Tips & Insights for Top Performance

• 03Mar

  10 Secrets to Productivty for the Sale Person

  Business Coaching, Time Management No Comments

  Because of the nature of many sales jobs (and other jobs too, but especially sales), it is common to get seduced into following the “urgent” carrot. This “urgent” carrot is whatever opportunity for a sale that is in front of me. I see the potential sale, I follow it. Period.

  This model might work for some, but for many it leads to reactionary cycles that are unproductive and lead to a life of 24/7 work life with burnout and no balance. Things fall in the cracks, promises and follow-thru is compromised and it feels like you never quite have enough time.

  Today, one of my clients, who is working on mastering sales productivity, and I reviewed his keys to success. These points are what he attributes to his success in his upper end service based sales (high-end design-build landscaping) and are also relevant to many others… as they are basic productivity keys:

  1. Do a power hour to get your important things done. This is that one hour each AM to focus NOT on your to do list, rather on the important things you need to do but often do not “get to”.

  2. Ask for and know peoples budget. Sometimes this can seem like a question you want to wait to ask and might not be right for all professions, however, it is a great qualifying question. Your goal is to sell. If your buyer has no dollars for the purchase it really doesn’t matter how great of a sales person you are. While you might squeak a sale out of a person like this, the chances are there are other more ripe prospects. Spend your time on people who can afford and are ready to buy your product.

  3. Qualify your jobs. Don’t waste time with unqualified jobs. Again, different sales models require different approaches, but if your target is a big fish, don’t fill your time with small fish. If your target is small fish, then do small fish activity. The key is to know what is a qualified lead for you and pursue those. In the world with many demands on your time, this is one way to work to spend your time with prospects that have greater potential. It is a very simple concept, but many sales people move forward without qualifying the lead. Write down 3 attributes of your buying clients. Use this to help you qualify hot leads from cold leads.

  4. Know your VALUE proposition. Why should people spend money with you? What makes you different than others? What makes your product or service worth it. As a sales person you have to believe in what you are selling and you have to be able to communicate the value or worth. It is a competitive market, what sets you apart from your competition?

  5. Be persistent – ASK FOR THE SALE. Follow-up, don’t assume they are not interested, offer what you can do to help them to make a decisions. (Is there something you are questioning, what is keeping you from making a decision, are you ready to move to the next step, how can I help in the decision making process?)

  6. Have a set schedule of meeting blocks. Know when you met with people so you can easily set follow-up appointments. When you wrap up your sales call, you should be able to set a follow-up appointment. We are all busy, if you don’t do this it can take weeks and months to secure another meeting, meanwhile you might lose the prospect to another faster salesperson. When are your blocks?

  7. 1/3 prospecting; 1/3 sales; 1/3 production. Know the key parts of your sales cycle and spend proportionate time in each quadrant. Often sales people are in the sales part and balls get dropped at the front and end of the cycle. If you are intentional about time in each, you will round out your day, improve the quality of your WHOLE sale cycle not just the actual sell. What are you 3 main parts? Are you spending time in each?

  8. Write down all promises and commitments in calendar. Block time for yourself. Write promises down that you make. Have time to follow-up. You have lots you are thinking about. Your word is important; don’t really on your memory to ensure you make it happen. What time do you need to block for you?

  9. Have balance (honor nights and weekends with family). Again different jobs are different, but have time for you and time for work. The 24/7 person looks like a super star out of the gate, but it is hard to maintain the pace. Think about the long distance runner who sprints from the finish line, in order for you to maintain performance you must balance work and life. Your life allows you to work, so take care of it (health, family, energy, rejuvenation time, etc.) What time do you reserve for yourself/life?

  10. Build a network / support team. Design strategic alliances and build your support team. Even if you work alone, there are relationships you can find where you “help each other out”. These are priceless. Who is your support team?

   Consider the points and the questions. Pick ones that will support you in being strategic with sales. All the best!

• 26Feb

  MONDAY MORNING LEADERSHIP

  Book Reviews, Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Executives & Leaders, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Time Management No Comments

  This is a great book that can be read in one sitting and then re-read over the course of 8 days or 8 weeks. Phenomenal MUST read. It includes 8 easy to digest mentoring sessions that one of the authors, David Cottrell, had sitting at the feet of a business master. Each chapter/session includes great reminders for every business person to remember and integrate into how they work personally and with others. Whether through work, volunteerism, family or elsewhere, these timeless tips are motivational and applicable for every person. He talks about many things we have shared before and also has some new tips. In the sessions on time management, one key statement I found motivational and true was from p. 63: “I’ve never found anyone who had two or three hours a day they could save by doing one thing better. But, I have seen many people find an hour or two a day they could use better by doing a few things differently.” If you want to make better use of your time, you need to be looking for the small increments of time… a minute here, five minutes there, etc. Add them all up and you’ll create more time for you to use.” There is much more. Get the book for your library!

