If you haven’t already heard about To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others,  here is a brief review of this exciting new book by Daniel H. Pink (NY: Riverhead Books, 2012.)  Pink is known for his previous works, Drive and A Whole New Mind and in his latest work challenges the cultural stereotypes about selling and sales people. He shares information from a Qualtrics survey called “What Do You Do at Work?” that explains how much selling is a part of any successful career.  He calls selling that doesn’t involve a product “non-sales selling”–which seems to  beg the question to me, but he explains:

“1.  People are now spending about 40% of their time at work engaged in non-sales selling–persuading, influencing and convincing others in ways that don’t involve anyone making a purchase. Across a range of professions, we are devoting roughly twenty-four minutes of every hour to moving others.

2. People consider this aspect of their work cruciial to their professional success–even in excess of the considerable amount of time they devote to it.” (p. 21)”

He redefines selling as “moving others” and supports the principles I espoused in Selling with Soul Version 2.0. Selling is the lifeblood of business and deserves respect. He also points out how the internet has changed selling from caveat emptor, let the buyer beware, to cavet venditor, let the seller beware because information can now be accessed by both parties equally and a buyer no longer needs a sales person to form a preference.  This can happen between the buyer and the internet without a seller even knowing there is an opportunity.

He also shares interesting research about the difference between being a problem-solver and a problem finder. The “finder” is skilled at finding the correct problem to address rather than accepting the surface view of what needs to be done.  He tells a story about being in the market for a vacuum cleaner and how he doesn’t really want to buy an appliance; he wants clean floors. He can get product data and pricing from the internet. But what if he gets the “problem” wrong? “Maybe my real problem is that the screens on my windows aren’t sufficient to keep out dust…(or) my carpet collects dirt too easily, (or) maybe I should join a neighborhood appliance coop (or) hire a cleaning service…”

You get the idea.  Helping our customers understand the underlying problems and facilitating their analysis of alternative solutions is the real work of a seller.  That’s why they value our knowledge of the market, product usage, and environmental factors more than they expect us to be the product experts.

Daniel Pink says “existing data shows that 1 in 9 Americans works in sales. But the new data reveal something more startling:  So do the other 8 in 9. They, too, are spending their days moving others and depending for their livelihoods on the ability to do it well.” (p. 25)

I’ve always said that sales is the only job that creates more jobs and sellers deserve to be treated with respect for their vital role in growing business.  Is the world starting to agree with me? It’s nice to know that at least this author does.

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get to the other side? To show the possum it could be done?

I don’t know. I’d have to ask the chicken.

Assumptions lead us into dangerous territory. When we assume, we’re often wrong and we make the mistake of lumping this customer with every other customer we’ve come across in the industry. No one wants to be generalized. No one wants to be “shoulded,” or told what to do. They want to discover the best solution for their challenges and, with your help, they can.  But you have to ASK.

Questions invite conversation and elicit information including a preliminary estimate of value.  Statements, on the other hand, invite contradiction. That’s just how we’re wired. So the better you become at asking intelligent questions, the more successful you will be in aligning with the customer and bringing value.

Sometimes it’s as simple as rephrasing. For example, turning “We could help you…” into “Would it help if you could?” invites the customer to reflect and comment rather than bracing himself to be “sold.”

Sometimes it’s as simple as pausing before we blurt out our opinion to rephrase it in a way that encourages the customer to express his opinion. During the pause, the customer may add information or ask a question that helps us better understand the situation.

I’m not saying you should never make a statement.  As an intelligent and experienced professional, your opinions and your knowledge bring value to the discussion and to the customer. Timing, however, is critical. With skillful questions you can help the customer discover for himself the value of your capabilities and then you have established a context in which you can share your experience and ensure the customer has a successful outcome.

It’s always about the customer.  First, do they have a goal? Is it measurable? And have we taken the time to find out what it is?

Second, are they willing to change? Is this achieving this goal enough of a priority for them to commit time and resources to achieving it? Have we helped them develop a vision of how they could achieve it using our capabilities?

Third, have you and the customer agreed on the value that achieving this goal will provide?  If not, it will be hard for them to justify committing effort or resources toward the change.

