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Archive for January, 2008

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How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 1 - Listen

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

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This is the first in a 10-part series, How to Be a Better Sales Manager. It’s my belief that the sales manager is underserved. There’s plenty of training and coaching available for sales people, but managers, the unheralded heroes of sales success, are all too often left to their own devices. These posts are designed for sales managers who want to do better and are looking for ideas.

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It seems to me listening is the first step to becoming a better sales manager. Why? Because the first step to managing anything is understanding what it is you are trying to manage. And where does understanding come from? Listening.

You deal with customers, sales people, internal customers, bosses, and peers. They’re all coming to you to minimize their pain and maximize their gain. In order to help them, you have to listen attentively.

Listening attentively is a challenge for anyone, but for sales managers, who must be consummate multi-taskers, it’s particularly difficult. Nonetheless, it is a skill which must be mastered. Otherwise, you’ll end up maximizing pain and minimizing gain. You’ll end up misinterpreting what people want and delivering something other than what they need. The result? Frustration. If it happens repeatedly - exasperation. Neither response is good for one’s career.

To make matters more difficult, not only must you listen attentively, you must look as though you’re listening attentively. There’s nothing more annoying than trying to explain something to someone who is fidgeting, flipping through a stack of papers on their desk, continually glancing at the clock or their cell phone, etc.

You may indeed be able to listen attentively while doing three other things at the same time. But the person you’re listening to will not be impressed by your mental dexterity; instead, they will resent you, believing you are not taking them seriously. I myself have been guilty of conveying such an impression - I suppose most of us do from time to time. The worst part is, you’re usually not aware you’re doing it, and thus you’ve created a problem you don’t even realize exists.

So how do you become a better listener? Here’s a bit of advice you probably weren’t expecting from a sales and marketing blog. Read Peace Is Every Step, by the extraordinary Buddhist philosopher Thich Nhat Hanh.

The book is all about the joy of living in the moment. It explains how to concentrate, how to focus your attention, how to put yourself fully into everything you do as you are doing it. It is easy to read and powerful. It could change your life. And I think it’s a great place to start becoming a better listener.

Becoming a real listener requires spiritual exercise. Listening is a frame of mind that demands a certain - and perhaps unfamiliar - attitude with respect to time, your environment, other people, and yourself. All the tips and techniques in the world won’t bridge the gap between your ears and what’s going on in your head. You have to start in your head and work your way out to the ears.

To listen better, get spiritual! And BTW, you don’t have to be a Buddhist (or even interested in Buddhism) to enjoy Peace Is Every Step. If you give it a read, I’d love to know what you think.

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Miami Real Estate Blogger Sued for $25 Million

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Realtor Lucas Lechuga runs a popular real estate blog called Miami Condo Investments. After running a negative post on a high profile Miami property, Opera Tower, Lucas and his former firm were hit with a lawsuit by the developer for the incredible sum of $25 million. I say former firm because Lucas was terminated yesterday as a result of the lawsuit.

The story has been in the news - take a look at this CBS video clip, and this report from UPI. You’ll be seeing more in the near future. To read Lucas’ take on the situation, click here.

Why am I writing about this? Two reasons.

First, the case has major implications for business bloggers. Laws pertaining to blog content and defamation are murky at best. How cases like this are settled will determine to what degree bloggers are free to express themselves, and to what standards we will be held accountable. In this case, I don’t think there even is a case, but regardless of the outcome, all business bloggers need to monitor how laws are evolving so they can craft appropriate editorial guidelines.

Second, I know Lucas personally, having had the opportunity to meet him last fall and discuss the world of blogging. Just as you might expect of a blogger, Lucas is bright, outspoken, and totally transparent. He credited the success of his blog to his willingness to tell it like it is. I’d hate to see him punished for that.

