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Posts Tagged ‘leadership’

Course Correcting For Growth

June 29th, 2010 |

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Expanding a company is a process requiring constant change. One key quality for a leader is the ability to get back on track when something has gone awry Sure, competency, reliability, professionalism, a positive attitude, and respect for others are the qualities that will get you into the leadership game. But what do you do once you’re a player? If there’s one thing I’ve learned about leadership, it’s that leaders are always course-correcting. If staffers aren’t following directives, good leaders gently guide them back on track. To get your staff to follow you, tell them where to go and then course-correct when they start to stray. Course-correct your entire company, and most important yourself. You’ll make mistakes, as will your team, your customers, and your board. And you’ll fix those mistakes by honestly taking stock and changing the way you do things. Expanding a company is a dynamic process. You must constantly shift your strategy or approach as new competitors emerge, markets materialize (or fail to), and opportunities abound. There’s only so much you can plan for, so if you expect to correct your course as you go, you’ll be better able to make decisions with less info than you’d like, and to adapt when conditions change. Let’s look at what happens when leaders do, and don’t, correct their course. The Hidden CEO A chief executive officer I know named Jason talked his board into taking the company public before it was ready. The second quarter after the initial public offering, the company missed its earnings target. Wall Street was relentless—the stock was hammered down from $26 per share to $4. What did Jason do? Did he get out on the road, visit customers, sell more product, fly around to the regional sales offices? Nope. He locked himself in his office and wrote ad copy. Would writing a killer ad save his company? I don’t think so. Jason became invisible, and everyone knew he was hiding. No course-correcting here—not by the CEO, not by the board. Two vice-presidents attempted course correction, and Jason promptly dismissed them. The situation went from bad to worse. Ultimately, six months too late, Jason was replaced. The company never recovered, and it was sold at a massive discount to a competitor. A true leader would admit his mistake, rally the troops, reassure the customers, stare down that stock price, and turn it around. He would do this by handling customer and shareholder objections, pumping up the salespeople to keep them focused on closing deals, and buoying the staff to keep them motivated even though their stock was under water. Patent Infringement Case Then there’s Ray, the vice-president for engineering at a company that weathered an intellectual property fiasco. Two key engineers had quit and decided to create a competitive product. The engineers had, of course, signed employment contracts stating that whatever they developed was the company’s property, yet they conveniently chose to forget this. Years later these two engineers—who had raised millions of dollars in financing—had the nerve to lob lawsuits at the company they’d left, claiming patent infringement. The vice-president was initially freaked out—how could his former staff claim the product he’d paid for was theirs? They were better funded than his company was, and the thought of spending years and all his reserve cash mired in lawsuits left him frozen with fear. He was worn out and considered throwing in the towel, angry as he was. Once he calmed down and took stock of the situation, he realized it was key to correct course. He rallied the troops and got them engaged in finding the solution. He led his team through the crisis and quickly uncovered a series of “smoking gun” memos (in addition to the employment contracts) that supported his company’s ownership of the product and patents. His CEO hired a killer intellectual property litigator and lobbed a countersuit at the two former employees. Leaders Trust Their Instincts That was the easy part. Now he had to help the vice-president for sales with the customers and sales prospects who feared having their now-entrenched products ripped out of their companies. He quickly got buy-in across divisions. This meant that the CEO refused to let the lawsuits destroy his business, found some new sources of financing, and brought on additional advisers. The team was reinvigorated and ready to rock. Talk about course correction! The vice-president for engineering started the corrective action—the vice-president for sales and the CEO furthered it! And only recently were the lawsuits settled in favor of the founding company, resulting in a hefty payment. The unethical engineers were ordered by the court to cease selling their stolen product. Leaders trust their instincts. They know they’ll make the best decisions they can at a given time, and they’ll course-correct if things don’t turn out as planned. Encouraging a culture of course correction leads to the most effective way to deal with disasters and encourage risk taking and ownership. In that culture, staffers know that no one’s head is going to roll if a mistake is made or a crisis occurs; instead all expect to simply hunker down and deal with it. Owning the Outcome Everyone is going to be accountable for his or her actions in a culture that isn’t based on blame. Accountability is the first step in ownership. The second is having control and responsibility for projects. If it’s yours, and you truly own the outcome, you’ll knock yourself out to make it work. This is the only culture where you can truly develop people—as executives and as human beings—and it’s the best way to foster entrepreneurship in an organization and keep it growing.