While these fundamental concepts may seem obvious, the skill to achieve these steps requires constant practice. A golfer doesn’t improve his swing by reading a book. A quarterback doesn’t develop his arm in the locker room.  Time and effort and practice are essential to mastering any skill. So let’s start with the basic question:  How do you know if the customer has a goal, is willing to change, and sees value in the effort?    ASK.

If you could wave a magic wand over your business, what would be your wish? Would you increase your revenue, crack that big target account, get the order for a big career-making project?  Or would you create more time for yourself and your personal goals? Whatever you wish, how would your life change if it happened?

Before you make resolutions for 2013 or set goals, ask yourself what your life will be like if you achieve them? What kind of rewards will you experience?  But also, and perhaps more importantly, ask yourself how your life wiil change if you don’t achieve them.  What will you miss out on? What will it cost you? Remember that 10% of your business disappears every year due to attrition (mergers, relocations, plant closings) so just staying even isn’t an option.

We can expect our quotas to increase along with the pressure to grow our business, but a corporate expectation, even when it is delivered by your direct supervisior, doesn’t provide motivation to change. That has to come from inside you and what you expect from yourself. Even the threat of firing or being laid off is not effective in inspiring salespeople to increase their performance. It just breeds surface compliance or the appearance of working harder, or at its worst, it fosters short-term thinking and bad decisions to try to force business out of customers who just aren’t ready to buy.  So how can you build your business in a way that improves your confidence and your self-esteem right along with your revenue?

Start with your own mission statement. Vow to provide your customers the best products and services for their particular needs and to lead with integrity in all you do. Commit to fully understand a customer’s needs before prescribing a solution and to consistently follow through on your customer interactions. Then, pick one thing a month to work on and incorporate as a new habit. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to change all at once. Baby steps get us where we want to go more surely than one great leap, and they provide incremental satisfaction along the way. We are not what we do occasionally. We are what we do consistently. That is how we are known and how we build our business.  Find the time every day to review your goal for the month and schedule it in your planner. For example,

“This month I will reach out to XYZ Company and try to get a meeting with a key executive. I’ll do that by researching the names and titles of key executives, sending them letters of introduction, phoning them to follow-up, sending an email with a menu of business issues, and phoning them again.“

That’s the goal and the plan. What’s missing? Time. When are you going to do this? If it’s left to whenever you get the chance, you may take one or two of the actions listed. If you have a date with yourself for every Thursday morning at 8:00 to execute the steps and record your progress, you will complete them and will either have a new customer opportunity at the end of that month or a better sense of why that company is not a good place to invest your limited time and resources.

Finally, how will you keep yourself accountable? Some of us have a mentor or coach we look to when we need help staying focused on our goals. For others, the buddy system is a good alternative. Ask a friend or colleague for a check-in meeting once a week regarding your progress and offer to do the same for him or her. Critique each other’s prospecting letters or business issues. Give each other the support you need to stay committed and to succeed.

With a clear understanding of what you want, how your life will change if you achieve it,  a plan and dedicated time to executive it, and someone to help keep you on track, you are well on your way to making 2013 a golden year for you and your business.

Happy New Year to all of you!

 

This week’s post is also our December newsletter Sales Tip.

What is the best gift you ever received? Why was it so important? Did it make you feel loved or understood? Did it show you someone was paying attention and cared about your individual longings and needs?

Compare that to the worst gift you ever received. Did you feel like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” who received pink bunny-rabbit pajamas, complete with ears and a fluffy tail more appropriate to a 5-year old girl than a 9 year old boy whose only desire was an air rifle? Did it leave you feeling that the giver didn’t really see YOU at all? In your day-to-day business, when someone gives you a product pitch without bothering to know if his product would be of any help to you at all, you are like Ralphie in his pink pajamas. Now step into your customer’s shoes. Do you ever deliver a one-size-fits-all message when you have an opportunity to meet with them? Are you concerned with their goals or problems and sincerely hoping to help? Or are you checking a box.

Gift-giving this time of year throws many of us into a tizzy seeking just the right thing at a price we can afford. The long lines on Black Friday are a visible sign of the effort we put into it. We may send our customers cards, fruit baskets, snack trays—often with our company logo prominently displayed–but year after year we forget that the best gift is us: our time, our attention, our caring.

