Monday, March 31, 2014
WHAT REAL LEADERS DO THAT MANAGERS ONLY THINK ABOUT - Part 1
The biggest
thing holding back organisations, departments and individuals is a lack of
leadership. Therefore, the good news is that the opposite is also true!
As conference speakers and trainers we at EffectiveCommunication.com.au are continually asked by people, “What are the traits that make a great leader?”
The following is a short list of what it takes to be a great leader. More positive points will be shared in ‘Part 2’.
1. Leaders realise their number one job is not to lead others but to create other leaders
How many times have we watched a terrific organisation fall apart when the leader retires or exits their position?
Unfortunately, it happens far too much and it’s due to “ego-leadership.” It’s where the leader wants to be the one in charge and does little to ensure there are others capable of stepping up and leading.
2. Leaders know their results are measured not by what happens when they’re present, but by what happens when they’re not present
The organisation that falls apart the moment the leader is not present is indicative of one being led not by a leader, but by a manager.
3. Leaders know it’s not what they do that matters, but what their people do that matters
They know their own limits and realise the real power of an organisation is when everyone is contributing and focused.
4. Leaders know their ability to lead is based on their ability to listen
What value are others if they can’t contribute? Who is capable of knowing everything there is to know?
Leaders seek out others both within their organisation and outside their organisation to gain input and advice.
5. Leaders know their job is to be focused on people, not on processes
Leaders know processes are important, but it’s far more important for their people to know the processes. Leaders are willing to spend the time to develop their people.
All the best with your leadership!
As conference speakers and trainers we at EffectiveCommunication.com.au are continually asked by people, “What are the traits that make a great leader?”
The following is a short list of what it takes to be a great leader. More positive points will be shared in ‘Part 2’.
1. Leaders realise their number one job is not to lead others but to create other leaders
How many times have we watched a terrific organisation fall apart when the leader retires or exits their position?
Unfortunately, it happens far too much and it’s due to “ego-leadership.” It’s where the leader wants to be the one in charge and does little to ensure there are others capable of stepping up and leading.
2. Leaders know their results are measured not by what happens when they’re present, but by what happens when they’re not present
The organisation that falls apart the moment the leader is not present is indicative of one being led not by a leader, but by a manager.
3. Leaders know it’s not what they do that matters, but what their people do that matters
They know their own limits and realise the real power of an organisation is when everyone is contributing and focused.
4. Leaders know their ability to lead is based on their ability to listen
What value are others if they can’t contribute? Who is capable of knowing everything there is to know?
Leaders seek out others both within their organisation and outside their organisation to gain input and advice.
5. Leaders know their job is to be focused on people, not on processes
Leaders know processes are important, but it’s far more important for their people to know the processes. Leaders are willing to spend the time to develop their people.
All the best with your leadership!
Posted in
presentations Conference presentations Facilitating meetings Presentation skills training Public speaking Sales presentations
by effectivecommunication.com.au
HOW TO AVOID & QUICKLY OVERCOME NEGATIVE SALES CALLS
Have you ever
experienced a negative sales call?
If not, you probably know someone in your business who has and needs to know the following encouragement.
Most people who have been in sales more than two minutes admit to their fair share of sales call mistakes and have learned a few lessons along the way.
Here are 4 simple lessons:
1. Disastrous Sales Calls Are Never As Disastrous As We Think
For some reason, each time a person fails during a sales call, they typically beat themselves up thinking to themselves how the prospect must think they blew it.
This is typically NOT the case. The vast majority of time prospects don’t have a clue it’s a blown sales call.
If not, you probably know someone in your business who has and needs to know the following encouragement.
Most people who have been in sales more than two minutes admit to their fair share of sales call mistakes and have learned a few lessons along the way.
Here are 4 simple lessons:
1. Disastrous Sales Calls Are Never As Disastrous As We Think
For some reason, each time a person fails during a sales call, they typically beat themselves up thinking to themselves how the prospect must think they blew it.
This is typically NOT the case. The vast majority of time prospects don’t have a clue it’s a blown sales call.