According to the UPI report, the lawsuit alleges Lucas and his firm engaged in a “smear campaign.” Based on my conversation with Lucas, I find that extremely hard to believe. Lucas himself, as you can see from his blog, feels no angst about his motives. And on the subject of motives, you have to wonder if the developer would be suing for $25 million had Lucas not gone to work for a company owned by Warren Buffet after writing the post in question.

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How to Sell Your Way through the Recession

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

word-sell-empty-pockets-man.JPGExperts differ on whether we’re heading for a recession, in a recession, or averting a recession. Does it matter who’s right? Whether you’re an entrepreneur, sales rep, or sales manager, you have to plan for worst-case scenarios. And in this case, the worst could be pretty bad.

How do you work your way through bad times? Here are some things I think help.

1. Work. Are you doing certain things right? If so, do more of them. If you worked 50 hours a week when the economy was strong, it’ll take take 55 or 60 to get the job done now.

2. Put resources into marketing. Companies are sorely tempted to scale back on marketing in a downturn because marketing expenses don’t have a direct and immediate impact on sales. However, since new business opportunities have dwindled, downturns become a fight for market share. If people don’t know who you are or why they should care, you’ll not only lose opportunities, you’ll lose the customers you have.

3. Put resources into sales. Companies are loath to add cost when business slows, even in the sales department. Yet for the reasons stated above, expanding the sales force enables you to outperform the downturn, while contracting pretty much guarantees you’ll do worse.

4. Do good deeds for your customers. When business is booming, customers often overlook the nice things you do for them. But when customers are struggling, they never forget even the smallest gesture. Recessions are opportunities to build long lasting business relationships. When I was in packaging, time and time again customers would thank me for something our company did to help them 5, 10, even 20 years previously when business was in the tank. SIDEBAR LESSON - The reverse is equally true. Treat a customer roughly in tough times and they’ll drop you the first chance they get.

5. Innovate. Necessity is the mother of invention - right? Now is the time to squeeze more performance out of the sales effort by implementing smarter prospecting strategies, CRM programs, value-added services for customers … whatever you can think of to operate more efficiently and make your company indispensable to your customers.

6. Rally the troops. Sales is tough enough in a bull market. When bears roam free, sales can be downright terrifying. Show appreciation for the extra hours and extra effort. Give people a chance to blow off steam. Force yourself to take a break. Nobody works well when they lack motivation, and this is especially true of sales people. In a recession, strategy and tactics become more important than ever, but the human element - more important still.

What can you add to the list? How do you swim when the rest of the world is sinking?

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In Defense of Inside the Box Thinking

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

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Ironically, outside the box thinking has been so highly praised by so many people for so long, its superiority to inside the box thinking has become conventional wisdom.

Today, it goes without saying that outside the box thinking leads to smart business decisions, and inside the box thinking leads to dumb ones.

However, I would argue that more often than not, the reverse is true.

word-sell-closeup-ed-jack-in-box.JPGHow many bad outside the box ideas does it take to produce one good one? Plenty. But for an idea to gain inside the box status, it must have performed pretty well over a pretty long period of time.

I’m not saying companies should abandon creative thinking. On the contrary, companies need to stay on their mental toes more than ever because business is changing faster than ever.

But an idea should not be accepted merely because it is new any more than it should be rejected merely because it is old. My feeling is, think creatively, test diligently, challenge old ways of thinking but challenge new ways of thinking even harder.

What do you think - is that a formula for success or stagnation?
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The cartoon at top was done for my client, Bill Welter. Bill’s extremely cool company, Adaptive Strategies, “helps organizations prepare their collective minds for the future.” Bill uses the cartoon for presentations, and he was nice enough to let me use it here in another context.

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Coming Soon - The Age of Conversation 2.0

Monday, January 28th, 2008

The Age of Conversation, released last year, was a unique - and by now famous - group writing project spearheaded by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan.

