Patience

 

 

Perhaps other than practicing a relative form of truth, our prevailing business culture is marked by a lack of patience.  This microwave mentality permeates many aspects of our expectations regarding product functions, learning, sales, marketing, information availability, relationships, and the services we purchase.  Unfortunately, it also marks a number of people in our culture who seem ready to complain or explode at the slightest provocation.

 

Lest I be too quick to make a judgmental statement, we must all be careful to not condemn others so quickly.  We rarely know what mental or physical exasperations others have experienced before they lose their cool.  I once heard a respected physiologist say he had observed normally calm, rational people do the most bizarre and extreme things under the stress of heavy mental or physical pressure.  This does not excuse explosive behavior, but it does help us understand that at times pressure can cause someone to act far outside the limits of acceptable behavior. 

 

However, in this context I am referring to two different aspects of patience.  The first is the patience required to allow a maturing or learning experience take place in another individual.  The second is the patience required to finish a process.  Specifically, this is the patience required to allow for all the components to come together for a quality project or product to be produced.

 

For issues regarding a lack of patience with people, we may have to consider the possibility that the primary issue lies within the person who displays the lack of patience.  It may be necessary for those individuals to seriously consider their own lack of humility.  Many “Type A” personalities have long forgotten what it was like to be the new or inexperienced associate.  These people are so convinced that their decision-making abilities and experience are so superior that patience has be learned.  These learning experiences can be painful for both the impatient individual and the object of their irritation.  

 

This assumption of invincibility can easily lead to outbursts of anger and judgmental decisions about inexperienced or slow people.  So as not to pass judgment on strictly type A’s, it must be acknowledged that we can all loose our patience if personally impeded in achieving our professional goals.

 

To combat this tendency, those of us that fit into the “experienced category” must learn to walk a mile in the other’s shoes and be objective about performance expectations.  Of course, continuous communication is necessary to inform newcomers about production benchmarks.    

 

Patience also has a strong element of gentleness and truthfulness about it.  Just as it is unnecessary to explode at a lack of performance, it is also unprofessional to allow a lack of performance to go on without the proper instruction or retraining.  

 

Project completion is also an area that requires professional and personal patience.  As business managers, we should be practicing objective evaluations about the capital projects recommended to our employers.  Return on investment evaluations in conjunction with the long-term strategies and goals of the company must be used to make these decisions.

 

As with many new initiatives, the initial sailing is not always smooth and there is some level of discouragement midway through the project.   To allow temporary setbacks and our emotions to cause the cancellation of worthwhile projects is a strong sign that patience is lacking.  Frustrated decision making creates bad morale, lost opportunities and at the very least, vacillation that leads to delays in completion.

 

To combat these potential cuts and run temptations, have a strong vision of the success of the new business undertaking.  Foreseeing the rewards through the construction phase will create patience and perseverance.   Have confidence in your initial project analysis and take the setbacks as part of the project’s steps to completion.

 

Application:

 

Has your career been marked by impatience that created barriers to the success of others and yourself?  Work diligently to walk a mile in another’s shoes and visualize the successful outcome of your goals to combat your lack of patience.

Author:

Gary D. Seale - Principal 

Trucon Communications and Consulting

512-529-7045  www.truconbd.com

 

 

A Success Formula for Life

 

Point Number One

 

Take 100% responsibility for everything you experience in life.

This is an absolute statement that has to create a huge question in your mind. Everyone clearly know that you are not responsible for everything that happens in your life. You did not choose your parents, siblings, the country you grew up in, or even the culture that surrounded you. This is specifically true until you reach your late teenage years and begin to make decisions for yourself.

What it does say to me; is that we are responsible for the responses we have to everything that we experience in life. Literally every material procession can be taken from you, you can lose your health, you can lose your relationships, you can lose your position, however no one can rob you of your perspectives, values and beliefs.

Once you take responsibility for everything you experience and understand the vicissitudes of life, then you can determine to take responsibility for how you react. Life with this perspective is all about choices. And taking responsibility is a wise choice that leads to long term benefits.

We all know the law of cause and effect. We choose to drive impaired, speed and drive recklessly, then there is a high probability of having a serious incident. We chose to live a totally irresponsible lifestyle and we lose the trust of our family, friends, employers, and the law.

