The Learning Process

Robert Trent Jones was, without question, one of the greatest players of golf ever to play the game. Robert "Bobby" Jones is the only golfer to win the Grand Slam. The Grand Slam is when a golfer wins all major championships in the same year. Jones accomplished this unmatched feat in 1930.

Jones was quoted as saying; " I never learned anything from winning a golf tournament." How incredible is that. The only person in the history of professional golf to win all major championships in the same year stated that winning taught him nothing!

What he meant of course, is that losing is a teachable and defining moment. The pain of failure is a great motivator, to the right person. Whenever we do not accomplish that which we set out to do, we may consider ourselves to be failures. Instead of taking the position that you have irrevocably failed, consider yourself as the student and that the painful experience has taught you that you will need to do things either, better or differently, or both, in order to achieve your objective. Don't consider it a complete loss, consider it an opportunity to grow in your abilities as you adapt and improve.

Learning is indeed a process and that process is going to be as productive or as unproductive as you make it. Failures are great teachers. 

Get up and Get Going

Many times you have likely found yourself contemplating as to whether or not you can accomplish a certain task or achieve a level of success that has heretofore alluded you. This is a very common reality that occurs when we take too much time contemplating and not enough time doing.

Often all we need to do is get up and get going. The first step is the most important step you will ever take because unless you take the first step, logically, you will never get to the second step. In my endeavors, I have often found myself in the situation of not doing because I am thinking about what I need to do. When what I really need to do is get going, because the more I think about something, the bigger the task becomes and grows, in my mind, into something so big that I begin to wonder if I can or should make the effort. Self doubt enters the process and that can be deadly.

The fact of the matter is, that if we really knew, before we started, the full extent of the considerable effort and time that was ultimately going to be required, we might opt to not engage at all. Some of the greatest accomplishments you will make during your career are going to require you to move in different directions after you get started and be willing to modify what you believe to be successful. You are going to learn what to do and as important, what not to do. But none of this happens unless you get going. You must get moving and once you do, you will be so busy headed in the direction of success that you will not have time to think about whether you can, you will be consumed with, you will! Get up and get going!

Own The Issue

It is your job, your reputation and your personal brand to protect so, "own the issue."

Building relationships is grounded in trust. Trusting you means you are going to look out for your client's best interest. You represent your client. Your clients do and should expect you to address, sooner rather than later, any issues they are facing with your products or services. If there is an issue with quality, delivery, performance, billing, accounts payable or anything that is a part of your product or service, it is not your client's issue it is YOUR ISSUE.

Roger Staubach, the hall of fame quarterback for The Dallas Cowboys, launched a commercial real estate business after his professional football career and turned the industry on its head, when he introduced his business model which was simply; representing the tenant and not the landlord. He and his associates entered every negotiation with the tenant's best interest in mind. They did not represent landlords! The business model was a huge hit because the tenants knew they could trust his company. He owned the issues as far as the tenants were concerned.

You are responsible for taking care of your client. To the client you are. "the business" so don't pass the blame on to the department back at the office that is responsible for the function that is not meeting client expectations. Your client's have enough to deal with without wondering if issues with your company are going to get resolved fairly and quickly. Your clients are doing business with you, not your company and they expect you to take care of them. People do business with people, so make sure that after you gain their trust, you jealously guard that trust by OWNING THE ISSUE.

See What You Cannot See

Most high achievers are self indulgent. They think they are special and they intentionally behave in a manner that eliminates any doubt about their high self image. Good for them. A high dose of self esteem is required.

Most high achievers not only think a lot of themselves but they also have an attribute that separates them from their contemporaries. And this attribute is one of the most important qualities they have. They believe in the unseen! They believe in something bigger than themselves. This makes them vulnerable in the eyes of most people but it is this quality that separates them from everybody else and serves to make them special. In this respect, they really are different.

Whatever you are endeavoring to do, you must accept the reality that your actions, everyday, will have a compounding effect on the outcome. Even though you probably cannot see the results immediately, believe in the unseen by doing something productive on a day to day basis that will contribute to accomplishing your goals by moving the process forward, independent of the measure of achievement made. Rome really was not built in a day and you MUST believe that your actions, however insignificant they may seem at the time, are serving to building a momentum that is getting stronger and stronger. You cannot see the wind but you can feel the effects. Believe in what you cannot see and understand that dynamically the things that are required to assist you in your quest are lining up, in perfect order, and your success is not a matter of if but a matter of when and how much. Stay the course and believe.

Repetition

There were six wooden dining room chairs and all were lacking a cosmetic finish. These chairs were purchased without a finish so they could be customized with a unique finish. I had established a plan and a preliminary process. Each chair had to be sanded smooth, then stained with one shade, allowed to dry, then stained with another shade, then sealed with a clear lacquer. After the second or third chair, I had learned the parts of the process that were going to be more challenging. Sanding and staining between the slats that made up the back of the chairs was especially difficult and time consuming, therefore that is what I did first. Once I progressed to the sixth and final chair, I had the process down and was able to complete the last chair in less than half of the time it took to complete the first. The repetition had been a great teacher.