When we give our customers our time, seeking first to understand and only then seeking to be understood, we are saying to them that they are important and we value them and their success.

When we ask knowledge-based questions and share our hard-earned experience, we are saying that we want them to have the best solution, not just whatever we sell.

When we give our customers our attention after a meeting and do a follow-up letter, we are saying to them that we don’t forget about them when we leave the room.

Quid pro Quo is a fundamental concept in selling: Get something before you give something. What we want to get is not just an order, but a customer, one who respects us and continues to do business with us over the long term. But what we must give in exchange is our best. Not “stuff.” Not pitches or discounts or “hot” deals. Rather, we want to give our customers our time, attention, commitment, and respect. There is no greater gift to a customer at this time of year, or at any other time of the year.

While we’re on the subject of gifts, do you write thank you notes for the presents you receive? It’s a custom that seems to be fading away in favor a quick phone call or email, but the holiday season is also a perfect time to say thank you, to count our blessings and acknowledge others who enrich our lives as well as those who enrich our bank account. Take time this year to say thank you to your customers for their business in 2012. Take time to thank them for their trust in you and to reaffirm your commitment to deliver quality service to them in 2013.

My great uncle used to say that a hug was the perfect gift because you can’t give one without getting one back and one size fits all. Sounds like quid pro quo to me. Maybe you can’t actually hug your customers without running afoul of the politically-correct police, but you can say thank you and then continue to give them the best gift of all: You.

To all of you, thank you for following Lighting a Spark and may your holiday season be filled with joy.

Sharon

PRACTICE GOOD “NETIQUETTE” WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS AND PROSPECTS

PRACTICE GOOD “NETIQUETTE” WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS AND PROSPECTS

If Emily Post were here today, she’d ask where have good manners gone? Email and texting are efficient vehicles for communication, but too often we violate basic rules of courtesy when we use them. Here are ten tips for practicing good “netiquette” when you reach out to customers.

1.Don’t send emails that require scrolling up and down the screen to read. If I have to scroll up and down it means it’s too long and I’ll wind up having to print it anyway. Do you know how infrequently I am near a printer? Save the lengthy discourse for an actual conversation or a letter–a real letter delivered by the post office. Yes, people do read them.

2.Don’t send emails with slide presentations or multi-layer spreadsheets. Our customersI don’t want to tie up their smart phone or computer with things that will take fifteen minutes to download unless you warn them in your message what to expect. And please remember that you can put a file on a server so where they can access it when it is convenient for them. It is not necessary for you to send multiple copies to a broadcast list, slowing down the network, and bringing the computer to its technological knees.

3.Don’t even think about sending anything electronically that a customer might be embarrassed to have lying on his or her desk in hard copy. Please let good taste govern your actions. Some of the jokes I’ve seen lately? They are a lawsuit waiting to happen. Please help keep our business PCs really “p.c.”

4.Don’t put anything in email you wouldn’t want to appear as part of a legal deposition. Don’t send snide comments, asides about people you’re battling, interdepartmental rivalries, or sticky political conflicts. You’re only implicating the reader and most would prefer to stay out of your conflicts.

5.Don’t put anything in email that you wouldn’t want to hear read on “60 Minutes.” Enough said.

6.Don’t put it in email just because you’re too darned lazy to write a good old-fashioned thank you note or letter of congratulations or, God forbid, a note of condolence. The only proper way to express these sentiments is in your own hand on your own note card.

7. Sending a text is okay if you have the customer’s permission to do so. Otherwise,you may interrupt them or be guilty of intruding on their personal time. Please don’t assume they will welcome your text.

8. Avoid subject lines that trigger spam filters. Words like opportunity, offer, sale, limited time, all trigger spam filters. Even the word “specialist” in a title line will do it because embedded in the word is “cialis.”

9. Take responsibility for following up. Don’t end your emails with sentences like, “call me if you have any questions.” They won’t. Instead, state the time and date you will follow up with them and then do it.

10. Remember that emails and texts can’t convey tone of voice and can be misread. When it’s really important, don’t hit that send button until you’ve walked away and then re-read it or showed it to someone. They can help you spot if it’s likely to sound abrupt, impatient, or even angry to the reader.