  Tags: David Cottrell, Leadership, Time Management

• 22Jan

  Maximize Time, Energy and Efforts (part 2)

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Time Management No Comments

  2. Define New Habits.

  • What needs to change? (chaotically running from thing to thing)
  • What would help me do better? (prioritizing, doing important things 1st, 1 hour of focus time with no distractions)
  • List 3 things you what you want to start (from 8-9 don’t answer phone, 10 min. daily clean sweep, prioritizing my to do list)
  • Consider having 10 daily habits. These are little actions that you take every day that do not take a lot of time, but in the long run save time. For example, each AM spend 10 min. and do a clean sweep of your desk or house. You will be amazed with how you can cut down on clutter and time spent doing paperwork when you take just 10 min. a day. Write these things somewhere you will see & do them daily!

  3. Implement and stick to it! It takes 30 days of consistent implementation to solidify a new habit.

  PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES

  1. Attitude. What is your perspective on time? We each have 24 hours; the question is how will you spend yours? When we think we don’t have enough time – we rarely get things done, we just spend time complaining. When we are optimistic, prepared and focused – we often are surprised at what can be accomplished in a short period of time (power hours). Take control of your life. We like to blame other things, when really there is a lot we can do.

  2. Self-discipline.

  • Review and refine your plan; stay in action (10 minutes to plan your day, ½ hour to plan for the week, 1 hour to plan for the month).
  • Keep your plan in front of you. Three times each week, set a timer for 10 minutes to review what is working and not. What do you need to change? Are you allocating time correctly? Do you have a margin of flexibility for the unexpected? Make adjustments to your plan and step into action.
  • Keep moving. Whatever you do, DO SOMETHING and keep moving! Paralysis of analysis is a deadly time eater. Assess your plan to the best of your ability and move into action. The picture will be clearer the closer you get.
  • Say No. There are many things that will pop up to grab your time and attention. Saying “no” is important. How? Be honest, tell people why (not excuses), provide other options/solutions; determine what you can do based on your priorities.

  “The more you do of what you are doing, the more you’ll get of what you’ve got” -Unknown

  Get excited about what you can do, grab your plan and get going! Do not put off tomorrow what can be done today!

  Tags: maximize time, personal perspectives, self discipline

• 21Jan

  Maximize Time, Energy and Efforts (part 1)

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Performance & Productivity, Time Management No Comments

  It is very easy to get into the REACTIONARY circle of life! We deal with what comes up and are hard pressed to make progress on our to-do lists! Here are a few strategies on how to maximize your time, energy and effort through good planning, habits and personal perspective!

   PLANNING

  1. Plan ahead.

  •      Take:  10 minutes to plan your day
  •                 ½ hour to plan for the week
  •                 1 hour to plan for the month

    2.   Do the most important things first (with-in the first ½ of your day take 10 minutes to plan for the day)

  • What do I need to do?
  • How long it will take?
  • What is most important? (prioritize)

  Do the top 3 important things FIRST! You have heard the Rock story… if you fill your jar with pebbles, sand, gravel, water, and dirt first (distractions, routines, crisis’s, tasks), there is often not any room left for the big rocks (important priorities that often get cheated, ignored, procrastinated, and left undone because there is just not time).

    3.  Evaluate. We often spend 80% of our day doing things that are 20% effective and 20% of our day on things that are 80% effective. Look at what you are doing with your time. What are the essential things that make the biggest impact? Look to stream-line or eliminate the things that are least effective and spend more time on those things that are most productive.

   DEVELOP STRONG HABITS. Habits are a silent contributor to how we work. Often we do not see these as part of the equation because they are so natural to us. One way to increase your efficiency is to identify old habits that are not working and replace them with good habits that support what we want.

   1.    Identify Old Habits. Evaluate:

  • What am I doing & why? (procrastinating, distracting myself, fire fighting, etc.)
  • What is not working? (running from one thing to the next, getting frustrated, etc.) List 3 things you want to stop (reacting, procrastinating by cleaning, making excuses, etc). It is good to create a structure for what you will do if you catch yourself doing something you want to stop.
  • What is working great? (AM to do list, listening to holiday music, writing my goal daily, etc.)

