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!