And thus it is in our business life of selling. Sales is a repetitive business in terms of acquiring and growing clients. This does not suggest that the same solution is the answer for every individual prospect or client, but the steps necessary to obtain new clients and grow business from existing clients, look very similar to the steps you have learned by "doing." Do the same things over and over and get better at mastering those critical-similar-steps, then increase the pace at which you take the steps and watch your business grow. Do the hard things first and then stay committed to the process that you learned by doing. Then, do it over and over and over and over again. The repetition is a great teacher and the key to increased production.

The chairs turned out beautiful!

Into the Wind

Airplanes take off into the wind and birds use the force of the wind, as they are heading into it, to
remain in flight with reduced effort. The wind acts as a lifting force for airplanes even though there is a substantial resistance moving forward. Every airplane consumes the greatest amount of fuel-per-foot-advanced during takeoff. It is the first advance, in getting off the ground from a stationary position, that requires the greatest amount of thrust from the airplane engines and effort from the birds resulting in the greatest demand for fuel! Once aloft, the issue is maintaining forward momentum and staying on course, but neither of those objectives are issues until the plane and the birds are off the ground.

What a great lesson this is. When we are embarking on either a large project or our daily plan, it is getting up and getting going that requires the greatest amount of emotional and focused commitment. You are going to be heading into the winds of the challenge on a regular basis and what will play a large part in your ultimate success, is your unwavering determination to get going no matter how strong the forces of resistance are. The very best thing you can do is to get going no matter what. Once you do, you will find that the task will become much easier to manage and you can see the end result more clearly the higher in altitude you climb.

Everybody is in Sales

Everyone in the organization is in sales. While most of the job descriptions in all companies do not specifically state that a required function of a job is to sell, the underlying reality is that if people don't sell they, nor the organization will not progress. Everyday we are in situations that require us to persuade others, either by actions or by words, to do something that will help. Everyone is constantly "selling" themselves or their desires or their ideas regardless of their position. This is accomplished either by example when they perform their duties well or by influencing others by their statements. One of the very important people that do much of the heavy-lifting setting the stage for indirect selling, is the individual that answers the telephone or greets people when they come in the office. An employee on an assembly line is selling the quality of the product when they make sure their work is of the highest quality.

Successful salespeople by definition are those determined individuals that proactively interact with clients and prospects in an effort to sell their products or services. But they are only going to be successful in this vital function, if everyone in the entire company understands, that without a team selling culture, the committed-sale is lost before the sales person walks in the door. Everybody is in sales!

Visit The Value

Value is a noun and it is essentially what you have to offer. Value, in reality, may be all you have to offer in the eye of the customer and prospect. Value is something that you can position as a unique "thing" in its entirety or in its' degree of differentiation. Perhaps you offer something so unique that no other provider can match your offering or perhaps you add a measure of difference significant enough to demonstratively separate your product or service from your competition. Your task is to know the value inside and out. Start by learning as much as you can because product knowledge is paramount to your ability to both position your value and overcome the objections during the sales process.

Value is the "thing" that demands continuos internal evaluation. Consider this: While you may not see anything that obviously needs improvement, you are typically not employing your value, with the same risks, the same way as your customers are. Each and every time your customers employ your value they are making a value-judgement and as a result are moving closer or farther away from your valued relationship and necessary commitment. The "Value" can be improved only by actively researching where the "Value" currently stands. Then you must define what needs to be done to measurably improve the "value". Always ask "why" first then move on from there. Visit the "Value" it is some of the most valuable time you can invest.

Measure

Where performance is measured, performance improves.

Whatever gets measures, must be managed.

The simplistic and obvious reason that a score is kept is so everyone will know who is winning and progressing. The "score" in your field may be measured in many ways, but to make any meaningful positive change the "score" must be measured
and managed. You may decide to keep "score" by using dollars or number of new clients, number of proposals presented, reduction in complaints or whatever is meaningful and is something you can control. Once you decide how you are going to keep "score", make sure to include everyone you can, as they are directly or indirectly involved. The more people in the organization that have access to the scoreboard the more that those people will feel a part of the process and progress. Therefore, since you need to measure your progress, it will be beneficial to you and your fellow employees if you display the progress so everyone can watch the performance. One of the best means to engaging others is to post the results so everyone can see them. The next time you go into a fast-food restaurant look closely at the walls in the back. You will often see a chart used for tracking some meaningful "score" that is designed to improve some aspect of the operation. You must make certain that you are updating the information on a consistent and verifiable manner, because dated data is damaging. Keep score, it works!

Make the Extra Effort

On May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes. The previous fastest time was four minutes and three seconds. Barrister became the first person to ever run a mile in under four minutes, a feat that has previously eluded the best runners in the world. The difference in time was just over three seconds but the difference in accomplishment will forever be remembered as one of super human achievement. The following year, several people ran a mile in under four minutes. What was the difference? The obvious difference was that Roger Bannister made the extra effort required to run the mile in a faster time that had ever been recorded. He made a decision in spite of the fact that it had NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.

