Span the Chasm – Sales Team Training – Driving Sustainable Sales and Growth through Development and Consulting

Tag: focus

  • 10 Commandments of Success

    10 Commandments of Success

    In an election year, the concept of a promise takes on odd meaning.

    What can we believe…. What can we not…..

    Sadly, these promises cannot be counted on, certainly not as a guarantee. Leaving us to wonder:

    When will the day come that we can believe a guarantee?

    Great news for you:  That day has come. Today. Right now.

    As a result of our work with dozens of companies, hundreds of sales leaders and thousands of sales reps; we have distilled these 10 Commandments of Success which, if followed, WILL increase your sales. I personally guarantee it.

    The 10 Commandments of Success:

    1. Simplify: 

    Many reps make the path to success overly complex. Today, I spent hours reviewing opportunities where reps over-engineered simple concepts and put an undue burden on their prospects for actions that the rep should be completing. Keep simplifying the task until it’s in its simplest, most elemental state. Put as little burden on your prospect as possible.

    ‘Make it as simple as possible but no simpler.’  Albert Einstein

    2. Commit:

    Too many reps ‘kinda’ want to do a deal but in reality, they aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to win. Instead, they partially commit to many opportunities, weakly pursuing them and winning very little. If it isn’t worth winning, don’t bother. If it is, be willing to do whatever it takes.

    Want to delve deeper? I recommend this book: The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Whatever You Want by Mike Hernacki.

    3. Plan: 

    How many times have you gone to a meeting where you are the star and yet you didn’t have a clear map for these 3 basic elements: 1) your goals for the meeting, 2) the prospects goals for the meeting and 3) your expected next steps? Without at least a basic plan, you are slowing down your path to success and wasting everyone’s time.

    ‘Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.’ Sun Tzu.

    4. Move: 

    Ok. Planning is great but Action is greater. When in doubt, friggin’ DO something. Make a call, do some research, edit a proposal. Many times even the wrong action is more powerful than doing nothing correctly.

    ‘Have a Bias for Action’ , learn more in Tom Peters’ book In Search of Excellence.

    5. Listen: 

    <shock> Your clients really don’t give a rip what you have to say until they KNOW you have listened to them from your core. No, not listened to ‘respond’. Truly listened to understand and echo back to them what you heard. Listening creates intimacy and trust. You MUST have these to do meaningful deals.

    ‘Seek to Understand before you seek to be Understood’.  Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

    6. Focus: 

    ‘Value’ is the only currency today. If you aren’t trading in that, you are in the commodities market. Value aligned to a prospect’s known (or unknown) Business Pain is the only way to do meaningful business.

    ‘Focus on what is Vital and ignore what is Trivial’ . Greg McKeown, Essentialism.

    7. Be Brave: 

    So many reps that I coach admit with embarrassment that they are afraid in their sales cycles. Awesome! Sometimes it IS a bit scary. BUT…. We must pursue anyway. It is OK to be afraid. What is not OK is to have that fear paralyze you. Please read Feel the Fear…. and do it Anyway by Dr. Susan Jeffers. It will liberate you.

    8. Be Honest, with YOURSELF: 

    Often times, we don’t like what we know or suspect. So we do the smart thing: IGNORE it. That solves nothing and only prevents us from being successful. Reps that embrace whatever the truth is and build a realistic plan to deal with it: WIN. Reps that don’t: LOSE. It’s THAT simple. Save yourself the heartache and Run to the Truth™

    9. Persevere: 

    Starting is easy. Buzzy, fun, exciting…. And then it gets hard. It doesn’t go well. Sh*t hits the fan. We get discouraged. Here is what I know: At some point, the big deals that I have been involved with were really ugly, beaten up or even dead but, because we chose to fight on and endure, we were able to cross the finish line victorious.

    ‘Have the Courage to Endure.’  Ruben Gonzalez, The Courage to Succeed.

