Communication and Ethics
Published November 18, 2011 | 
“When big financial groups encourage large numbers of consumers to acquire unsustainable mortgages or mortgages with hidden interest rate hikes and other prohibitive conditions and then foreclose, this is a failure of both communication and ethics.” [Shelle Rose Charvet, from her book, The Consumer is Bothering Me: How to change attitudes, improve results and grow your bottom line.]
3 Key Reasons Why Sales People Fail
Published November 17, 2011 | No other profession gets so much publicity. Sales people – men and women – are constantly under scrutiny. That’s why we know so many of them fail. Now their failure rate, to be honest, is probably no greater than any other profession. Yet the spotlight is on them, and their failures become obvious.
Sales people fail for many reasons. Here is our list of the top three reasons for failure.
1. Understanding People
The world is populated by people with different personalities. There are four broad personality groupings, and sub groupings within those. The population of any given area is divided approximately equally into those four broad categories. Each of us tends to be strong in one of these areas, although we may be in another group as a “secondary” personality style.
From this you learn a most important lesson: 75% of the population is not in the same personality grouping as you are. And then you realize you’re in the minority. Seventy-five percent of the population does not think exactly like you nor process information exactly the way you do, or at the speed in which you do it. In addition, they have different learning “styles.” Some people prefer auditory learning, some kinesthetic. A small number of people prefer to process information by reading.
To be successful in sales, identify the personality of the person to whom you are talking. Then match your presentation to their personality, the manner in which they process information, and the level of detail they require in order to come to a decision.
People are different. Adapt your presentation to suit their learning style and the way they absorb information.
2. Be Quiet (i.e. Shut Up!)
The story is told in the Bible of a man, Samson, who killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Thousands upon thousands of sales have been killed by the jawbone of an ass.
One of the essential skills in any communication, is knowing how much information should be given. There is no golden rule; just some general observations.
Some people are detail people. They need lots of information. They need it in an orderly and structured manner. And they need it early in the conversation.
Other people, who may be detail people in the long run, do not need the detail early. They need the detail when they are ready for it. And that’s when the sales person needs to be on hand, or readily available, to supply the next snippet of information that this person needs.
3. Talking is Not Enough
Just as a sales person can talk too much, so they can talk too little. People do need information to decide. While this is something like a Goldilocks issue – “Ah, this amount of information is just right” – each person needs specific information to make an informed decision.
It is easy to confuse “talking” with “selling.” Good selling, however, involves listening and asking questions. It also requires answering questions. Perhaps more than anything, listening is the key activity in selling, because it gives the prospect the opportunity to tell the sales person what he needs to move forward from this point.
The key to good selling is not selling. The prospect really needs to sell to himself. You need to give him the right information at the right time until he has convinced himself he needs to buy. Then you can ask for the order.
Selling can be likened to peeling an onion. There are layers to be taken off, one or two at a time. Sure, you can take off many layers immediately and waste a lot of onion.
In sales you need to “peel” away the clutter in the prospect’s mind. Good sales people not only peel carefully, but they develop the skill of understanding other people so that they know in which order the clutter needs to be removed.
Conclusion
These three principles are essential to sound communications and salesmanship.
How to Create Meaningful Position Descriptions
Published August 24, 2011 | Management Lessons From the Orchestra
Attending a concert is an exhilarating night out. From the moment the hush falls over the audience once the Concert Master has ensured the orchestral members set their instruments to a common pitch, the excitement begins.
To hear the haunting qualities of the oboe, the flights of fancy on the piccolo, the rumbling of the double basses and tubas, the piercing brilliance of the trumpets, and the power and strength of the combined violins, violas and cellos makes a night out at the orchestra an event to be remembered.
But what about those musicians in the orchestra? These are the workers who produce the sounds the audience enjoys as music. They each contribute to the combined outcome of the orchestra. What does their job description look like?
Unemployment: A Good Career Move
Published April 1, 2011 | The numbers are in: as the business environment has become more difficult, senior management in many companies has had to take a very serious look at every possible cost-cutting exercise. In this environment, every facet of American business at large has come under cost reduction scrutiny. And as recent unemployment numbers show, the employee is not exempt from this investigation.
