Going the extra mile
Oct 7th
I’ve been coaching someone recently who is arguably the best networker I have ever known. He is brilliant at generating new business and existing clients are incredibly loyal. I was curious as to what he would attribute as the secret of his success.
He told me a story of when he had just landed his first job as a sales consultant in an office stationery business. He took a call from a customer who was desperate for a box of pencil leads and wanted them delivered. The cost of the leads was £1.50 and the customer had called round a number of businesses with no joy, as they were not interested in such a paltry order. Joe told the customer he would be happy to deliver them later that day when he had finished his work in the office.
Joe duly delivered the pencil leads late afternoon as promised and thought no more of it. The following week the client called Joe back and asked him to take over the entire stationery needs for the three branches of his business. Twenty years later the client is still a loyal customer for Joe and is one of Joe’s biggest advocates.
Joe has never fogotten this and uses this story when bringing new people into his business to demonstrate the importance of going the extra mile for an existing or potential client. For example they sell a number of products and services to students in the city and he urges his staff to treat them as well as they treat their biggest clients, as the students may well become the business leaders of tomorrow. It is this approach and attitude that people pick up on and lead to them doing business with Joe.
This is a lesson we can all learn, and I can think of quite a few businesses I deal with that would benefit from adopting this approach!
When was the 
last time you went the extra mile for a customer?
Have you got any examples to share of people or companies going the extra mile for you?
Sales Tip #3
Do you think Charisma is important?
Sep 28th
With the Labour Party Conference being in held in Liverpool Ed Miliband’s leadership has come under the media spotlight, with questions being asked about his ability to successfully lead his party into the next election. One of the criticisms levelled at him has been that he has been largely anonymous in his first year as leader of the Labour Party with him lacking the charisma to make an impact on a largely unimpressed public.
As a result of this media debate I was invited to take part in a radio discussion on the importance of charisma and if it was something that could be taught.
When canvassing opinion prior to the radio discussion people had differing opinions on exactly what Charisma is and whether someone could learn this “natural skill”.
One common theme that did emerge was that in order to be charismatic people needed to be in tune with their thoughts and feelings and to behave in a genuine and authentic manner. Trying to fake it would not work as others would see through it and the individual would be viewed with suspicion and not be trusted.
Charisma is defined as a personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people, and is certainly an attribute of value to a Politician in an age of celebrity and media sound bites. Does it matter to the rest of us?
In sales there is a well worn cliche that “people buy people first” and I think this holds true in many situations. For example I was working with the directors of a kitchen company who were surprised to land an order where the customer knew that they could buy a very similar kitchen for £2000 less from a competitor. The customers explained that they were happy to spend the extra money as they felt they could trust my clients to deliver on the promises made and believed the end result would be better for them. They didn’t feel the same level of belief in the quality of service that would be provided by the competition.
They had not dealt with either company before so why should that be?
I think the answer lies in the relationship developed between my clients and their customer. The Director of the company that dealt with the enquiry is very passionate about the work they do, he has a good grasp of what is important to his potential customers and is confident that his company can meet those needs. He believes in providing a service he can be proud of. Allied to these values is a personable nature that enables him to talk to people in a friendly approachable manner, explaining the process without using jargon. Because he talks at the same level as his customers they pay attention to what he says and are therefore in a position to make a logical decision as to whether to use his services.
Many people think charisma is an innate ability and therefore can’t be taught, and there are some aspects of charisma where this might be true. However if you break down the qualities that make up charisma these are areas that can be worked on and improved:
1) Being genuine – say what you mean and mean what you say. Keep your message simple, be clear and articulate, don’t just echo the status quo, dare to be different.
2) Understand who you are and what you stand for – what are your values? What are the standards that are important to you?
3) Understanding the needs of others – how often do you actively listen to what other people say, rather than wait for them to stop talking so you can talk some more? If you show interest in others, they will be interested in what you have to say. Smile, nod when they talk and maintain eye contact. This is one way Bill Clinton used to make people feel as though “they were the only person in the room”.
4) Emotional Control – keeping yourself on an even keel allows you to be seen as approachable, but you also need to be able to express your thoughts and feelings in a spontaneous and genuine manner.
5) Think about your body language – stand up straight, relax, smile, think positive thoughts – how many charismatic people do you know that are miserable, sullen, look fed up and are negative?
The above isn’t a comprehensive list of qualities, but if you were able to master these you will find that you are more confident in yourself, more relaxed and more fun to be with!