The small extra effort that you make, may make a huge difference in your accomplishments and go a long way in building a closer relationships. Many times we have the opportunity to do something "extra"... do it. Something small and extra that you do, may, in the eyes of the people impacted, separate you from others. The "something extra" may demonstrate just how fully-committed you are to the high quality of service necessary that is hard to find and so deeply desired. Automotive dealers have learned this lesson. Their research shows that quality service is their "extra" that will encourage people to buy from them again and recommend their dealership to their friends. The best automotive dealers devote a considerable amount of time and money into providing the "extra" to the experience.

The extra you do does not need to be elaborate or expensive. It can be something as simple as a thank-you card, a lunch invitation, a phone call or even a email that says thanks. What can you do today that is "extra" that will make a difference?

The Pelicans Have Returned

Pelicans migrate. The migration occurs every year just a sure as the earth  revolves around the sun. Many American White Pelican spend their summer as far north as Alberta, Canada and spend their winter as far south as Texas. These magnificent birds populate many of the inland bodies of water in the region where I used to live, so I got to see them for a while every year. They are truly magnificent birds with wing spans reaching as wide as ten feet. They hunt in packs and consume an average of four pounds of food daily. Watching them hunt as a team is a very impressive and awe inspiring event. While passing one of the lakes where a considerable number of American White Pelicans spend their winter, it suddenly occurred to me that the "Pelicans had returned" another year had passed and I was reminded just how quickly time moves. Because it seemed to me as if the penguins had just left for their northern nesting grounds.

Many of us spend too much of our time "doing" and not enough time "living". We all have just as much time and the next person. Time does not discriminate, everyone is allowed, on a daily basis, the same twenty-four hours to make qualitative decisions as to how the time given, will be invested in their life. When you are making decisions as how to invest your time, take a little time to weight the options and consider if the time you are going to invest is really worth your valuable and limited time. Ask yourself if it will make a difference and if you should you spend more or less time dedicated to the matter. When you are faced with a task or situation that is very difficult and it appears that you may never reach a favorable conclusion, stop and take some time and realize that as life moves on, this too shall pass. Time is a valuable gift and we should treat it as such, just like the pelicans do. 

The Sale Ain't Made 'til the Money is Paid

The sale is not made until the money is paid. This concept is difficult for some sales people to understand as they often believe that sales is a matter of generating orders. Sales people go out and contact clients and prospects with the goal of getting orders for their goods or services and that is commendable, but it is only half of the equation. The real-deal is getting the money and the best way I have found to get money, is to expect it. You should have a clear understanding on when the money can be expected, so be very clear in your explanation to clients on when the bills go out (hand deliver if possible) and when payment is due. You need to clearly understand the critically important role you play on an ongoing basis to make sure the money is received in-full and on time. Your obligation to your clients should be to do whatever you need to do to make it as easy as possible for them to pay their bill. Should there be an issue with the billing cycle or the accuracy of the statement, or any other problem, your priority must be to resolve the issues as quickly as possible so the check is cut! Your compensation is a piece of every check received by your company from the entire universe of clients and if you like your paycheck, you will love client's that pay what they owe, when it is due. Communications is vital to your success in making sure your clients pay, so communicate with everyone in the loop as often as necessary to help make the billing cycle as seamless and smooth as possible. Your engagement is not simply desired, it is required.

Polite

Be polite. Be polite to everyone. Be polite all of the time.

Being polite sounds easy and it should be, but there are times when it will prove to be difficult. The stress of getting both your immediate and long-term task accomplished can be so overwhelming that, in your desire to get from one step to the next, you may treat someone rudely. There really is no justifiable reason to treat anyone rudely, even when they treat you rudely. The treatment that you consider to be rude may simply be a conscious and deliberate way of doing business that has always worked for whomever you are dealing with. Always, take the high road and make every relationship-opportunity count by treating everyone with respect and consideration. Other than the obvious reasons for doing so, the reality is that you never know who you may be dealing with in the grand scenario. The person that you treated rudely, may be significant in the professional relationship now or in the future. You want to be known as the person that is always considerate and respectful. People are more likely to greet you with welcoming arms when they know you to be respectful and considerate. People are more likely to be positively-receptive to your offerings when they know that you respect their time and their decisions. Be polite, it is the right thing to do and you will never regret it, but you may regret being rude forever.

Connect Me if I am Wrong

Connect me if I am wrong.

The more commonly used version of this phrase is; "Correct me if I am wrong." But I submit that we don't just need correcting as much as we need connecting. Connecting to the basis of the correction. When we are wrong we need to understand how to make "it" right but we really need to know the foundation for the correction. We need to know why we are wrong and then know how to learn from our mistakes by focusing on facts and not opinion. Therefore it is incumbent on those that are doing the correcting to help those that made the wrong decision, with connecting to the sources that will aid in learning, what needs to be known, so the mistake is not repeated.

Experience is a great teacher and is often used in correcting but experience is invaluable regarding the connecting. I have made many mistakes in my career and I learned from most of them. Primarily the education was acquired during a "correction-meeting". However when I was being correction, what was most often missing, was the information regarding the sources of facts specific to the resolution. What I really needed to know was, how do I connect to the sources, that will give me a factual education, on how to get better so I don't make the same mistake again.

