How to Avoid a Knife in the Back

Acquiring, building, and maintaining solid relationships with clients and customers is arguably the first priority of a sales professional’s job. After all, without those relationships, there is no job. So we go into the office and set our minds to the task of keeping those relationships in tip-top shape. We might hear a coworker who always seems so pleasant and agreeable say something that sounds a bit strange, but don’t think twice about it.
We witness little things with our other coworkers too—like a look, a roll of the eyes, a gesture behind someone’s back, or one coworker whispering to another coworker—but don’t think much about it until we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of a workplace drama we did not see coming.
Building relationships with coworkers is not like building a relationship with a client or customer. To varying degrees, we have a choice about who we want our sales clients to be. We rarely have a choice about our coworkers. And while it might not be fair to say that we should always be aware of what our coworkers are up to, it would be naive to believe that their actions in the workplace are designed to build anyone’s career other than their own.
If you don’t want to inadvertently get caught up in office drama—or worse, be the source of it—use some of the same strategies you’d use when you’re getting to know a client better. In the workplace, that means paying attention to the clues your coworkers are giving you.

For example:

Gossip - A coworker might ask you a question about yourself, or someone else in the office, that seems innocent enough to answer. BUT, what will they do with your answer? Will it come back to bite you on the #%&? Stick to the facts, and take care with the jokes or information you might be tempted to share about others.

Superficial Sincerity - People in the workplace can become very good at hiding their insecurities behind a facade of sincerity. It would be nice if all of our coworkers felt confident, comfortable and secure in their jobs. BUT they don’t. Don’t expect a coworker to jump on the sword perched in the middle of the room even if it does have their name on it.

Trust – This is one of the most important aspects of any relationship, BUT it’s hard to build trust in an environment of casual “work” relationships. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust the people you work with. It just means that if you witness a coworker doing or saying something behind someone else’s back, chances are extremely good they’ll do the same behind your back too.

None of this is a suggestion to look for trouble where there isn’t any. It’s just a reminder that the same ability you use to build relationships with your clients can be used to help you safely navigate through office politics with your coworkers. All either situation requires is your attention.

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

product development, sales and product training. I work part time 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 

3 Ways to Boost Your Time Management Effectiveness and Enjoy A More Fulfilling Life

There’s an old saying that if you want help with getting something done, ask a busy person to help you. Everyone knows at least one person like this – the person who always manages to cross everything off their list by the end of the day or week.

Part of their ability to consistently manage their time effectively is based on the fact that they have a system they follow. The better the system, like with the Pareto Principle which states that roughly 80% of our results come from 20% of our work, the more likely someone is to look like they just have a talent for managing their time.

Professionals have used this principle to mercilessly reschedule their time and whittle down their client/customer lists to build a stronger business platform. But truly rounded professionals have learned that this principle can be applied to their personal lives as well. From a strictly time management perspective, what activities are you participating in outside of work that have a positive impact on your life?

Would it surprise you to learn that the average person spends almost 5 hours a day in front of the TV? Perhaps, if the whole family is watching TV together, it could be called “family” time, but let’s not kid ourselves. Until we’re ready to take an honest look at the way we spend our time outside of work too, we will continue to miss opportunities for identifying the 20% of our activities that will bring us 80% of our happiness, relaxation, joy, love, sense of contribution, and peace. Here are 3 ideas that might help you identify your outside-of-work 20%.

1.  Make a list of all your family and friends and decide which category each person fits into. This can be tough to do, but asking and answering these questions will help. 

• If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, who would you pick to spend today with? 
• If you were going to live another 80 years, who would you want to spend all that time with?

2.  Remember that you are either in or out of someone else’s 20%. Sometimes we just assume we’re in simply because we’re family or a friend. But think about what you’re bringing to someone else’s table. Do your family and friends know how you feel about them? And even if you’re not great with saying the words, are you doing a good job of making sure the people you care about know you care about them? Anyone can add this to their busy schedule. It takes less than a minute to make sure someone gets the message that we care.

3. Make sure your work schedule includes enough time for you to enjoy your life right now. Even if you’re putting in long hours in at work for all the right reasons, there’s no greater regret than knowing that we willingly let the important people and moments in our lives slip by without a second thought.