11 Ways To Create Successful Corporate Meetings And Retreats

February 5th, 2010 |

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What’s the cost to put together a strategic corporate meeting or retreat? Regardless of the specifics—hotel expenses, payroll, lost opportunities, lost management time planning the agenda, the cost of guest speakers, food, and supplies—you expect the returns to far outweigh the $3000 or $150,000 bill. Unfortunately, too many meetings never hit their mark. You start with specific goals and an agenda. You sit everyone down and start covering your list. However, somewhere the whole thing veers off course. Perhaps a guest speaker doesn’t deliver the content you intended. Maybe a member of the group falls short with their sales presentation or operations report. Before you know it, you’re at 72% of where you wanted to be, and you can’t go up. Now you’re stuck answering questions or offering solutions that weren’t part of your original agenda. When the event is over, you’re happy…not elated. The whole thing wasn’t a total loss. You rallied the troops, but didn’t achieve objectives the way you had intended. Sales will rise, maybe by 20%, but they won’t double the way you had hoped. You pay the bill and go home. It doesn’t have to be this way. Here are 11 ways to get more of what you want out of future meetings: 1. Set the agenda yourself…don’t have your staff do it. Yes, ask for ideas, and get involvement early. However, you give the purpose for your meeting, and that can only be focused if you keep on target. 2. Select presenters who have some presentation skills. This is not a popularity contest, but if your operations person should have been buried 8 years ago, you don’t need him/her at your meeting. Find a presenter who will perform in a way that suits your needs. 3. Get presenters on the same page you’re on. Too often guests are asked to deliver information and then left on their own. Stage the content like a Broadway show. Choreograph more than just their topic; know their direction, content, and tone. If you’ve ever been disappointed, that’s typically the reason why. 4. Focus on the value to the participants. Remember that participants are looking for “what’s in it for me.” Plan every aspect with this important factor in mind. 5. Get to the point. Start meetings off fast. How often have you enjoyed the CEO/President speech? No one else likes it either. 6. Stick to the issues and keep it honest. The purpose of the meeting is to focus on real data. When egos, sales, or fear get in the way, participants build solutions to fictitious problems. Not the way you want to go. 7. Place handouts in order of use. Then staple them in that order. Participants can’t pay attention if they’re struggling to find out where you are. 8. Create an accountability sheet. One page. Who does what, when and how? If it’s discussed, someone must do something (or decide to do nothing). Minutes are nice, but how many times in your history have you read minutes from a meeting and then acted? We’re guessing few, if any. 9. Don’t speak “off the cuff.” Even professional speakers who sound like they’re winging it are not. You shouldn’t either. Take the time to bullet your points. Think them through. Odds are you’ll get significantly better results with a trial run through your notes before the event, versus improvising in front of the crowd. 10. Stick to the schedule. Make sure your room has at least one clock facing the moderator. Try the Wal-Mart $5.99, 8-inch clock. The worst thing you can do is look at your watch. Then everyone else does. 11. Prepare the next agenda during the meeting. It’s like setting a rocket booster under your seat. Set 15-30 minutes aside to plan the next meeting while issues are hot. There can be changes later, but at least the burden is lifted, you’re covering key topics, and everyone knows what to expect. Olympic ski races are won and lost by only hundredths of seconds; most corporate meetings teeter on the edge of success and failure by similar fractions. Creating meetings is not rocket science, yet so few meetings bring about the impact intended. Implementing even a couple of the above suggestions should boost future results from so-so to astronomical. © David and Lorrie Goldsmith

