Friday, February 26, 2016
Sunday, February 21, 2016
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.”
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
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!
Sunday, January 31, 2016
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
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
Friday, January 29, 2016
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
GROWING SALES BANDWIDTH
INCREASING OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY BETWEEN MARKETING AND SALES
For more content on improving marketing and sales efforts, check out SalesStaff’s blog.
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.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
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.
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