I was raised in a United Auto Workers union family. There was a strong bias against General Motors and local management. The union installed a psychic determinism attitude that stated the company (GM) is holding me back and I have no power to oppose it. When I worked my way through a business degree, I began to change my attitude. It became very clear how difficult it is to make a viable profit in our competitive business environment.

As employees we do have a choice of where to work and the attitude we’re going to have about our work and life situation. You can literally decide to change and make steps to implement your decision. Your changes may not happen as soon as you would like, but the determination to take ownership of your situation may be one of the most important decisions you can make in life.     

Point Number Two

Everything you think, say and do needs to be intentional, aligned with your highest purpose, your values and your goals.

As a human being, you are in procession of one of the most powerful tools in the   universe. Your brain has billions of neurons and the capability of creating memories and templates under which you can operate under.

You have the capability to establish a resolve to stick to your stated purpose in life, which results in a set of values, which eventually aid you in reaching your goals.

When faced with a decision; the “proverbial fork in the road”, you can make a decision to compromise or live out your values in an intentional manner.

Don’t be concerned about being tempted, We are all tempted!

As we all know temptation confronts everyone on a daily basis. It is the strength of your resolve to be aligned with your purpose, values and goal achievement that allow you to resist the temptation.

Small compromises can seem inconsequential at first but can easily lead to a bigger compromise that leads to a failure. A great example is our food intake. How easy it is to revert to a high carbohydrate diet when we know its ultimately not good for us!

But it tastes so much better, and I deserve it!!!

Learn to capture your thoughts and be intentional.

 

 

Point Number Three

 

To achieve desired outcomes, one must replace complaining with taking action.

Has anyone gotten into a belly aching conversation with our work peer group about the company, its policies, products, and culture? I certainly have and I am not proud about admitting it.

In my very first sales job with 3M, I entered into a whine and complain session with my fellow sales team members in front of a service rep who was transitioning into sales. He promptly told management what he heard, and yours truly got pulled into the office to talk about my conduct. My manager said that I was on the promotable list, but if he heard any more talk about crummy products, then I would immediately be off the list just like that. As he said this, he snapped his fingers to empathize his point. I’ve never forgotten that snap of the fingers.

We all know that no organization is perfect and there is room for growth with us as individuals and organizations. Our best plan of action is to adopt a positive attitude, establish a plan of action about confronting the issues and strenuously go the work with a firm action plan. 

 

In summary:

1.     Take responsibility

2.     Be Intentional in everything you do

3.     Be a person of resolve and action.

 

Gary D. Seale – MBA  July 22, 2022

Trucon Communications  www.truconbd.com

 

Ø Pre-Plan  > Execute  >Evaluate  >Re-Execute

By: Gary D. Seale

Trucon Communications

July 7, 2022

 

Sales Pre-Planning Essentials

Planning to execute an action plan in almost any endeavor is an absolute necessity. With the exception of a couple of kiddos getting together to play, the failure to plan is to prepare to fail. Even the simplest of mundane weekend gotta do’s requires some level of planning to achieve a small level of efficiency and mission accomplishment. Going to the grocery store, buying gas, a stop into the hardware store and running by the cleaners necessitates purchase lists, money availability, routing, and time availability pre-planning.

No matter how tempting it is to put our mind into a free-fall state, it simply defies all logic to not plan. Look at the difference between high-school, college, and pro-level sports teams. The well-funded and most successful programs have broken down every component of the game into quantifiable metrics. These identified measurements allow them to work on improving strengths, addressing weaknesses, and training the athletes to perform at their maximum capacity. This requires creative thinking, market research, and sufficient repetition to drill the plays into the minds of the players so that when the play is called on the field there is no hesitation or flaw in running the play. Of course, there are constraints to running your business plays in the field. They are frequently called competition. I will address those issues in the evaluation segment of this paper.

In the field of professional selling, pre-planning must be at the forefront of every professional’s mind because of the time management and focus required to be a success in this extremely competitive selling environment. Even on a daily basis, I have found that my productivity decreases drastically when I start the day without some concrete sales and marketing goals. These daily goals should be seen as your mission efforts, which are derived from the vision you have established for your company. These daily efforts are also predicated on your personal answer to the question; Why am I doing this?

