“Strong opinions, weakly held” is the mantra from this Harvard Business Review article. Actually, the article provides 3 excellent leadership suggestions: Get emotional. Be whimsical. Express doubt. Now those 3 items, in terms of leadership, should pique your interest. In case not, here is an excerpt from each topic: Get emotional – More than purpose or perks, employees value heartfelt moments of connection that meet their needs as social beings. Be whimsical – By exposing their idiosyncrasies, passions, and whims, bosses can make themselves more human. Express doubt – “Employees, more than ever, are individualists. Leaders, in response, are learning to be less the visionary, less the sage, less the… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Lost Art of Decorum
Maybe I am aging faster than I will admit, but I have seen a trend in the professional workplace that is unsettling. Decorum. As defined by Webster, it is “correct or proper behavior that shows respect and good manners.” One of the things I tell hiring managers is that the initial candidate interview is as good as it will get. The candidates’ behavior, manners, etiquette, communication, etc. will never exceed their level as observed in that first interview. Therefore, the candidate’s decorum should be exemplary in that interview to the point where it is memorable. Sadly, I simply am not seeing this exemplary decorum nearly as much as I used… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Importance Of Accountability
I harp on this topic frequently, but it is a foundational need for all strong sales leaders. You must hold your people accountable to reach goals, close deals and follow your system (a broad word that entails your requirements for performance). The key is to simply do it…you don’t have to be “good” at it, but you do have to do it. Many sales leaders miss this important point. So I give you this Selling Power article with a comprehensive view of this accountability need for all sales leaders. The author makes a significant point that often gets overlooked by sales leaders who like to use the stick before the… Read More
Continue ReadingSilence Kills Deals?
My mouth is still agape after reading this article in the MSP Business Journal – How to close a sales more effectively. The first howler: Anyone involved in sales knows silence can kill deals. If you present your best recommendations to a prospect and stop talking, he might say, “That’s food for thought. Let me think about it. I’ll get back to you.” What? No, not true. The problem the vast majority of salespeople have is the inability to use silence. A pregnant pause is a powerful tool that helps bring forth information. It is important to remember that the person asking the questions is actually the person controlling the… Read More
Continue ReadingTracking Sales Reps 24/7
A sales executive was fired for deleting an app on her cell phone. The details from the Fox News story: A sales executive was fired after she deleted an app on her phone that tracked her every move, allowing her employer to know where she was 24/7. It was only a matter of time until this type of issue surfaced. My personal take is that tracking her 24/7 is an incredible invasion of privacy and her actions were the same ones I would have chosen in that situation. However, let me throw this at you from the former Judge quoted in the article: Judge Andrew Napolitano said that in the… Read More
Continue ReadingObjectivity Trumps Bias
We are all biased, it is simply how we are wired no matter what people believe. Our brains have the innate ability to categorize – a distinct survival mechanism for sure. This ability becomes problematic in the hiring process as hiring managers can often be influenced by their own biases when making hiring decisions. To be blunt, hiring managers are prewired to clone themselves in their hires. So what of this? Does it matter? If your hiring manager is strong, especially a sales manager, wouldn’t it be best to clone them? No. End of post…ok, I won’t be so short. The key to successful hiring, especially as it pertains to… Read More
Continue Reading4 Social Age Selling Skills
I don’t consider myself old, but I am starting to waver on that belief after reading this Selling Power article. I started selling back in the days before cell phones and Internet, when the fax machine was viewed as such a timesaver. Frightening by today’s standards. The article identifies 4 selling skills you need in today’s socially-connected world. Here are the first 3: Social Listening Social Researching Social Networking Those 3 are critical and hopefully most salespeople are aware of these needed skills. However, the 4th point is most interesting: 4. Social Engaging This is the newest skill for sellers. Consequently, it holds the biggest competitive advantage for sellers who… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Lost Art Of Writing
No doubt we live in a technology-based world driven by expedited activities, from instant text messages to YouTube videos on demand. Communication moves fast. One area I believe it hurts is applying for sales positions. I realize an ever-increasing amount of opportunities are found, shared and contacted through LinkedIn, but what of finding opportunities for which you do not have a direct connection. I think this activity is similar to cold calling/contacting. When I am sourcing for sales candidates, I receive many resumes forwarded to me through the job boards and LinkedIn. Resumes. It is rare that I receive a cover letter anymore. For me, receiving a resume is similar… Read More
Continue ReadingDo Not Trust Myers-Briggs
Well, that is my paraphrasing of this author’s post. The Myers-Briggs test is common throughout many business-world assessments and it serves a purpose. The difficulty I have always had with it is the binary aspect of the assessment. You are either Extroverted or Introverted…there is no grey area. I think the author explains it well: More problematic, though, is that it classifies personalities by a binary preference for a particular trait. In reality, however, most people exist on a spectrum between the two and can vary between them from week to week… Agreed. People are the ultimate variable and far from binary. I think the best use of the Myers-Briggs… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring What You Need To Know
Experience is a tricky component to successful sales hiring in that it is often overvalued. Don’t get me wrong, it is important, but you never want to overvalue it. The reason is that you can teach new salespeople about your product or service a lot easier than you can teach them how to sell. A sports analogy (I know, often overused) – it is far easier to teach a football wide receiver what routes to run in your offense than it is to teach them how to run a 4.3 40 yard dash. Some will simply never run a 4.3. This is why talent is far more valuable to successful… Read More
Continue Reading