You are going to make wrong choices in your business life and you are going to get corrected. The sooner the correction occurs, the better. When that happens, make sure to get connected to the sources, that will provide you an education that is based in fact. The best way to accomplish that is to ask. Correction and Connection.

The Four Most Powerful Words

Business and organization activities and efforts are filled with words, some words are filled with power
and clarity and others are ripe with weakness and confusion. Words are used every day that give direction, correction, encouragement, and on and on. Some people use a few words to make a point and others use far to many. There are four words that just so happen to be as powerful if not more powerful that any other words when they are combined.

"I have an idea"!

Every day we are tasked with getting the job done satisfactorily and hopefully on time. The demands of our responsibilities often consume the majority of our energy leaving little time for "creative and new" thinking. Companies that encourage ideas from everyone on the team will discover that many of the best idea come not from the top, but from team-members further down the organizational chart. Management does need to decide which ideas are going to get resources and which are not, but no one has an exclusive corner on new creative ideas. There are countless stories of businesses that experienced dramatic improvements as a result of implementing ideas that originated from those dedicated individuals working closest to the process. There are some ideas that will prove to be better than others based on the need to change and the resources required to implement the idea, but there are not many really bad ideas. Some ideas are simply better than others. Take a bold step and submit new and creative ideas to those in your organization that are responsible for improving the outcomes. You will hopefully find someone willing to consider your ideas and give you feedback on the merits of the creative-thinking. However, if the idea does not get the reception you expected, don't be discouraged. Keep thinking of ideas and submitting ideas and be assured that sooner or later someone will notice. Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. 

Link

There is a link and you are it.

The team is what matters most and your contribution to the team is no less important than any individual link is to a chain. Together we can all accomplish much more than we can individually. Sure, there are job titles and assignments that may carry more weight in terms of taking strategic steps forward, but without the assistance of everyone on the team, it is much more difficult to accomplish anything. Whatever the team objective may be, you are directly or indirectly involved. If you work for a company then you may logically conclude that the company values your position and your talents highly enough to compensate you for your involvement and contributions. Your efforts cannot be removed from the process without impacting the overall team momentum. Should you increase your level of production then the team will gather a higher level of momentum, conversely if you decrease your level of production the team will be negatively impacted. The only sustainable path to greater responsibilities is to get better everyday, even if the improvement is miniscule, at what you do. You can become a more recognized and valuable part of the team-chain if you are committed to making your efforts make a difference. There will be times in your growth whereby you are assuming responsibilities that you are not currently being compensated for or recognized for. Just do the job with a global understanding that someone, higher up in the organization, is going to notice. You matter and you must understand that fact!

Walk Fast

While attending a roundtable-meeting of executives from across the United States, the topic of finding quality people, especially sales people arose. Truly, finding quality people is one of the most perplexing  and challenging endeavors any management person faces, especially when the manager is endeavoring to find quality sales people. Leaders are only as good as the people they surround themselves with, so attracting, hiring, training and motivating high-quality people is critically important to the success of every organization.

One of the attendees offered their method: In addition to exhaustive interviews and testing, he also uses a less sophisticated tool to measures the quality-potential of a candidate. He watches to see how fast the candidate walks to their car when they leave the interview. If the candidate walks briskly they get further consideration, if not they are scratched off the list.

A real sense of urgency is absolutely necessary in order to achieve high levels of production. In the book: The Art of War, one of the statements made is: " Though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been associated with long delays." Surely, you can move too fast and perhaps, in doing so, become a bit reckless, but I assure you that any leader aspiring to more quickly reach higher levels of production, would much prefer to be in a position of having to slow someone down, as opposed to having to speed someone up. The sooner you get moving and increasing your speed the sooner you will see the positive benefits of walking fast. Your job is to accelerate the process and learn how to do things more effectively and efficiently as you pick up speed. Walk fast!

Planning & Execution

The planning is critical to the process and the process is critical to the execution and the execution is critical to the desired result! There is sometimes a tendency to think of planning as some abstract exercise, that is, until the execution begins to take effect. You must plan, but you should not devote so much time to planning that you become distracted and fail to execute. The plan must lead to a process and that is when we begin to learn the merits of our plan and how much we should modify it to accomplish our objectives. Planning is best done when you are not consumed with the daily requirements of your job. Take the time to make the time to establish a plan. Before planning I suggest that you gather as much information as possible and determine how to get the right people involved. Once you have established your objective you need to develop a plan of action and then you must execute. Circumstances beyond your control are a dynamic reality. Therefore, your plan and execution steps, are very likely to change. However, the ultimate objective may not, but the degree of achievement may. In other words, you may find that you can do much better than you originally planned or you may discover that you may not be able to achieve as much as you originally planned. You may also discover that you need to change the paths you're taking to achieve your goals. Be nimble but remain focused! There is very little in business that will take the place of "planned-positive" action. However, make sure you can tell the difference between action and activity. Consider the hamster. Hamsters are actively and busily spinning the wheel but they are not getting anywhere, even though they may feel like they are.

