 Sports and business have a lot in common. It doesn’t matter what sport you play; the objective is to win. Similarly, it doesn’t matter what kind of business you operate, you want to win. Winning in sports could mean ending with the most points or arriving at a destination faster than the rest. In the business world, winning might be outselling a competitor or having world-class customer service. Parallels exist at the leadership level in sports and business. A great coach is often synonymous with a great team. Comparably, outstanding businesses are commonly led by exceptional leaders. What great leaders do differently
Although some leaders make success appear effortless, businesses don’t just become successful by accident. It’s the leader’s vision that not only puts the game in play but keeps the momentum going. Great leaders know how to scout talent. Sure, they may delegate the talent search to a member of their team (i.e., human resources), but they do so with a strong list of criteria they are looking for in each candidate. Leaders are looking to fill roles, but not just any ordinary person will do - - they want the “one.” Even after hiring the right person to fill a role, great leaders aim to fully develop those team members. They aren’t satisfied with the status quo; they know the success of the team is contingent upon the successful development of individuals. Positioning Filling roles is only part of the equation. After finding the right people, great leaders make sure to position their team members in a way that results in the best outcomes. Observing Like a coach watching a tactical play, great leaders are always observing the flow of business and keeping an eye out for opportunities for improvement or growth. They recognize areas of strength and areas in need of improvement. They are continuously analyzing whether the best strategy is a complete overhaul of a team or to simply swap out one aspect of the process. Communicating It’s one thing for a leader to be able to communicate with team members. It’s something else entirely to teach team members how to effectively communicate with each other. Clear communication is imperative in sports and business. However, communication doesn’t always come naturally. Therefore, great leaders will set expectations for communication by modeling good communication on their end. Great leaders know no one gets anywhere by expecting people to read minds. Motivating You’d be hard-pressed to hear a coach telling a team “This game is no big deal,” or a business leader saying: “This client doesn’t really matter.” Coaches and business leaders won’t disregard any role as unimportant or irrelevant; they will tell each player the expectation for performance. Motivation doesn’t always need to be a loud, inspirational pep talk. Many great leaders quietly motivate their team. Team members of great leaders know the walk is always more important than the talk. Becoming A Great Leader You don’t need to be the coach of a championship sports team to be an outstanding leader; you can be a great leader in business. In fact, all you really need is to keep your focus on the fact that great leaders are always surrounded by great teams who look up to them, trust them, and know trust is a two-way street. Great leaders scout talent to fill roles, position, and reposition, observe and analyze, communicate, and motivate. Think like a great leader, act like a great leader, and your team will see you as a great leader.
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The workplace in 2021 requires employers to rethink priorities and development of necessary skill sets. Businesses should embrace a dynamic approach to reskilling talent as new skills become relevant and necessary.
Businesses of all sizes have been drastically affected by the coronavirus outbreak. As things have unfolded over the last few months, it is an interesting time to be in marketing and communications.
One thing that is abundantly clear is that many businesses have experienced a situation unlike any before. The pandemic is a perfect example of a case for a communications plan. Having an emergency communication plan is essential for your business. You need to know what to say and when to say it. When you are faced with a crisis, you don’t want to be in a state of confusion scrambling around for the right things to say, regardless if it is an outbreak like coronavirus, a social issue, or an emergency within your staff or family. Your messages should be kept simple and updated regularly. The Communications Team It doesn’t matter the size of your company or whether you have a marketing team - you need to know who is responsible for communications. Ideally, this would include the CEO/owner, leadership team and a communications person. It is important to have all these members on the same page, but you’ll need only one person to craft the message and one person to proof and approve the message. This will help to ensure that one person is saying what they want to say and not representing the whole company. You may think a small business with one owner only requires that one person to be the point, however, if the emergency is impacting the owner, someone needs to communicate that. Also, allocate a responsible person to maintain phone numbers and emails for staff that is regularly updated. If your plan needs to be activated, you must be able to reach your employees in the easiest way possible. You will also need a media plan if the need arises to contact the press. Issues of Response It is important to know what issues will need a reaction from you, and whether these situations need responses internally, with customers, with the public, or all. Truthfully, there are small and large crises all the time, and you can’t really respond to every single one. Do you respond to national situations or a local tragedy? Do you respond to political situations? Something to think about is how responding (or not responding) to a situation aligns with your core values and how it looks socially. It’s also important to consider your customers and their concerns about the situation. Does the situation impact your customers’ ability to do business with you? Does responding to the situation reassure your customers or only cause them more worry? The messages and the delivery Regardless if it is just the owner or a team, it is good to always have an extra set of eyes on the message. So, if you are the business owner, you might be the one to draft your company memo but have your office administrator proof the message. If you are a marketing manager, you might write the message and have the business owner approve it. Some details to think about:
Determine What to Include in the Message When writing a message to staff, it is important to be positive in stressful times. Everyone reacts differently to situations. In the situation of coronavirus, some people may just want to keep working while others may be experiencing great anxiety. It is important leaders remain calm and be encouraging. For addressing staff in any situation, some things to highlight are: No one knows what lasting effect the coronavirus will have on our economy. We have no idea the timeframes or the long-term repercussions on our businesses.