For the smaller firms that rely on their sale’s team members to develop and execute a marketing plan in addition to the selling function; pre-planning is an even more critical function. Pre-planning will include an evaluation of the most effective marketing tools for their industry and company, learning how to operate with the technology and of course identifying the true target market for their products.

The majority of the distribution, manufacturing, and services sales and marketing teams have by now migrated over into digital marketing efforts with the sales teams poised to follow up with in person engagement to close business opportunities.

As previously mentioned, the smaller firms are delegating digital marketing to their sales team members and perhaps a marketing sub-contractor.

The sales team should also be aware of the concept called solution selling. This concept is defined as presenting a solution to the customer’s issues in your field of expertise without going through a series of questions to determine the prospects concerns. This level of pre-planning will require a level of intense preparation or having a sales team with a deep experience level in the prospect’s industry.

The solutions should be creative, detailed, verifiable, and come with an implementation plan.   I was part of a presentation to a huge ALCOA facility in Texas some years ago, where my company virtually left no stone unturned when we made our presentation to take over the safety equipment and services contract at the site. We won the business, displacing a trusted existing supplier based on our detailed explanation of the benefits we could bring to ALCOA.

During the approach to compete for a one-time purchase of equipment or service, it is important to put your thoughts into what the customer’s deepest needs are and how your company will address those needs. This starts with a macro approach, where everyone on the team knows the big picture. Then individuals on your team with knowledge and experience are assigned to address the customer’s issues as if the business was secured. This may require collaboration with external suppliers and internal associates to present the highest quality response that will earn the prospect’s business.

I led a team of associates that secured the self-contained breathing apparatus business at the City of San Antonio Fire Department  ($500,000 initial order) a number of years ago. The process included discovery of the need, collaboration with the manufacturer (SCOTT Aviation), conferring with senior management with my company (Vallen) and the City of San Antonio. The efforts included site tours of offices, warehousing, and repair facilities in Houston, plus commitments for post purchase training of the city repair technicians and fire fighters. The final last-ditch effort came from a push by the fire fighter’s union prompted by me. Finally, the business was won over an existing brand supplier and via a price concession from Scott and Vallen.  

I cannot stress enough that every action you take should be contributing to the master plan you have for your business. No matter how fun it is to talk about the big success stories, keep in mind that it’s the small incremental steps you plan and take every day that contribute to your big wins.

Plan, Plan, Plan!

 

 

 WORKPLACE

JUNE 14, 2022

The World's $7.8 Trillion Workplace Problem

BY RYAN PENDELL

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Globally, employee engagement is in a costly slump
• Engaged employees improve key relationships within an organization
• Download the State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report to learn more

Employees who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged cost the world $7.8 trillion in lost productivity, according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report. That's equal to 11% of global GDP.

In 2021, 21% of the world's employees were engaged at work. Although this is an increase of one percentage point from 2020, we have still not returned to our peak of 22% recorded in 2019.

Clearly, the pandemic has taken a toll on the world's workers. Employee engagement had been rising for the past decade, but the pandemic has stalled that steadily increasing trend. Leaders are now responsible for creating new work environments that are more resilient and adaptable to global shocks. The future trajectory of employee engagement will be one measure of their success.

Why Engagement Matters

REPORT

State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report

Discover the most recent employee data and workplace trends in our latest report.

The term "employee engagement" describes a psychological commitment to one's work, team and organization. It's a mental state that fluctuates all the time, influenced by workplace relationships and events. Engaged employees are mentally in the zone, ready for action.

Engaged employees are the engine that moves your organization forward on every level:

• The employee-leader relationship: Leaders have the power to set priorities and convene talented teams. But it's individual employees, often far from the boardroom, who make leadership initiatives a reality. Do those employees know what they're supposed to do? Do they have what they need? Are they aware of the mission? Do they see the purpose of their work? The answer to these questions is the difference between organizational success and failure.
• The employee-employee relationship: Business runs on relationships, and relationships run on trust. Employees need confidence that their coworkers are looking out for each other and that their manager cares about what happens to them. Creating a sense of flow in a restaurant kitchen, in a classroom, in an office or online requires social bonding and connection gained together through positive performance experiences.
• The employee-customer relationship: Engaged employees are knowledgeable and attentive. They take personal ownership for making customers happy, and they are willing to go the extra mile. They believe in what they are selling. In short, they create remarkable customer experiences. They create "Wow!" moments that make customers buy more, spend more and come back for more.