The truly wonderful thing about waking up each morning is that it’s another opportunity to do a little bit better today, than we did yesterday. Broaden your perspective when it comes to your time management strategies and you will have every reason to smile, every morning.

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

Get Ready,Get Set-Don't Go - Go 80/20

It feels like there are a million things coming at you, and they all have to be taken care of by you. They could be work related, family related, or some other kind of related, but now there are so many that you’re having trouble sleeping. You toss and turn in your bed while all the things you have to get done toss and turn in your head. You wake up tired, wondering for one fleeting second what it might feel like to start the day feeling good, but as you climb out of bed, the demands of the day take over.
And what will you do tomorrow? My guess is that you’ll wash, rinse, and repeat. 
I want to fill you in on a secret too many people learn to appreciate way too late in life. A vast majority of what you do is an absolute waste of time—your most precious and valuable resource. Time is not a commodity. Once it’s gone, there’s no buying or selling strategy that can replace it. There is no amount of money, fame, social status, or recognition that can suddenly produce an extra hour, day, or week.
On some level, we understand this and yet we still do things we know aren’t going to get us anywhere in the long run; like trying to impress the boss with how great we are, or getting the boss to openly acknowledge that we’re doing good work simply because we feel the need for a pat on the back.
Maybe promises have been made and now we’re in so deep that the idea of changing course is too frightening to seriously consider. Instead, we dig in deeper while trying to convince ourselves that everything will work out, and “It will all be worth it in the end.” I’m sure those were somebody’s famous last words.
The solution? Remind yourself of the 80/20 principle:

80% of your outcomes come from 20% of your inputs

That means:
20% of your relationships provide you with 80% of your joy. Decide which of your relationships comprise the 20% and start the process of stepping away from the rest. The difference between the two groups of people is easy to discern. The 20% lift you up while the 80% bring you down.
20% of your efforts at work will account for 80% of your results. Skip the meetings, reports, and customers that interfere with the 20% of your work that produces efficient and tangible results. You might be challenged at first, but if you’re truly narrowing your business down to the top 20, the results of your actions should speak for themselves.
20% of your investments give you 80% of your return. Is there a way to be more proactive with the less than stellar remaining 80%?
I could go on and on about all the ways applying this principle could change your life for the better, but I’d rather stop while this post still falls in the top 20%. So, the next time you’re starting to feel the stress of all those “things” coming at you, put aside a few minutes to take a good look at them and decide if they fit within your 80/20 profile. It shouldn’t take you anywhere near as long as it would if you were trying to do it while you’re sleeping.

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 distributors to increase sales. I have become an expert on seeking out and on eliminating behaviors that prevent sales people from being successful. I enjoy uncovering sales prevention departments that hinder a companies success. 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

Is Business Protocol Dead?

Is Business Protocol Dead?

If you ask a highly successful sales person what the keys to their success are, they would likely start by pointing out the importance of doing due diligence research prior to approaching a potential client or customer. They’d be less likely to start by pointing out the importance of protocol when it comes to interacting with potential clients and customers. They would however remind you not to forget it.

The tools we have access to have changed the business landscape, and it would be easy to convince ourselves that all business decisions come down to dollars and cents so it shouldn’t matter how we present ourselves. In one sense that might be true. But think of it from this perspective… if both you and your competition have access to the exact same information, and can offer the exact same deal, how will you differentiate yourself from them?

One way to ensure your forward momentum is to take the time to make sure you do as good of a job presenting yourself as you do of presenting what you have to offer. Here are 3 time tested do’s and don’ts of sales protocol.

1.     Don’t talk to people like you know them—before you know them.

Do:  Dale Carnegie said, "A person’s name is the sweetest sound to them in any language." But that doesn't mean Mrs. Debra Nice, the president of a company you’d like to do business with, will appreciate you calling her Debbie. Address people formally until you are invited to do otherwise.

2.     Don’t disregard the chain of command.

Do:  A chain of command might be annoying to deal with, but it serves a purpose. If you disregard it and go straight for the chief decision maker, you might get the “yes” you were hoping for, but he or she is very likely to turn the deal over to the people you just stepped over—not the best way to build a business relationship. Be respectful of the people you interact with as you work your way up the decision maker chain, and they will be more likely to return the favor by speaking well of you and what you have to offer to their higher-ups.