HELP

Help, I need somebody. Help, not just anybody. Help you know I need someone. Help.

These famous words are from a great Beatles song and they make a powerful point.

One of the best ways to get a relationship started is to to ask for help.

Asking for help is a sign of strength.

When you ask for help you are asking someone to get involved in your success.

There are many appropriate opportunities to ask for help if you are doing so with a sincere desire to get the help. You can expect people to help you but you cannot expect others to do the work. There is a considerable difference in getting the help you want and the help you need. Your focus should be on getting the help you need and not the help you may want. The difference is in the doing. Getting the right help means you are going to do something with the assistance and make positive progress. The assistance you receive will often be as passionate as the sincerity of the request. People can tell if you really want the help by the way you ask. If someone senses you are deeply committed to applying their suggestions, they are more likely to give you their undivided attention and help you. However if they sense you are not fully committed, they will most likely consider any help they may give you as a colossal waste of time.

One way you can use this in a selling situation is to ask a client if they can help you in determining if your product or service could be of any help in solving their "yet-to-be-determined" problem. Because you have pre-qualified the prospect, when you ask if they can help you make that determination, you are indirectly asking for them to admit their problem that you can offer a better solution to. This technique, if done sincerely, can be disarming and non-threatening and will prove to be one of the most effective discussion-starters in your arsenal. Here is how you ask: " I am trying to determine if my product or service could possibly help you as it has helped many of my current clients. Would you be king enough to help me by answering a few questions? If we determine that I cannot help, I will not waste any more of your time" Then you begin asking the questions and listen to the answers. Asking for help works because most people are inclined to help. When someone ask for your help, help them.

Change

The only constant in life is change. Change is dynamic, it is happening every second of every day. You can make decisions to make a change, or someone will make those decisions for you and the changes they make will directly or indirectly have an effect on you. Consider this; when your competition changes their behavior or their offering, you must take note and take action. Because if you don't strategically respond internally or externally, the results of their changes are going to have an impact on you. For example: If the competition reduces prices, the price reduction may encourage your clients to more seriously consider their offer. Your response to this change might be to discuss with your clients the value they are receiving by doing business with you. You must respond to the changes your competition is making as soon as you are aware of them.

Change may manifest in your job description. Businesses often make changes to become more efficient or productive. Should this happens to you, embrace it and make the best of the situation. You may also consider offering an alternative. Your suggestions may not change the decision, but your superiors will know that you are strategically thinking and are willing to make the changes necessary, because you are actively involved.

Change does not need to be dramatic but it does need to be proactively made. When you continuously evaluate the results of the actions you take, you are well on your way to effecting positive change by deliberately deciding to do something different, when necessary. Don't get caught in the never-ending cycle of doing something different just because you can. Do something different because it makes calculated sense. And be ready to make modifications to your changing behavior as you learn what works best. Things are going to change and how you respond to that change is going to make a difference.

They need to know that you know

I now what I know and I know that I know.

Client's and prospects need to know, that you know, and that you are willing to learn what you do not know. You must be willing. Nothing is as important in positioning your offering as knowing as much as possible about your prospects and clients and about their industry and how your product or service can specifically solve a problem. Getting to know is a pretty uncomplicated exercise, at least in the beginning. One of the most efficient means of "knowing" is to do the research, before the first call. There are many research-resources readily available. These resources consist, in part, of:

1. Your company's historical activity research

a. What, if any, is the account history including financial records

b. Products or services used

c. Key people involved

d. How long have they been a client or if not, how long ago were they a client

2. Internet

a. Are they on the web and if so how current, up-to-date and relevant is the information

b. Search competitive businesses to get an idea how populated the field is

c. Search for industry information / how the industry is doing, what is new, etc.

3. Your products and services

a. How relevant is your offering

b. Do their competitors use you and if so how (make sure you do not violate trust by disclosing what the competitor is specifically doing)

c. Why should they use you and why not

When you know and a client or prospect know, that you know, you are in an excellent position to move forward toward a successful relationship. More sophisticated clients expect you to know so I recommend you know as much as possible for every client and prospect. They deserve it and you will enjoy the exercise.

Because You Are Special

Everyone is special. We are all, in one way or anther, unique in our character, personality, desires and ambitions. Therefore it is illogical to conclude that you or anyone else is not really special. I say this because it is absolutely the truth and because I have run across people who think less of themselves than they should. These individuals may feel they are not special largely because someone has given them reason to believe they are of less value than others. This is unfortunate but does happen all of the time. People who make a habit of putting others down, most often themselves are lacking in self confidence or self appreciation. They don't know how to feel good about themselves so they feel that taking others down, will somehow serve their self-indulgent and self-defeating purposes. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A feeling of high-self-worth and a feeling of "I am special" comes from within. Don't let anyone treat you as if you are less special or less important or less valuable that anyone else. And don't let the circumstances you are faced with overwhelm you to the point that you feel you, with your special attributes, cannot overcome and move forward.