    10. Be different: 

    We frequently feel we have to do something crazy when, in the end, our prospects simply want to count on what we say we’re going to do. I saved this one for last as it’s been the biggest success maker for me and our clients at Span the Chasm. Simply follow Larry Winget’s #1 Rule of Business (and relationships) from his book, The Idiot Factor:

    1. Do what you said you were going to do
    2. The way that you said you were going to do it
    3. When you said you were going to get it done.

    BOOM! (mic drop)

    You might have noticed a lot of books referenced in this post. Here is a bonus: Read.

    Find a partner and hold each other accountable to reading a book per month for a year. It’s an important factor in your own personal development.

    I have worked this concept with many reps to date and have never heard negative feedback. Your personal success matters to us at Span the Chasm.  Try these out, let us know what you think! I guarantee you’ll see results, if you stick to it and COMMIT.

    BONUS!

    You may have noticed I used a lot of quotes in this blog. Quotes are powerful teachers and provide daily inspiration for me. We gather wisdom and new insights through quotes. I’ve assembled my favorite 10 success quotes in a handy PDF.

    Click here to download and place it on your desk for daily inspiration!

  • Hey Sales Leader: Use LENSES, not LABELS

    Hey Sales Leader: Use LENSES, not LABELS

    You’ve heard them.  You may have used them.  Phrases like:

    Jimmy can’t prospect.

    Janey can’t close well.

    Timmy doesn’t align value to role.

    Sally can’t get to the Economic Buyer.

    Billy can’t build and test Champions.

    You know the formula:

    (name) (can’t/won’t/doesn’t) (activity desired)

    These are all labels that we stick onto our peeps.  Here is why you MUST change your approach: After a while, in your mind, people ‘become’ that label.  It is also the lazy-leader’s way and takes no skill. Literally no skill. Sorry if that felt like I poked you in the eye.  (I’m not really but…)

    Our people can feel these labels being stuck on them.  It hurts their morale. It crushes their confidence. It kills their production.  

    Here’s a thought: Instead of using these LABELS to put them into categories, what if, instead, we used LENSES to better see them.  An opportunity to assess instead of condemn.

    If we take the LENSES mindset, I think there are 5 steps that can transform how you engage with the underperforming parts of your peeps:

    Awareness:  The first step is to know what the skills and competencies for the role are.  Many times we are holding up a ruler to someone that is not relevant or as relevant as we make it.  What REALLY matters for success in this role? It is usually less things than we think.

    Assessment: Instead of having an opinion, we need to dig in and actually assess the situation.  Listen to calls, go out on appointments, review notes, administer an assessment. A thousand ideas per role, per attribute.  But it needs to be done. As objectively as possible as subjective actions tend to feed our biases.

    Action: Once we have the actual gap mapped, we need to build an action plan that is going to develop that skill or competency.  It should have a lifecycle. It should have check points. It should follow a framework (I personally always use the SMART model.  Google it or call me.) The secret sauce on this piece is for them to own this action plan. It is their development. Build the plan with them and be part of the process but they need to own it.

    Adoption: Moving from being incompetent to basic skills to mastery to a habit takes time.  It takes commitment. It takes pushing through the stumbles. The plan you build should be in place for a period of time LONGER than required to learn the skill.  If we don’t get it to a habit, it will likely snap all the way back (scar tissue speaking here…).  

    Accountability: As humans, we suck at personal accountability.  Think New Year’s Resolutions. We don’t have the staying power.  It’s just true for most of us. Help the person build an accountability ecosystem.  When we are accountable, we increase our odds of success radically. (96% of decamillionaires have accountability partners)  Help them build 2 – 4 ways to get frequent accountability. You, a buddy, a coach, a mentor, etc. Emails, a quick call, a recurring weekly reminder.  It isn’t hard.

    At the bottom of many skills gaps lies a layer of fear and potential disbelief.  Often times execution errors are ties to something deeper.

    You can’t see past a label.  They become the label. With a lens mindset, we can be diagnostic and developmental.  Sure, it’s harder but that is simply the price of progress and growth.  

    Being good is easy.  Being great is hard.  