I hope these guidelines will help you be a better e-citizen. I’m sure your parents would have taught you these things if email had been invented way back then, but for many of them, the technology is as baffling as parenting! Emily Post were here today, she’d ask where have good manners gone? Email and texting are efficient vehicles for communication, but too often we violate basic rules of courtesy when we use them. Here are ten tips for practicing good “netiquette” when you reach out to customers.

1.Don’t send emails that require scrolling up and down the screen to read. If I have to scroll up and down it means it’s too long and I’ll wind up having to print it anyway. Do you know how infrequently I am near a printer? Save the lengthy discourse for an actual conversation or a letter–a real letter delivered by the post office. Yes, people do read them.

2.Don’t send emails with slide presentations or multi-layer spreadsheets. Our customersI don’t want to tie up their smart phone or computer with things that will take fifteen minutes to download unless you warn them in your message what to expect. And please remember that you can put a file on a server so where they can access it when it is convenient for them. It is not necessary for you to send multiple copies to a broadcast list, slowing down the network, and bringing the computer to its technological knees.

3.Don’t even think about sending anything electronically that a customer might be embarrassed to have lying on his or her desk in hard copy. Please let good taste govern your actions. Some of the jokes I’ve seen lately? They are a lawsuit waiting to happen. Please help keep our business PCs really “p.c.”

4.Don’t put anything in email you wouldn’t want to appear as part of a legal deposition. Don’t send snide comments, asides about people you’re battling, interdepartmental rivalries, or sticky political conflicts. You’re only implicating the reader and most would prefer to stay out of your conflicts.

5.Don’t put anything in email that you wouldn’t want to hear read on “60 Minutes.” Enough said.

6PRACTICE GOOD “NETIQUETTE” WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS AND PROSPECTS

If Emily Post were here today, she’d ask where have good manners gone? Email and texting are efficient vehicles for communication, but too often we violate basic rules of courtesy when we use them. Here are ten tips for practicing good “netiquette” when you reach out to customers.

1.Don’t send emails that require scrolling up and down the screen to read. If I have to scroll up and down it means it’s too long and I’ll wind up having to print it anyway. Do you know how infrequently I am near a printer? Save the lengthy discourse for an actual conversation or a letter–a real letter delivered by the post office. Yes, people do read them.

2.Don’t send emails with slide presentations or multi-layer spreadsheets. Our customersI don’t want to tie up their smart phone or computer with things that will take fifteen minutes to download unless you warn them in your message what to expect. And please remember that you can put a file on a server so where they can access it when it is convenient for them. It is not necessary for you to send multiple copies to a broadcast list, slowing down the network, and bringing the computer to its technological knees.

3.Don’t even think about sending anything electronically that a customer might be embarrassed to have lying on his or her desk in hard copy. Please let good taste govern your actions. Some of the jokes I’ve seen lately? They are a lawsuit waiting to happen. Please help keep our business PCs really “p.c.”

4.Don’t put anything in email you wouldn’t want to appear as part of a legal deposition. Don’t send snide comments, asides about people you’re battling, interdepartmental rivalries, or sticky political conflicts. You’re only implicating the reader and most would prefer to stay out of your conflicts.

5.Don’t put anything in email that you wouldn’t want to hear read on “60 Minutes.” Enough said.

6PRACTICE GOOD “NETIQUETTE” WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS AND PROSPECTS

If Emily Post were here today, she’d ask where have good manners gone? Email and texting are efficient vehicles for communication, but too often we violate basic rules of courtesy when we use them. Here are ten tips for practicing good “netiquette” when you reach out to customers.

1.Don’t send emails that require scrolling up and down the screen to read. If I have to scroll up and down it means it’s too long and I’ll wind up having to print it anyway. Do you know how infrequently I am near a printer? Save the lengthy discourse for an actual conversation or a letter–a real letter delivered by the post office. Yes, people do read them.

2.Don’t send emails with slide presentations or multi-layer spreadsheets. Our customersI don’t want to tie up their smart phone or computer with things that will take fifteen minutes to download unless you warn them in your message what to expect. And please remember that you can put a file on a server so where they can access it when it is convenient for them. It is not necessary for you to send multiple copies to a broadcast list, slowing down the network, and bringing the computer to its technological knees.