Creating More Sales Through Active Participation

November 22nd, 2009 |

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People have an innate desire to feel wanted and needed. When you fulfill this need, you open the door to persuasion, a fact that has been proved beyond a doubt by records kept on industrial workers. Workers who have no voice whatsoever in management, who cannot make suggestions, or who are not allowed to express their ideas simply do not do as much work as workers who are encouraged to contribute. The same is true in families. Dr. Ruth Barbee said, “It is surprising how willingly a child will accept the final authority of the father, even if the decision goes against him, provided he has had a chance to voice his opinions, and make his suggestions, before the final decision is reached.” Store and mall owners understand the concept of participation. They attempt to get you participating by making eye contact with you, by arranging their stores to force you to spend more time in them, and by saying hello as you pass. When you shop for goods in Mexico, for example, the storeowner knows that if he can get you in the store and get you involved, there is a greater chance of persuasion and a purchase. As such he will make eye contact and do everything in his power to get you in the store. If you don’t go in the store, he might follow you for blocks, showing you his products and trying to get you to buy. The amount of time one spends in a store is directly related to how much they will buy. The more time spent, the more money spent. For example, in an electronics store, non-buyers averaged about five minutes and six seconds shopping time while buyers averaged nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds in the store. In a toy store, the longest any non-buyer stayed was ten minutes, while shortest time spent for a buyer was just over seventeen minutes. In some cases, buyers stayed up to four times longer than non-buyers. Many other arrangements are made by stores to persuade people to get interested and get involved. For example, hallways and walking paths at malls are made of hard marble or tiles. But the floors of individual stores are soft and carpeted–encouraging you to stay longer. Have you ever noticed that it is easy to get disoriented in a mall you are unfamiliar with? Malls purposely design their structures with hexagonal floor plans, which are the most difficult to navigate: complicated hallways, confusing angles, and consistent temperature and lighting. The Mall of America in Minnesota, the largest mall in America, wants you to get lost–you can walk forever and still not know exactly where you are. This is also the reason why malls place department stores at opposite ends of each other. Department stores are draws, so for people to get from one to another, they will have to walk past every other store in the mall before they reach the opposite one. Grocery stores place their milk at the back of the store so customers have to walk through the rest of the store to grab a carton. All of these techniques increase the time that customers spend in the store. And as we know, increased time in a store means increased sales. One technique to get your audience more involved is to use role-playing. This technique has proven to be effective in getting people to actually convince themselves of something. Role-playing is the single most powerful way to induce attitude change through vicarious experience. In essence, you are getting people to make up arguments against their own beliefs. Do you want to know just how powerful role-playing is? One experiment used role-playing to convince people to stop smoking. The subjects role-played cigarette smokers having x-rays, receiving news of lung cancer, and coughing with emphysema. When compared with a control group of smokers, those who role-played this situation were more likely to have quit than those who passively learned about lung cancer. In another study, students were tested to see what types of persuasion techniques were most effective in delivering an anti-smoking message. One group was assigned to write, stage, and put on the presentation, while the other group was simply required to watch the presentation. As you might imagine, the group that was more involved in the presentation held more negative feelings about smoking than did the group who had just passively listened. During World War II, the U.S. government had to ration traditional meats such as beef, chicken, and pork. However, Americans tend to be very picky about the meats they eat and often do not accept meat substitutes. The Committee on Food Habits was charged with overcoming the shortages of popular foods. How could they overcome the aversion to eating other meats? Psychologist Kurt Lewin devised a program to persuade Americans to eat intestinal meats. Yes, your favorite–intestinal meats. He set up an experiment with two groups of housewives. In one group, the housewives were lectured on the benefits of eating intestinal meats. Members of the committee emphasized to them how making the switch would help the war effort. The housewives also heard fervent testimonials and received recipes. The second group of housewives was led in a group discussion about how they could persuade other housewives to eat intestinal meat. This group covered the same main topics as the other group. Of the group that was more involved in “role-playing” and discussing the question of “how they would persuade and convince others to eat intestinal meats,” 32 percent of the housewives went on to serve their families intestinal meats. This was compared to 3 percent of the first group. Another way to get people to participate with you is to ask their opinions or advice. Simple phrases such as, “I need your help” “What is your opinion?” “What do you think about…?” “How could I do this?” “How would you do this?” “Do you think I am doing it right?” and “Do you have any ideas?” can immediately spark the interest of your listener. Watch how another person brightens up when you ask for his or her advice. For example, if you ask your neighbor, “Frank, how about helping me fix my fence?” he will probably tell you he is busy and has plans for the next twelve weekends. But suppose you said, “Frank, I have a challenge with this fence that I can’t solve. I don’t know what I am doing wrong and can’t seem to get anywhere. I am not sure if I am doing it right or what to do next. Do you have ideas about how I could mend this fence? Could you come take a look?” You will see a marked difference in response between the first request and the second.