Engagement as a Strategic Advantage

Engaged employees sound like great people. Who wouldn't want more of them? But here's the catch: Engagement is not a characteristic of employees, but rather an experience created by organizations, managers and team members.

Engagement is not the default position. Every organization engages some employees, but most organizations fail to engage the majority of them. It's the exception, not the rule.

Engagement cannot be created through financial incentives. Employee pay is the "easy button" for attracting, retaining and motivating employees. But it doesn't create psychological ownership for one's work. Moreover, competitors can raise their wages at any time and steal those employees away.

Engagement is not a characteristic of employees, but rather an experience created by organizations, managers and team members.

Creating a culture of engagement is not easy. Building a highly engaged organization takes intention, investment and effort over several years. But the results are worth it. Gallup's most recent employee engagement meta-analysis of 112,312 business units found that teams scoring in the top quartile on employee engagement saw the following benefits compared with bottom-quartile teams:

• 10% higher customer loyalty/engagement
• 23% higher profitability
• 18% higher productivity (sales)
• 14% higher productivity (production records and evaluations)
• 18% lower turnover for high-turnover organizations (those with more than 40% annualized turnover)
• 43% lower turnover for low-turnover organizations (those with 40% or lower annualized turnover)

Engaged cultures are valuable and difficult to copy -- the very definition of a competitive advantage. Organizations that make engagement the controlling factor in day-to-day operations stand out from their competitors. They are also more resilient to shocks: A Gallup study of organizations during the Great Recession found that engaged business units or teams outperform their peers even better during hard economic times.

Global engagement numbers show that while many employers are doing employee engagement surveys, few have really tapped into the power of engagement as a strategic asset. It's worth far more than most organizations realize.

AUTHOR(S)

Ryan Pendell is a Workplace Science Writer at Gallup.

RELATED TOPICS INCLUDE:

 ALL GALLUP HEADLINESARTICLEEMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTWORKPLACEWORLD

Get the insights you need to create an exceptional workplace.

 

Sales Team Issue #8 – Sales Team Synergy

 

 

Quite simply, another way of explaining this issue is to say Team Unity. As sales team members and sales leaders, we all understand that every person is going to handle their job responsibilities in slightly different ways. This is typically based on their personalities, past training, level of experience and how they understand management’s instructions.   

As a sales leader in your organization, it is a good idea to have diversity, however it is a great idea to have unity. Unity is driven by an understanding of the company’s Vision and Mission statement, the quality of the leadership provided, equitable compensation, team successes, recognition, authority granted, humility, a quality organization, and excellent products. Your vision and mission should be privately communicated and publicly displayed throughout the company’s facilities.

Whether you are a solo operator or a large team leader, it will be imperative to coach your associates on the importance of contributing to the company’s vision with every activity. If the proposed activity does not contribute to the vision, then it should be eliminated. These mission-based activities can be very diverse. The depth of expertise required will frequently demand working with other disciplines inside your organization, or possibly retaining that expertise outside from a contractor. As salespeople, we rely on manufacturing, operations, IT, logistics, product development, other departments, and people that have knowledge and responsibilities beyond our scope.

Your coaching should be thorough and consistent as you work to drive home the individual culture that creates unity.

The culture creation that creates unity should include training on every aspect of the sales team’s skill set. People appreciate the investment in their career and professional expertise. This appreciation is part of the loyalty you will receive from your team as they realize your interest in their success.

No matter the angst it might create, accountability and sales metrics are also part of the mix. Salespeople want to be treated fairly and equitably.

Metrics tied to compensation plans should allow for fair treatment to both the employer and employee. Metrics that become punitive to the salesperson because they exceed quota, should be discarded for a better system.

Practicing favoritism can quickly create divisions and instigate anger in the individual performers. The way people are evaluated should be clearly communicated to everyone involved. Ultimately this level of consistency helps your team understand they are an essential part of an organization they can be proud of.