2. Just Because A
Prospect Rejects You Doesn't Mean You Can’t Reach Out To Them Again
Rejection can seem very personal and so, when a prospect rejects you, it feels permanent. No, quite the contrary, but only if you’re wiling to re-engage the prospect again.
Rejection can seem very personal and so, when a prospect rejects you, it feels permanent. No, quite the contrary, but only if you’re wiling to re-engage the prospect again.
3. One Bad Sales
Call Doesn't Mean The Next Sales Call Is Going To Be Bad -Unless You
Want It To Go Bad
Your mental state of mind is the greatest key to determine our success or lack of it
Your mental state of mind is the greatest key to determine our success or lack of it
4. Worst Thing We Can Do
Is To Allow A Negative Sales Call To Become Contagious
If it does, then you really do have a disaster on your hands. Let it go because no one gets it right all the time.
In the end, the level of confidence you have going into a call is absolutely going to affect the level of success you have coming out.
Most sales professionals testify that the vast majority of their negative sales calls started out with them thinking they were going to be negative.
It is amazing how accurate we can be with our thoughts!!!
If it does, then you really do have a disaster on your hands. Let it go because no one gets it right all the time.
In the end, the level of confidence you have going into a call is absolutely going to affect the level of success you have coming out.
Most sales professionals testify that the vast majority of their negative sales calls started out with them thinking they were going to be negative.
It is amazing how accurate we can be with our thoughts!!!
All the best with your ongoing sales!
Posted in
Business presentations Conference presentations Facilitating meetings Presentation skills training Public speaking Sales presentations
by effectivecommunication.com.au
Effective Sales Performance Starts With You
Much
of sales success is about performance
It’s about what you do and what you are able to inspire others to do
The following offers some simple performance principles, which will add to your
success when applied daily. They are also the basis for developing and
maintaining an expectation of success.
The 5 Principles of Effective Sales Performance
1. EXPECTATION
We generally get from ourselves and others what we expect.
It is a huge fact that you will either live up or down to your own
expectations. If you expect to lose, you will. If you expect to be average, you
will be average. If you expect to feel bad, you probably will. If you expect to
feel great, nothing will slow you down. And what is true for you is true for
others. Your expectations for others will become what they deliver and achieve.
As Gandhi said, “BE the change you wish to see in the world.”
2. TRAINING
The difference between good and excellent performers is training.
The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is to not train
them and keep them!
A football team would not be very successful if they did not train, practice,
and prepare for their opponents. When you think of training as practice and
preparation, it makes you wonder how businesses survive that do not make
significant training investments in their people.
Actually, companies that do not train their people and invest in their ability
don’t last. They operate from a competitive disadvantage and are eventually
gobbled up and defeated in the marketplace.
If you want to improve and move from good to excellent, a proven training
strategy will be the key to your success.
3. WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING?
You find what you look for in life.
If you look for the good things in life, you will find them. If you look for
opportunities to grow and prosper, you will find them. If you look for
positive, enthusiastic friends and associates who will support you, you will
find them.
On the other hand, if you look for ways to cheat, you will cheat. If you look
for ways to justify leaving your spouse, you will find them. If you look for
justifiable reasons to hold a grudge against another person, you will find
those, too.
It is a natural tendency of us all to look for things that will justify what we
think we need or want. If you are not living by the foundation stones of
honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty, you will be drawn to
seeking selfish gratification, and that leads to misery and unfulfilled dreams.
Whatever you have will never be enough.
Always look for the good and for ways to help others!!!
4. PLANNING
Never make a promise without a plan.
Far too many people make promises they can never keep. They may have the best
intentions in the world to keep their promise, but if they have not made a plan
to keep it, they will not be able to do it.
Business leaders and those practicing the art of selling who make promises to
their employees and clients will not honor them if they do not create a plan on
how the promises will be kept.
If you make a future commitment, you must understand and be willing to do
whatever it takes to complete that commitment. One of the reasons marriage
commitments fail so frequently is because the husband and wife do not
understand what it takes to have a great marriage.