3.Don’t even think about sending anything electronically that a customer might be embarrassed to have lying on his or her desk in hard copy. Please let good taste govern your actions. Some of the jokes I’ve seen lately? They are a lawsuit waiting to happen. Please help keep our business PCs really “p.c.”

4.Don’t put anything in email you wouldn’t want to appear as part of a legal deposition. Don’t send snide comments, asides about people you’re battling, interdepartmental rivalries, or sticky political conflicts. You’re only implicating the reader and most would prefer to stay out of your conflicts.

5.Don’t put anything in email that you wouldn’t want to hear read on “60 Minutes.” Enough said.

6.Don’t put it in email just because you’re too darned lazy to write a good old-fashioned thank you note or letter of congratulations or, God forbid, a note of condolence. The only proper way to express these sentiments is in your own hand on your own note card.

7. Sending a text is okay if you have the customer’s permission to do so. Otherwise,you may interrupt them or be guilty of intruding on their personal time. Please don’t assume they will welcome your text.

8. Avoid subject lines that trigger spam filters. Words like opportunity, offer, sale, limited time, all trigger spam filters. Even the word “specialist” in a title line will do it because embedded in the word is “cialis.”

9. Take responsibility for following up. Don’t end your emails with sentences like, “call me if you have any questions.” They won’t. Instead, state the time and date you will follow up with them and then do it.

10. Remember that emails and texts can’t convey tone of voice and can be misread. When it’s really important, don’t hit that send button until you’ve walked away and then re-read it or showed it to someone. They can help you spot if it’s likely to sound abrupt, impatient, or even angry to the reader.

I hope these guidelines will help you be a better e-citizen. I’m sure your parents would have taught you these things if email had been invented way back then, but for many of them, the technology is as baffling as parenting!.Don’t put it in email just because you’re too darned lazy to write a good old-fashioned thank you note or letter of congratulations or, God forbid, a note of condolence. The only proper way to express these sentiments is in your own hand on your own note card.

7. Sending a text is okay if you have the customer’s permission to do so. Otherwise,you may interrupt them or be guilty of intruding on their personal time. Please don’t assume they will welcome your text.

8. Avoid subject lines that trigger spam filters. Words like opportunity, offer, sale, limited time, all trigger spam filters. Even the word “specialist” in a title line will do it because embedded in the word is “cialis.”

9. Take responsibility for following up. Don’t end your emails with sentences like, “call me if you have any questions.” They won’t. Instead, state the time and date you will follow up with them and then do it.

10. Remember that emails and texts can’t convey tone of voice and can be misread. When it’s really important, don’t hit that send button until you’ve walked away and then re-read it or showed it to someone. They can help you spot if it’s likely to sound abrupt, impatient, or even angry to the reader.

I hope these guidelines will help you be a better e-citizen. I’m sure your parents would have taught you these things if email had been invented way back then, but for many of them, the technology is as baffling as parenting!.Don’t put it in email just because you’re too darned lazy to write a good old-fashioned thank you note or letter of congratulations or, God forbid, a note of condolence. The only proper way to express these sentiments is in your own hand on your own note card.

7. Sending a text is okay if you have the customer’s permission to do so. Otherwise,you may interrupt them or be guilty of intruding on their personal time. Please don’t assume they will welcome your text.

8. Avoid subject lines that trigger spam filters. Words like opportunity, offer, sale, limited time, all trigger spam filters. Even the word “specialist” in a title line will do it because embedded in the word is “cialis.”

9. Take responsibility for following up. Don’t end your emails with sentences like, “call me if you have any questions.” They won’t. Instead, state the time and date you will follow up with them and then do it.

10. Remember that emails and texts can’t convey tone of voice and can be misread. When it’s really important, don’t hit that send button until you’ve walked away and then re-read it or showed it to someone. They can help you spot if it’s likely to sound abrupt, impatient, or even angry to the reader.

I hope these guidelines will help you be a better e-citizen. I’m sure your parents would have taught you these things if email had been invented way back then, but for many of them, the technology is as baffling as parenting!

How do you start your day? Do you jump right into email? Start returning messages left during off hours? Or do you take the first half hour for yourself.  The most successful people use that first half hour—or even better, an hour—to get themselves focused, grateful and energized.