Methods Of Protecting Mental Consistency

October 15th, 2009 |

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When we feel cognitive dissonance, we have to find a way to deal with the psychological tension. We have an arsenal of tools at our disposal to help us return to cognitive consistency. Your favorite politician, the local mayor, for whom you campaigned and voted, is in trouble. You spent your own time and money convincing family, friends, and neighbors to vote for this candidate. You thought he was a family man, a man of values, somebody who could be trusted. Now, after two years in office, he’s been caught red-handed having an affair with an office staff member, who is barely older than his daughter. The news creates dissonance inside you. To alleviate the dissonance, you might react in any one or combination of the following ways: *Denial–To shut out the dissonance, you deny there is a problem. You do this either by ignoring or demeaning the source of the information. You might also deliberately misperceive the confronting position. “This is just the media going after him. He is doing a great job, so the opposing party is trying to smear his good name. This will all blow over when the facts come out. It’s all just a big misunderstanding.” *Modify–You change your existing cognitions to achieve consistency. Most of the time this involves admitting you were wrong and making changes to remedy your errors. “I can’t believe I voted for this guy. I feel swindled and taken advantage of. I really mistook him for a man of character. I need to apologize to my family and friends. I cannot support a man who does not honor his wedding vows.” *Reframe–You change your understanding or interpretation of the meaning. This leads you to either modify your own thinking or devalue the importance of the whole matter, considering it unimportant altogether. “The media said affair. Well, I’m sure he didn’t actually sleep with her. Maybe they’re just good friends. I’m sure his wife knew all about the whole thing. Even if they did have an affair, who doesn’t? Is it that big of deal?” *Search–You are determined to find a flaw in the other side’s position, to discredit the source, and to seek social or evidentiary support for your own viewpoint. You might attempt to convince the source (if available) of his error. You might also try to convince others you did the right thing. “I’ve heard about the reporter breaking this story. He’s blown things out of proportion before. All the friends I’ve talked to don’t think the story is true. In fact, this reporter has been against the mayor from the time he became a candidate. I’m going to call that reporter right now.” *Separation–You separate the attitudes that are in conflict. This compartmentalizes your cognitions, making it easier for you to ignore or even forget the discrepancy. In your mind, what happens in one area of your life (or someone else’s) should not affect the other areas of your life. “I voted for him and he is doing a great job. Inflation is low, unemployment is not a problem, and crime has been reduced. He is doing everything he said he would. It does not matter what he does in his private life. What matters is how he is doing his job. There is no bearing between an affair and his job performance.” *Rationalization–You find excuses for why the inconsistency is acceptable. You change your expectations or try to alter what really happened. You also find reasons to justify your behavior or your opinions. “Well, his wife is cold to him and she’s never around when he needs her. She’s never really supported him since he took office. After all, she still has her own business. Maybe this is just a marriage of convenience and this relationship is part of their agreement.”