They do not plan for or understand the sacrifices each must make for the other
to enable a long-lasting relationship. It's NO different in business.
5. ATTITUDE
Happiness, joy, and gratitude are universal if we know what to look for.
You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other
people get what they want.
All people want happiness and joy in their life, but you have to know what
produces real happiness and how to do the things that produce it. The moment
you begin to worry about the things you want and the things you don’t have in
life is the moment you will lose your gratitude for what you actually have. If
you are ungrateful, you will never be satisfied or content or joyful about your
life.
The greatest source of happiness is the ability to be grateful at all times.
Obviously, the right attitude to expect the best in your life is a positive
attitude. But let's be very clear... The kind of positive attitude described is
not one that is contrived or falsely manufactured to impress or manipulate
others. The positive attitude required is one that you are filled with, and
when you are jostled, it just spills out!
A genuinely positive attitude is part of who you are at your core.
Enjoy the application and positive results of these 5 principles.
All the best with your future sales!
Posted in
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by effectivecommunication.com.au
Saturday, February 22, 2014
LEADERSHIP - TEAM MOTIVATION
Eliminate the
negative & accentuate the positive!
Unfortunately, according to Aubrey C. Daniels (Ph.D) and Neil Baum (M.D), in too many businesses people are managed in the negative rather than in the positive.
Doctors Aubrey & Neil point out that management often say to their staff, "Don't mention the competitor's product," or "Don't forget to make five cold calls this week."
"That which is recognised and rewarded is repeated," is a truism.
If team members get attention through the use of the negative, unfortunately, they will continue in that behavior. The good doctors point out that if team members receive positive reinforcement for behavior, they're likely to repeat those actions and that, "Team members are not primarily motivated by money. Money will get them to show up, but once they have checked in or reported for duty, they are more influenced by other elements in their environments."
Nearly everyone is motivated by positive attention from their managers and peers.
Some respond to physical reminders, like a note or a bouquet of flowers. Others will thrive on public recognition at a sales meeting. But some may be embarrassed if their name is called out in public and they are asked to come forward and accept their reward or recognition. That's why astute managers are sensitive to each person's personal preferences; and understand that what makes one person tick, may stop another's clock in its tracks.
The best way to show appropriate recognition is to get to know your team personally and reinforce their positive performance with things that are important to them!
Sometimes even a card, a note, an email, recognition for acquiring a new account or simply for maintaining such an upbeat, positive, cheerful attitude, will be the very reinforcement they need.
Motivation, not manipulation!!!
When only the manipulator wins, somebody else loses. In the business world, as well as in our social and family life, if the other person wins, you win too. Give it a try. Put this advice into practice and your leadership effectiveness will improve!
All the best with your leadership!
Unfortunately, according to Aubrey C. Daniels (Ph.D) and Neil Baum (M.D), in too many businesses people are managed in the negative rather than in the positive.
Doctors Aubrey & Neil point out that management often say to their staff, "Don't mention the competitor's product," or "Don't forget to make five cold calls this week."
"That which is recognised and rewarded is repeated," is a truism.
If team members get attention through the use of the negative, unfortunately, they will continue in that behavior. The good doctors point out that if team members receive positive reinforcement for behavior, they're likely to repeat those actions and that, "Team members are not primarily motivated by money. Money will get them to show up, but once they have checked in or reported for duty, they are more influenced by other elements in their environments."
Nearly everyone is motivated by positive attention from their managers and peers.
Some respond to physical reminders, like a note or a bouquet of flowers. Others will thrive on public recognition at a sales meeting. But some may be embarrassed if their name is called out in public and they are asked to come forward and accept their reward or recognition. That's why astute managers are sensitive to each person's personal preferences; and understand that what makes one person tick, may stop another's clock in its tracks.
The best way to show appropriate recognition is to get to know your team personally and reinforce their positive performance with things that are important to them!
Sometimes even a card, a note, an email, recognition for acquiring a new account or simply for maintaining such an upbeat, positive, cheerful attitude, will be the very reinforcement they need.
