Coaching Through Crisis

It’s hard to read the paper, watch the news, listen to the radio, or just have a conversation with a person without hearing about how bad things are in the world.  Never has it been more important for individuals and companies to invest in themselves and their people.  A well trained coach can be a great way to help individuals to channel the negative energy that is all around into more productive outlets.  What impact would it have on your ability to focus on what things you can control and how you can use the current environment as a learning tool to catapult your personal development.  How much productivity has been lost in companies as employees show up wondering if their company is the next to fall?  How will they have enough to retire or pay for their kids college when their investments have been decimated?  It is in a company’s best interest to invest in development programs that can help their employees develop the tool that will keep them focused and productive in an unstable environment.  Coaching and training are two areas that provide a great return on investment.

The Job Interview: The Most Important Sale

Whether or not you are in sales as a profession, you have sold when you are successful in a job interview.  The skills that are important when in sales are the same skills that can decide whether you get an offer or a rejection letter. First, know your customer.  Doing homework on your potential employer demonstrates your professionalism.  Have a list of questions prepared about the company, the position, the opportunities that the job provides etc…  Demonstrate how your background addresses the needs of the position.  Use specific examples when descrbing how you can exceed the expectations of the position. Test for buy-in by asking the interviewer how they feel you would fit in their organization.  If they can explain where you can help, you know you are on the right track.  Remember to ask for the job.  At the very least you ask to get to the next level in the interview.  If this makes you feel uncomfortable, realize that you do not have the job at this point and you have nothing to lose.  Let it fly!

Personal Development. The More Things Change….

When looking at the history of theories and teachings in personal development,  I often think of the phrase “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”  This is not to discount any of the work that has been done today.  It is more to honor the pioneers such as Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill that addressed many of the areas that are focused on today.  Although the language has changed, the foundation around what it takes to become successful has remained constant.  The belief in a “sixth sense” in the 1920’s is no different than our focus on the importance of intuition today.  The focus on a “defininite chief aim” is no diiferent than the attention paid to the importance of goal setting today.  Many of the skills that are developed with Emotional Intelligence training today were first addressed by Dale Carnegie when he discussed tools for making friends and influencing people as well as gave insights on how to stop worrying.  Again, this is not to take anything away from the systems and advovates for personal development today.  This is to honor the pioneers from almost one hundred years ago.  Thank you for blazing a great trail that we all have the ability to follow.

“Coaches are for People Who Are Weak.” What?

I had a conversation with an executive who said that he had been approached about coaching.  He said that he felt if he went to his boss to say he wanted a coach it would be perceived as a sign of weakness.  It was a brief conversation but one that I have thought about continuously.  I wonder if anyone would think Tiger Woods was weak for using a coach? Tiger’s coach is not a better golfer than he is.  If that was the case, Tiger’s coach would be the top golfer.  So what does Tiger’s coach provide?  His coach provides a challenging and supportive environment.  His coach is able to observe how Tiger approaches his profession and then works with him to establish an environment that will provide him the greatest opportunity to succeed.  Utilizing a coach in your personal or business life actually demonstrates a high degree of strength and confidence.  It says,  “I am driven to succeed and will use all the tools at my disposal to experience the success that I desire.”  As with Tiger’s coach, your coach will provide support and accountability based on the direction you want to go. If you are looking to take your personal or professional life to the next level, get a coach!

Highly effctive managers don’t practice the Golden Rule!

Although highly effective managers genuinely care for their employees, they do not practice the Golden rule when it come to managing their employees.  Highly effective managers treat their employees as the employees want to be treated not as the manager, herself, would like to be treated.  As an example, a manager may like blunt feedback on an experience while he may have an employee that is more sensitive.   The blunt approach that would be effective for the manager would actually have a negative impact on the more sensitive employee.  The highly effective manager has developed the invaluable skill of understanding each of their employees emotional intelligence and personality differences. Highly  effective managers rely on this undertanding to meet the individul needs of their employees. They have learned that not all employees want to be treated the way the manager would like to be treated.  With the various backgrounds on a team,  the highly effective managers have learned to navigate successfully by not applying the Golden Rule.

Integrity in sales does not have to be an Oxymoron!

What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks of a sales person.  Honesty? Integrity? Service?  Not in the world I am from.  Sales meant: pushy, slick, lack of integrity.  In describing a great salesperson one might say that the “great salesperson was the one that could sell ice to Eskimos.”  Excuse me, but I think that would be a con man.  It is unfortunate that a profession that could be viewed as providing such a great service to the community is viewed more often as the group that is only concerned with meeting their quota and making money at all costs.  Unfortunately,  there will always be a group of people that lack integrity.  However they are not isolated to the sales profession.  They are presentt in every profession.

That being said, how do we overcome the negative perceptions of sales representatives?  The answer is one sale at time. Integrity in sales requires a paradigm shift which suggests  walking away from some sales will gain you more sales in the long run.  The ability of the representative to let the customer know that the service or product that they are offering is not a fit goes a long way in building trust.  In this act of walking away from the quick sale, the representative has demonstrated to the customer they are concerned about offering a product or service that fits the customer’s needs.

Telling the customer that what you have to offer does not meet their needs is one of the most powerful things you can do to build trust with a potential customer.  Regardless of the sales cycle of the item you are selling, you will always need customers in the future.  In future issues, I will discuss the many ways to build “cables” of trust with your clients.  These “cables”  will build strong loyalty to you and position you as a valued resource.  Happy Selling!

Welcome to Rise Above Your Best

Welcome.  If you have found this post then you are a person that has an interest in discovering how you can go beyond where you are.  The process of discovering that we all have the abilities right inside of us to achieve our goals is very liberating.  The call to “Rise above your best” is  embedded in all of the sales training and sales management workshops that I create.  Although my focus is in sales and management, those four words provide a powerful vision that is applicable to every part of our lives.  As I mentioned, although it is my intention to focus on areas of sales and management,  the ideas and concepts that will be discussed are applicable to every part of our lives.  The concepts of active listening, doing more than is expected, adherence to the Golden rule, service to others,  and the belief in abundance are many of the areas I look forward to speaking about.  I believe that we are always in a position to learn.  That being said I welcome the feedback and shared experiences of others.  Throughout my professional and personal life, being open and learning from others has helped me to rise above my best.  I am hopeful I will be able to help you rise above your best as well!