3.     Don’t speak poorly of your competition.

Do:  Successful sales people know that their clients and customers aspire to rise to the top of their market. But trash-talking your competition doesn’t provide any positive information about how you and your company can help them achieve that goal. Keep your presentation/discussion focused on what the client really cares about—how the product and/or service you offer will improve their position in their marketplace. Do a good job with that and your competition won’t matter.

Yes, these sound like common sense protocols everyone would know and follow, but they’re rarely taught, so many sales professionals end up learning them the hard way. Once you include them as part of your own best business practices though, they are evidence to potential clients/customers of your confidence, professionalism, and experience.

Alan Luoma is a Sales Coach with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales management, new product development, sales and product training. He works 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

Are You Comfortably Numb

The first time I ever heard the words “comfortably numb” within a business context was when Larry Caizzi, the Director of Purchasing at Pacific Packaging said them. Over the years, I’ve realized how right he was, and how easy it is to become comfortably numb. Take sales people for instance. We put in all that time and effort to finally secure the account we’ve been pursuing for a long time. And then, once the ink is dry, we breathe in a big sigh of relief and relax, thinking about how great everything’s going to be now.

But we’re sales people, and that means looking for the next big account to bring on board. Over time, the account we just secured naturally starts drifting down our list of priorities. We know it’s still there. It’s a persistent noise in the background reminding us that there’s more to sales than just acquiring new accounts. We promise ourselves we’ll reach out to them just as soon as we can, but never seem to find the time to return their calls or schedule the much needed in-person sales call.

It might even get to the point where we start complaining to our manager that the account is becoming a real pain-in-the-ass. Yes, I said it. I’ve witnessed it too, the evolution of an account full of profit potential being relegated to nothing more than a pain in the… well… you know. From there, it’s just a quick hop to becoming numb to the account altogether.

Of course the greatest danger is not just being comfortably numb when it comes to our work, but in life as well because the reality is that if it’s happening at work, then it’s probably happening at home too—and vice-versa. Here are a few reminders that might expose areas in your life where the pressure to succeed might have nudged you into the comfortably numb zone:

• Take responsibility for what you bring into your relationships. It can’t always be someone else’s fault.
• Simple words like “Please” and “Thank You” are words that will help you build rapport. Once you start looking for opportunities to use them, opportunities will abound.
• Treat every encounter like it’ll be the last time you’ll be able to meet with that person… because it just might be.
• Let people know you value your relationship with them. Doing so will build bridges that will stand the test of time. 
• Remind yourself of how much it meant to initially establish the relationship. If it was worth the effort then, isn’t it worth the effort now?
• Remind yourself of what you stand to lose if you continue to ignore the relationship.
• Shift your focus away from thinking solely about what’s in it for you. Think and act from the perspective of adding value, and your relationships will continue to blossom and grow.
• Don’t just post an update on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google+ and think that will suffice. Don’t just send a tweet, or post on Pinterest, or send a group email. None of these adequately replaces the respect of picking up the phone and actually speaking with someone.

Now it’s time for you to stop and think about the areas in your life where you’ve become "comfortably numb". Decide what you need to do, do it, and let the results you get speak for themselves. 

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

Invest in Yourself

How many of us are presented with potential investment or business

opportunities on almost a daily basis? For those of us that are interested

in a potential investment or business opportunity, we perform our due

diligence in looking to see whether or not this would be a potentially good

investment of our resources. In performing this investigative work, many

questions should come to mind. How well do I know the business or industry

that is the subject of this investment? How well do I know the individuals

involved in this particular investment? What is my level of trust and

comfort in the potential investment? What if I were to tell you about an

investment that could provide you with great returns and one in which you

would be extremely comfortable with the individual involved? Would you be

more willing to make an investment in this particular venture?

 

What better use of your resources and what greater comfort level could you

then obtain by investing in yourself? Regardless of what point you are in

your business cycle, there are always more things you could learn. What

specialized knowledge or training could you obtain that could increase your

income? What systems or processes could you implement in your business that

could provide you with greater cash flow? What seminars or workshops are

being offered that you could take to gain a competitive advantage? What

programs, that are being run by industry leaders, could you attend that

could educate you to make you a better provider of your goods and/or

services to the consuming public?