Feeling special requires you to understand that you and you alone make the decision to feel good about yourself. You are special, act like it!

Learning

Will you do it wrong until you get it right? What we have to learn we learn by doing. What we have to learn to do well we learn by doing over and over again. What we have to learn to be great at, we learn by not quitting and doing it over and over and over until we get it right and we own it. Doing anything without working knowledge can be disconcerting and have a tendency to discourage you from continuing. All of the training in the world cannot compare to the actual doing, because in the doing we get the experience and the experience teaches us how to do better. Practice and coaching are both very important and will save you from committing some fundamental mistakes but they cannot take the place of actual doing.

Consider the paratrooper. Paratroopers are trained for hours upon hours about what to do and when to do it before they make their first jump. But nothing teaches them more about their commitment than standing at the door of an airplane 3,000 feet in the air and stepping out into nothingness. If they are unprepared the results are fairly predictable. But even if they are fully prepared, the act of jumping out is a belief in the plan and the execution.

You should absolutely take the steps you have planned and be ready to make necessary changes if what you are doing is not achieving the desired results. Don' t jump too quickly by making changes before the plan has the opportunity to succeed, but if after a while if you are not learning by doing, perhaps it is time to change. What you must learn you must learn by doing. Will you do it wrong until you get it right?

Planning & Execution

The planning is critical to the process and the process is critical to the execution and the execution is critical to the desired result! There is sometimes a tendency to think of planning as some abstract exercise, that is, until the execution begins to take effect. You must plan, but you should not devote so much time to planning that you become distracted and fail to execute. The plan must lead to a process and that is when we begin to learn the merits of our plan and how much we should modify it to accomplish our objectives. Planning is best done when you are not consumed with the daily requirements of your job. Take the time to make the time to establish a plan. Before planning I suggest that you gather as much information as possible and determine how to get the right people involved. Once you have established your objective you need to develop a plan of action and then you must execute. Circumstances beyond your control are a dynamic reality. Therefore your plan and execution steps are very likely to change. However the objective may not. You will simply change the paths you're taking to achieve your goals. There is very little in business that will take the place of planned-positive action. But, make sure you can tell the difference between action and activity. Hamsters are actively busy spinning the wheel but they are not getting anywhere.

What you have to say

There is a great line in one of Neil Simon's plays. One of the characters is discussing the merits of what another of the characters is saying. His line regarding the verbose tendency is: "He doesn't have much to say, it is just that you have to listen to so much to figure that out." One of my friends from early in my career was explaining the specifics of a screenplay when he told me that every line in a movie is designed to be a part of the overall story. Noting is left to chance, every word has a designed meaning as it relates to the intention of the writer.

We should all be more selective when we are talking to prospects or clients about our product or service. Make every statement count because time, especially time that they are really focusing, is precious and limited. Business is full of distractions and even though you may feel you have the undivided attention of the person you are talking to, it is very likely that they are processing other information based on the need to make things happen or solve a particular problem. People are busy and while you may feel that what you have to say is really important, they may not and their opinion is all that matters. You need to continually sharpen your conversation skills so that you are listening intently and then responding appropriately by saying as much as possible in the fewest possible words. The value of repetition cannot be ignored when you are attempting to make an mission-critical statement, but make sure to do so in a manner that is not condescending or insulting. Saying the same mission-critical things in a number of different ways is smart but can be distracting if you are not doing so at an appropriate time in a strategic manner.

Do not assume that people really care what you have to say unless it is relevant to helping them solve their problems or grow their business. Stay focused and on point!

Look at that

While preparing to get my daughter at the airport, my son and I decided to dress up as Nerds and shock her as she exited the airplane. The plan worked beautifully. She screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw us and would not walk with us to get her luggage. One of my sales associates just happened to be in the airport at the same time and saw me in all my Nerd attire. The look was so radically different than the professional look he associated me with, that he actually thought the Nerd he was looking at, was that one person in the world that looked so much like me, that it actually could be my double. He was stunned when I revealed myself as the Nerd standing before him at the airport luggage carousel. The moment was priceless and revealing.

People do notice when you are dressed professionally and they notice when you are not. How you look overall does make a difference. The clothes do not make the person, but the clothes and overall appearance do make a difference in how people perceive you. Projecting a professional image is critical to your success and it is very difficult to achieve if you do not look the part. That is precisely why movie directors have people on staff whose only job is to make sure the actors look the part. Dressing well along with a nicely groomed look does not need to be a financial burden, but it is vitally important to how your clients, prospects, superiors and co-workers will likely judge your level of commitment. The well dressed professional is a credit to their profession. When you look great, you feel great!

The Unique Opportunity

You are presented with a very unique opportunity each day you are at work. You have the opportunity to do something for somebody that they may not be able to do for themselves. Given that many of your customers and prospects are so busy running their business, it is logical to take the position that they really need don't have time to get the most out of what you have to offer. You should know all of the features and benefits of what you are selling so it is vitally important that you "think like a client" and determine how to get the most "bang for the buck." Become an unpaid advisor on their staff by helping them help themselves. Relationships are built on trust and helping your customers and clients maximize their investment in your product or service will go a long way in building a long-term relationship. Take a very proactive position in making sure you fully explain everything associated with your offering and ask questions as to how clearly your explanations are understood. Take nothing for granted. Make sure that everyone concerned knows the full potential of your offering and that you are fully committed to making the most of the unique opportunity of helping someone do something they may not be able to do by themselves!

