Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace

How To Quit Begging

My first job out of college: server at Red Lobster. I will never be able to look at Cheddar Bay biscuits without having a slight churn in my stomach again. Before slinging endless shrimp baskets, I worked as hostess and server at a well-known Italian restaurant, a sushi restaurant, and a family-owned Thai restaurant for a total of 7 years in the restaurant business.

The service industry is trying, but it did teach me to maximize my time and that the mere effort of mentioning an additional course increased my tip potentials dramatically. The negative impact to my future career in sales was the servile nature it developed in me, which coaching and practices has helped me overcome.

On a similar note, here is an episode of The Brutal Truth of Sales and Selling podcast I've been really enjoying: How to Quit Begging.

Never Assume!

Fair warning: this post is a bit of a brag and boast.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were in San Antonio picking up race bibs for the Rock N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon. I received a text from my coach saying that he didn't expect us to be joining in the pre-dinner plans since he thougth we were still en route from Austin. I wrote back: NEVER ASSUME.

Sunday, Dec. 3 marked my first registered race since breaking my fibula this Valentine's Day. I had zero expectations for my performance and started in the second corral of runners. The weather was expected to be cold and rainy, thought the brunt of it came right as I was crossing the finish line at 1:32.00 and a chip time 1:30:51. The preliminary results had me 2nd in my age group, and my place was updated to 1st later in the day.

Never assume!

Critical Things Confident People Won't Do

"In The Empire Strikes Back, when Yoda is training Luke to be a Jedi, he demonstrates the power of the Force by raising an X-wing fighter from a swamp. Luke mutters, “I don’t believe it.” Yoda replies, “That is why you fail.”"

Critical Things Confident People Won't Do

- Dr. Travis Bradberry

11 Questions for Insight Selling

1. Why?
2. How? 
3. Have you considered A...B...C...etc.? 
4. If I said I believe you might have under-invested to achieve this outcome in the past, what would you say? 
5. What will the impact be if you did this? 
6. What will happen if you don’t act? 
7. What’s possible? 
8. How do you know that? 
9. What do you think is missing? 
10. The follow-up question(s). 

Source: RAIN Sales Training

Mind The Gap

9. The former CEO of Hearst Magazines UK, Anna Jones, has joined forces with the CEO of Love Home Swap, Debbie Wosskow, to create a £10 million ($12.2 million) VC fund to back female founders. The AllBright fund launched Monday and was founded to address the funding gap that exists between male and female led companies.

Source: Business Insider

#Leadership

Source: Austin Business Journal

Negotiation & Objection Handling in Sales

10 Tips for Getting What You’re Worth – Negotiation & Objection Handling in Sales

Source: Sales Hacker

Quote of the Week

"Overload is the way of work these days. It’s how the ambitious among us are hard-wired, and it’s quite dangerous, as my experience showed. But it’s also dangerous for us not to fully pursue — and give our all to — opportunities that move us forward. This is the dynamic tension we face in today’s creative economy.

If we want more, we have to give more, but we have to stay aware of what we might give up in the process. While it’s great to be ambitious, we must learn to listen for cues, step back and slow down the pace at times. We need to learn how to create space for both making a living and making a life."

                                                                          - Jonas Koffler, The New York Times

Are We A Fit? Calls

Realizing that I have been spoiled as a salesperson by having a full calendar of meetings, I've been reading up on ways to improve my prospecting skills. Here are three great tips from Nicola Brooks as seen on  Predictable Revenue:

1) Have a plan. It’s essential to have a plan for your call, even if it’s just a rough outline of some basic questions. It will give your conversation a direction and help you determine if there is a need for what you offer. Having some questions prepared in advance will also help you structure your call to find out some key factors:

• Are you speaking with a relevant decision maker or influencer, or is it someone with no authority or relevance?  “Can you please tell how you’re involved with  ____?”
• What is their current process?  “How are you currently handling ____?”
• Is there pain?  Is there a need or urgency for what you offer?  “If you could fix ____, where would that fall on your list of priorities?”
• Is there a decision-making process or project yet – or not?  If there IS one, what’s the timing of it?  If there is NOT one, how would it get started?  “Have you and your team discussed this, if and when it’ll be a priority?  Who’d be involved in figuring that out or implementing it?”
• Have a best next step to suggest. “Usually teams like to see a demo next.  At it, who should attend, so you can see it and decide in one go whether there’s something here or not?”

