Why Learning About Selling May Be the Best Thing You Ever Do!

As I prepare to facilitate a sales leadership session for the Canadian Professional Sales Association along with alliance partner, Les Kennedy of Loyalty Edge, whose program this is, I am reminded of the years I spent in the field and the years I am currently spending working with those who are in the process of engaging in either their own business development or encouraging the business development of their team members.  I am always reminded how fortunate I was to have landed in the profession of selling so many years ago, when I was hired by Xerox Canada.  It was because of that one decision on their part and mine that I learned and acquired skills that have served me very well in everything I have done in my career and personal  life for many years now.  In this latest stage of my career, I have incorporated all of that learning and experience into my new practice as an Executive Coach.  Sometimes we can’t envision how all the pieces will come together – it’s just enough to know that they will. 

I find my clients, whoever or wherever they may be, often struggle with issues of business development.  Whether entrepreneurs who love what they do but don’t know how to sell, or corporate leaders who are in positions where influence and internal selling are critical, or lawyers, accountants and consultants, who never expected to have to sell themselves or build their own practices, the issues are very similar.  They include things like,

“I’m not a salesperson.  I’m a _______(lawyer, accountant, cabinet maker, dress designer, HR Advisor, etc.)  I wasn’t trained to sell and I don’t want to sell – damn it!”

“I thought if I joined a consulting company, the clients would be provided and I’d be able to do what I love to do – deliver services.”

“I never expected that working inside this corporation at this level that I’d be spending a great deal of my time persuading, educating, convincing others of what I know is the right strategy to take.”

“I have no idea how to build my own practice in this particular area.  I’m currently focused on learning and doing the work given to me, but I know partnership includes getting known in this area and that doesn’t just happen.”

So as I work with many of you to establish yourselves as great leaders and professionals, I am feeling really encouraged to know that the first step to excellence has been taken, and that is MINDSET.  The first thing professionals must do in order to develop business with external or internal clients, is to understand how vital the skills of “selling,” – YES, SELLING really are to any business, professional or individual.  So, you can call it business development, practice development, marketing, building relationships, whatever you like.  The bottom line is that if you accept that you need to get intentional about learning the highly professional skills of selling, you will EXCEL!  Good luck.  Joan

Breathing Through Feast and Famine

Often people ask me how I coach entrepreneurs about the feast and famine phenomenon of being in business.  A while ago I dealt with this topic by writing an article, published in Mompreneur Magazine.   I wrote it from the perspective of just about anyone in business for themselves, whether a startup or having many successful years at it.

“This morning when I opened my calendar, everything looked different.  Surely someone’s been playing with my computer.   I could swear I had appointments booked and paying clients taking every available spot for the next two months.  I must be having a bad dream.  Pinch myself.  Nope.  It’s true – I’ve hit the dreaded dry spell!

Entrepreneurs talk about it all the time as part of the game, but being in it is an entirely different thing.  If you are like most business owners, you haven’t yet managed to balance the feast and famine phenomenon.  The question is, “What do you do when the famine hits?”

First of all, BREATH!!!  Preferably without hyperventilating.  Don’t panic.  Don’t throw in the towel.  Don’t check the employment ads.  Do remind yourself why you started your business.  Do remind yourself of all the successes you’ve enjoyed and will once again enjoy.  Do remind yourself if you are just starting up, that it takes time to build an active business.  Do park your negative self-talk and replace it with positive affirmations, like “Today I am one step closer to experiencing the wild success that I’ve dreamed about!”

When things are looking a bit slow, do the following:

-Go to your database and call all the people you’ve been meaning to stay in touch with.  Arrange to meet and exchange ideas or just have a coffee and find out how you can help them with their objectives.

-Apply a referral selling process.  In No More Cold Calling™, The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust, Joanne Black puts forward a practical approach to building your business through referrals.  This simple system can propel your business through the roof without wasting business development time.

-Attend to the business planning that you may have been procrastinating about.  Revisit your business and marketing plans.  It will likely re-energize you.