 

Two major objections will come to mind for most people. The first is that

you don't have the money. I like to think that gaining specialized knowledge

or training is not a cost but rather an investment because I know that the

money I expend for any such seminars and trainng programs will come back to

me multiple times thereafter.  Think about the knowledge you will gain and

the people you will meet and how these contacts can help to improve your

business and ultimately your cash flow? How can you share the specialized

knowledge and training with the consuming public through social media, press

releases and by posting on your website that will enable you to gain more

clients or customers?

 

The second objection is that you don't have the time. What better investment

of your time could there be for you than to be learning, improving and

growing in your business?

 

There is a huge spectrum of investments that you can make in yourself that

range from minimal uses of your resources to devoting significant time and

money into personal development. Have you thought about how becoming a

better communicator might make you more marketable and provide you with a

greater source of income? Look into joining your local Toastmasters Club

which requires minimum use of your time and money. The benefits of this

investment are huge in what you will learn and the people you will meet.

Looking for other options? What programs, seminars or classes are there on

CDs that you can buy and then listen to in your car while driving to and

from work, to business appointments or on weekends? This investment is also

minimal but can provide you with great returns. Are there seminars or

workshops that are being conducted in your area that you could attend? Are

there larger events that might require you to travel and stay at a hotel to

attend that could provide you with a worthwhile return on your investment?

 

Rather than looking to invest your time and money into business ventures or

business opportunities that present a great deal of risk, you should always

consider investing in yourself. Become more disciplined. Set time aside each

day to better learn your craft. Listen to CDs while driving. Read books and

listen to audio programs. Attend seminars, webinars and workshops. Make sure

you get to know the people attending these events and give your elevator

speech to develop potential sources of business. By investing in yourself

you have greater control over your expected rate of return. This return

would include becoming more knowledgeable about your area of expertise and

generating more income for you and your business.

 

 

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

The Power of Focusing on the Present.

When was the last time you were talking to someone and they pulled out their cell phone to answer a call or read an email that just pinged its presence? What was your response? Did you think to yourself, “Wow, I would never do that – very disrespectful and unprofessional.” Or did you pull out your own cell phone to check for messages and emails glad the other person reached for theirs first.
We all feel the demands of our jobs. And yes, we have technologies at our disposal that make staying in contact easier, but that’s not the same thing as connecting. Regardless of the excuse you are using – multitasking, juggling priorities, making the most out of the time you have, etc. –be prepared to admit that trying to do everything at once is NOT the best recipe for success.
Consistency builds confidence. When you apply the idea of consistency to the ways you connect with your clients, it builds their confidence in you. Here are five simple consistency solutions that will show your clients how much respect you have for them and their time:

1.  Set specific times for answering phone calls, correspondence, and email. Make sure to communicate your daily ritual to people so they'll have a good idea of when you'll be responding to them. If you absolutely have to interrupt a conversation to take a call, let the person you're speaking to know you might be interrupted before your conversation begins.

2.  When you're in a meeting shut off your portable devices and focus on the meeting. Think about the message you're sending when your phone rings (loud enough for everybody to hear) and you stand up and run out of the room like a rabbit being chased by a hound. Yes, you’re important, we get it. But is that the way you do business? Here one minute – gone the next?

3.  When you're sitting down to focus on work that needs to get done, turn off your cell phone and portable devices, and shut off the email notifications function on your computer. If you've been setting yourself up for success, your clients already know you do this. Nothing beats getting a project done early as the result of your focused thought.

4.  If you have to take calls while you're driving, commit to using a headset or speakerphone. If you need to look at notes – or take notes – please pull over. You're putting both yourself and everyone in the path of your car at risk when you don’t.

5.  Don't restrict these solutions to work. It’s just as rude to interrupt the conversations of family and friends. Turn your devices off when it’s appropriate.
Our devices may put us in contact with each other quicker, but no device can do the job of making the connection that’s necessary for building relationships. Relationships, both professional and personal, are built when you treat people with respect.

Alan Luoma is a Sales Coach and Speaker with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales management, and sales and product training. He holds key accounts with a national sustainable packaging company, is a motivational speaker, and provides sales training to individuals and groups. He is a member of the Hartford Springfield Speakers Network. You can view his profile on LinkedIn, or contact him at Luoma@snet.