    When we label people, we are demonstrating a Closed Mindset.  When we use lenses, we are demonstrating a Growth Mindset. A great read on this topic is Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.  I highly recommend it.

    Imagine how it will feel when you move from condemning team members and, instead, build an environment of development on a 1:1 basis.  How would it feel to have the production of each of your team members improve by 10 – 20% because of this process? I bet it’s gonna feeling friggin’ awesome. 

    Love to chat with you to see if this approach makes sense for you and your team and how we could activate this together.

    #BeBrave

  • Sales Leadership Lessons from Sherlock Holmes

    Sales Leadership Lessons from Sherlock Holmes

    Mr. Watson wasn’t actually an idiot.  Just seemed like it.  

    Sometimes I feel like an idiot, too.  Deals and opportunities don’t always work the way I wanted.  

    But it is clear, Sherlock Holmes was a genius.  And his genius teaches those of us in sales much practical wisdom that we can learn from.

    3 that stand out that are actionable for you IMMEDIATELY:

    It isn’t obvious:  Holmes’ genius played out in ways that Watson missed because Holmes always seemed to understand the nuance of humanity.  What so often should be obvious in our sales process isn’t because of the complex human that we are selling to. She seems like a buttoned up CMO but she is really afraid that one more failed effort could cost her the job.  

    Lesson:  Emotions matter in sales.  If you aren’t connected to or connecting your solution to them, you are setting yourself up for failure.

    It IS obvious:  In plain site.  And yet Watson missed it often because he was looking past the moment.  Making assumptions. Mistakes that Holmes never made. He was always in the moment.  He didn’t make assumptions. He looked at the situation for what it was and didn’t overcomplicate it.  We do it in sales. Frequently. We miss a comment packed with emotion because we were on to our next question.  We missed the blank look because we assumed everyone new that x, y or z was truth. We didn’t clarify because that term means the same for everyone, right?

    Lesson: Slow the F down!  Listen. Look. Learn.  Stop making assumptions.  Ask 3 more questions. Get feedback on what you said.  Listen to the answers.  

    It IS elementary: Holmes cut through all of the noise around a case and saw it at an elemental level.  Watson was distracted by the noise. We often do the same in sales. There is a lot of ‘swirl’ that distracts us.  People. Statement. Goals. Ideas. Suggestions. Phonies. Lots of it. It distracts us from what matters; the presenting, business impacting problem. 

    Lesson: Focus on the business impacting problem, known or unknown, and run to it.  Expose it, solve it and forget the rest.

    Don’t be Watson.  Be Sherlock Holmes.  Yep, it’s a choice. Who are YOU going to be?

    It is elementary.  And in your control.

    Suggested reading: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Dr Carol Dweck

    #BeBrave

  • A Better Lens to Understand Your Team

    A Better Lens to Understand Your Team

    You live in a world of data.  CRM, Marketing and sales metrics, process improvement data, economic and competitive data all drive a business to success. You need this data to inform the important decisions in your business. 

    But what if I told you that you were missing the most important data for success prediction?  Data around your people.   

    Imagine what your world would be like if you could ‘see’ into the capabilities, desires and behavioral goals of every, single person in your organization?  What would that reveal?  

    I suspect it would reveal the following:

    1. Visibility:  You would quickly know who is in the right seat and who isn’t.  You would instantly understand the confounding behaviors preventing people’s success.  You would be more effective at getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off of the bus.  
    2. Action: With crystal clear insight into the individuals and clarity around the needed attributes and skills, your path to the future you are striving for becomes accessible and attainable.  Lit up with a megawatt spotlight, not the weak candle of today. 
    3. Culture: For so many organizations, culture is hype, a bunch of posters and a foosball table.  Strong on the surface, weak where it counts. Your company has a true culture, known or unknown, that affects EVERYTHING.  It affects how your people sell, how you market, even the code your developers write. Your sales team’s culture is no different. What they value (their culture) is what your clients and prospects expect your business to deliver, their microbrand.  

    Time to put on the glasses and remove the blindfold.  