Effective Persuasion Has Lasting Impact

September 8th, 2009 |

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Do you want short-term temporary results or long-term permanent results? Effective persuasion has lasting impact, but it requires dedicated study and long-term commitment on the part of the persuader. The qualities listed at the base of the pyramid are the most easily and commonly used, but they achieve only temporary results. Such results are temporary because they do not address a person’s genuine wants or desires. Persuasion based on the qualities listed at the top of the pyramid is effective whether pressure is perceived or not. Such a method creates lasting results because it taps into and involves a person’s true interests. Determining whether you want short or long-term results dictates which area on the pyramid should be the focus of your efforts. Imagine the CEO of a large corporation calling one of his vice presidents to a meeting. At the meeting, the vice president is informed that he must raise $20,000 in employee contributions for a foundation the company is going to sponsor. The CEO is not concerned with the means the vice president uses as long as they result in a check for $20,000. Raising such a sum requires getting $100 from each employee–a daunting endeavor! The vice president considers the various ways he could accomplish this task. It would be both easy and quick to approach the employees using control. He could use physical force or threats to obtain the money. This do-it-or-else mentality would get immediate results. The long-term impact, however, would likely involve rebellion, revenge, and resentment. What about coercion? Surely the employees would provide the requested donation if they were told doing otherwise would negatively affect their next job evaluation. Would this tactic get immediate results? Sure. Again, however, the long-term effects would be resentment, rebellion, and revenge. The vice president decides control and/or coercion do not provide the best outcomes. Next he considers compliance. If he offered incentives, benefits, or rewards, it would be a win-win situation, right? Suppose each employee who donates $100 gets an extra two weeks of paid vacation. The problem is, once the incentive is gone, compliance will also disappear. He might get the $100 this time, but what about the next time he asks for a donation? This method is still only a temporary fix because the employees will be conditioned to always expect a reward for their compliance. The vice president next considers cooperation. He could spend time with the employees explaining why this charity is so important and how it would be a great honor for them to participate. He could convince, encourage, or “sell” with logic, emotion, and information to donate to this worthy cause. Now, armed with the tools of effective persuasion, he’s onto an approach that will have lasting, positive results. As long as the employees feel he is telling the truth and acting in their best interest, they will be open to his proposal. Finally, the vice president considers the top form of persuasion: commitment. If he has a great reputation and relationship with his employees, there will be mutual respect, honor, and trust. These conditions will enable the employees to comfortably make out their $100 checks. They know the vice president is a man of honor who would never ask them to do anything that would not be in their best interest. They can commit to him because they feel he is committed to them. Commitment is the highest ideal of Maximum Influence because its impact is the most permanent and far-reaching. Your reputation as one possessing integrity, honor, trust, and respect will continuously inspire commitment from everyone you seek to persuade.