In many instances, management has found it difficult to justify the employee’s salary. In many organizations it is difficult, if not impossible, for a firm to assess the true value of a worker. As they have attempted to determine costs and consider cheaper alternatives, outsourcing work to independent contractors has become a viable option. Since it is difficult for a company to assess the real value of its employees, it never knows whether it is getting value for its money. Nor does the employee know if he is being paid his true market value. By forcing staff to compete as contractors against all other suppliers in the marketplace, then, the business firm is better able to gauge the value of the people it hires. And the workers gain by being able, first, to assess the value of their contribution by comparing with their competitors, and second, by being able to take on additional contracts.
In Praise of Monopolies
Published April 1, 2011 | The copyright in music debate creates an opportunity to re-think the purpose of copyright and similar laws, such as patent protection. Neither copyright nor patents had an illustrious beginning. Used by the powers in authority as an attempt to either limit free speech or raise money, the laws had a purpose to protect the position of those in authority. In other words, they were used to protect a monopoly.
More recently laws such as copyright, patents and trademarks are used to create monopolies not of political power but of economic power. Music writers sell their compositions to music publishers who invest time and money in print and marketing to create sales. The publishers and shareholders want a return on their investment. They are clearly not happy if someone gets access to the same product without paying for it. Book writers do the same.
So do hamburger makers.
Only Two Roads To Success
Published April 1, 2011 | There is something inherent in each one of us that keeps us aiming towards success. Defining success, however, is an individual matter.
For many people success is measured in tangible terms. The size and quality of the home, the car, the bank account, or the vacation location. Others, of course, add in more personal issues. Then there are less tangible things, such as quality of life, family, and other things that individuals assess are important.
But with that in mind, it is curious to see just how many people fail to meet their own standards of success in tangible things. It is this discontentment that keeps entrepreneurs dreaming and the rest of the population working for them.
“Intellectual Property” Up For Grabs
Published April 1, 2011 | In 2005, Spain was in the news, again. It may be of little interest to us, except it raises a moral dilemma that plagues the world: copyright.
I can think of no topic that gets people’s backs up so quickly. The idea that people should actually own something and protect it by law is under challenge. Especially if that property is “intellectual” property.
Imagine for a moment that you wrote a song, a popular one at that, and you’re making good royalties from the recording company who had contracted with you to market the product. But there are some individuals who reject the notion that you and the record company should make such a deal. They think your song should be “public domain” and available free to everyone. In short, they don’t like the idea of you making a living off your song-writing abilities. They also don’t like the fact that the recording industry should be paid for its work in making your song successful.
Is Your Business Consultant a Psychopath?
Published April 1, 2011 | Psychopath! What picture does that word conjure in your mind?
Too often we associate the idea of psychopath with Anthony Hopkins brilliant portrayal of Dr. Hanibal Lecter. Lecter is a psychiatrist with an eating disorder: He’s a cannibal. So you see him on the screen apparently eating someone’s brains.
Now that picture is not one of a real psychopath. And neither is it a picture of a business consultant.
But . . .
There are number of identifiers of a psychopath, and his near-twin brother, the narcissistic personality disorder. They share common traits. One of the identifiers is a continuous attempt to manipulate people and outcomes.
Continue reading
5 Common Mistakes in Starting a Business
Published April 1, 2011 | Being self-employed is the dream of many. But as one self-employed person quipped, “I used to work for a boss; now I work for a tyrant.” Or, as another put it, “When you’re self-employed, you’re the first one hired and the last one fired.” That’s true, but you may also be the last one to get paid.
Undaunted, people launch themselves in various self-employment projects. But having found themselves on the self-employed merry-go-round, many find the journey tough going. This can lead to early retirement from self-employment and a loss of confidence in entrepreneur activity.
The mistakes many make, however, are readily overcome with a little planning and thought.
Here are five of the common mistakes made by startup businesses.
Common Mistakes in Advertising
Published April 1, 2011 | In the life of a business, advertising is an area that can make or break many. Nothing eats up money like advertising costs, so it is vital that the business gets an equitable return from its advertising dollars. In spite of this fact, many businesses still make the same old mistakes in advertising, thereby failing to get maximum value from their expenditure. Here`s a list of some of the more common mistakes in advertising.
1. Failure to Identify Customer Needs
Given that our goods and services are purchased to satisfy some need, it is surprising to see just how much advertising fails to meet the test of telling customers how this particular product or service will meet a perceived need.
The needs of customers are not that many, so it is difficult to understand why so much advertising fails to tell prospective buyers how a product or service can meets the needs of quality, performance, safety, convenience, or savings. If you want your advertising to work more powerfully for you, make sure it tells the reader how it satisfies some need in their lives and why it does it better than the competition.
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