Make The Calls

One of my very good friends, whom I got into an entry-level selling job, achieved such a high level of success that he went on to work for a national fishing magazine as the director of advertising sales. When asked at a corporate planning session what his sales plan was for the upcoming year he replied: "I am going to make the calls." Now you and I may think that at such a high-level a sales plan would be a great deal more detailed and intellectual than just making the calls. But when you consider the overall commitment to making the goals, making the calls is really all there is. All of the planning in the word will not get sales in the door, you must make the calls. Obviously an aggressive and reasonable target for sales activity makes perfect sense, but if you do not prepare in advance, establish objectives for every sales call and then make the sales calls, it will not matter. Once the activity targets have been established, you must meet the demands and measure your results to determine if you must make any modifications. There is no one who knows what will happen when you make a sales call, but everyone knows exactly what will happen if you do not. Since you want to make more sales, you must make more calls!

Fear Not

Far too often people do not achieve their objectives or more importantly, their potential because they are afraid. Fear is paralyzing. After accepting a terrific job with a large company I found myself moving from a small town to a huge metropolitan area where I would be heading a sales team that dealt with world-class clients. My fear was dealing, one-on-one, with the really smart people in the "tall glass buildings" and how they would treat me. After spending considerable time calling on these very sophisticated people I realized they were people, just like me. We had many things in common. They found my small-town experience refreshing and they helped me learn how to deal with people at every level. Soon I found myself calling on top management of Fortune 500 companies and handling the situation as if I had been doing it for years! My fear was unfounded. Meeting fear head-on takes guts. However what you will most often find it that you were afraid of something that never really existed. Fear is most often an obstacle that we build because we don't know. Fear is born out of the unknown. Do not be afraid, step forward and learn as you go. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much you can accomplish if you are not fearful.

The Blessing of Challenges

The great barrier coral reef is one on the most incredible places in the world. Located off of the coast of Australia the reef stretches for over 1,500 miles! The coral reef is longer than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space. On one side of the reef the coral is a dull sandy color with a short life span. On the other side of the reef the coral is beautiful. The colors are amazing and the coral has a much longer life span. So what is the difference. On one side of the reef the waters are mostly calm and the temperature remains fairly constant. The coral is not challenged. On the other side, where the coral is challenged by constant tides, varying temperatures and raging waters the coral must fight for its life everyday and it thrives! We are going to be challenged when we get out and fight for our success. Challenges help to make sure we are doing what it takes to be successful. Thing change and we must be able to adapt, just like the coral does, if we want to be stronger, more savvy and more successful. You know people who are in jobs that go through the same routine everyday. They are infrequently challenged and therefore they don't get better at what they do. Because they don't have to. In sales you are going to be frequently challenged and how you react to that challenge will determine just how successful you are going to be. You are going to have to improve on a consistent basis and daily challenges, resulting from changing circumstances, will help to assure you are getting better, if you respond with a can-do attitude.

What Matters

One day while sitting in the Dallas Forth Worth Airport, I noticed a custodian pushing a cart full of trash. His job was to go along the airport and empty the trash cans and put new plastic liners in. No one noticed his activity, no one except me! Watching him do his job, very efficiently, the thought occurred to me that no one noticed perhaps because not many people would consider what he was doing as vitally important. Everyone was just too busy to fully appreciate the significant benefit his tasks were bring to the airport operation.

However, if the custodian were to let a week pass before he emptied the trash, he would get a lot of attention. The custodian would become one of the most important people in the operation and then, everyone would notice. The new found attention would not be because of what he had done, but because of what he had not done. Often in our daily tasks we are find ourselves doing things that aren't monumental in and of themselves. These are the tasks that are not noticed and rewarded if they are done, but get a lot of attention if they are not done. Many of these tasks may seem unimportant, but if left undone, incomplete or poorly executed , they can have the multiplying effect of disrupting the entire process. Make sure to do every task with a clear understanding that the results of your efforts, no matter how insignificant they may seem at the time, matter.

Honestly Folks

Building relationships requires all concerned to be trustworthy and forthright. This need for everyone to be totally honest runs throughout the entire team on both sides of the relationship. Honesty is easy and builds relationships faster that any other component. The individual that encourages the prospect or client to open up and share the realities is much better positioned than the person that simply skims the surface in order "sell stuff" as if a sale is a victory. A sale is not a victory. A victory is when a client accomplishes their objectives because you honestly helped. Selling is not about selling in the pure sense of the word. Selling is about helping people by putting their interest above anything else and you cannot put the client first if you do not have the truth as a requirement of doing business. The truth does not need any emotional support in order to make an impact. However when someone is not being totally truthful, they will often add the high emotional factor to their statements as if that will somehow make it more believable. Perhaps the client or prospect wants to try something that you know, and can prove, is not in their best interest. You will find yourself in the position of having to tell a client or prospect that your services or products are not a good fit under the circumstances. Don't get into a protracted discussion about how you may be able to make it work for the client or prospect when you know that the percentages are not favorable. Some clients and prospects operate from the premise that they have already made up their mind and you are wasting your time by sharing the facts. Don't argue, let them be and know that "The truth will have to be good enough."