2) Connect with your prospect. Take a couple minutes to build some rapport with your prospect. It will give you some common ground and make the conversation flow. Even if it’s just talking about something as basic as the weather it will help you build a connection.  For example: what are you authentically curious to learn about them as a person or their work?  Or do you have something going on you can share with them that is interesting? 

7 Things Successful Women Never Do

This applies to men and women alike: 7 Things Successful Women Never Do

Today I will:
- Conquer my fears
- Itemize my accomplishments
- Move past mistakes

Source: Business Women Experts

SiriusDecisions' Demand Waterfall

A Compliment in Chicago

"Peaks and valleys." At the peak, you have the best view of the valleys.

Six years ago, I waited tables at Red Lobster in Poughkeepsie, New York. It was the third restaurant I worked at since entering the workforce at the ripe acceptable age of 16.

If you have never worked in the restaurant industry, let me share a quick summary of my experience: every good day trumps every bad day, and every good table of guests makes the worst all the more bearable.

There were times when a table of six would run me to death. More biscuits. Sweet tea. Ranch dressing. I fulfilled requests with an urgent haste, but the $1 tip did little to show respect for the to and fro of someone making $2.15 an hour (this wage was permissible in 2010 and may even still be).

Today I sat in a restaurant in Chicago O'Hare airport. My waitress was a familiar stranger. I knew her face, but it was the first time we met.

The vertigo of a peak had me visiting a valley. I was scrawling out reminders to myself to be kind, to appreciate, to compliment, because these are the actions often forgotten en route to the top.

I wrote something very simple on my receipt, "Thank you - you have a beautiful smile!"

The public consciousness was at play, because my waitress thought the man who told her to smile was the one who left the note.

As she was wrapping up her shift, her remaining words included the word "beautiful" many times.

"Have a beautiful weekend!"
"Have a beautiful stay!"
"Thank you, and have a beautiful time."

Future self: remember to compliment. You will make more than one person's day.

REMEMBER!

Don't let your foot off of the gas pedal!

#killermonth

So about time management....

Handing Objections (Sales Hacker)

There are really only 5 main approaches or “techniques” on how to handle objections:

1. Feel/Felt/Found – “I totally understand how you feel about that, many clients have felt the same way. What they found was after seeing a demo and realizing the value they were able to justify the additional price.” (just don’t actually say the words ‘feel’, ‘felt’, ‘found’ or you’ll sound like an idiot to someone who knows it).
2. Reprioritization – “I understand price is an issue but is it more important than the time you’ll get back to focus on other areas?”
3. Clarification – “What do you mean you don’t have budget?”
4. Justification – “Let me tell you what you get for that $20,000 and why we charge what we do.”
5. Preemptive Strike – “Most companies I speak with get sticker shock when they see the price. Let me tell you why most of them still move forward with us.” 

Source: Sales Hacker

Why BANT Could Be Hurting Your SaaS Sales

Early on in the sales process your client is still in discovery mode, this is an ideal time to ask: “Is this one of the top initiatives at your company?” And “Where does this rank?” And “Do you see this priority changing over time?” Ask, “Is this a Nice-to-have, a Need-to-have, or a Must-have?”

Source: SalesHacker

Status = Sales Rock Star

One year ago today, something tragic happened. A company lost a hard-working, driven employee. She didn't die. She didn't quit. She stood up for what she deserved, and they threw her in the pit.

Today that employee won big nearly one year into her new position as SALES ROCK STAR.

Take that Q1!