-Find a coach. Whether hired or a business buddy, it’s very helpful to have a thinking partner, someone to share with and encourage you to keep your eye on preparing for the next delectable feast.

-Learn something new.  Take the opportunity to read the last business book you bought and put on your nightstand or attend a training program that’s been on your to do list.

Most of all, remember dry spells are temporary and keeping perspective is critical to your success.  The objective is clearly to have fewer dry spells and more feasts.  However, dry spells are inevitable for most entrepreneurs.  If you find you are stuck in dry spell, do get some guidance from someone who can provide insight for you and be prepared to explore difficult possibilities.  As Jim Collins says in “Good to Great,” Confront the brutal facts, yet never lose faith.”

www.jpaultraining.com

Coaching Entrepreneurs

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to facilitate advisory boards consisting of small business entrepreneurs.   As an Executive Coach, I am keenly interested in hearing the common issues that surface regularly with business owners.  Three that I heard today which seem to be fairly consistent are:

1.  A feeling of discouragement that comes in waves.

2.  A lack of motivation that seems to be cyclical.

3.  A fear of success that seems to be pervasive in one’s life and work.I started to wonder if the very attributes that encourage entrepreneurism are also ultimately the reasons why it is so easy for entrepreneurs to become discouraged, fearful and unmotivated for a period of time.  Is it that our idea adrenaline propels us to action only to stop us dead in our tracks when we face the mundane difficulties of business?  How can a masterful coach be helpful?  I felt myself craving the opportunity to take off my facilitator hat and put on my coaching cap.   Because I couldn’t do that today, allow me a moment to play out an imaginary coaching conversation around one of the issues, “handling discouragement.”  Here it goes.

Coachee:  “I’ve been feeling particularly discouraged about the business this week.  I’d like to talk about that.”

Coach:  “Sounds good.  What is it that you would like to take away from today’s session with regard to that?”

Coachee:  “I’d like to prevent myself from going down that road – it’s so debilitating.”

Coach:  “I see.  So today then, you want to come up with some ideas/solutions to circumvent the discouragement you sometimes feel?”

Coachee:  “Yes, that’s correct.”

Coach:  “I’m curious to know what triggered the feeling of discouragement for you this week?”

Coachee:  “I’ve been working so hard to do the right things and I was so excited when I was busy, but things have slowed down again, cash flow is an issue and I just started thinking it was always going to be like this.  I began to doubt myself.”

Coach:  “Well first let me say that I have been very impressed with the all the things you have been doing to market your business over the past few months.  You have shown terrific energy and passion for what you are doing.  How have you felt about this great work you’ve been doing so far?”

Coachee:  “Well, I was feeling terrific about it, but then it stopped paying off and as I said that’s when I started to get discouraged.”Coach:  “What is it that worries you most about that?”

Coachee:  “I panic when things look slow and I can’t see where the cash flow is going to come from.  I’m terrified of the debt I’m incurring.”

Coach:  “I can appreciate the immediacy of that concern.  Knowing where the money is going to come from is important.   Tell me, what do you believe the future will be for you in this business?”

Coachee:  “I’d like to believe it looks completely different.  Lots of ongoing business, cash flow excellent, and all the work I do to build the business really paying off.”

Coach:  “Hmmm.  I have a thought – I wonder if you would mind if I shared it? 

Coachee:  “Certainly, go ahead.”

Coach:  “When you said “I’d like to believe” the future looks different, it made me wonder how strong your belief really is that you are going to achieve success.   How unwavering is your faith in this business?”

Coachee:  “Well, that’s a great question.  On the one hand, I do believe it can be hugely successful if I do all the right things and can sustain it.  On the other hand, I sometimes doubt that I will be able to do all the right things to sustain it and therefore it won’t be successful.  So I guess the answer is that my faith is “wavering” rather than “unwavering.”

Coach:  “You know, recognizing that is really a huge step forward.  How much of this wavering feeling contributes to your discouragement do you think?”

Coachee:  “I suspect a lot.  If I could be really determined that all will work out no matter what and go forward fearlessly, I think it would really make a big difference.”