Your "A" Game

Time with clients is valuable. The time we spend in front of clients and decision makers (internally and externally) should be similar in proportion to the time a professional athlete spends improving their talents and skills. Professional athletes spend 90% of their time preparing so they can spend 10% preforming.

Sales people that bring their "A" game can move the relationship forward. They are ready as a result of investing significant time in solid preparation. Moving forward may not mean getting your way or getting a signed deal during the sales call but it does mean you are ready to take the next step.

Don't step blindly into the future. You should know what you need to accomplish before you walk in the door and have a pretty good idea what the next progressive-move forward will look like. You cannot be effective if you aren't emotionally and mentally aligned. Prospects, internal decision makers and client's can smell anxiety and they will eat you alive if they sense you are anxious.

The time you have and the time your client's have is precious. Treat time as one of the most precious and valuable tools you can leverage. When viewing time as this vitally and critically important, you will modify your behavior to make the most of the opportunities you have and begin to bring your "A" game every opportunity you have. The best and perhaps only way to learn this is to go out and get your nose bloodied (figuratively). You have everything to gain by bringing your "A" game into your business activity and everything to lose if you do not.

Dancing in the Rain

Just a few years ago we took a trip deep into Mexico. One of the stops was in the jungle mountain town of Xilitia where the eccentric architectural work of Edward James is located. The place is amazing. The main part of Xilitia is across a lush green valley from the Edward James exhibit. After touring the exhibit we traveled across the valley into the colonial downtown area. It was Sunday. The market was thriving with hundreds of shoppers and there was a festival taking place. Part of the festival, features a big dance floor in the heart of the town. The live music was wonderful and even though I had never danced the Mexican dance, Huapango, I was enchanted with the enormous amount of energy and pure enjoyment emanating from the hundreds of dancers, so I jumped in! After a few songs and getting my heart rate up to 1,000 beats per minute, I got the basics down, so I danced and danced and danced. Suddenly one of the regular and fierce afternoon rain showers blew in and to my astonishment, nobody stopped. Not the musicians or the dancers or me. It was wonderful and liberating. Dancing in the rain that Sunday afternoon reminded me that far too often we get stuck in doing what we have always done and fear letting go. You cannot dance in the rain while holding onto your image or giving any concern to what others think of you. There will be days that are overwhelming and you feel that you are not getting anywhere because what you are doing does not appear to be working, the clouds of doubt will gather. On those days I strongly encourage you to take a step back, let go, listen to the music in your soul and "dance in the rain"!

Did you hear that?

One of, if not the, most important exercises you can engage in while interfacing with prospects and clients is to listen. Listening is a learned behavior and will get you farther down the road to a trusted relationship than almost anything short of showing up with a check! People love to talk and they especially love to talk about those things that are dear to them. Listening is a skill and one that requires focus. More often than not many people listen so they will know what to say when the other party has finished talking. Listen to learn. When listening carefully, you can learn not only from what is being said but from what is not being said. Listening can be very difficult especially if you are in the group of people that live to interrupt. Interrupting means that what you have to say is more important that what the other person is saying. Interrupting is rude. When the other person is talking, take notes so you can respond quickly and precisely about what you heard them say. If you are compelled to interrupt always say: "excuse me for interrupting". But interrupt at your own peril. People love people that will listen. Two ears-one mouth, you do the math.

Stand your ground

The very essence of selling is, "Helping people make the right informed decision". You cannot build your business based on what you think, but you can build a very successful business based on what you know. Gathering the right information (the facts) from your prospects and clients can, and should be a very enjoyable exercise. The right information is that set-of-facts you must know in order to make the right recommendations. The right information you harvest will help your client make the right decision. One of the most important facts you must know is that the truth is your most reliable ally! Facts really do speak for themselves. Do not be a sales person that just wants to make a sale. If the recommendation you are considering making to a client or prospect is in the best interest of all concerned, because it is based on the facts, then make it and stand your ground. An untruthful sales person anywhere is bad for truthful sales people everywhere. The truth will have to be good enough!

Do it right

There is more than one way to do things, but more often than not, there is a right way that is better than all of the others. Experience is a great teacher and doing things the wrong way, will often get you the experience you need to do things right. Socrates said" What we have to learn to do we learn by doing." Just do it. We have all heard and seen that tag for a while now but perhaps we do not really appreciate the gravity of just how important it is to just get moving. Today I was attending a board of directors meeting and a topic of discussion was weather or not should, we as a board, take on a big, first-time (for us) project. My position was, after considering the ramifications, was that we should just do it. We would learn how to do things right because we would have to commit to "not doing it wrong." Simple enough, but doing things right requires a commitment. Make a commitment today!