    How can you get this visibility? At Span the Chasm, we have built an entire Talent Management service offering around this to deliver actionable insights for you.  Removing uncertainty, fear, and doubt, PLUS accelerating success. 

    What are indications you might need to go down this path?  Symptoms or goals like:

    1. Consistently high turnover in your sales force
    2. You’ve just lost your VP of Sales
    3. Changes aren’t taking shape at the front lines
    4. The client experience just doesn’t ‘feel’ right 
    5. You’re preparing for growth either to buy or sell

    Imagine:  Actionable Data on your entire team, by role, driving curated Information so that your decisions – personnel, strategy, culture – are fueled by Knowledge.  To me, that sounds like real Power!

    How would THAT feel?

    So, why Span the Chasm? Simply put, we are adoption-focused. Getting your team working with field-tested, actionable data only works when you have engagement.  We deliver all three.

    “After our sales manager abruptly resigned in Q3, Steve quickly stepped in and helped our sales team keep their pipeline on track. We closed out our year strong and Steve helped us find an exceptional new sales manager.” – David Minnix – CEO CineMassive

    Unlock the power of people for better results – learn more about Talent Management here!

    #BeBrave

  • Recession-Proof Your Sales Team NOW!

    Recession-Proof Your Sales Team NOW!

    Imagine how it will feel when your sales team is left behind by the market because you didn’t make the necessary adjustments to not just SURVIVE but THRIVE in and thru the recession.  It is not gonna feel good, my friend!

    The question isn’t ‘if’ but ‘when’ a recession is going to hit.  Some argue it is already happening. Others claim the economic macros are strong and we are years away. 

    What can you do to prepare for it?

    Having lived and sold through many recessions, I know there are specific activities that separate the ELITE from the rest.

    Three things you can do now to begin the process:

    Back to the basics:  Now is the time to make sure you and your team are excelling at the fundamentals.  Running your sales process with precision and not taking shortcuts. Setting aside time for pipeline building activities.  However your sales process was designed to run, run it. With precision, confidence and velocity. Now is the best time to focus on pipeline, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

    Get to the Economic Buyer:  I have always been a big fan of getting to the EB.  Now, with everything being more tightly scrutinized and signature levels changing, you MUST meet with your EB, or the NEW EB.  If you have been lazy with your EB language in the past, now is the time to make sure your language aligns with their goals. 

    Tighten up value alignment:  When selling is easy, our value alignment often gets a bit lax.  Our value alignment must be in lock-step with our prospect’s goals and vision.  We must be very clear on how we are going to take them from their Current State to the glorious Future State they seek.  It is CRITICAL that you re-make the Current State unacceptable as your prospect is going to be looking for reasons not to act.

    These are just a few of the many things you can do in preparation of the economy changing.  To get them – and more!, do not miss our Monday Morning Pearl series (https://spanthechasm.com/monday-morning-pearls/) on this topic that Ken and I are leading.

    Also, our podcast, Uncommon Sales Success (https://spanthechasm.com/podcast/), is hosting an expert-voice series on Recession Proofing where we are pulling some of the best from several areas like investment banking, HR, executive advisors, and professional trainers.  We are pulling their expertise together for your benefit.

    Don’t miss either of these.  They are rich with actionable content for you to not just survive but to thrive during an economic downturn. 

    Remember: Market share that is captured during an economic downturn stays with you and has a massive impact on profitability up to a decade later. 

    Simple question that you need to answer: Are you and your team going to be in a position to ride the tide of change or be left behind by it?

    Remember, the best time to buy hurricane insurance is before the storm is buffeting the shores!  I doubt you want to pay those premiums!

    #BeBrave

  • 5 Clear Steps for the Ideal Sales Kick Off in 2020

    5 Clear Steps for the Ideal Sales Kick Off in 2020

    What?  You haven’t started thinking about Sales Kickoff 2020 yet?  

    Time is ticking, my friend!  

    You know you’re gonna have it.  You can either half-@$$ it or make it great.  The choice is yours. So are the outcomes that you will get!