Motivational guru Tony Robbins calls this your “Hour of Power” or your “30 minutes to Thrive” or even your “Fifteen Minutes to Fulfillment.” Despite the catchy phrases, his point is validated by the practices of the most successful leaders:  How you start your day in large part determines how you finish. Robbins recommends resetting your body, your emotions, and your language with a morning ritual of light exercise, gratitude, and a mantra or incantation for the day.  Repeating phrases like “I have everything I need to succeed” or “I succeed by helping others be successful” redirect your focus and shift your language to help you feel empowered. Every culture recognizes the power of ritual to affect our emotional and physical well-being  Remember the old Zig Ziglar sayings?  Get rid of “stinking thinking” and “see you at the top.”  When I was a young sales trainee, my first manager gave me a cassette tape of Zig Ziglar songs.  Were they cheesy?  Absolutely.  Did they make me start my day with a smile and a feeling of being invincible?  Yes, indeed.  Not into motivational mantras? How about starting with a quick review of your own mission statement.  For example, “I provide quality products and services to my customers. I do the best job for them I can. I succeed as I help others succeed.”  Whatever rings true for you can do the job of getting focused and feeling energized to do your best work.

For sales people it’s too easy to become reactive, responding to the hottest fire rather than to the most important task.  When you start your day with a clear sense of yourself and your value, it is easier to respond to outrageous demands with a clear head and to put aside the seemingly urgent in order to focus on the tasks of real importance. Once a week expand your morning ritual to include sacred space for prospecting. Instead of jumping into response mode, focus on reaching out to people who represent new business opportunities for you whether within your existing accounts or with new companies.  For most of us, prospecting is an onerous task and when we get it out of the way right after the morning ritual, we don’t have to face it again until next week.  It’s what Mark Twain called eating a live frog. He said, “If you eat a live frog first thing in the morning, you’ve got it behind you for the rest of the day, and nothing else looks so bad.”

Sales Managers, how about having a sacred space each week for coaching one of your people? If you only give feedback at performance review time, grab an opportunity to talk with your team about their concerns, their skill levels, and areas where they can grow. Just as your people need to prospect every week, you need to incorporate coaching into your weekly priorities. Getting the best results from your people requires more than good management.

So first thing tomorrow morning and every day after that close that computer and ignore that email, at least for the half hour you dedicate to changing your focus and your attitude to a daily commitment to be your own best self.

This post appeared as the Quick Tip in the October newsletter. To receive our newsletter, sign up on the home page.

In his book, What Matters Now, Gary Hamel lists five (5) issues as paramount for whether an organization will thrive in the coming years:

• values
• innovation
• adaptability
• passion
• ideology

Wikipedia defines an ideology as “a set of ideas that constitute one’s goals, expectations and actions. An  ideology is a comprehensive vision, a way of looking at things…” Why does it matter? Because what we believe determines what we do. It shapes our values and our vision of what we aspire to be, or at its worst, shuts down our aspirations and convinces us we cannot be more than we are. It’s what we believe to be true and immutable.

How do we come by an ideology? Being taught by our elders, our religious leaders, our teachers and professors is part of the process. Our own experiences along with the stories passed on from one person to person is another. And, finally, our cultural biases and experiences including regional, cultural, socioeconomic, gender, and racial differences shape how we see our world and our impressions of others. If you believe, for example, that everyone in America has an equal opportunity to become wealthy, you will unconsciously collect examples of successes and tune out stories of poverty and its resulting disadvantages in health, education, and opportunities.  If you believe that America is the wealthiest country in the world as a result of our work ethic or a sign of God’s favor, you may not see the increasing gap between the upper classes and the working classes, particularly those in the service industries which comprise the largest and fastest growing sector as well as the lowest paid.  If you believe it is your Christian or other duty to help others and give back, you will look for opportunities to do so, whereas if you believe that people are best left to their own devices because helping them encourages dependency, you will not. In business ideology determines how managers are chosen, how people are treated, and what personality traits and styles of behavior are considered acceptable. If your ideology includes beliefs like, “You can’t fight city hall,” you are unlikely to challenge decisions from above even if you believe them to be wrong.

