Before You File For Divorce From Your Job, Try Using The 80-20 Rule.

Would it surprise you to hear that 2.9 million people in the US “divorced” their jobs in June of 2016? It surprised me, but maybe it shouldn’t have. People spend a considerable amount of time at work. It’s quality time too—time when we’re alert and engaged. Unfortunately, when our workday is done, we’re often too tired to enjoy what’s left of the day. And, if we aren’t happy with the way our job is progressing, all those quality hours start evolving into one long painful rerun of the movie Groundhog Day where every day starts and ends in the exact same place.

It’s understandable why someone might decide it’s time to quit their job: low pay, unreasonable expectations, inflexibility with scheduling, lack of support or teamwork, etc. I get it. But quitting a job comes with its own bucket of stresses. There will still be bills to pay, and we all have to eat. Yes, quitting is always an option—especially if it’s time for a career change—but before you decide to “divorce” your employer, use the 80/20 rule to establish some clarity.

Make a list of all the projects you’re working on. Once you’re done, take the list and go somewhere where you won’t be interrupted while you’re working on it.  

If you look carefully at your list, you’re going to see projects that are actually other people’s projects. Put a line through them. Next, look for projects that are going to move you ahead. Put a star next to them. Now here’s the trick: Cut your starred list by 80%. I know exactly what you’re thinking, “Oh crap. I can't do that." Yes, you can.

The data being collected about multitasking is piling up—it doesn’t work. Having a planner that’s as busy as downtown Chicago in rush hour traffic doesn’t mean you’re better at your job. It probably means you’re saying yes to everybody else’s priorities, and not leaving yourself enough time to focus on what you need to get done so you can:

• Enjoy your work
• Excel at your job by doing what you do best

Once you’ve identified your 20%, schedule hard completion dates for each item, commit to those dates!

Remember that neither your boss nor your coworkers will know you’ve taken this step. That means being prepared for their interruptions. Politely ask coworkers if you can get back to them later. If your boss wants to add another project to your pile, skillfully ask him or her how it ranks in priority compared to the other work you have to do.

Take the time to, as Steven Covey puts it, “Sharpen the saw.” Your work may be just one aspect of your life, but it’s a pretty big aspect, so it’s important to schedule time to revisit your project list every so often to make sure it’s on track with both your work and your personal goals.

No one should have to “divorce” their job because some parts of it aren’t working at the moment. If you enjoy the job, and you don’t really want to quit, identify your 20% and put your valuable time, energy, and focus into those priorities. If your employer doesn’t respect your methodology, you can quit with a clear conscience.

On the other hand, using the 80/20 rule to set yourself up for success could put you in a position where you once again enjoy the sound of your alarm clock signaling the start of a new day!

Alan Luoma: I am a Sales Coach with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales management, new

product development, sales and product training. I work with a great national sustainable packaging company and their exceptional distributors to increase sales. My success has been and is in utilizing the Pareto 80/20 principal in business and life. I have become an expert in seeking out and eliminating behaviors that prevent business people from being successful. I am a member of The National Speakers Association and New England Speakers Association. You can view my profile on LinkedIn, or contact me at Luoma@snet.net 

No Value,Low Price,Welcome To Wimp Road

If you were in a room with 99 other sales professionals, and you were about to be ranked based on your skill and professionalism as a sales person, where would you land? Would you be in the top 20%? Or somewhere in the midst of the 80%?

If you were a client or customer trying to decide which sales professional you were going to do business with, would your first choice be to work with someone outside of the top 20%? Would you be willing to go outside of the top 20% if the price was right?

Unfortunately, all sales professionals—both the good and the bad—have to answer the one question a prospective client or customer is trying to answer without asking it. “Which do you care more about – my money or my business?”

The reality is that most sales people should not be in the selling profession. That may sound harsh, but being likable, and having the ability to strike up a friendly conversation with a stranger while simultaneously shaving a few dollars off your competition’s price isn’t selling. It’s the wimp’s version of selling – peddling prices instead of value. For the wimp, it’s all about the money.

Ask the wimp what their value position is, and they’ll stick to talking about price because they don't understand value, and aren’t inspired to put any effort into understanding it. To them, price is enough to get the job done. They believe that’s their potential client’s chief concern too.

A professional sales person understands the competitive advantages of their product or service above and beyond price, and can confidently explain the value proposition their product or service will bring to the business relationship.

The wimp is content to trek down Wimp Road looking to peddle their prices to clients and customers willing to base their decisions on price. For the wimp, success is measured by the next sale that falls their way.

Professional sales people can make informed decisions about when it’s time to walk away from low or no margin business propositions. They want to build business relationships with clients and customers who care about their business, at least as much as they care about the price of the product or service they are thinking about purchasing.

Wimps who are content to focus on price as their main strategy don’t make an effort to improve or grow their sales skills. They don’t read books about sales, or attend training seminars. They believe they know everything they need to know.