40 Ways To Lead Like The Greats

August 23rd, 2009 |

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Solid leadership is a combination of instinct and education. It is born of the inherent versus environment precept. It is never all of one and none of another, but a balance. Great leaders carry a charisma: some of it inborn, some of it through the development of skills that bring with them confidence. That charisma, or as we call it, that “It” encompasses more than sheer charisma. “It” is the magic that causes people to follow when it doesn’t make logical sense to do so. “It” enables groups of followers to weather storms, fight uphill battles, stretch their own limits beyond what was once thought possible, and live on long after the leader is gone. (By studying the greatest leaders in history, such as Ganghis Kahn, Atilla the Hun and Winston Churchill, we can get an education in the secrets of “It.”) Any great leader has an “It” checklist that looks like this: 1. There is a difference between leaders and managers. Managers make sure that things are running smoothly, leaders create change and followings through vision. 2. Leaders create visions in which others can believe. Leaders enable followers to buy in to decisions by giving them clear objectives and expectations and them leaving them to use their talents and strengths to do the work. 3. Leaders understand and honor the words autonomy and empowerment. Leaders know not to do too much, but to supply their people with the resources and guidance they need to follow through on their own. Outstanding leaders lead the charge, riding on their horses with the troops, but they allow each soldier to draw their “bayonettes” as conditions necessitate. 4. Leaders see the totality of their company. Their cross-functional teams know how to work as a whole enterprise. The best of leaders teach their teams how they are interwoven, and how each team carries a vital purpose to the whole, and how they fit into the interwoven mesh of the corporate blanket. 5. Leaders understand the necessity of key subordinate leaders. They know how to hire based on unique valuable talents and remember to let those talents work for the group. They know that it is the weak leader who allows his own fears about loss of control to cloud his memory in regard to why those special talents were brought on board to begin with. 6. Leaders have followers who not only believe in the mission of the organization, but have followers who are accustomed to winning. Winners believe that goals and objectives can actually be captured. Leaders hire people who know how to win and thrive on the energy generated by winning. 7. Leaders are curious. Usually they are curious by nature. They want to know why and how things are done. They ask questions and aren’t afraid to probe into unknown areas to find solutions. 8. Leaders are instinctual. They follow their gut. Their curiosity drives them to accumulate the necessary information they need so that when decision time comes, it is the gut that has the final say. 9.Leaders understand the saying that a rolling stone carries no moss. Their organizations are not mossy. They know that the key to success is continual momentum. Momentum breeds momentum. They carry this forward from product development and reward programs that boost morale, to customer satisfaction efforts. 10. Leaders reside in the moment of today and tomorrow simultaneously. They are not short sighted, developing systems and institutionalizing their best strengths in order to succeed today and in the future. 11. Leaders plan. They know that 90% of their time is best spent planning and 10% is spent on administrative work. 12. Leaders form partnerships. They don’t pretend to be lone rangers. They know that their success hinges upon their ability to use other people strategically. The partnerships of successful leaders are win-win partnerships. They ally themselves with anyone from customers, competitors, vendors and whatever sources bring the results their organizations need. 13. Leaders are not incremental. They transform. They welcome change and use change to keep on top of their industries. 14. Leaders admit their mistakes. They know how blame casts a fatal blow to morale and trust. They do not, however, gravel and seek pity. They acknowledge, learn, and move on. 15. Leaders are masters of observation. They listen, watch, and detect what others overlook. They use the subtle cues or observations to give them the upper hand when needed. 16. Leaders institutionalize their values, visions, accomplishments and strengths. They know how, through procedures and systems, to filter their strengths through the organization. 17. Leaders may leave physically, but not spiritually. Their legacies live on long after they have exited their employment. 18. Leaders don’t hold hands, they shape their organizations through shaping minds. They provide direction and guide. They do not believe in making decisions for their key subordinate right hands. 19. Leaders give credit where credit is due. They acknowledge and reward achievement and use the momentum from the accomplishments to fuel further success in their followers. 20. Leaders don’t provide positions out of the goodness of their hearts. They create positions and fill them based on the objectives and the vision of the company. 21. Leaders remain focused on the company missions and lead their followers to do the same. 22. Leaders are global thinkers. They don’t underestimate the power of the global economy. They constantly search for ways in which they can expand or benefit upon the global and they are keenly aware of the pitfalls of turning a blind eye to the global business markets. 23. Leaders know communication. They’re savvy interpersonal and technological communicators. They know the ins and outs of dealing with various personalities as well as they know how e-mail connects them to their front line staff. 24. Leaders think outside the box, inside the box and all around the box. 25. Leaders are not afraid to take an unorthodox approach. You’ll never hear one say, “We don’t/can’t do it that way.” They go beyond the “That’s the way we always do it” mentality to the “That’s the best way to do it.” 26. Leaders learn from leaders. They look to history, competitors and mentors. They are not too proud to always learn from those they admire. 27. Leaders know that there is always something more to learn. They are constantly feeding their minds. They know that the key to progressive transformation is found in ideas. They realize that success isn’t going to happen. They have to seek new ways in which to make it happen. 28. Leaders give ownership when it is strategically advantageous to do so. They give rewards and incentives, such as stock options, in order to keep key employees. They understand that rewards give birth to new successes. 29. Leaders create teams to achieve goals. They know that the meeting of two minds can develop opportunities that only one mind may miss. They successfully manage the interactions of their teams in order to meet desired ends. 30. Leaders develop creative ways to cut through unnecessary bureaucracy or eliminate hindering bureaucratic practices in order to expedite vital activities. 31. Leaders know that in order to keep pace and be innovative, they need to educate and empower their staffs. They provide training, education, and workshops to keep the minds they lead in top, competitive shape. 32. Leaders focus their people’s efforts on the customer. 33. Leaders understand that key employees are assets. They are careful about who is hired and appointed, understanding the ripple effects of putting the wrong people in the wrong places. Gary DiCamillo, Polaroid’s Chief Executive since 1995, has suffered the woes of poor employee retention, losing key people in sales and product development. It’s reported that most of these human resource assets were lost when DiCamillo filled his executive vice-president position with Judith Boynton, previous controller for Amoco. Key employees were baffled by the appointment and lost faith in DiCamillo for putting, what they thought, was an unqualified sub-leader in such a high-rank
ing position. Polaroid steadily lost $166 million since DiCamillo’s reign, from 1995 through 2000. [Source: Forbes 1-22-01 p. 69.] 34. Leaders know how to eliminate the wrong people. 35. Leaders are decisive. 36. Leaders have the courage to live with their decisions. * 37. Leaders work it out when things go wrong. They face problems head on and deal with the issues at hand quickly and effectively. 38. Leaders charge forward with urgency. 39. Leaders guard all assets that give them an edge. They are careful to set in place confidentiality systems and to properly license and trademark intellectual property, inventions and groundbreaking concepts. 40. Leaders know that even the greatest product is not enough. Often criticized for not acting quickly enough to develop spin-off products from its PT Cruiser, DaimlerChrysler recently revealed concept cars based on the blockbuster success of the PT Cruiser. Why? The market will always demand something new, better, more versatile, etc. The GT Cruiser Concept has a larger engine, the PT Cruiser Convertible Concept offers a sporty, fun twist, and the Panel Cruiser Concept is offered as a light cargo vehicle with its 119.8 cubic feet and wood base floor. The original PT Cruiser is one of the most sought out vehicles by buyers today; it’s sold at full list price and backordered for months at a time. DaimlerChrysler’s possibilities are endless. What are they doing with the product to renew it, to increase demand, and to prepare to fill that demand? Look at the list again. How can you better motivate your staff to perform at higher levels? Do you see what might be slowing down progress? What might you need to improve upon in your quest to run uphill and seize the flags of victory? Chances are you’re doing a good job already. The question becomes, what can you do to convert from good to great? Prosper and enjoy! © David and Lorrie Goldsmith