    What does an Ideal Sales Kick Off look like?  It has these components:

    • It has a clear mission, with goals and deliverables, in place.  
    • The content educates and inspires the sales teams.
    • It is a complete plan that is developed thoroughly and delivered with excellence.
    • It has clear, measurable objectives in place to determine success.
    • Sales and all relevant teams will leave inspired for 2020 and the potential it holds.

    However, as we talk to sales leaders about their approach to SKO in 2020, here are phrases we frequently hear:

    • ‘The sales reps just need more product training.’  The problem with this is it doesn’t deliver the results desired or drive new behavior.  It results in educated but uninspired sales teams.  Ration educates. Emotion motivates. Get them inspired to new and courageous actions!
    • ‘We will refresh last year’s content and tune it for this year.’  The easy course of action, no doubt. However, this just leaves the sales team frustrated, hungry for more and resenting precious selling time out of the field.  And pissed at you. You certainly aren’t going to gain ‘discretionary effort’ with that plan!
    • ‘Once we get through SKO, we can get on with the year.’  This just results in a massive waste of time, energy and money with unclear goals and expectations.  Again, a frustrated and uninspired sales team.

    Any of these sound like you and your team?  

    If so, 5 clear steps you can take to ensure a fantastic Sales Kick Off in 2020 and drive the highest possible impact on sales and the new year:

    1. Start with engaging all of the key stakeholders for SKO to make sure the PLAN for SKO is in place.  Develop a clear theme for SKO that drives all activity and defines the goals.  Map the expected results. Build a plan that delivers.
    2. With the plan in place, step 2, DEVELOP, drives the agenda, definition, and development for the content and activities needed to successfully carry out the SKO mission.  This includes content type, presenters, activities and real-time assessment.  
    3. Step 3, DELIVER, is all about making sure the message is delivered to the team in a way that will enable, educate and inspire as they enter 2020.  
    4. To ensure impact, step 4, ADOPT, is focused on the 90 days after SKO to ensure that the new skills and behaviors are in place in the field.  Focused on re-enforcement, inspection, and review. Inspect what you Expect.
    5. 9 months out, step 5, MEASURE, is focused on the impact of SKO compared to the goal.  Did the investment drive the expected ROI? What lessons were learned as we approach SKO for next year?  What, if any, adjustments need to be made to improve and raise the bar?

    Sales Kickoff is right around the corner.  You and your team deserve a fantastic experience to ensure you reach your goals in 2020.  They are lofty goal.  Scary goals. They deserve a great SKO to inspire and propel the team into 2020.

    We are here to help.  Check out our content for SKO here: https://spanthechasm.com/sko/

    Make sure that you download our SKO checklist for a guide to the 5 phases of a successful SKO.

    To set up a call to chat, please click here.

    As always… #BeBrave

  • Five Phrases Every Sales Leader Must Use

    Five Phrases Every Sales Leader Must Use

    There are many familiar phrases sales leaders say to their teams.  You may be familiar with a few:

    • Close more deals!
    • Build pipeline!
    • Fill out CRM!
    • Prospect differently!
    • Nurture opportunities better!
    • Accelerate your deals!
    • Meet with the Economic Buyer!
    • Focus!  Or spread-out!

    They (we…) all have their (our…) favorites.  

    Maybe you do too.

    Let’s flip the script and use some new phrases that will do a lot more for your success than the frequently overused list above.  

    Now, for clarity, this is not for the faint of heart.  It takes some courage. If you have it, let’s dig in:

    Thank you: Your team works hard.  They try new things. What they do is often unappreciated.  Let them know that you see what they do and that you are grateful.

    I am sorry: We all make mistakes.  The problem? So few of us step up and are accountable for it.  Lead your team in humility. Say you are sorry for your mistakes.  And ask for forgiveness. Talk about relationship growth.

    I am proud of you: Your team stumbles a LOT.  And fail. And try new things.  Again. Let them know that you see and appreciate what they are doing.  Their failures. Their victories. Large and small. It’s worth a million bucks.  Literally the increased production over the lifetime of a rep could mean a million.

