So, You're Not Doing...

Wow, you did not see that coming! You just learned that you were expected to do that which you were not instructed to do. Therefore, you did not do the expected, without knowing what it is, and somehow, unexpectedly, you are accountable.

The matter is singularly one of reasonable expectations and very clear communications specific to those expectations. What is expected should be inspected to use a tried and true statement. Inspecting anything, with the goal of setting expectations,  requires the time committed to doing the work necessary in order to get to know more about every facet of the matter.

One of the main reasons that capable people fail to meet expectations is that they are never fully informed what the expectations are, until it is too late. One of the main reasons that customers become confused, disenchanted and then they abandon plans far too early, is because no one took the time to tell the truth early on about what they should reasonably expect and when.

Leaders spend considerable time and effort selecting the right employees for the right job and far too little time telling those employees what they need to do, how they must to do it and when it is expected to be done. Leaders should also make it clear that they expect employees to ask for all the help they need, not all the help they want.

Setting and sharing aggressive yet reasonable expectations is leadership's responsibility when employees are involved and your responsibility when customers are involved. There is little you can do that has greater value than setting clear expectations, especially in the beginning.

If expectations are not clearly set, managed and measured, then anything is acceptable. Employees will feel they are meeting expectations because they do not know otherwise and customers will envision, establish and own their unrealistic expectations as part of the deal they struck with you.

Be certain to make expectations clear and you can expect to have more as those expectations are met and exceeded.  If you don't know what is expected or you feel there is something that needs further explanation, then ask for and expect help. Always expect more from yourself than you do from others.

Block Me or I'll Tackle You

Successful football teams do two basic things better than their opponents: blocking and tackling. The ability to block and tackle, are skills that football players continually practice and prepare for. Blocking and tackling are skills that are most effective when they employ several critical factors; timing, strength, speed, knowledge, desire and of course being face-to-face. To block or to tackle you have to be close, very close. Before they block or tackle in a game, they spend lots of time learning proven methods and practicing. 

I vividly and terrifyingly remember when, as a young boy, my Mother would be addressing my bad behavior face-to-face. When I would look away she would always say; "Look at me when I am talking to you." She had a point.

Looking at someone when we are talking to or listening to them, speaks volumes about our commitment to building a trusting and mutually beneficial relationship. Trusting and mutually beneficial relationships do not always mean an equal outcome relationship. Trusting and mutually beneficial relationships mean we are truly invested in doing what is best for our clients, even when it may not immediately be of benefit to us.  Over time, benefits will balance. 

Selling effectively and successfully comes down to one main goal, building trusting relationships. This is challenging at first, because the target usually does not know us or know of us, resulting in us being more of a distraction than a worthy opportunity. The fastest means to a desired outcome is in personal visits that occur, over and over.

Over time, once your value is established and your client's trust you, you may be able to achieve desired results from afar. Yep, I have done business with people without ever meeting them in person, but the relationship was not nearly as productive or fulfilling as the trusted relationships with people that I made frequent in-person contact with. Nothing is better than making calls in person. You should never do from afar, that which you can do up close. Make the time to make the calls. Studies have shown that you lose as much as 10% of your hard earned influence for every 30-days you fail to make contact!

Making close-up calls that you are prepared to make will have a significant positive impact. Making close-up calls that you are not ready to make, because you are not prepared, will have a significant damaging impact and probably get you blocked from making measurable progress. If you want to block and tackle well, you are going to have to get close, very close. Because, you can't tackle the important issues without blocking out the show-stopping challenges.