Motivation, not manipulation!!!
When only the manipulator wins, somebody else loses. In the business world, as well as in our social and family life, if the other person wins, you win too. Give it a try. Put this advice into practice and your leadership effectiveness will improve!
All the best with your leadership!
If you would like to discuss how to improve your organisations capability in the areas of Leadership, Communication, Presentation & Sales then simply contact us for a complimentary, no obligation conversation.
Posted in
Business presentations,
Business presentations Conference presentations Presentation skills training Sales presentations,
Presentation skills training Sales presentations
by effectivecommunication.com.au
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Experience Better Business Success with Better Presentations
Your
presentations help you get business done!
They may help you close a deal, persuade leaders to make a decision, teach something new, or gain alignment.
To get business done as efficiently and effectively as possible requires thinking about the outcome of your presentations on two levels. This article explains what those two levels are.
Your success as a business presenter always exists on two levels. On one level it is determined by whether the stated goal of the presentation is reached. Did the buyer agree to buy or did your team see the need for the new procedure you’re asking them to follow?
This type of success is fairly easy to measure. The other level of success is more difficult. It is a measure of how effectively you managed the process of presenting. Or, did you manage the conversation in an appropriately orderly fashion?
The second level of success often determines the first. Many times poorly managed presentations leave the audience frustrated, indifferent and a waste of time. Such presentations can hardly be considered a success.
The thing to remember is that presentations are part of everyone’s day-to-day work. So when presenters fail to manage the process well, they’re making it difficult for audiences to do their jobs. When that happens, audiences are stuck. After all, many times audience members are captive! They don’t have the option of walking out or flipping to a new channel. So what they often do is silently disengage. They might feel a sudden need to check their email / social media or think about dinner, doing whatever they can to cope with a bad situation.
Most of the time this reaction has little to do with the goal of the presentation and everything to do with whether the presenter is managing the conversation effectively.
For example, if you’re delivering market research to a group of sales people, your audience wants to understand the research, but they also want you to make understanding it easy. That level of success goes beyond the information itself. It involves:
- Emphasising context and relevance
- Providing perspective
- Leaving out information that isn’t useful to your audience (whether you want to or not)
- Caring about their understanding and buy in
- Being responsive to the in-the-moment needs of the audience
Business presentations are a collaborative process. Pulling your slides together and having a specific goal is only the first step, and that step alone will never guarantee success.
A successful presentation is one in which the audience and the presenter work together in a fruitful, efficient and effective process.
All the best with your future presentations!!!
Posted in
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by effectivecommunication.com.au
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
SALES – HOW TO BE UP WHEN SALES ARE DOWN
Let's face it
– every now and then sales don't seem to be going our way and we can begin to
be concerned about making our numbers, making our mortgage, taking that
vacation, etc.
While we may not be able to control the ebb and flow of sales, what's important is that we keep control of our attitude and expectancy level. In other words, keeping positive, reflecting on wins, and expecting success is what always drives a top producer through the seemingly slow times in sales.
Keeping an ‘UP’ attitude can be compared to how a pilot tries to stay on the radio beam when flying. A directional beam is projected to guide the pilot to his destination, and as long as he stays on the beam, he's safe and he'll make it through just fine. It doesn't matter that the weather may be temporarily blinding him or that he may not be able to see where he is or where he's headed, as long as he can locate and stay on that beam, he'll be all right.
It's the same with sales. If things are temporarily not going your way, or if you have to start prospecting again, or if that big client or if those deals didn't close, that's OK. All you have to do is to get back on the beam of being positive, expecting to close more sales, and continue to reflect on your sales goals. If you can do this (and that may sometimes be a tall order given the temporary appearances), then you'll be fine as a result.
What you can't fall victim to is negative (DOWN) thinking. Such thinking only leads to deflated attitudes, less activity, and poor sales skills. It tends to feed itself and you start looking for reasons to fail, and you often find them!