    I believe in you: Sales reps get punched in the face.  A LOT. It gets old. After a while, teeth and blood don’t taste so good. It is hard to constantly summon the courage and energy to press on.  You have the power, more than you imagine, to fuel and feed their courage. Do it!

    How can I help?: Stop yelling about what they aren’t doing.  Or what they are doing wrong. Lighten the load.  DO something to help them.  Something very specific to what they are trying to do right NOW.  Why do it right NOW? Because helping someone later sometimes never happens.

    Leadership Challenge:

    If you have the courage, for 1 month, keep a log of how many times you use each of these phrases and with which reps.  If you aren’t using these with your team, you are risking dis-engagement, loss of loyalty and potential employee flight.  Certainly you are undermining their performance.

    Hey, it’s your call.  Do you care enough to change?  Do YOU have the courage to use these 5 phrases to be the leader you always wanted to be?  Maybe model the leader you had when you were coming up through the ranks?

    I care about this enough that, for the first 5 sales leaders that reach out to me, I will help you with this and be your support and accountability for the month.  Seriously. I care THAT much. REACH OUT TO ME NOW!

    Truly, I mean it when I say – 

    Live to serve… serve to live!

    #BeBrave

  • Sales Leadership Lessons from: Alcoholics Anonymous

    Sales Leadership Lessons from: Alcoholics Anonymous

    You read the title and one of two things just happened…

    If you have known me for a long time: ‘Wow! THAT explains a LOT!’

    If not a long time: ‘So THAT is why the club soda!’

    My decision years ago to walk away from my addictions was the best decision I have made in many ways. And it drove unexpected benefits, too many to count. One of which was the many lessons learned in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous that, unexpectedly, brings tremendous leadership wisdom for sales leaders.  

    Are you willing to learn from a bunch of drunks in recovery who have mapped a path to freedom that applies to how you lead your teams? I suggest we can and should as there is a lot of time-tested wisdom in there that is available for you.

    Humility:  Humility isn’t thinking less about yourself. It is thinking about yourself less. That means focusing on others and serving them. Humility makes it much less about what you are entitled to and makes it more about what you can do. Humble people have an amazing propensity for production.

    Honesty:  Truth is truth. And that is just the truth. Once it is managed or manipulated, it is no longer the truth. Basing our engagements and interaction on truth makes the conversations much safer and productive. And there is a whole lot less to have to remember!

    Hope:  Hope is the fuel of the front line. Without it, the amount of received rejection would crush them. The health of their hope is in your hands.

    Self-Discipline:  To train. To practice. To run the play the right way. To not be distracted away from the goal. That is self-discipline and it is like a muscle. It takes a lot of training. It can atrophy. Sales leaders can help their teams to train it. To feed it. Success is built on self-discipline. Self-discipline doesn’t give up what we want most for what we want now.  

    Courage: Facing the reality of addiction takes courage. It isn’t easy and it isn’t pretty. For your team, they are facing difficult tasks that are new, difficult or frightening. Courage is action in the face of fear. Help them through it. Be kind along the way.

    Integrity: Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching. You set the tone for your team on where the line of integrity is set. What are you going to tolerate? Pick wisely because whatever you tolerate, you are going to have to live with. In a socially connected world, where you are drawing a line in private may become public. Set the bar high for your team.

    Willingness: The core for achieving and maintaining sobriety. Willingness. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to win and serve your clients in an amazing way? If you aren’t, don’t expect your team to. Being willing to do whatever it takes is contagious. Be that for your team.  

    Perseverance: To quote Dwayne Johnson, ‘It is hard to beat a man who won’t quit.’ That is perseverance. No matter what the conditions, applying the will to win. I think of my sweetest sales victories and they came when I could have easily and justifiably quit. But I didn’t. Nurture and encourage perseverance in your team.  

    Service: In the end, we must answer the question: ‘Is this about taking or giving?’ Giving, ultimately, I believe, is the path with greatest reward across all vectors. A life and profession built on true service is not only gratifying to live it is filled with success. As our good friend Zig Ziglar reminds us: ‘There is plenty left for us if we help others get what they want and need.’  

