Many people mistake being a good manager for being a good leader.  Managing is only one of three core responsibilities a leader needs to have in order to succeed.  They are:

1. Critical Thinker- ability to remove emotion and think of all alternatives and options on how to move a department, organization, project or sale forward.  Ability to solve problems and maintain a leadership position in the marketplace.
2. Manager-ability to execute processes properly to achieve desired results.  This includes staffing and scheduling.
3. Coach – ability to get things done through others. Understand individual’s strengths and weaknesses and create environment to get the most out of each individual.  Coaching is not about changing people.  Leaders create opportunities and environments for success.  Individuals must want to personally succeed and do whatever it takes.

If a leader can excel in these three areas, there is a good probably they have the 7 traits of a great leader outlined in the book Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way.

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Rather, the simple truth is simply asking the customer about the results (outcomes) he is looking for.  Clarifying her answers to make sure what she is saying is similar to your impression and avoiding false assumptions.  Follow that up by asking what’s at stake in terms of success if the product/service does or does not work according to spec.

Then, and only then, respond with the key features and benefits that speak to the issues the customer has just provided and close the deal.

It’s that simple.  The simple truth is that people buy for their reasons, not yours.  So stop making it too difficult and find out what the customer is looking for provide the right solution.

Keeping it simple will help you sell more in less time, increase your closing ratio and increase your level of satisfaction/fulfillment in your career.

Click Here for more ideas on how to double, triple and quadruple your sales!!!

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In competition, the conversation usually turns to money and everyone gets commoditized.  Pressures are mounting to cut prices in order to get the deal.  The late Bill Brooks, my mentor and coach, did research in which they interviewed 6,000 buyers in all industries and asked them why they continue to beat sales people up on price.  Their answer was simple.  After meeting with six sales reps on average a day selling the same “stuff”, how do you differentiate one from the other?  The answer is price!

The key to making lots of money is not by competing, but by having different conversations and providing solutions to problems that are not being solved.  In a competitive environment, this means talking about challenges the customer is having and explaining how your products/services can address those challenges.  Even though you may be competing with a similar vendor, the fact that you are talking about issues not raised by your competitor is a form of creation.  That alone can lead to a sale with no discounting.  This means asking your customer about their challenges before you start “selling” your stuff.

Another form of creation is packaging your core competencies into a mix of services that produces the best result for a customer.  In this case you become so valuable that whatever you are asking for in terms of price is considered to be a drop in the bucket based on the value they are receiving.

Finally, creation also means being the first to market with solutions no one has thought of.  Think about brands like Google, Xerox, FedEx, etc.  Not only were they first to market, their brand names are now used to describe the act.  Example, let’s Google this term.  When this happens, is there any competition?  And are you making money?  Just look at today’s stock price for Google to answer that question.

Creation vs. Competition – which game are you playing?

This also applies to leadership in selling ideas.  Do you create arguments that motivate people to act or are you competing for their time and attention?

Click Here for more ideas on how to double, triple and quadruple your sales!!!

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That was the moment I was waiting for my whole life— getting validation that I truly am making a difference in my daughter’s life.  It’s what we all strive for with our employees, customers, family and friends – making a difference and knowing your words of advice are being heard and being acted on.

There are 7 keys to creating lasting impacts in the lives of others:

1. Accept People for Who They Are— We are all different and therefore we look at things differently and have different aspirations.  Stop trying to make people do things the way you do them.  Accept them for who they are and guide them with your expertise so they can flourish in their own way.
2. Relate to People—People don’t do things because they are told to do it.  They do things because they feel it will help them.  Relating to others is sharing ideas in the context of how it will help them.  Stop talking about your reasons as to why they should do things.
3. Acknowledge Successes—It is very important to tell people you love them and that you appreciate them and their efforts. We all need to hear this and when we do, our minds become open to new ideas.  We are motivated to reach new heights.  Acknowledge successes and never, ever follow that up with a criticism.  Otherwise you just eliminated the good feelings associated with the success.
4. Personal Accountability—- It is very important to hold each other accountable for our promises and actions.  Holding people accountable is not being mean.  It simply is a method for not letting others allow excuses to get in the way of achieving results.  Excuses are man’s best friend in providing comfort and reasons as to why we could not do certain things.   Results, not excuses, are what produce a fulfilling and happy life.  Let’s not become enablers for failure.  Let’s help enable others to be the best they can be.
5. Listening—Sometimes our role needs to simply be a listener.  Letting people we care about vent their feelings and frustrations.  Sometimes all people need is just to be heard and not told what to do.  Having a safe source to unload one’s burdens is critical in order to free up both physical and mental energy necessary to create better results in our lives.
6. Encourage People to Fail—-Failure is a critical element for success.  We learn from our mistakes.  In fact all successful people fail more than they succeed.  A .300 hitter batter in baseball gets only 3 hits in 10 at bats, but is considered a superstar and makes millions of dollars. Allow people to fail.  Encourage them to fail.  I value those who fail more than those who do not fail because they are afraid to do anything that doesn’t work out.
7. Learn from Mistakes—As leaders, we need to help those who depend on our guidance to learn from their mistakes and figure out how to do things better.  Critical in this initiative is not you telling them what to do.  But rather listening to their thought process on how they will go forward.  Leaders don’t manage actions.  They coach thought processes.  They look at how people think, identify gaps in the thinking process that need to be addressed and then help with those gaps.  This is what a leader does for long-term growth and success.

