that there are several other team members that have an influence in our partnership, who else shall I interview?
I am happy to hear that I haven’t heard about any quality issues with our products over the past 12 months	As you know, we deal with numerous clients around the World. Our experience in solving problems has given us insight in many different areas outside our current product offering, and has helped us develop new items. Where are your biggest pains right now? There’s a good chance that we can help.

This is not meant to be an all inclusive list of questions, just a short reminder of how to be more proactive, and still get the same information you need to grow.

If you feel that you’ve fallen on the LEFT side too often, it might be time to get a coach!  That’s what Pinnacle Sales can help you with, so don’t wait … give us a call!

Sales Professionals, Continuous Improvement Opportunity!

If you have been following this blog for the past few years, you have noticed that I use a theme referred to as continuous improvement in many of my posts. These blogs, suggestions, ideas, and comments are all for “us” to become a true professional.

This past year, many of you have come to the agency for one on one coaching so you can improve, and many have written to me asking when and where I will be doing my next seminar. I am putting together the next event now for late May or early June, and am looking for help from you, my consumers.

Today, I have a poll included in my blog so that you can help me pick the best location for the event. This quarters session will be held again in the Detroit Metropolitan area. By voting in the poll, it doesn’t commit you to coming, it is only giving me an indication of how many people in these areas would be interested. If there is enough interest, I will have the event in more than one area.

As with all my speaking events, a copy of my book; PROFITS, Your Seven Letters to Success, will be included with the price of admission.  For those of you who haven’t been to my sessions, here is some general information.

Topic: Continuous Improvement, Planning for Success

Time:   7pm – 9pm

Location: TBD

Cost: $49 if paid in advance, and $65 if paid at the event.

I look forward to this event, and look forward to seeing you there!

Tips on getting twice as much work done!

Before we get to the topic, we need to make sure we are honest with ourselves. We need to truly look within our selves when tough questions are being asked of us. Promise me that you’ll answer the next few questions truthfully.

TOUGH Question #1:

How many of you get twice as much work done the day before a vacation?

You know exactly what I mean. You have a list of things to do, and there is nothing that is going to stop you from getting it done. You’ve organized and prioritized every task, phone call, final reports, and you know exactly how you are going to get all of this done. You won’t let John or Jane stop you at the water cooler to talk about the game this weekend, you won’t overhear what is going on in the next office over, you are going to be focused and persistent.

TOUGH question #2 …

Why can’t you do that every day of the year? 

You have proven that come hell or high water, you can get things done, be productive and be successful. What are you doing the rest of the year then? Have you once thought about how often you stop to talk to someone about something totally irrelevant? Or how many times you are interrupted throughout the day? You have control over both of these. In the case of you interrupting others, stop it and wait for an appropriate time (lunch or after work). If you are the one being interrupted, then stop listening. You are guilty in both instances of wasting the companies time and your energy.

Just like most problems, the answer usually lies within. Your abilities to focus on your tasks that one day before vacation  might help you get 2x’s the amount of work done than normal. If that’s the case, your normal should be re-defined.

If you are having issues organizing and prioritizing, give us a call at Pinnacle Sales, we can help you get more out of your day.

Are we confusing our sales teams?

“Get more immediate sales!”

“Why aren’t you visiting that prospect?”

“What have you done for me lately?”

“Why haven’t you followed up on that trade show lead?”

 

I think it is fair to say that sales people are the easiest people to both motivate and frustrate. We give them a task and point them in the direction we want them to go. We may offer an incentive or just the challenge, and let them go. They get all geared up, focused, and hit the road or phones ready to take on the world.

Then, we go to our staff meetings, find out that the indicators just aren’t indicating, and we call an immediate sales meeting to set a new course. This simple action creates confusion and frustration to your sales team.

As a manager, you know that there are company goals & objectives that must be met. As the manager of a department that is responsible for increasing the top line, you need to understand that marching orders handed to the sales team should be in line with the needs of the organization.

This is the time of year we see a lot of these confusing messages. The 6-month results are in, and either your sales numbers aren’t there or something happened in operations that need to be made up in more sales. The easiest things to handle are when it’s your team that isn’t making the numbers. They are expecting a course change or new marching orders, or they have already tried to do it themselves.

The hardest things to overcome are when it’s not the team’s fault. They easily get frustrated when they have invested months in working on what they believed were the targets of the company, only to find that time might have been wasted and they need to do something else.

As sales managers, we need to better communicate upwards within our organizations. Does the management team understand the sales process and what needs to be done to meet goals and objectives? The management teams that we report to must have a good understanding of the process that our teams must go through. With that communication and understanding, they are less likely to have radical changes in the markets, products, targets, or just anything.

A lot of sales people are put through training in organizations where they have to work in every department. From incoming inspection, through manufacturing, assembly, etc all the way through accounting and collections. With this understanding of the production and business process, they can better defend the organizations prices and/or policies.

What “we” need to do with other professionals in the organization, is put them through a similar training to understand our business process. Your accounts receivable clerks need to understand what your customer service and sales teams are already going through to win and keep business. Your production supervisors need to understand where their products are used and how long of a decision making process is required to win business.

With better understanding of the whole business and process, we can keep confusion to a minimum within our teams. If your team seems to be unfocused or confused, give us a call at Pinnacle Sales to see if we can help clarify the real situation. Maybe it’s your team, maybe it’s the organization. Let’s find out together!

Pinnacle Sales, LLC

418 Main Street, Suite 6

Belleville, MI  48111

mkole@pinnaclesales-llc.com

(734) 516-0221

 

Pinnacle Sales is an agency that offers support to clients in any part of the sales & marketing process. From planning to implementation,

business development to training.

Pinnacle Sales offers Service Above the Rest