    A completely understandable question is: ‘Randy, will applying these principles work and, if so, how?’ I think the answer is ‘Yes!’ and here is why:

    1. We are building on transparency. Authentic conversations. Based in truth. It is a safe and nurturing environment where your teams can experiment and grow. Not without consequences but certainly without fear.
    2. Progress, not Perfection. The beauty about AA is there is no expectation of perfection, only progress. If we foster a mindset of constant progress, our teams will grow. Their skills will grow and their production will follow. Not because they are perfect but because they are focused on getting themselves better today than they were yesterday.
    3. We practice these principles in all of our affairs. The key word is practice. Focused. Intentional. Daily. Consistently. If we as leaders practice these principles in all of our affairs, our stress level will come down. Our relationships will be stronger. Our contribution will be higher. Practice.
    4. One Day At A Time! This is probably the killer hack from AA. The focus on NOT living in sobriety for the rest of your life. It is just on today. If we are focused on today, mindful, present and focused, we can Win the Day. Do that 7 days in a row and you just Won the Week. 4 of that in a row? Won the Month. You get the point. #Winning TODAY is the critical first step of winning anything long term.

    Imagine what it would feel like for your team members and clients if you practiced and applied these principles every day. It. Would. Feel. Amazing!

    My challenge to you is to pick one or two of the principles above and start putting them into daily practice. Need help? Let’s chat. You deserve it. Your peeps deserve it.

    Bring it! #BeBrave

  • 3 Sales Leadership Lessons from: MacGyver

    3 Sales Leadership Lessons from: MacGyver

    You ever wonder how MacGyver does it? You know, that crazy 80s TV guy who can get out of ANY situation, no matter how impossible?

    In a race against time before an impending explosion and all he has is some bailing wire, duct tape, and 3 pennies. Tic, tic, tic…. You feel time running out and <presto> he is free.

    Un. Be. Lievable!

    Amidst the stressful predicaments, there are lessons that also apply to sales leadership:

    He did what he could, where he was, with what he had.

    There was no luxury of a smartphone or Amazon prime app to find resources or get help. He had to solve the crisis with what he had in THAT moment.

    This lesson is so important for sales leadership because MacGyver was able to stay in the moment, present and focused. Why does this matter? Because, as sales leaders, when we don’t use this mindset we focus on what we can’t do and wish for things we don’t have. All of which DON’T help our current situation and distracts us from our mission.

    Let’s break down the 3 best MacGyver lessons:

    Do what you can.

    In every situation, you have a handful of things you can do.  And thousands of things you wished you could do but can’t. Pick from the realistic list of things you can do now. It might be with a frustrating rep or difficult prospect. Pick what you CAN do and do it!  Wishing for options that don’t exist decreases your chance for success.

    Where you are.

    You are where you are. Nowhere else. In a situation. With a rep. You are there. BE there. 100%.  Wishing for somewhere with a better territory or a different team reduces your probability of success. You have your mission and your team. Make the most of them.

    With what you got.

    Your product or solution does what it does today. No more.

    Your team today is your team. No different.  

    That is what you have to work with. Not a future set of functions or people. Not what it will do someday or who they will be someday.  Lean into what you have and solve the most meaningful business impacting problems you can with what you have.  

    Go to battle with the team that you have. Use their strengths wisely. Deploy them wisely. Help your team focus on where they can give value with the assets available today. Not focused on what you will have someday. 

    Adopting this mindset will move you forward faster in every situation and will remove much of the stress you carry by worrying about things outside your control. It’s what successful leaders do. Coach K and Coach Wooden both won games against much better teams because they used this mindset. They did what they could, in the moment, with the team they had. And won.  

    It’s really an application of the Serenity Prayer. Grant me:

    • the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
    • the Courage to change the things I can and
    • the Wisdom to know the difference.

    Psychologists and Buddhist monks refer to this as being Present and Mindful. It’s amazing how much we can do when we embrace and deploy this way of thinking and acting. 