The pair has teamed up again to bring authors together to co-create a sequel. This time, the topic will be selected by vote. Choices are -

  • Marketing Manifesto
  • Why Don’t People Get It?
  • My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

For more details on the project, to volunteer to write, and for a link to the voting site, click here and click soon - voting ends January 31.

Here’s a real opportunity to join the age of conversation, and in an especially meaningful way. All proceeds from book sales go to Variety, the Children’s Charity. Their motto - Never say no to a child in need.

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New Cartoon Page

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

word-sell-closeup-ed-jack-in-box.JPGFor you cartoon enthusiasts out there, here’s a new page of business cartoon thumbnails, which I pulled together from my archives.

I’ll be adding images to the page, so please remember to check back from time to time.

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Comments to Conversations

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

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There are lots of metrics you can use to measure your blog’s performance - traffic, Technorati rankings, number of comments, subscriptions, etc. But one thing I’m noticing on my blog (I hope it’s a trend and not a blip) that doesn’t show up in statistics is an evolution from comments to conversations.

I appreciate every comment on Word Sell. As busy as people are, it takes more than a little effort to leave a comment on any blog. A few people lately have really been going the extra mile around here to stimulate some real, meaningful conversation, so I’d like to go the extra mile and thank them for helping raise the conversation bar at Word Sell.

Judging from her comments, you would think Jeanne Dininni has a full time job commenting on my blog. Her observations are often more detailed and insightful than my blog posts, which is just fine with me. She’s given me a number of fine ideas for posts I’m determined to write one of these days. Jeanne’s blog, Writer’s Notes, happens to be one of my favorites. She can be truly inspiring and has an uncanny ability to find superb writing resources, which she generously passes on to her readers. Thanks for the conversation, Jeanne.


Joanna Young and I got to know each other quite a while ago - maybe a year? She and I were both fairly new to blogging and starting helping each other figure out how to be better bloggers. Joanna’s growth as a blogger has been awesome for me to watch. Her blog, Confident Writing, is to me all about the psychology of writing. She will encourage you, challenge you, comfort you. Plus, she’s co-sponsoring a writing workshop in Sardinia I’d like to attend (please send me new clients). In her spare time, Joanna contributes thoughtful comments to many, many blogs, including mine. Thanks for the conversation, Joanna.

Andrew is a blogger I’ve started getting to know only recently. His blog, Another Day, Another Ten Cents, is hard to describe. It doesn’t fit into any of the standard categories, which is one reason I like it. He writes about business and has the rare ability to be amusing and dead serious at the same time. A very talented writer! He’s taken the time to offer many thought provoking comments on my blog, so thank you, Andrew, for the conversation.

Robyn McMaster got on my blogging radar, gee, two years ago or more. She was a real fan of my (now moribund) Scrambled Toast humor blog. Robyn, whose blog is called Brain Based Biz, is an authority on the human brain. She writes fascinating posts on the relationship between brain chemistry and creativity, learning, attitude, and a slew of other things. Every time I read Robyn my mind goes off in 10 different directions, which I’m sure she would have a chemical explanation for. Robyn has always been a thoughtful commenter on my blogs, and I want to really thank her for the conversation.

Bob Hruzek is another incredibly talented writer, and also one of the most generous bloggers I know. He runs highly entertaining group projects which generate lots and lots of link love. I think I discovered Middle Zone Musings through Joanna on his Home Town project, still one of my favorites. Bob’s a busy guy who nevertheless takes time to comment thoughtfully on other blogs, including Word Sell. Thanks for the conversation, Bob.

If a blogger is judged by the company he keeps, I’m happy.

More and more, I realize conversation is the core of blogging (I know, duh!). But there’s an art to engaging others in conversation, and it’s an area I’m hoping to improve in in 2008.

How do you stimulate conversation on your blog?

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Try

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

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What do you do when you hit a brick wall? When you’re in the middle of a tough project and feel like throwing in the towel? When you just can’t muster the strength to make another cold call?