Sales leaders must always be mindful of the fact that any individual will base their decision to stay and contribute upon the potential of the company to provide a viable future for them. Consequently, care must be taken with praise, reprimands, the timing, and quality of their reviews to ensure that each individual feels valued as a key contributor to the success of the company.

Recognition for a job well done is a viable way of creating unity with your team. If everyone has a win-win mentality, then seeing one of their peers receive an award should motivate them to a higher level of performance.

Another aspect of synergy is the personal authority given to an individual who has earned the freedom based on past performance and wise decisions. By delegating authority, the sales team leader can spend more time working with the less experienced associates to help them achieve mastery in their job functions.

Every company should strive to have the right frequency of team meetings with the salespeople to promote information transfer, company directives, and allow best-way information to be shared among the sales team. Meetings should be timely and not be held just for the sake of having a meeting. Seriously consider having strict time limits, a written agenda communicated in advance, and key action plans generated as a result of the meeting. Meetings should keep the team on the correct track (Policing deviations), which contributes to the unity of the team.

Having friendly competitions between teams and individuals can add a little spice to the competitive spirit normally found inside people oriented toward a sales occupation. The combination of the public competition and rewards can add a lighthearted, energizing effect to the attitudes of the individuals on the sales team.

The quality of your products is always an impactful aspect of the morale, productivity, and unity of the salespeople. Personally, I have left several long-term employment situations when the quality of the products and services declined to the point that I did not want to experience the grief from my customers over poor quality. This can be a fundamental aspect of retaining or losing the synergy that the company has worked diligently to build.

In summary, it is important to put some thought and energy into the unity of your organization for the sake of productivity and the impact it will have on your customer base. Every customer should be able to conduct business with one of your locations and expect to receive a very high level of effectiveness, efficiency, and service consistently across the board.

A last footnote to this section should not be neglected. Hiring well, and through onboarding is going to be a critical aspect of the synergy created in your organization. Applicants should be screened not just for sales abilities, experience, and education, but also the attitudes they will bring to the job. The attitude of strong confidence in conjunction with the humility to accept orders will carry the employee and the company a long way.

Do your utmost (I strongly suggest pre-employment screening tests) to hire people with a strong propensity for sales and a driving personality focused on excellence.

 

 

 

Sales Team Issue #7 – Pre and Post Sale Relationships

 

As professional salespeople we might assume that a pre-sale relationship will closely mimic the sales approach as we identify, qualify, and introduce ourselves to the buying influences in our prospective accounts. However, this pre-sale activity is somewhat more of a job responsibility than a relationship building activity.

Relationship building is a combination of the company’s marketing activities and the person-to-person interaction during the presale time period.

When you know the demographics of your target market, the marketing efforts can be crafted to approach those individuals with the appropriate graphics and messages that will attract them.

For example, baby boomers are more likely to respond to a traditional graphics display and a message that reflects the rewards of work and responsibility.

A younger demographic audience is more likely to respond to how the product supports the community, how it promotes upward mobility, and the level of freedom it supports. Graphics will be presented as more utilitarian, science fiction, or possibly superhero oriented.

As the prospect sees and hears the add campaigns, the solidarity with the message begins to build a comfort level and a trust element can begin to develop.    

As the company’s marketing efforts begin to have an impact, then the probability of person-to-person interactions will increase. Then it will be incumbent upon the individual salesperson to use their social intelligence to determine the age, personality style, and what part of the purchasing authority they will play. Then they will need to adapt their message to meet the needs of the prospect in conjunction with their personality style and the pressure the prospect is under to make a buying decision.

This is not advocating that the salesperson become an absolute chameleon, but that they adapt their presentation to the audience to the most persuasive message possible.

This message would not be complete without a word about truthfulness, integrity, and authenticity. Remember, you are suspect until proven trustworthy. And you are the human side of the company’s marketing efforts. Buyers are looking for you to be congruent with the marketing message and be a subject matter expert in your field.

Your professional approach with every individual that you have contact with is paramount. Courtesy and good manners never go out of style. Respect for the individual’s authority and the fact that you are a guest in their facility must be always kept in mind.

Blowing benefits out of proportion and fabricating stories will cost you grievously over time. Your buyers expect you to be prejudiced for your company and products. Let it stand at that.   