    MacGyver got a lot done because of this mindset.  Situation after situation averted because of it.

    Immediate action:  

    In the next 10 meetings, with reps or prospects, say the Serenity Prayer to yourself before the meeting. Seriously. Focus on doing what you can, where you are with what you got.  

    It’s available to you. But it’s a choice. It sounds easier than it actually is. But, like most things, with practice and focus it comes into clarity.

    Imagine How it would feel if you maniacally implemented this mindset? You would be much more focused and would win more frequently. Guaranteed. 

    You up for it?

    We are, of course, here to help.  Because we aspire for the title of Teacher.

    Recommended reading:
    Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

  • Ultimate Prospecting Challenge: Old School vs New School

    Ultimate Prospecting Challenge: Old School vs New School

    Building qualified pipeline is THE most important element for any sales team. It’s the lifeblood of your future. And yet, so many abandon it for almost any other distraction: sharpening pencils, filling out CRM, joining pointless meetings. The creativity in avoiding pipeline building activities remains a wonder of the modern era!

    There are many ways to build pipeline. Referrals, automation engagement, buying lists, cold calling, social engagement. The options are endless.  

    ‘Pipeline solves all sales problems!’
    Tim Koubek, COO, Skyword

    Because of the endless choices, we wondered what REALLY is the best method? So Ken Lundin and I decided to create the ultimate prospecting challenge to test these methods and see what works best.

    Join us for our 6-month, bare-knuckle brawl as we employ two very different styles to build an abundant  qualified pipeline. Along the way, we’ll be posting monthly updates so YOU can learn and benefit from this process.  

    I’m using old school traditional techniques to leverage my networks. Things like referrals, handwritten notes, and personal calls.

    Ken is using new school modern methods of engagement. Things like software automation, funnels, inside sales engagement, and social media.

    Make sure you check out additional content with more details about this challenge, the methods we’re using, and our predictions on who will win. Watch this Monday Morning Pearls video and listen to this Uncommon Sales Success podcast episode to learn more.

    Here’s what I know: 

    We’ll BOTH create more pipeline.

    Bookmark this page, check in monthly and pick up our proven tools and techniques, plus see our stumbles! Make sure you join our email list to receive our white paper at the end of the challenge! We will be sharing our complete learnings and guidance to help YOU build better pipeline. 

    Until then…. #BeBrave!

    Updates from Randy and Ken:

    Randy’s 1st Update

    ✅ Built an email template to request brokered referrals, targeted a list of 62 contacts, sent 30 emails. Developing a follow-up sequence for this first set of 30.

    ✅Creating an engagement process with headhunters to target our Ideal Client.

    🛑Had vacation late in the month so progress slowed down, only had blocks of 15 minutes and found it hard to get in ‘flow’. 

    💲Sold 2 add-on services for existing clients!
    Ken’s 1st Update

    ✅Setup Growbots lead automation software. Loaded 550 prospects into an 8 step email sequence. 1st email sent on June 5th. Next 4 emails sent on days 1-30. Final 3 emails sent on days 61-80. This allows us to test the timing – maybe now isn’t good, but 2 months from now is better.

    Stats for the first 30 days:

    67% (365 of the 550) of prospects have opened at least 1 email.

    7.1% (39) have clicked through the email to our landing page or case study.

    3% have replied, in some cases that’s a “no thanks”.

    1 lead has been entered as an opportunity.

    💲One deal has been closed!

    ✅ Learnings:

    Something is better than nothing. Having an outgoing process to build pipeline is better than no process at all. 

    🛑Although we were able to close 1 deal, the overall warm engagement rate is low at .8%. We are targeting 3-6% as a warm reply rate. 

    In the next phase I will do follow up messaging to improve the warm reply and engagement rate. I will also initiate a new cadence based on best practices.
    1st Round Winner New school and Ken!
    Although Randy booked add-on services, Ken closed 1 new client with a higher value contract! Stay tuned for more updates as the challenge continues!