You know when you're "off the beam" if you're experiencing more fear than faith, if you get agitated easily, if you become resentful of others or if you begin feeling depressed in any way.
If for any reasons these negatives happen, you can simply apply the following 4 ways to get back on the beam:
1. Reflect Back On Your Previous Wins
Get quiet and begin reliving all the times when you closed big deals, when you made your goal and when you got new clients and closed deals. Remember those feelings…
This will immediately move you back towards the beam.
2. Remind Yourself That Your Very Next Phone Call Could Result In The Biggest Deal Of Your Career
This is not only true, but by dwelling on it you'll begin to want to make more calls, and you will actually begin attracting that success to yourself.
3. Review Your Financial Goals & Begin Imagining How You Feel Now That You've Achieved Them
Relish those feelings. Get excited about what you're enjoying now that you've reached your goals. This is visualization 101 and remember that your subconscious mind can't tell the difference between a real event and one vividly imaged with feeling.
4. Change Your Attitude Into One Of Absolute Service To Others Rather On If You're Going To Get A Deal
Start each phone call with the thought, "I'm here to be of maximum service to this person." That will not only take the pressure off of you, but your prospect will feel it – and respond to you.
Any one of these techniques will get you back on the beam. If you combine all 4 of them you'll avoid the ‘DOWNS’ of a temporary slump in no time and you'll be closing deals like the top pro you know you are.
While we may not be able to control the ebb and flow of sales, what's important is that we keep control of our attitude and expectancy level. In other words, keeping positive, reflecting on wins, and expecting success is what always drives a top producer through the seemingly slow times in sales.
Keeping an ‘UP’ attitude can be compared to how a pilot tries to stay on the radio beam when flying. A directional beam is projected to guide the pilot to his destination, and as long as he stays on the beam, he's safe and he'll make it through just fine. It doesn't matter that the weather may be temporarily blinding him or that he may not be able to see where he is or where he's headed, as long as he can locate and stay on that beam, he'll be all right.
It's the same with sales. If things are temporarily not going your way, or if you have to start prospecting again, or if that big client or if those deals didn't close, that's OK. All you have to do is to get back on the beam of being positive, expecting to close more sales, and continue to reflect on your sales goals. If you can do this (and that may sometimes be a tall order given the temporary appearances), then you'll be fine as a result.
What you can't fall victim to is negative (DOWN) thinking. Such thinking only leads to deflated attitudes, less activity, and poor sales skills. It tends to feed itself and you start looking for reasons to fail, and you often find them!
You know when you're "off the beam" if you're experiencing more fear than faith, if you get agitated easily, if you become resentful of others or if you begin feeling depressed in any way.
If for any reasons these negatives happen, you can simply apply the following 4 ways to get back on the beam:
1. Reflect Back On Your Previous Wins
Get quiet and begin reliving all the times when you closed big deals, when you made your goal and when you got new clients and closed deals. Remember those feelings…
This will immediately move you back towards the beam.
2. Remind Yourself That Your Very Next Phone Call Could Result In The Biggest Deal Of Your Career
This is not only true, but by dwelling on it you'll begin to want to make more calls, and you will actually begin attracting that success to yourself.
3. Review Your Financial Goals & Begin Imagining How You Feel Now That You've Achieved Them
Relish those feelings. Get excited about what you're enjoying now that you've reached your goals. This is visualization 101 and remember that your subconscious mind can't tell the difference between a real event and one vividly imaged with feeling.
4. Change Your Attitude Into One Of Absolute Service To Others Rather On If You're Going To Get A Deal
Start each phone call with the thought, "I'm here to be of maximum service to this person." That will not only take the pressure off of you, but your prospect will feel it – and respond to you.
Any one of these techniques will get you back on the beam. If you combine all 4 of them you'll avoid the ‘DOWNS’ of a temporary slump in no time and you'll be closing deals like the top pro you know you are.
All the best with your ongoing sales!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
LEADERSHIP - 7 KEYS TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS DURING 2014
The New Year
is an exciting time because it is typically brimming with potential and
fabulous intentions.