  Tags: ENERGY, maximize, strategies, time

• 15Jan

  Maximize Your Time: 10 Tips for Extreme Productivity

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Time Management No Comments

  1) Know your work style and use the tools that match. If you work well with technology, use your computer and PALM for scheduling and organization. If you are a visual person, consider using a paper calendar and written to-do list. If you are a people person, develop a team around you to compliment your strengths. If you work alone, find time to focus and remain distraction free. If you are a morning person, attack the most important tasks early in the day.

  2) Use ONE calendar. Sometimes people will have several calendars. One for family and one for work; one electronic and one paper. Keep ONE calendar for everything. Use different colors or type styles to differentiate categories.

  3) Make a to-do list at the end of each day. Your mind naturally begins to work on the list as you sleep. When you awake, you are ready to work, are very productive and organized. Estimate how much time each thing will take you and only put on your next day’s to do list what is reasonable to get done.

  4) “Eat That Frog” first. This is a Brian Tracy concept to do the hardest thing you have to do all day, first, before you do anything else. Doing this will provide you with the feeling of success in having a ‘burden’ off your back and give you momentum to accomplish the remaining tasks.

  5) Have a clear goal and read it daily. When you have a goal you know what to focus on and work toward. If you do not have this at the front of your mind, it is easy to get caught up with the urgent things of the day or trapped in reacting to e-mail, phone calls, interruptions and other people’s emergencies.

  6) Have a “power hour”. Designate one hour each day to close the door, shut down e-mail, turn off the ringer on the phone and guard yourself from interruptions. Have a pre-picked project that you will work on during this time only. Make sure to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and do whatever else you need to in order to ensure you do not leave once this hour starts. Give yourself 30 minutes after this hour to return calls, e-mails and care for people with whom you need to follow-up that you missed during the POWER HOUR.

  7) Touch it once.  Sort through, e-mail, mail, papers, etc. and make a decision. File it, toss it or put it in a place for action. Sorting bins are helpful for this. Label your bins, folders, e-mails, etc. with things like: read, file, do this week, urgent, bills, etc. Paper, soft copy (computer), and e-mail folders should all have matching labels.

  Have daily habits. After you develop a routine of things that are simple but important, your body will naturally do them. This is important because we can get distracted by our regular routines and use them as vices to interrupt, procrastinate and prolong important things that really need to get done. If you start your day right, you will be ready to do those urgent and important tasks, increasing your everyday productivity.

  9) Prep. Have you ever been amazed on cooking shows how they make a complicated dish in 10 minutes? OK, part is edited TV time, but they also have everything preped for quick assembly. Why not do the same? Prepare your information packets and new client folders, turn common documents into templates, set up e-mail distribution lists for teams, etc.

  10) Maximize car systems. Listen to a book on CD/tape to maximize your windshield time and learn. Have a bin to put important things in rather than having them all over the car. Have a trash bag to catch the liter. Always have a bottle of water in the car with you; dehydration causes fatigue, memory loss and low concentration. Make sure your contacts are portable (palm, planner, business card file book, etc.) so you keep people and numbers at your fingertips (call if running late or caught in traffic, if you remember something while out and a quick call can take care of it). Enjoy relaxing, breathing and taking in the day while driving (rather than cleaning, talking on the phone, etc.)

  Be the master of your domain. When you implement a few simple productivity strategies and develop them as time saving habits, you will quickly enjoy the benefit of more time and energy and overall increased productivity.

  Tags: "Eat your Frog", extreme productivity, productivity, to-do list, work style

• 08Jan

  Create Partnerships to Share Everyday Aspects of Your Business

  Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Performance & Productivity, Time Management 3 Comments

  An independent business owner (IBO) often thinks he has to “do it all.” For example he may say, ”I am my business, who else can help with this?” But you can outsource just about anything, for a price. Many IBO’s may be willing to outsource for technical things such as web development, printing, etc., but try to fight through other everyday aspects of their business like marketing, selling, development, administration and accounting, etc.

  You cannot be good at everything! Even if you work in a specialized field, there are probably things you are not so good at and that cause you to waste a lot of time. Consider how you can partner with people around you to create win-win situations.

  For example, the networking organization BNI (www.bni.com) is structured as a sales team for each member of the group. You sell for the other people and they sell for you. It is a great way to expand your sales efforts up to 40 fold, in just a few hours a week.