One Day Late

One day late for International Women's Day but still very relevant:

“A woman is like a tea bag — you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” — Eleanor Roosevelt Collier

Quote Source: International Business Times

10 Tips For Asking More Effective Sales Questions (HubSpot)

10 Tips For Asking More Effective Sales Questions

How To Deal with the Overachiever

This excerpt from Minda Zetlin of Inc. published on The Muse hit very close to home:

3. The Overachiever
“In school and in work alike, there are always overachievers,” Eisenhauer says. As the boss, it may not be obvious to you why an overachiever is a problem personality. “Authority figures tend to respond well to overachievers,” he notes. “They go above and beyond what is asked of them and clearly care about succeeding.”

You want overachievers on your team, he notes—they propose big ideas, move projects forward, and generally get things done. If you give them a task, you don’t have to wonder whether it will be completed or not.

“However, overachievers can often be impatient,” Eisenhauer says. They may not work well in situations where they have to strictly follow orders. And they can cause jealousy and resentment in their less overachieving co-workers.

“Approach them as a supporter and a coach,” Eisenhauer advises. “Give them projects, but don’t micromanage. Check in often, but not to dictate how things are done. And make sure that you don’t heap praise on these employees at the expense of others.”

Full Article: https://www.themuse.com/advice/6-types-of-employees-who-frustrate-their-bosses-and-how-smart-managers-deal-with-them

Too Much Time Prospecting

Many of the C-Level, Marketing, and Sales Leaders I speak with tell me that their Salespeople spend too much time prospecting.

These are people who are analyzing the "numbers game" that is sales by closely monitoring Key Performance Ratios like Calls/Emails-to-Conversations, Conversations-to-Appointments, and Appointments-to-Sales -- yet many of them are still not hitting their revenue growth goals.

From my own experience, I understand that prospecting is hard without heightened demand, and cold-calling alone is no longer an effective way to build a solid sales pipeline. This "shift" away from cold-calling is partially why the marketing automation industry has experienced a boom in the past few years - leads can be generated on a massive scale by tracking clicks, downloads, and website visits, among other digital activities that give insight into your potential clients' purchasing considerations, thus creating a platform for "warm" conversations.

Even with the best marketing technologies and "stickiest" messaging in place, a human element is still needs to diligently pursue this large volume of leads to turn them into paying customers. Many companies pour resources into assembling, training, and managing Inside Sales teams to seek out decision-makers among a sea of leads, and results of these efforts are often unpredictable.

Likewise, some companies outsource their outbound call and meeting setting efforts to telemarketing firms, and results can often be just as unreliable and costly with pay-for-time arrangements (hourly or monthly contracts that don't guarantee a certain number of appointments set).

What if you could pay a flat-rate per sales appointment and know you're going to speak with X number of prospects who will be involved in the decision-making process for your solution, who has a validated interest in having a conversation with you or someone from your sales team, and who possess an identifiable need or pain that what you are offering can solve?

Building a measurable, predictable sales pipeline is tough -- but it's feasible! If you want to learn more about developing a fixed-cost model for your fulfilling your company's need for sales appointments, let's talk.

Emily McCoy - Business Development Director, SalesStaff
(832) 945-1618 - emily.mccoy@salesstaff.com

A Tough Break at the 2016 Austin Marathon

On Valentine's Day last Sunday, I placed 2nd overall female in the 2016 Austin Marathon and ran my fastest 26.2 miles by about 20 seconds. Considering that Austin's marathon course has a reputation for being challenging with long stretches of rolling hills, I wasn't at all expecting a PR (Personal Record) over my 2015 Portland Marathon finishing time.

In fact, I started out with the 3:15 pace group in consideration of the warm, humid conditions. However, my adrenaline kicked in early and I found myself hanging with the 3:05 pace group. To my knowledge, I was the only female in the pack, but I knew others who began closer to the starting line were ahead an unknown distance. 

It wasn't until I caught up with the current third place female around mile 17 that I realized I had a chance at placing in the top three. At that point, I had broken away from the pace group and was being trailed by a designated pacer on a bike. By mile 19, I saw another bike pacer with a familiar face - a fantastic personality from my training group who had left a teaser out on Facebook a week earlier about her pacing the second place female, "This could be you, Emily!"