A professional sales person knows that building long-term business relationships with clients and customers who say, “We just love doing business with them,” happens when they continue to educate themselves and stay current with innovations, ideas, and best practices that might have an impact on their client’s or customer’s business.

So now, I’ll ask the same question from a slightly different perspective. Are you in the top 20% of your immediate competition? Or are you moving dangerously close to detouring down Wimp Road?

Alan Luoma: I am a Sales Coach with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales management, new

product development, sales and product training. I work with a great national sustainable packaging company and their exceptional distributors to increase sales. My success has been and is in utilizing the Pareto 80/20 principal in business and life. I have become an expert in seeking out and eliminating behaviors that prevent business people from being successful. I am a member of the Hartford Springfield Speakers Network, The National Speakers Association and New England Speakers Association. You can view my profile on LinkedIn, or contact me at Luoma@snet.net 

Rip Van Winkle Selling

As the story goes, Rip Van Winkle wanders up to the mountains to get away from both his nagging wife and his responsibilities. He meets a man struggling with a keg and helps him reach his destination where a group of men dressed in antiquated Dutch garb are playing nine-pins. After imbibing in the contents of the keg, Rip lies down to take a nap, his musket and dog both at his side. When he wakes up, it’s to find his musket rusted and rotting, and his dog gone.

He travels back to town, but doesn’t recognize anybody. He finds his house in ruins, learns that his wife has passed away, his dog has been long dead, and no one’s seen or heard from him in 20 years. When he gets into trouble for announcing his allegiance to King George III, he discovers that he slept through the entire American Revolution!

This story reminds me of some of the stories I’ve heard from sales people over the years. They start by shaking their heads and complaining that selling isn't what it used to be. As they continue, their frustration with management starts coming through. I nod my head because I know what they’re going to say. It doesn’t matter which department their complaining about, it still boils down to the same thing—management expecting superior results from antiquated tools. What can you do you?

If the Problem is that marketing is relying too heavily on brand name recognition as their go-to strategy for getting customers and prospects to say yes…

Your Solution may be two-fold. You might not be in a position to get management to change their strategies, but you can still bring great resource—like Hubspot—to their attention. If they’re slow to embrace digital opportunities, don’t let their limits become your limits. Improve your position by figuring out where your tech and web savvy millennial customers are hanging out. Connect with them where they are, and through resources like LinkedIn, and let that be your edge for bringing in new business.

Is the Problem that management is relying on an old CRM, a homegrown CRM, a CRM designed more for accounting than for sales, or worse yet—no CRM at all?

Your Solution could be to provide management with information about the value of updating old systems. Today’s CRMs are more cost effective, and do more than keep track of customers. Remind them that as a sales professional, knowing your company has a reliable CRM in place allows you to speak with more confidence about the products and services your company offers. But again, don’t let their limits become yours. Make sure you have your own CRM in place if they don’t.

Every company has built in challenges. If you’ve chosen to stay, then there must be a good reason why. If you’re comfortable with the thought of snoozing through the next 20 years, don’t do anything. 

If you’d like to be prepared for what comes after the next 20 years, let’s have a conversation.

Alan Luoma is a Sales Coach with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales management, new product development, sales and product training. He works part time with a national sustainable packaging company and their distributors to increase sales. Alan is an expert that speaks on eliminating behaviors that prevent you from being successful in sales and uncovering sales prevention departments that hinder your success. He is a member of the Hartford Springfield Speakers Network, The National Speakers Association and New England Speakers Association. You can view his profile on LinkedIn, or contact him at Luoma@snet.net

Don't Let The Start Stop You!

Nike says, “Just do it!” And I must admit there has been many times that I have followed that advice and have “just done it.” Now I’m going to honest with you here. I didn’t always know what I was doing! And sometimes I actually had to apologize for doing it…

As a matter of fact, many times I did not know what I was doing and many times I had to apologize, but I somehow had this blind faith that somehow, someway, things would find a way to work themselves out…

And you know what? Things usually have found a way to work themselves out.

Now don’t get me wrong here. This has not always been painless. I have made many mistakes and have often taken the long way home, but somehow I have always made it home, if you know what I mean…

This whole conversation reminds me of a new friend I made the other day who asked if I had any advice for an aspiring writer. My advice was to give yourself permission to write a bad first draft. If you can give yourself permission to write poorly at first, eventually you will surprise yourself with your ability. It’s just like everything else in life…

In other words, “Don’t Let the Start, Stop You!”

How about you? Have you taken any chances lately? Have you given yourself permission to do something new poorly at first? If so, then I think you’re on the right road. Furthermore, I think this road may even delightfully surprise you

However, when this road leads you to victory, then it will be your turn to teach others the concept of, “Don’t Let the Start, Stop You!” Enjoy.

Daniel Blanchard is the author of the Granddaddy’s Secrets teen leadership book series and is available to speak at your events. To learn more about Dan please visit his website at: www.GrandDaddysSecrets.com. Thanks.