Whilst we are not a fan of casual resolutions, We do recommend that leaders create and commit to goals. And track results that are achieved along the way. With this in mind, We offer you the following seven reasons why your leadership this year will drive great outcomes.
Whilst we are not a fan of casual resolutions, We do recommend that leaders create and commit to goals. And track results that are achieved along the way. With this in mind, We offer you the following seven reasons why your leadership this year will drive great outcomes.
1. CLEARLY COMMUNICATE THE VALUES OF YOUR ORGANISATION
Whether your organisation has created formal core values or not, you will make certain that team members know the common thread of values you expect to see running through everything they do.
In fact, you are so committed to this goal, that you have marked your calendar once per week to remind yourself to reinforce your organisation’s values.
Finally, you have committed to linking the behaviors you observe in the workplace to the feedback you will share with team members every day. In the process, you realise that your consistent feedback will help your team to gain a visual image of the values that serve as the bedrock of your organisation’s actions.
2. SHARE THE EXPECTATIONS YOUR TEAM MEMBERS WILL COLLABORATE WITH
Highlight that collaboration across departmental and functional lines is not only expected, but that it is essential to the success of your organisation.
Commit to sharing feedback with team members and individuals in order to ensure that they grasp the intense level of workplace collaboration you expect.
3. SET & MAINTAIN THE PRIORITIES OF YOUR ORGANISATION
The work environment is ever-changing, and the pace of change is increasing each year.
As such, you can help your team to be fluid and agile, while not losing sight of the big picture. In order to help team members cut through the swirl of priority distractions, you can utilise communication techniques to help your team keep their eyes on the real drivers of your organisation.
4. ATTRACT & PLACE THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT POSITIONS
This will also require you get the wrong people ‘off the bus’.
As a result, you will assist your top (and average) performers to do what they do best every day! This will help productivity to escalate.
Also, you can help some team members realise that the work bus left the station years ago and they did not get on it. In other words, you will help your poorest performers realise that their skills and abilities have not kept pace with the changing needs of your work marketplace. Nice people? “Yes.” Perhaps more productive in a different work environment? “Yes.” Enough said.
5. MANAGE THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROCESS EVERY DAY
You can share feedback so that team members have a clear gauge as to the quality of their work performance.
In addition, you can catalog and document your feedback in an organised fashion. You may use an electronic feedback capture system, or you may use old-fashioned paper that is placed in a file folder.
No matter the system, you will be organised in cataloging your feedback. Your efforts will pay off in a big way because performance evaluations at the end of 2014 will simply be an affirmation of the great coaching you have delivered during the year. In other words, no one will be surprised by their review results.
6. FOCUS ON SELF-DEVELOPMENT
You can grow your leadership skills.
In addition, you can seek to elevate your level of physical fitness and mental toughness. Who knows, you might actually get adequate sleep, eat right, and grow your spiritual self along the way. In other words, raise your personal bar this year more than any year prior. Raise it high. And do it with less effort than you think by enabling a trident that includes self-discipline and a coach.
7. HAVE MORE FUN & LAUGH MORE THIS YEAR
Ensure that you and your team better enjoy the rocket-ride that most people call work.
Seek and plan to enjoy more fun with your team this year. Plus, try to laugh every day.
Research shows us that the average four-year-old laughs 300 times a day, while the average 40-year-old laughs merely four. Granted, not many four-year-olds are paying a mortgage, a car payment, and who knows what else, but they are a happy lot. Plus, research also shows us that laughter reduces stress, increases endorphins, and even helps blood flow more freely.
Despite all of our responsibilities, there is a lot of room to enjoy and laugh more, so this year seek and plan to enjoy and laugh more than you have in the last 10 years combined. Please do this!
BOTTOM LINE
This year you and your team can soar. But, only if you choose to lead in a manner that enables everyone to fly.
Highlight your favorite advice from the above list and track your progress throughout the year. If you consistently succeed at all seven points above we guarantee that you and your team will have a great year.
All the best with your leadership!