I couldn't believe it, and neither could my body. I was starting to have some pain in my left ankle, which I largely ignored through mile 25. As I was passing the University of Texas football stadium, I felt my ankle turn and shrieked out in pain. My stubborn self didn't stop, as a podium finish was calling me.

I crossed the finish line with a 3:04:18 chip time in utter disbelief and with a throbbing lower leg. An official whisked me off to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel after a brief stop for an ice pack. It was at the hotel that the top three male and female half and full marathon winners were introduced to the race directors and mayor of Austin. I took home an art piece as a trophy along with my limp. 

That's me sandwiched between third place 2016 Austin Marathon winner, Julia Vegas, and first place winner, Chandi Moore. On the far left is the race director and on the far right stands Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin.

Now here comes a bit of modesty; several of Texas' elite runners were participating in the Olympic Trials in Los Angeles the same weekend as Austin's marathon (including my former public speaking teacher and huge inspiration, Andrea Duke). Usually a handful of elite female runners who run sub-3 marathons (think 6:30 minute miles!) participate, so I caught the race on a good year. However, this in no way overshadows the first place winner's amazing story; last Sunday marked only the second full marathon that Chandi Moore (1st Place) had ever raced. What an amazing achievement!

Now here comes the real kicker. That pain I felt in my ankle? Turns out it is a fractured fibula. Needless to say, I'm not going to be running again for quite some time. Instead, I'm going to use the down time to come back to some old passions -- writing and art -- and buckle down on my career.

My trophy: "So that one time I won a marathon podium spot on a broken leg..."

Here's to a speedy recovery!

The Networking Groove / 7 Ways Pathways to Change

One of my New Year's resolutions is to network more. I had the pleasure of attending a Network After Work event on a tight timeline, but I managed to meet a few rock star networkers who offered opportunities and advice to tap into the moving and shaking that is going on in Austin.

I had a subsequent coffee date with a residential realtor. Admittedly, I thought it would be a waste of my time and had a game plan for a quick escape. However, his knowledge base for marketing and sales was quite wide and helpful. We discussed market research (which enveloped the American Marketing Association and something similar for direct mail) as well as the 7 Pathways To Change:

- Guilt
- Fear
- Flattery
- Anger
- Exclusivity
- Greed
- Salvation

See Also: How Successful People Network With Each Other

Questions for Evaluating Your Growth Plan

It’s the end of January. For many of us with a fiscal year matching the calendar year, this means sales plans are in place and the horses of your sales team are off the races to bring in new revenue.

On the other end of the spectrum, some companies are still in planning mode and may need a little inspiration for taking the big leap into rapid growth plans.

Wherever you’re at in planning for growth, these three priorities and associated questions should remain top of mind in guiding goals for new client acquisition:

EXPANDING MARKET SHARE 

• Are lead generation efforts broad enough to address database attrition? 
• What other marketing channels can I add to increase lead flow? 
• How are leads converting, and what can I do to increase conversion rates? 

GROWING SALES BANDWIDTH 

• How is my sales team converting prospects into qualified opportunities, and where can efficiency be created? 
• Is the headcount of my sales team optimal for revenue growth goals? 
• Are sales skill sets and job duties properly aligned with objectives? 

INCREASING OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY BETWEEN MARKETING AND SALES 

• What technologies can I introduce to improve marketing and sales processes? 
• Regarding lead qualification, what are the biggest disconnects between leads sourced by marketing and leads accepted by sales? 
• Would outsourcing some aspects of business development help increase focus on strategic growth initiatives while decreasing costs? 

For more content on improving marketing and sales efforts, check out SalesStaff’s blog.

Small wins, big gains

Good start to the racing year and encouragement for a sub-3 hour marathon. Now to stay focused! Reminder for next race: avoid indigestion.

Quote of the Week

"Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning." 

                                                                                                            - Denis Waitley

Two Secrets to Success

Personally, I don't believe this mantra. Learning, growing, and achieving is all about two-way communication!