Think about the people who you find charismatic, what do they do that makes them stand out from the crowd?
Why not post a comment here about who you think has charisma and what qualities they demonstrate?
Clip from Radio discussion on charisma
Do we get the Unions we deserve?
Sep 23rd
I was reading a post on Twitter a few days ago, where a local politician was complaining about the attitude of a particular Union and they clearly believed all problems were down to the Union leaders. Apart from the fact that the language used was not particularly constructive is it actually the case that the issues are purely down to the Union?
Don’t get me wrong some Unions and their leaders can be a right pain in the ass, but I can think of many companies across a variety of industries that have great working relationships with their workforce and the unions involved. So why does it seem to be particular companies/industries that have regular problems in their industrial relations?
One story I was told last week might hold a clue. I was talking to an Interim HR Consultant who is currently working with a large international company and they were in a meeting with a Director. The meeting centred on the direction they wanted for a project that would affect the sales operation. The HR Consultant suggested asking the sales force for their thoughts so they could play a part in the agreement of the project’s goals.
Apparently the Director was aghast giving the curt reply; “They are sales people, we are managers, we tell them what to f*?!*>g do, not the other way round”.
The HR Consultant thought they had been transported back to the 1980′s. Unfortunately I think there are still many companies out there that have management teams that treat their people in this way – “you are here to do as you are told, your opinion doesn’t matter”.
If you don’t treat people with respect, give them clear direction (when necessary), encouragement, support and empower them to have some element of control what kind of relationship do you expect to have with those around you?
It takes two to have an argument.
When was the last time you showed persistence?
Sep 16th
“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I’m coaching somebody at the moment who used to work in Television and is in the process of setting up a new business. We were talking about the importance of persistence and she told me a story about her early days in TV when she was a Programme Editor’s assistant. Jenny was contacted by a guy who was looking to break into television and was willing to do any job to help him achieve this goal. After checking with the Editor Jenny told him unfortunately there were no opportunities available.
A few weeks later the guy rang back again, with the same answer, sorry nothing available. At the end of the month he called again, still no joy. However he was friendly and eager and told Jenny he would call again….
At her next meeting with the Editor Jenny talked about the guy and how she knew he was going to call again and again and again, and was there anything they could give him, if only to stop him calling!
The Editor asked how much they had in petty cash. £50 Jenny replied. Well, the Editor decided, if he calls in again tell him we can give him some work, but we can only give him £50 a week in expenses.
Sure enough the guy called in again and he was taken on and stayed long enough to become Editor of the TV station’s main news programme.
This is a really important lesson to learn, it is too easy to give up. If you want to succeed you need to be prepared for rejection and you need to be able to accept it and try again. Too often in sales environments you see sales people give up at the first hurdle. Persistence is what seperates the successful from those who don’t last the course.
“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Calvin Coolidge
When was the last time you showed real persistence?
How do your values affect others?
Sep 16th
I’ve been doing a lot of work recently on how our values impact onto the goals we set ourselves, and how the values and beliefs of others can also affect us. One example used to illustrate this is the story of a friend of mine who discovered that their 8 year old daughter, Jenny, was affected by dyslexia. Jenny’s parents arranged to see her teacher to discuss the best way to handle the situation and the impact this was having on her school work.
The Teacher’s view was that Jenny didn’t need to worry too much about her education or career as she was a very very pretty girl and wasn’t going to find life to be very hard. The parents were shocked and horrified, but the Teacher was simply trying to reassure the parents.
Instead of talking about the people such as Picasso, Einstein, Richard Branson and so on who have all been very successful despite being affected by varying degrees of dyslexia, the Teacher’s view was that Jenny would have no problem when she was older in finding a man to marry and provide for her. The Teacher concerned was in her sixties and her values and beliefs perhaps belonged to a different generation. The “encouragement” offered to the parents resulted in them moving Jenny to a different school where she is now thriving under a different approach to the issues she faces.
When discussing this example the reaction is always one of surprise that a teacher can have such “outdated” ideas about the “ideal future” for females leaving school. Is this belief really that outdated though?
At a recent open evening for children who are about to make the move from primary to secondary school I was with a group of Mums who were talking about their childrens prospects. One Mother, who has a boy and a girl, was explaining that her son’s choice of school was a more important decision as her daughter was very unlikely to be the main bread winner in the family, a view echoed by another of the Mums who expressed the opinion that if necessary, her sons would attend private school to give them the best opportunity for progression, whereas her daughters would be attending the local state school, as a career for them wasn’t that important….