These are the seven keys I use to make a difference in my daughter’s life and with those who depend on me.  Life is about achieving and giving back to others so we can all achieve.

Click here for more tips, strategies and ideas on how to impact and influence others

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Michael is a young man in a big body.  The coaches expect him to be a star football player right off the bat without ever having played the game.  They are frustrated when he keeps screwing up because of his lack of knowledge of the game and blocking skills necessary to succeed.

Frustrated one day, Sandra is at practice and tells the coach to hold up a minute.  She found out from the high school guidance counselor that while Michael scores were at the lower end on most metrics, he scored in the highest percentile (98%) in protective instincts.  Meaning he is an individual you can trust to watch your back and protect you.

Sandra immediately pulls Michael by the shoulder pads and tells him to consider his quarterback, full back and all the other players on his team to be his family.  That the other team is looking to hurt his family.  And his job is to protect them and make sure no one lays a hand on the player with the ball.

On the very next play Michael protects “his family” and goes on to become an NFL Star.

Here is the point.  All of us are not equal.  If you are a manager coaching every player on your team in skill development using the same techniques and same motivation for everyone, you are not going to get optimal performance from every player.  You must understand each individual’s character and make-up.  Your must coach to each player’s strength and potential.

The same holds true in sales.  Every buyer has a different make-up and makes decisions based on their individual behavioral styles, motivators and experiences.  You cannot present your offering the same way to all of your customers.  You must customize it to their personal traits and needs.

Look for the Blind Side in your customers and employees.  You will see your success skyrocket!

Last year, five years since I sent that book, I received an email from that manager.  I have no idea how she tracked me down.  I didn’t even know who she was until she reminded me in the email that I sent her the book.  She went on to say:

“I am not writing because you sent me the book, although it was a pleasant surprise when I received the package. What I want to share is how I was so impressed that you knew how to spell my name.  To this date, my own company still spells my name wrong on my paychecks”.

Imagine that, five years later, I get an email out of the blue because the act of spelling someone’s name properly meant so much to them.

Little details create great results.  What details are you missing paying attention to that can make a life long impression on the people you serve?

Feeling full of myself, I walked into my manager’s office to gloat and she immediately put me into my place by asking what deal was next on tap. I felt like I just got slapped in the face and let loose accusing her of not caring about me and pushing too hard; especially when there’s a guy sitting outside her office who was at 50% of quota and not being pushed.

She then proceeded to teach me a life long lesson. She said “I can push you hard now because you won’t crack. You are full of confidence. This is when you should not lay off and keep going because you are on fire. You want to take advantage of being in the zone. That poor guy outside my office would crack if I pushed him too hard. He already is on thin ice.”

This taught me when you close a deal this is not the time to slow down. Leverage that strength to close more business.

With emotions running high, she calls me for help.  I ask her how she is going about getting new prospects.  She shares her nine-part system for prospecting.  The first part is the script used on the cold call.  It is four paragraphs long with the first three focusing on her services and abilities.

I ask her how the response is going.  She dejectedly said there were no callbacks.  I then asked her if this is what she would teach her clients and she said no. So I asked her why are you doing it then?  She gave me an honest answer.  She is in such a bad way that she was trying to do anything to get someone to hire her.  Her emotions clouded her vision and judgment.  They forced her into doing actions that she wouldn’t even recommend.

Sound familiar?  All of us can relate to this story when we had our own emotions drive us to actions we would normally avoid.  

So I asked her what would she do with this script.  Her answer was it was too long. I said just do yourself a favor and throw it out.  Scripts don’t sell!  CEO’s want a valuable conversation, not a script.

What is the point of the cold call?  If you are in a sales cycle that involves face to face visits, then it is simply to get an appointment, not sell yourself.  CEO’s won’t listen to a voice mail that is more than 20 seconds and all about you.  They couldn’t care about you, no offense intended.  They want to talk with people who can advise them on strategies for achieving the results they are after.

So then I asked her how she got her list.  She says the names were provided by an association executive that thought she could help those CEO’s.  I said perfect!

Here is the message you will leave on your next voicemail:

“Ms. Jones— this is so and so.  Bob Jones suggested I call you to share some of the strategies we are using to help businesses like yours grow their sales.  When would be a good time for the two of us to meet?”

Within one day, she received 4 call backs vs. none using her script.  She also closed an appointment with a CEO for a face to face visit.  All within one day!