Close More Sales By Not Allowing Your Prospects To Think It Over

August 4th, 2009 |

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People put off until tomorrow only those decisions they lack the confidence to make today. We live in a society where no one has time. How ironic is that we don’t have time to do the things we want, but your prospect is going to spend time to think about it? Sure there will be times when your prospect will have to think and ponder about this decision. Most of the time it is a knee jerk reaction, and the prospect is feeling a need to buy and they feel the pressure to buy, so now they will put you off. Remember if you do have to follow up, after they are thinking about it, the emotion has left and you need to reignite the fire before you complete your follow-up. YOU WILL HEAR I need to think about it I want to sleep on it We don’t jump into things I’ll give you a call tomorrow WHY? Fear of making the wrong choice Some people are lazy or don’t want to change Some feel stress and push away Don’t see all the benefits Being Nice and don’t want to say no They really do Need to talk to partner Analytical personality HANDLE THE PROCRASTINATION UPFRONT It is really great to see somebody who knows how to make a decision. I appreciate your time I know you are really busy and I know how valuable your time is, I’m going to get right down to business. I’m sure you realize my schedule and that my time also is valuable. So with this in mind, I’ll explain all of the facts and if you have any questions, I will be delighted to answer them. If we feel this business and investment fits your needs, I expect you to tell me. On the other hand if you feel as though it doesn’t, please tell me and I’ll be on my way. Let’s make an agreement, Mrs. prospect, I’m not a high pressure consultant, so you don’t have worry about me trying to get you involved with anything you don’t want. All I want to do today is show you how to increase your income in your business and how it will work for you. Please do me a favor and let me know today if this is a good fit. Fair enough? SMOKE SCREEN Do you mind if I ask what aspect of this business you are going to give careful consideration? (think over) Is it the quality of the service? Is it something I have forgotten to cover? Could it be the financial aspects? If they say yes – handle the concern. NO NONSENSE Look, Mr. Prospect, you and I have spent a couple of hours together, and we both know that this is the right choice for you. There is no reason why you shouldn’t buy today….. HUMOR Mr. Prospect You’re not telling me this just to get rid of me, are you? END OF YOUR ROPE Mr. Prospect either this is a good idea or it is not a good idea so lets make a decision right now (be silent) and they will sign and the others won’t and you won’t have to waste time.

Business center

Posts Tagged ‘leadership’

Course Correcting For Growth

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11 Ways To Create Successful Corporate Meetings And Retreats

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Creating More Sales Through Active Participation

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Methods Of Protecting Mental Consistency

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Effective Persuasion Has Lasting Impact

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40 Ways To Lead Like The Greats

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Close More Sales By Not Allowing Your Prospects To Think It Over

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