What is your own ideology? What do you believe in and hold dear? Is it the consistution of the United States? Or the Bill of Rights? Or the teachings of the Bible or the Koran?  It is time well spent to look at your own beliefs, how you came by them, and how they serve you or hinder you today. How does your ideology guide your decisions and your actions? There is a saying that whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. That’s the power of ideology.

In his book, What Matters Now, Gary Hamel lists five (5) issues as paramount for whether an organization will thrive in the coming years:

• values

• innovation

• adaptability

• passion

• ideology

This week I want to talk about passion and why it is essential for an organization to thrive. There are those who would argue that all a business needs to succeed is a thorough understanding of “the numbers.”  They argue that a firm grasp on expenses and where they can be reduced, combined with an understanding of where your revenue comes from and whether it can be grown are the only two things needed to keep a business healthy. That takes the people out of the equation and glorifies spreadsheets and other software programs that track the data. But the numbers are only as good as the ability of the people running the company to interpret them and learn from them.  They are no more than a rear view mirror showing what we have already passed.  Imagine yourself trying to drive one hundred miles and hour forward with only your rear view mirror to guide you! Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it?

People, complete with all their intelligence, emotions and their dreams are what make a business. They create the culture and drive the results. When they are disengaged, there is an almost tangible lack of energy in both the day-to-day work and the longer-range planning. When managers make them secondary to the numbers, people feel devalued and the resulting lack of commitment counters efforts to grow the business.  It takes passion to move an organization forward and passion comes from people feeling valued and engaged in the success of the business. It comes from having your dreams respected and your abilities recognized. It comes from believing that the mission or purpose of the organization is worthy of support. Passion makes work days feel short, even when they’re not, and fuels that extra effort that makes the difference. How do you create and support passion in your business? Here are some ideas:

• Treat your people with respect and hear them out.  Brainstorming with them may result in the winning idea you could not have come up with on your own.
• Don’t confuse passion with anger. When people care, they can sound intense and be misinterpreted.  Respect the intensity and work to understand what feeds it.
• Share the dream and the mission with your people at every level. When they share the vision of where the business is headed they can be an enthusiastic part of making that vision a reality.
• Appreciate differences and value diversity. In that rich mix of personalities, styles, values, and ideas there is fertile ground to grow the best performance of your business.

 

In his book, What Matters Now, Gary Hamel lists five (5) issues as paramount for whether an organization will thrive in the coming years:

• values
• innovation
• adaptability
• passion
• ideology

Last week I wrote about values. This week I want to address innovation from a selling perspective. I teach sales people a proven and powerful sales process based on understanding your customer and aligning around their goal or issue. I hear from the sales managers who contract with me that many of their sales people are “set in their ways” and not open to learning. Some have “retired in place” and others take the approach that they have been selling for thirty years and making a good living so they don’t want to fix what’s not broken. I am always tempted to tell these sellers that their horse and buggy is waiting at the door for them to make their rounds.

Everything we do is changing all the time. Just think about the effect the internet has had on buyer behavior and what we expect from sales people. Most of us research possible approaches to our problems or goals on line before ever talking with a seller. Pricing is posted for all to see, along with technical specifications and full descriptions of our products and services.  Our customer’s lives have changed. Many have been down-sized or are performing two jobs because of lay-offs. They are too busy to spend time with their friends, let alone their “sales buddy,” making relationship-selling obsolete. They have invested in sophisticated purchasing systems and other technology to reduce overhead and duplication of effort.  They are smarter than they were ten years ago.  Are you?

Innovation must be embraced at every level of the organization to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and long-term success.  Whether it’s creating eBusiness options for your customers or investing in Customer Relationship Management software for your sales people, the best companies leverage technology to their advantage. They foster a climate of continuous learning. They help their people embrace change. They are open to new ideas and encourage their sales people to learn more about their customers’ business, the changes in their market, and how what they offer can be actually used to achieve a customer goal. They recognize that nothing in nature stands still.  We are either growing and challenging ourselves to get better or we are facing decline, whether or not we admit it to ourselves.

I agree with Hamel that innovation is an essential quality in long-term business success, and every time I see a 30-year veteran sales person open his eyes wide and say, “I wish I had learned this years ago,” I know that success in on the horizon.