I was bought up believing that everyone is an individual and what you make of your life is up to you, sex doesn’t come into the equation. It would appear in the two families mentioned above that the children are growing up believing that the man is the breadwinner and the woman’s role is that of home maker.
These beliefs and values will undoubtedly have an impact onto the goals and ambitions of the children concerned, and the values and beliefs of Leaders and Managers have a similar impact on the behaviours and actions of the people they interact with. Parents, Techers, Leaders and Managers are all role models and what we think and believe will influence the behaviour and beliefs of those around us.
As for the mothers above, I personally think they are letting down their daughters and the women that their sons will go onto marry, and should be ashamed of themselves. If we are going to eradicate sexual stereotypes and bring about equality, it is necessary for parents to communicate and demonstrate these principles to their children. Or perhaps you agree with the two mums and the teacher?
What values were instilled in you by your Mum and Dad?
Selling on the positive
Sep 13th
Reading an exchange on Twitter this morning reminded me of one of the important lessons we pass on when we are coaching people on sales skills.
One of our local MP’s was tweeting about the proposed boundary changes, when they received this reply from one of the local councillors in their area:
“And your immediate anti-reaction indicates your #1 concern is your job rather than electoral fairness for your constituents”
Clearly the inviduals concerned live on opposite sides of the political divide. The councillor responsible for the witty retort is not alone in this kind of petty point scoring, it seems to afflict quite a few politicians who post on Twitter. Rather than criticise might they not portray themselves and their policies in a better light if they expended their efforts in “selling” the positive benefit of their policies?
Which brings us to the sales coaching…. research carried out has indicated that customers like to deal with sales people who are professional and who make them feel valued. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved; for example a professional sales person will be able to demonstrate a knowledge of their clients industry. This encourages confidence in the sales person and is an important factor in building trust and rapport in the relationship.
Another important factor is how the sales person talks about their competition. The professional approach is to acknowledge they exist and to recognise that they have their strengths and then to emphasise the benefits of using the sales persons company to do business with instead. e.g. I was speaking to one of my new clients last week and they were telling me that they had used company x in the past. Apparently they thought their products were good, but they had moved to us because they felt our service was a little quicker and more efficient. This is professional and indicates honesty, which builds trust.
The sales person who spends their time criticising the competition and continually putting them down comes across as disingenuous and can quickly lose the respect of their client, and ultimately their business.
This is particularly important in an age where social media is increasing the impact of word of mouth recommendation and reputations can be quickly tainted.
A lesson for our local councillors perhaps?
Have you got any sales tips you would like to share?
You can follow us on Twitter @coachpotatoes 
Being the Leader others want you to be.
Jul 17th
In the view of Toby Helm, the Political Editor of The Observer, the murky events surrounding News International have been good to Ed Miliband, who has been seen to be far more ”relaxed and confident”. Miliband is no longer cautious and ponderous in interviews, instead now he “speaks from the heart with passion and conviction.”
Helm does not appear to be on his own in this view, with Labour MP’s, Political commentators and the public opinion polls echoing this new perception of the “The Ed Miller Band”.
So are we really seeing a new upgraded version of Mr Miliband, or are we now seeing a Leader with a clear vision, goal or set of values that he is committed to sharing with his followers?
Effective Leaders have a clear understanding of the values that are important to them and a vision of where they want to take their organisation. Communicating this vision with passion and conviction is vital in engaging those who will be instrumental in achieving the desired goals. People will not follow and buy into the Leader if they don’t understand what they are trying to achieve, where the journey will take them personally, and how they can play their part on reaching the destination.
David Cameron appears to have suffered in the past few weeks as his vision for the future and the values that drive him have become somewhat clouded by events and his inability to clearly communicate where he stands on the issues surrounding News International.
Too often you find Leaders and their Senior Management Teams lose sight of the end game and the values that are important to them, the people within the organisation and the organisation itself. The message is not communicated effectively and becomes corrupted along the way. The News International crisis is a dramatic example of this with the values in place amongst the Senior Executives seemingly at odds with those of their readers and viewers, which is placing the future of their business in danger.
As a Leader you need to consider what it is your people will want from you. Here are ten suggestions – how many of these do you think you can tick off as achieved?