Part of any relationship building exercise during the presale approach has to do with the timing of the contact efforts the salesperson will attempt.

As salespeople, we must keep in mind that your prospects are typically very busy and in the early stages of the selling process, your approach and their responses are not a high priority. Sales researchers tell us that it may take eight to twelve attempted contacts before a response takes place. Consequently, persistence will need to be a large part of your efforts. It is my recommendation that starting with an every three-to-five-day frequency will be best, unless you have inside information that mandates a more frequent contact effort.

Let that stretch out to 7 to 10 days after 2-3 weeks, then 4 weeks and later a quarterly approach is recommended.

Use white papers, slide decks (short), third party references, video clips and technical updates if applicable during the process to avoid the “What’s happening now” question. Never use the term, “I’m just following up.” Your might as well say, I’m bored and you’re never going to buy anyway.

At closing, the salesperson must be the quarterback in charge of connecting all the necessary team members for the customer and your company to ensure the implementation process goes smoothly.

At closing, congratulate yourself, but don’t assume that your job is over. Unless you are selling a once in a lifetime product, the possibility of post-sale business always exists. This is very true if you are in a materials, repair, and operating supplies business.

Stay in touch with your decision makers to keep them informed of company changes, product changes, changes in terms and conditions and to present new innovations with your product category.

Keep in mind that every company has personnel turn-over happening on a routine basis. Don’t allow a change to place you in an outsider looking in position. As an MRO supplier for a number of years, we always saw a change in positions as an opportunity to get into the account.

This is a situation where some telephone work can come in very handy. Your calls can discover changes or perhaps that people and policies are staying the same.

There is still a place for birthday well wishes, thank you cards, birth of a child congratulations, death condolences, and major holiday well wishes become part of your relationship efforts.

I once had a supply contract with a major coal mine, power plant and aluminum smelter with 15-20 day to day decision makers. I made it a point to go by every individual’s office at least every six weeks to say hello and leave them a product announcement or little give-away item to stay in touch.  

In summary, your efforts to build a trust relationship can open new doors, give you a second chance when things go badly and help you renew business when a contract comes up for renewal.

Remember, the incumbent supplier usually has a competitive advantage and the salesperson is a huge part of that advantage because of the relationships that have been built.

 

 

 

 

 

                          

Your Selling Platform

As a professional salesperson, it is almost entirely taken for granted that you will have the confidence to present your products and services in a manner that demonstrates your deep belief in their value to the customer. Isn’t that the definition of being a professional?

This belief in your company, their support systems, their competitiveness, and the actual product itself are some of the keys to your ability to display the personal confidence required to win new business in the marketplace. (There may be more issues related to a personal self-image that would require an entirely separate discourse to discuss.)

Unless you have a badly scarred conscience, your confidence can be destroyed by your lack of faith that the products and services offered by your employer are substandard and consequently not competitive in the marketplace.

Please be aware that you can set your standard far to high. There will not be perfection in everything you promote. However, it does need to perform and compete very well in the class of products where you content.

My first experience in a professional selling job was with a major industrial and consumer products company that everyone would immediately recognize. The division that I was hired to sell for was out of their area of expertise. There were some poor decisions made regarding placing the company name on an inferior imported product.

 Even as a rookie salesperson, it did not take long to discover that not only were we not competitive from a features standpoint, but we were also badly overpriced as well. My confidence and morale were damaged to the point of draining energy from my selling efforts. I left for another sales position as soon as possible and learned a few years later that the division was sold to someone in the primary business we were attempting to enter. This new salesperson came very close to getting out of the selling profession based on my experiences and lack of faith in the products.

Here are some recommended steps to insure your “product confidence” stays high.

§  Know your products and your competition very well

§  Keep a competitive file so you can objectively evaluate your competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, and performance claims

§  Keep a record of your wins in the marketplace

§  Capture third party references for your own sake and your prospect’s possible review

§  Practice your presentation with a mentor or manager and video the demonstration for evaluation’s sake

§  Seek constant improvement in your sales presentation and your product confidence

§  Personally use your own product if possible or watch it perform in person

And the last comment on this topic is; There is no excuse for bending the truth in your sales role. Falsehood and cover ups will not last in the marketplace.

Good Selling