I like to think about David and Goliath. (The cartoon above was created for Bill Welter at Adaptive Strategies.)

David had plenty of reasons to quit. But he had faith, so he didn’t. No matter what the odds, you never know what might happen if you try.

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Praise Beyond Bullet Points, I’ve Seen the Light!

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

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Hallelujah! Cliff Atkinson’s extraordinary book, Beyond Bullet Points, instantly converted me from a PowerPoint detractor to a PowerPoint enthusiast.

Why?

Because the BBP method of creating PowerPoint presentations turned my conventional thinking about PowerPoint on its head. And, as the cartoon above illustrates, conventional PowerPoint thinking is woefully inadequate.

We’ve all experienced the boredom of a PowerPoint presentation consisting of slide after slide of boring bullet points on a dull and unchanging background. We’ve all sat in agony as the presenter reads each bullet point verbatim as our thoughts turn to the work piling up on our desk. We’ve all twisted in our chairs wondering how we got sucked into this meeting and what on earth we will learn from it.

No more!

Beyond Bullet Points is a complete system for creating PowerPoint presentations that engage, instruct, and even excite the audience. Atkinson’s system is based on sound and widely accepted principles of learning and communication, which is why every time I read one of his recommendations, my reaction was the same -

DUH! Why didn’t I think of that?

Maybe I’m the only one in the world who hasn’t heard of BBP, but here are a few things I picked up which every PowerPoint creator ought to know.

First step - map out your whole presentation on a template. Sensible and obvious, yet I never thought of doing it. Did you? BBP uses a template built on classic storytelling techniques. Laying out the whole presentation in advance guarantees you’ll include the necessary, exclude the unnecessary, and sequence slides in the most compelling order.

Vary your template. Not every slide has to look the same. In fact, changing up slide colors and layouts keeps the audience alert and visually cues them to take notice of important points.

Use full, meaningful sentences in your headlines. It is easier for the audience to retain information delivered in complete sentences than in sentence fragments, especially if the fragments are meaningless or written to be merely clever. Just like print ads or newspaper stories, PowerPoint headlines carry the load in delivering a message. In my case, I’d spend most of time working out the content of the slide body and throwing in a headline as an afterthought, thinking it to be a mere accessory. Wrong!

Don’t fill the slide with words. (This one I sort of figured out on my own.) When you put lots of words in your slides, they compete with your spoken words for the attention of the audience. Thus, the audience becomes confused and remembers little. But if you fill your slides with images which visually reinforce and compliment your spoken message, you make it easy for the audience to focus and remember.

Like I said, it might be this is old news to you, but if not, I highly recommend this book. PowerPoint presentations aren’t going away - in fact, PowerPoint 2007 is considerably more robust and versatile than previous versions. Every organization should know the PowerPoint fundamentals to get the best mileage out of meeting time.

Thanks to Brian Clark and Tony Clark for cluing me into Beyond Bullet Points through their Teaching Sells curriculum!

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Worst Bad Sales Habits - Recap

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

This series of posts will help you avoid (or cure yourself of) six really bad sales habits.

Worst Bad Sales Habit 1 - Winging It. Fond of shortcuts? In sales they lead straight to failure.

Worst Bad Sales Habit 2 - A Freeze on Cold Calls. Hey, life is good. Why make new calls? Why indeed.

Worst Bad Sales Habit 3 - Dumb, Fat, and Happy. Hey, life is good. Why do anything? Flying on autopilot will fly you into the ground.

Worst Bad Sales Habit 4 - Prisoner of the Past. Don’t let a bad experience ruin your day - or your career.

Worst Bad Sales Habit 5 - Dwelling on the Negative. Don’t let a series of bad experiences become the sum and substance of your life.

Worst Bad Sales Habit 6 - Losing Respect. If you must throw stones, throw them at yourself. Best not to throw them at all.

Of course, this is far from a complete list. What sales habits have you encountered that belong on this list?

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