- To understand where they fit in to the overall scheme of things
- To know where they are going
- They don’t necessarily want to be told what to do in every task they have.
- To be empowered and to have some input into the decision making process.
- They want to know what you stand for.
- To associate themselves with success and a desire to succeed.
- Clear communication on issues
- Management teams that are approachable and supportive
- An organisation they can be proud of
- To be inspired!
Ed Miliband: Confident, relaxed, passionate.
Which three words would people use to describe you?
Do you have many self limiting beliefs?
Jul 12th
” When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ~ Dr Wayne Dyer
What we believe in limits or expands our world. These beliefs shape our thoughts and actions because we treat them as though they are a true and objective representation of the facts.
Beliefs can influence whether or not you attempt to achieve a particular goal in life. They determine what you pay attention to, how you react to difficult situations and ultimately your attitude.
Success and failure begin and end in what the mind believes is possible.
So how can you change a limiting belief?
The main keys to doing this is complete honesty and challenging yourself. Here are a few steps to help kick start the process:
- Identify the thought or belief
- How does this thought/belief make you feel?
- Is thought/belief 100% true?
- What would be a more honest thought/belief that also reflects your values?
- What can you do that reflects your new thought/belief?
Adopting a positive mental attitude will also help:
- Use positive self talk - up to 1500 words a minutes flow through our minds, how many of them are positive? Positive talk will lead to increased confidence and higher self esteem.
- Control the pictures in your mind. People use mental pictures to represent places, events, dreams and goals. If you create positive pictures your actions will be positive.
- Feed your mind a healthy diet. seek out positive information, and limit the negative.
- Associate with positive people. levels of success achieved can be linked to the people you associate with.
- Be proactive. Don’t wait for something to happen, take control and seize the initiative!
How many of the above do you already practise?
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement… no pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” Helen Keller
How much do you value your company?
Jul 7th
There is a lot of work carried out in Leadership development which focusses on the importance of values and creating the right culture for your company to operate in.
The best companies have a set of core values which set the tone for the company which dictate the conditions the employees operate in and the company’s clients respond to. The leaders of the organisation are responsible for communicating these values and should help create the type of company they want to lead. The kind of values that are often advocated are integrity, trust, passion, encouragement and so on.
Bearing in mind what has come to light this week at The News of the World you have to question which values were of importance to the leaders responsible for the culture at the newspaper. Whether or not the Editors knew what exactly was going on is largely immaterial as the people carrying out the reprehensible hacking of a missing girl’s mobile phone clearly believed this was acceptable behaviour.
This gives an insight into the type of culture that was in play at the paper, a culture where getting the story at whatever the cost was the driving factor. The stories coming out at the moment suggest that as many as 4,000 people have potentially had their phones hacked in search of a story. This is not a one off incident, it is a method that appears to have been condoned at NOTW and used on a regular basis during Rebekah Brookes’ tenure as Editor there. If that culture is not acceptable, as is obviously the case here, the first step should be to review the leadership. Changing the bottom of the pyramid will not necessarily produce the change in culture and values that is required.
The leaders of any organisation are responsible for the values and culture at their company and the way their teams operate and behave are a reflection of that culture. If integrity is a major value within the organisation and is communicated effectively you will find the people their demonstrating this value in their work.
If you have specific standards and values you will find that you attract people with similar values when you are looking to recruit. It is a simlar story with potential clients the image you project as a company will appeal to different sections of the market.
As we have seen with News International this week this is a really important factor in achieving goals and success with your organisation. Having a clear idea of what you and your company stands for is an important message for a leader to communicate.
Three questions to ask yourself;
1) do you know what your values are?
2) Have you communicated these clearly to people within your organisation?
3) How would your customers describe your company and your values?
You need to ask the right questions…
Jun 18th
The secret of successful selling is to ask the right questions. If we do this properly, we become seen as a problem solver, there to help the client make the correct decision rather than somebody trying to flog their products/services. Happy customers are those that buy a product or service that matches their needs. The key is to help them understand exactly what their needs are and this is achieved by asking them specific questions which will encourage the client to think through what it is they want and why they want it.
By asking open questions which help you and your client understand exactly what their needs are enables you to match your products/services to those needs. The questions that you ask will vary depending on the situation, but you can start by asking yourself what information would you need in order to be able to recommend a specific product and how would it benefit your client.
The problems arise when you don’t ask the right questions….