So what are the learning points from this story:

1. We all get side stepped by our emotions.  Call a friend or colleague and validate your strategy to make sure it is not filled with actions that won’t help you achieve your goals
2. When the sky seems to be falling and there is no room to go, let this story be an example that your fortunes can change instantly if you do the right thing, which is to position yourself as a resource to serve others vs. trying to find an instant fix to your problems
3. Walk your talk.  Never stray from your values and experience.  Never allow your emotions to force you to act in certain ways you would never counsel others to do.
4. Leverage the people you know.  There are people in your life who can help you get the results you are after if you give them a good enough reason.

Tomorrow, read the next part on how her visit with the CEO went.  There will be additional and powerful learning points to share with you.

In the meantime, please share the strategies you use in not letting your emotions get the best of you.  Let’s start a great conversation that will help all of us.

And one more thing. Please do not comment on whether this person should be a sales trainer or not.  She actually is very good and does provide great results.  She became a victim of her emotions and latched onto a system she thought would work.

Question is:  In your life, how are your emotions affecting your results?

Tom Coughlin is the Greatest Example of Championship Caliber Leadership in the Modern Era.

Whether you are a sales rep trying to lead your customer through an acquisition process or any kind of leader trying to get a team over the goal line, do you face these common problems?

• Interruption of daily routine by unforeseen situations
• Loss of key personnel or decision makers you counted on to support you in your initiative
• Injuries, sickness or other distractions that prevent team members or customers from contributing to your success
• Stiff competition
• Lots of naysayers that doubt your abilities and chances of winning

These are all the issues Tom Coughlin faced this year as he led his team to its second Super Bowl Victory in four years.

• Players went on strike eliminating off season conditioning and training camps to evaluate talent and get the team in shape
• Star WR Steve Smith went to the Eagles and Star Tight End Kevin Boss went to the Raiders for more money.  Giants left with an untested rookie named Victor Cruz and we all know how he turned out
• The Giants Defense was decimated by injuries and they lost a few games because of the holes they could not plug- until they all their players returned
• The road to the Super Bowl involved beating A rated teams on the road like the Packers, 49ers and Patriots
• The press and fans called for Coughlin’s resignation when the team was underperforming and their record was 7-7.

All of this did not dissuade Tom Coughlin from sticking to his vision and leading his troops to victory.  He had the belief, the vision and the discipline to not let any of these reasons become excuses. He found ways to get around the lack of resources and more importantly he rallied the team leaders to help in keeping the team positive and paying attention to the small details.

A telling example was when full back Brandon Jacobs came up to Tom Coughlin at the end of the NFC Championship Game— like a big Tiger coming up to his human trainer, putting a large arm around Coughlin’s neck with a look of appreciation and Coughlin petting Jacob’s arm like a father showing appreciation to a son for a job well done.  That picture said it all.  Coughlin had the respect and support of his team in times of adversity.

All of us face the same problems Tom Coughlin did at one point or another in our lives.  What’s different is he had the right tools and mindset to deal with them.  This is why I have asked my publisher to release the first three chapters of my CEO Bestselling book Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way.  Now you can download them for free and learn the five beliefs and 7 Traits that Tom Coughlin and other highly effective leaders and sales executives rely on a daily basis to succeed.   To find out what these beliefs and traits are, click here to download them for free.

Your WORD is your gold standard.  It is the basis on how people judge as to whether or not they will take a chance on you.  It will impact their decisions for funding your next initiative, giving you a mortgage and yes, even getting into a new relationship or even fixing an old one.Yet why is it in life all of us at some point or another have trouble keeping our word.  Did you ever tell some one you will be calling them at a certain time and never did?  Or that you would be stopping by with a proposal for their review and you are two days late.  The common promises we make dozens of times a day all impact how others view our ability to keep our word.  The more promises you don’t keep, the lower your gold standard is.

Think about when a service company promises to be at your house at a certain time of day.  You probably add a little time to account for lateness. But what happens when that person never shows or is two hours late?  What happens to your plans?  Do you get aggravated?  Do you feel rejected, disrespected and yes put upon?

Well, that is how others feel when you make even simple promises like calling someone back and never do.  They wait with anticipation and then you leave them to their own devices to make up any assumption they care to as to why you did not call them back, most of which are untrue.

In sales, it is common to promise a buyer a delivery date or some form of promised offering.  When that promise cannot be kept, we advise sales people to call the buyer up and advise them of the situation.  One thing buyers cannot deal with is surprises.  They may not be happy when you call to alert them of the delay.  But at least they can put into motion actions that will limit the impact of the delay and show others they are on top of things.

Did you ever think that your promises impact the promises others make and when you don’t come through, you force others to fail in keeping their own promises?  It is the domino effect.

If you want to increase your lot in life, achieve greater success, greater riches and fulfillment, just concentrate on the simple act of keeping your word.

Without it, you cannot get other people’s support and without their support, where will you be?