Coach:  “Have you ever experienced this feeling of determination and unwavering faith in anything before?”

Coachee:  “Possibly.  Nothing leaps to mind.  Maybe when I was at University.  I never doubted that I would be a successful graduate.”Coach:  “What do you think was the reason for that assuredness?”

Coachee:  “Well, I  just knew I could do it.  I always did well in school.  I knew I had to finish – no choice.”

Coach:  “That’s interesting.  You felt you had no choice but to be successful.  How would that apply here in this context?”

Coachee:  “Good question.  In the back of my mind, I know I always have a choice.  I could get a j-0-b!  I really don’t want to do that.  But it’s always a niggling thought when the cash flow isn’t there and I begin to panic. 

Coach:  “I can understand that.  In this economy, it would really be easy for you to get a j-o-b.  What if you decided to do that?  How would it make you feel?”Coachee:  “Terrible.  It’s not what I want.  It would ease the immediate financial pressure, but it wouldn’t address my true desires and long-term needs.”

Coach:  “What do you think it would take for you to make that a non-choice for you?”

Coachee:  “I don’t know.  I think if I had some back up cash flow it would help.  Perhaps visualizing how unhappy I’d be if I did make that choice.”

Coach:  “OK.  That’s reasonable.  What are some possibilities that might be more empowering?”

Coachee:  “I’m not sure what you mean.  I guess if I could get cash flow and if I could start truly believing without wavering, I’d be happier.”

Coach:  “How could you begin to work on both of those objectives?”

Coachee:  “Well, I guess I really have no evidence to suggest I won’t be successful.  However, I do have evidence that I will be, because I always have been before.  And I could get money from the bank.  I guess that’s what businesses do.”

Coachee:  “So it sounds like you could start with visualizing success based on past success and you could take the first steps in getting the cash flow you require through the bank?”

Coachee:  “Yes.”Coach:  “How do you feel about getting started on those two objectives?”

Coachee:  “I feel pretty positive actually.  I just need to keep the faith.”

Coach:  “It can be difficult.  What support do you need to keep the faith?”

Coachee:  “I can start with going to the bank and finding out what could be.”

Coach:  “When will you do that?”Coachee:  “Tomorrow.”

Coach:  “Great.  Tell me, what are you taking away from our session today?”Coachee:  “My real future is in this business.   I really need to see myself in the future as a success and I need to do the things that are necessary today to make that happen.  I can’t know the outcome for certain on any choices that I make, including having a j-o-b and I have to get comfortable with that.” 

Coaching Entrepreneurs

Hot Spot Executive Coaching

Many years have passed since I entered the profession of “people development.”  As a veteran sales and workplace training consultant, I am accustomed to working with pretty terrific clients and achieving great results.  While I often receive evaluations and certainly discuss outcomes of engagements with clients, this week will be a bit different.  This week I am culminating an 8 month certification process in Executive Coaching at Royal Roads University.  With 39 other highly qualified and experienced people, I will take my place in front of a panel of coaches, business people, and my 6 member team to coach for a half hour someone I’ve never met before who will come to the table with a business issue for coaching purposes.  In the 30 minutes we have together, I will be assessed on how well I apply the competencies I’ve acquired over the years and fine tuned my skills during the coaching program.  The notion of “hot spot executive coaching” got me thinking about “hot spots” in general.  How do true professionals distinguish themselves in hot spot situations?  How do masterful coaches handle hot spot coaching?  What are the secrets some of the most competent people we know have about being in the “hot spot?” 

 It seems to me some people are drawn to the “hot spot” like moths to the flame.  They do their best work under pressure and scrutinatization, while others are hyperventilating in the bathroom waiting for their turn!  Some remain calm and zen like and seem to walk into the “hot spot” as though it were nothing more or less than they do every minute of every day.  I’m no psychologist, but I certainly do find it interesting to try to connect the dots on people’s “hot spot” behaviours.  AND I truly wonder what mine will be when push comes to shove.   I’ll keep you posted.  And I would be very interested to hear your theories on the topic.