  Action:

  Consider what is on your plate.

  Rate on a scale from 1-5 what you are great at vs. what you don’t like and takes you a lot of time.

  Brainstorm on how you could collaborate with someone else to get this done. This is thinking outside of “buying” assistance, so consider how to create win-win partnerships.

  Tags: Independent business owner, outsource, partner

• 25Dec

  Three Steps to Maximizing Your Productivity

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Performance & Productivity, Time Management 1 Comment

  Are you finding you have a lot to do, but never seem to have enough time?

  1) Assess how you are spending your time. Here are a few common time eaters to watch out for:

  • You have a long list of things to do and focus on all the little thing so you can mark off more things in an hour.
  • You are straightening, cleaning or micro-working.
  • You are spending hours on e-mail.
  • You can’t find things and spend a lot of time looking and discovering things you have not seen in a long time.
  • You spend social/idle time on the phone.
  • TV, newspaper, errands & shopping (things that don’t contribute to bottom line)
  • Maintenance items that absorb time
  • Internet, computer games, chat rooms, etc

  2) Identify your weakness. Look at what is holding you back from doing the really important things on your list. Some common reasons our “BIG” projects are not accomplished are:

  • Lack of planning
  • Lack of time
  • Overwhelmed with the project
  • Lack motivation
  • Distractions/Interruptions
  • Other priorities
  • Emergencies
  • Tired & frustrated
  • Lack of resources
  • Lack of clarity of vision
  • Excuses (life)

  3) Create a routines and strategies for how you operate.

  • Simple and effective Daily Habits.
  • 10 min. daily pick-up time.
  • Keep a clean desk.
  • Check e-mail 3x a day; limit time to 30 min. for each checking.
  • Touch it once and put it in its place (file it, toss it, etc.)
  • Pick one big project you need to do each day and complete it before doing anything else
  • Keep a weekly plan of activities with the top 5 things you will do each day
  • Keep regular tools as your fingertips (healthy snacks, water, books, Palm, etc.)
  • Develop management systems – templates for things you do often.
  • Block one hour a day for quiet time to focus exclusively
  • Pick one news source & read as reward for task completed.
  • Have a system to organize contacts, calendar and tasks (Outlook is a great tool)

  Bottom-line.When you have systems in place and are neat and organized you can get more done. When you do what is important first, it will free your energy to have the big project done and also give plenty of time for all the little things. When you assess, identify and strategize you will easily maximize your productivity!

  Tags: effective daily habits, organized, productivity

• 18Dec

  Goal Setting That Sticks!! (part 2)

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Time Management No Comments

  3.  Write goals in 1^st person, with emotion and as if they were complete. For example:

  • I have a balanced and peaceful life working 40 hours a week earning $100K in a field I love, AND have 3 quality hours each day to spend with my family in addition to feeling great because I am healthy (energy), fit (140lbs.) and having fun (weekly activity).
  • Accounting Solutions Inc. is proud to be the #1 leader in the Raleigh area to provide a one-stop for all small business accounting needs as evidenced by being the top choice for 40% of companies under 50 and servicing over 500 local companies. (December 2007)

  4.  Break it down and develop a plan. If you want to accomplish your goal, break down the yearly goal into monthly milestones. What will it take each month to move you closer to your goal? Each month, break it down into weekly goals. What will it take each week to accomplish your monthly goal? Each week, break it down into daily goals of what it will take to accomplish your week’s goal. While this may seem like a lot of work, it is simply creating a road map for you to follow straight to goal success. It is overwhelming and often difficult to see the measurable tasks that need to happen daily to make your goal happen. By breaking it down, you are able to push and make sure your goal is realistic and attainable.

  5.  Review daily. Post it in 3 spots where you can read it daily. Brian Tracey reports the single most effective thing you can do, though, is hand write your goal each day until it is done.

  Why set goals?

  • increase in energy and excitement as you start moving toward your passions & goals

  • more powerful as you are making life happen rather then letting life happen to you.

  • greater focus and direction and greater purpose.

  What are you aiming for today? What are you excited about? Where do you want to be heading? Craft your goal today!

  Tags: Goal Setting, Goals, increase energy, plan

• 16Dec

  Goal Setting That Sticks!! (part 1)

  Effective Habits, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Time Management No Comments

  If you look around at the “successful” people in life, they are setting goals.