This disruption is testing everyone’s emotional and social operating system and functioning, which is better known as emotional intelligence. As Darwin deduced, those who survive “are not the strongest or the most intelligent, but the most adaptable to change.” It’s the responsibility of leaders to show empathy, optimism, and flexibility that will lead businesses out of this crisis. It may all come down to our ability to be problem-solvers. This crisis will probably not end in the next few weeks, and with so many people experiencing high anxiety, this could be a good time to refresh our emotional Intelligence Skills. Be Empathetic Keep in mind that this event is impacting everyone, not just you and your business. Remind yourself that you have no idea what someone else may be going through. Sensing that everyone is in a similar situation is a remedy for elevated levels of stress and pessimism that may only compound your frustration and ability to Solve Problems.  The best sales teams are most often led by someone who is more like a sales coach than a sales manager. The dedication to developing inside sales skills ultimately creates a sales team that not only hits its short-term goals but instills a culture of learning and self-improvement in order to achieve its long-term goals as well. But it’s not always so easy. Superb inside sales skills don’t always come naturally to young reps, and sales leaders often feel like they don’t have the time or mastery to adequately coach. I know how important the process is and have concentrated it to this list every salesperson should master. Product/Service Knowledge
A salesperson who doesn’t perfectly understand the product or service they’re selling is completely ineffective. Training should be one of the very first things you teach – they should be able to explain in detail how each product/service works, what business value it offers, and the reasons it appeals to your company’s ideal customers. This will help craft the sales pitch effectively and ensure the strongest features are highlighted. Deep product knowledge is honestly one of the few things that separate the top 1 percent from the rest. Strategic Prospecting Skills While many sales leaders have their reps do early cold-calling, I actually never suggest cold calling. From an economics perspective, it is obviously considerably more cost-effective to do sophisticated prospecting or “strategic prospecting.” This means searching for referrals through existing connections that fit the target buyer or ideal customer profile. It also means thinking about new and original marketing ideas that are proven to work in your industry. It’s also important to go back to closed and lost opportunities with whom you’ve already had previous conversations and try to revive them. Building Rapport on the Call Some people already have a natural ability to create instant rapport and only have to finesse it. Others can learn to research prospects in advance and find common ground to empathize with the person on the other end of the line. Whether you’re chatting about sports, attending the same college, or just the weather, rapport should not be underestimated. Buyer-Seller Agreement In order to set mutual expectations and to make your prospects more comfortable, you should learn how to create an agreement that sets the tone for all calls or sales meetings. These are verbal agreements at the beginning of the sales process that outline expectations for both sides. For example, “Let me ask a few questions about your business and then I will be able to show you exactly how we can help you to ensure this is this best fit for all of us.” It allows the prospect to feel comfortable and understand what is coming next, so no one feels ambushed by the next step. It also allows a two-way street in the selling process so that both parties get to a win-win conclusion. Today’s marketplace has transformed as to how sales are generated and sustained. And nowhere else is this more apparent than in the changing relationship between sellers and buyers.
Gone are the days of pure transactional selling. Buyers don’t wait for you to come to them anymore. Instead, they seek out what they’re looking for. When they’re prepared, they choose to do business with those who best meet their needs. More than ever, the strength of the connections you cultivate determines how successful you’ll be in positioning yourself in the minds of your buyer as that top pick. Build relationships within communities If you look at the current selling landscape, you could say it resembles the rise and success of the modern farmers’ market. These operate on a small scale across multiple communities and thrive on local connections. You see your neighbors all the time, which is community building, and vendors all promote each other through a rich network of selling goods and services. For example, the local butcher recommends buying tomatoes at another farmer’s market up the road for a delicious sauce to compliment the meat. Or the bread maker tells customers that the cheese and jams of the neighboring vendor are second to none. A buyer can confidently find what they’re looking for in these networked communities. And the seller’s work and reputation are measured by how useful they are to both the marketplace and customers. The same is true of today’s selling landscape. Communities are where relationships get forged now, and to be part of a community means to put in the time to share what you know so that you help something meaningful grow for the benefit of others. Seek spaces, not places It’s not just about closing the sale anymore. And it’s not about telling others to follow you as the leader in a monopolizing way. Today’s marketplace without boundaries means that buyers from the four corners of the earth can find what they’re looking for in spaces where people congregate. I’m choosing my words carefully here: I’m talking about spaces rather than places. Spaces don’t occupy a fixed location, nor do they have limits on who can join or what they can contribute. Spaces can be created online. They can be found in professional associations. By occupying spaces, you’re creating a sense of kinship and shared purpose. Out of this, communities are born. When managed correctly, it means an end to the boom-bust cycle of sales, because unlike the old way of doing things, communities are populated first and foremost with people, not buyers. The four groups to establish To adapt and grow a sales force that can thrive in a marketplace without boundaries, there are four types of communities your organization needs to build and sustain.