Want to improve your business? Analyze your competition!

One of the basic tenants of capitalism is that people seek out the latest and greatest. If you build a better mousetrap then people will beat a path to your door. After all, competition makes us look for ways to improve how we do business. Therefore, one of the best ways you can improve your business is to look to your competitors.

How can you go about researching your competitors? You can start by performing a basic Google search for keywords that your clients or customers may use. What companies are buying banner ads? What companies come up at the top of the organic search list? What competitors stand out from the rest of the pack?

You should also visit your competitors websites. What are they doing that is
better or different and how can you utilize this information? You should place both your company and your competitors on Google alerts so you can see when some announcement is made or to monitor what your competitors are up to and what is being said about your company.

What is being reported or done by your competitors on social media? What interesting spins or twists are your competitors using to differentiate themselves from their competitors? What is their unique selling proposition and how can you use this information to improve what you are doing and how you are conducting your business?

After looking at what your competitors are doing better, you should make a list and review those items. You need to be prepared to make changes to what you are currently doing. You should then go about determining how you can improve your marketing, customer or client service, your pricing and updating your products or services.
You need to use this information to innovate not imitate your competitors. What can you do better or how can you add more value?

You should also be attending industry trade shows. Who are the big exhibitors and what are they highlighting? What new ideas might work well in your business? What are the emerging trends and how can you keep up with them?

If you look to your most successful competitors and be willing to make changes to how you do business you can greatly improve your chances of getting more and more business, some of which will come directly from your most successful competitors. It was reported that one major fast food chain was spending millions of dollars each year in market research to determine where to build their next restaurant location. This company's largest competitor spent nothing on this type of market research but waited to find out where their competitor was building their next restaurant and then would build one directly across the street.

How can you use your competitors research and development to your advantage?

You don't need to find out about how to build a better mousetrap you just need to see how others are building theirs and then make innovative changes!

 

Now, Shut Your Mouth To Success

Gossip can be difficult to avoid because it’s all around us. You’d be hard pressed to find a TV show or movie that doesn't have gossip in it. The same goes for books. There are even “news” programs dedicated entirely to gossip.

We’re all guilty too. At one time or another, just about everybody has shared a nice juicy piece of gossip with a coworker—or two. Even if you haven’t been the one doing the talking, you've probably found yourself standing in the break room sharing a good gossipy laugh until the person you’re talking about walks in.

In fact, gossip has become so prevalent that it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that a little gossiping every now and then is perfectly acceptable behavior. Don’t believe it. Gossip can end relationships. In a business setting, gossip can end the business relationship you were counting on for income.

There are definitely times when it’s hard to decide if what someone is saying has crossed the line from being relevant business information over to providing observations or details that are outside the scope of the current situation. You can’t stop people from gossiping. But there are a few rules you can follow so gossip won’t interfere with your ability to build solid and successful business relationships. Here are three:

1.      Don’t say things about other people you wouldn't be willing to say to them directly. This isn't the old adage of only saying good things about other people. In business, sometimes the facts are the facts and they may not always be nice facts. But they are what they are, and sometimes those facts are the difference between securing, keeping, or losing an account. Don’t embellish. Stick with the truth and you won’t have any trouble remembering what you said if you have to repeat it.

2.      Remember that how you speak about your co-workers, business associates, and clients is the way your co-workers, business associates, and clients believe you speak about them in their absence. When you speak well of the people you do business with, you’ll be building business relationships based on trust and respect. That won’t happen if you gossip.

3.      There might be people you’re thinking about doing business with who gossip to you. We all want to be liked, and we definitely want to build our business relationships to increase our income, but don’t give into the gossip game thinking it will help. That’s not to say you shouldn't do business with people who like to gossip. You might find yourself bluffing your way through a few uncomfortable conversations, but stick to your business strengths and ethics.

When you follow simple rules like these, you’ll be putting yourself in a better position to build solid long-term business relationships….  Well, that’s what I heard.

Alan Luoma is a Sales Coach and Speaker with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales management, and sales and product training. He holds key accounts with a national sustainable packaging company, is a motivational speaker, and provides sales training to individuals and groups. He is a member of the Hartford Springfield Speakers Network. 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.