  Often we are resistant to setting goals. There are many reasons, pessimism that they won’t work, fear of failure, lack of time, lack of thought, etc. The irony is you cannot arrive in a place you have not planned to reach. Either you can let life happen to you or you can be intentional about heading someplace. Flexibility and letting things take their natural course have their place, but if you have no destination picked, you are subject to what life will give you, rather than pursuing with passion what you want.

  In the upcoming year, what do you want? Below are 5 tips to make your goals stick:

       1.  Visualize an inspirational goal. As you think back over the past year, what are you proud and excited about? What worked for you? What did not happen that you wanted? What did not work? As you think about the past, begin to think about the future (life, business, etc.). Where would you like to be one year from now? Visualize what it would look like if your life was exactly how you wanted it in one year. What would be happening? What would be different? Allow yourself to visualize your goal. A vision that gets you pumped up and excited is something you will work hard for. Begin by writing your vision of what your goal would look like when it is complete.

      2.  Be clear and concise. Given your visual of what you want your future to look like, what will it take to make that happen. Put this into the form of a SMART goal statement.

  • Specific – precise (i.e. 20% over quota)
  • Measurable – way to check progress (i.e. 3 trainings)
  • Achievable – It is possible. (keep fantasies in check)
  • Realistic – Challenge yourself to stretch and grow.
  • Timed – Have a completion/ success date.

  Tags: Goal Setting, Goals, successful, visualize

• 11Dec

  The Power of Passion (part 2)

  Effective Habits, Energy Management, Goal Setting, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Time Management, Work/Life Synergy & Balance No Comments

  Why have passion? Is it possible that everyone has a passion or are some people just more “emotional”?

  Passion is seen as you look out into the world and selflessly allow yourself to be an instrument, using your gifts and talents. As you do this, you will begin to see your reflection and therefore more readily identify your passion. After you identify your passion, by experiencing the lit fire inside, you are able to focus in and use those gifts and talents more – your purpose and passion are united and drive the most fulfilling adventure of your life!

  The reward of living a life of passion is incredible! Once you have tasted it, you will crave for its return. It is an amazing overflowing of your heart, body, mind and soul. You have energy, direction, purpose and focus. As humans we all want this, but sometimes it seems too hard to achieve, so we give up, and decide to just enjoy what life gives us.

  “What life gives us?” I ask. Don’t be fooled, we are not here on earth to be floating down a river on an inner tube, just passively taking in what life has to offer. You will not find passion in that inner tube. You might hit some rapids and get a little taste of it here and there, however if you want to know what living a life of passion means and is, you have to go look for it.

  Life can dish out some hard knocks, tough lessons, challenges and adversity. How you handle those are up to you. You see, there is a quote that states, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with it.” The more you can look at life as a lesson, something to learn from and a gift, the happier you will be. The more you are living in your purpose and passion, the easier it is to see things from this perspective. Do you want to have this synergy in your heart, body, mind and soul? Do you want to be content, overflowing with joy and being of value to the world?

  Jack Finds Passion
  Jack became tired of stumbling through life. He did some investigation and found out a few things: he enjoys the outdoors, being invigorated by the fresh air, strategic thinking, and intellectualizing. Earlier in life, when he was playing golf he was engaging a few of these passions, an appreciation of nature, strategic thinking, and intellectualizing. He had stopped playing golf because of a lack of time. The irony is that after picking the hobby back up, he seems to have more time and energy.

  At work, he also noticed that his job had become dull because he was not reading the statistical reports like he did when he had first started his job. Back then, when he read the reports, it motivated him and got him excited about driving strategies that would save the company time and money. So, he started reading the reports again and found himself more engaged at work. The momentum helped him do things faster, be more positive and actually finish up on time many days so that he could get home to his kids.

  Since Jack was getting home on time, there was a little break before dinner when he could go outside and play with the kids: he loved throwing the ball and teaching little Jake how to ride his bike! It even inspired him to equip the family to embrace Saturday morning rides on the local park trail.

  As Jack realized that his passions were being outside in nature, using his intellectual abilities and creating solutions and strategies, he found that these same things showed up in every area of life. It was exciting and compelling! He was happy, fulfilled and had found a synergy in every area of his life.

  You now know what passion is. You now know the benefit of inviting passion into your life. Take the time to explore your personal passions and to integrate them in your life. Passion is a phenomenal gift. If you want to LIVE life to the fullest and enjoy it along the way, take time to discover your passions. Put them into your daily life. You will find you have time for everything you did before and more.

  Tags: discover your passion, live life to the fullest, passion, power of passion, reward

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