Just like with farmers’ markets, buyers today are looking for more than a transaction; they want to do business with people who can provide knowledge and insight on top of the products or services being offered. That meeting point can only be achieved if you take the time to build a rapport with your prospects and customers. This means you put their needs first, help them learn and grow, and deliver value far beyond what your product or service provides. Amazing things can happen when you embrace change as an opportunity to work differently than you’ve done in the past. Find ways to build your own communities. Think about how you can become a trusted part of today’s marketplace without boundaries. So many prospects and clients to kill, so little time. But don't worry; salespeople all over the world are doing their damnedest to kill as many prospects and clients as possible every day. Their weapon of choice? Communication or, more specifically, communication fraud. I suspect you are like me, getting dozens of emails, phone calls, snail mail letters, and even face-to-face meetings with sellers who seem to have only one goal, to waste as much of my time as possible.
They email and call wanting to know if I'm doing OK, or if I need anything, or if they can show me a new product or service without having the slightest idea if I need it or could actually use it. Some call just to let me know they're still around and want my business. Many of these intrepid sellers have bombarded me with so much time-wasting junk communication that they've taught me to ignore them. When I see an email or letter from them or if I get a voicemail message from them, I know that I need pay no attention to them. Their time-wasting communications have killed me off as a prospect and, worse, I've even had some sellers kill me off as a client because of their insistence on trying to waste my time. Sellers work hard to find and connect with quality prospects and then to win them as clients. Why in the world would they want to then commit prospect and client genocide? Obviously, their intent isn't to become mass murderers, but that's the result of many sellers' communication strategies. Their killer communication strategy is to teach their prospects and clients to ignore and avoid them because they have nothing of value to say. So many sellers think their day to day communications with prospects and clients aren't that important. Their object is simply to keep their name in front of that prospect or client and to do that; they feel a need to contact them even when they have nothing of import to communicate. More correctly, they are just too lazy to find something of value to deliver to the prospect or client. In other words, their killer communication strategy is to tell their prospects and clients in no uncertain terms that they just aren't important enough for the seller to invest the time and energy necessary to add value for them. Now that's a killer communication strategy. There is a simple communication rule: Every communication you have with a prospect or client is teaching them to either pay attention to you because you bring value to them or to ignore you because all you do is waste their time. In other words, every communication you have with a prospect or client is teaching them that it's worth taking your phone calls and reading your emails because they know you're not going to waste their time — or you're teaching them that you aren't worth their time. Which one are you?
As a business person, and specifically in sales, your posture and body language can have a similar impact on how your customers and prospects view you, your company, and the products or services you sell. As hard as it may be to believe, the better it is, the better your chances are of gaining the confidence and trust of the people you sell to! The worse it is, the worse your chances are of getting them to listen to what you have to say.
In a recent Ted Talk, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are,” Harvard social psychologist Amy Cuddy went so far as to suggest that body language (or, as Cuddy calls it, non-verbal communication) can change other people’s perceptions of us, as well as our own body chemistry. So, even though you might not feel confident when you meet with a prospect, you can actually convey confidence through your body language, posture, and movement. And that can have an enormous impact on your ability to close more sales. As I have said many times in many presentations, “put a smile on no matter how bad your day is.” I’m not saying that you should all of a sudden start acting like an over-confident meathead in sales meetings – shouting, cracking crude jokes, or awkwardly attempting to dominate the conversation will get you nowhere. Rather, I’m suggesting that you consider making some relatively small tweaks. As the Wall Street Journal’s Sue Shellenberger points out, embracing the concept of striking “power poses” to raise your confidence before you enter meetings or pick up the phone can drastically improve performance. Sounds silly, but it works. What exactly does a power pose look like? According to Shellenberger, it can be as simple as standing in front of a mirror, leaning forward a little bit and placing your hands on a table in front of you. Or, it could be sitting back in your chair and kicking your feet up onto your desk. Both body positions instill power and confidence, and Shellenberger’s article suggests that they raise testosterone levels and lower the presence of cortisol – a hormone that has been tied to stress and anxiety. I even suggest that you stand in front of a mirror, feet slightly apart, hands on hips, in what I call a “Superman pose.” And with Wonder Woman being so strong a female character in today’s entertainment world, women can feel more confident just spinning around by virtue of Lynda Carter in the ‘70s TV show. (Laugh if you want, I have done it.) Sales is really about the confidence you’re able to convey to your prospects (in addition to solid solutions, of course). If prospects trust what you’re saying, they’ll be more likely to buy-in to your recommendations. If they don’t trust you, even the best recommendations will fall on deaf ears. Obviously, besides passion and confidence, you must truly be trustworthy and offer factual information. But remember, how you stand, smile, pose, shake hands, and speak can change the energy in a face-to-face meeting with a customer, while the tone, power, and confidence of your voice can greatly influence the flow of a phone conversation. So, smile as you talk. Stop slouching. Breathe from your diaphragm. Strike a power pose when you stand up from your desk. All of those things will raise your energy level and confidence. And that will undoubtedly translate to winning more sales! - - and I suggest you not pose or spin in front of the client. |
Boost Your BusinessMaria NovakI have over 35 years' experience in Marketing Small Businesses. Categories
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