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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Let's push off these economic doldrums

by Rick Baker
On Jul 26, 2012

When people talk to me about the economy, I repeatedly hear comments like:

  • times are still tough
  • people are hesitant to spend
  • people are waiting for signs

Let's push off these economic doldrums.

Let's work together to create a list of the ways we can do our individual parts to push off these economic doldrums.

Here's a start...

  1. Buy something: if you've been worried about the future and avoiding spending, cut the future some slack and buy that thing you want now. After all, nobody can predict the future so why believe you can predict it will be a continuation of tough times.
  2. Sell something: I mean, sell something in a new way. Prove to yourself that selling things your old way will not plant seeds for a better future. Get excited about the prospect of a bright future and help a buyer share that excited mindset.
  3. Stop thinking and talking about how tough things are going to be and start imagining and talking about a bright future. Start sharing business success stories...even if they are small ones.
  4. Work at improving at work. If striving for excellence is too big a leap then strive for betterness...doing little tasks a little better.
  5. Mentor a salesperson: mentor a sales co-worker or mentor a sales friend or volunteer to mentor a sales person from another company. Help generate better sales techniques.
  6. Mentor a buyer or purchasing agent: mentor a buyer/co-worker or mentor a buyer-friend or volunteer to mentor a buyer from another company. Help generate better purchasing techniques.
What would you add to the list?

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Leaders' Thoughts

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Is it time you fixed your voice-mail message?

by Rick Baker
On Jul 25, 2012

More than 50% of business people have a voice-mail message that says something like, "Thank you for calling. I am not here. Leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible."

At least half those business people have that message on their phone system even though they know they will not return many phone calls. For example, they know they will not return phone calls when:

  • They don't know the person.
  • They think the person is trying to sell something.
  • They think the person is trying to talk them into sponsoring or donating something.
  • They think the person is too junior to talk to.
  • They feel they are too busy with other work.

In other words, some business people don't return phone calls when the caller doesn't pass their What's In It For Me? test. 

The question is...

When they know they will not return all those types of calls, why do they use a voice-mail message that says they will?

Using blunt words, why do they provide voice-mail proof they are liars?

People who use a phone for business should not ignore this inconsistency or how other people will react to it.

Why?

Other people notice lies. While people tend to cut themselves slack...they almost always judge others more harshly. And, when they find other people acting inconsistently it is viewed as untrustworthy. It sours relationships and closes doors. 

While you may think otherwise, regardless - there is no long-term 'win' for you when you say one thing and do another...no reward - just risk; sooner or later that risk will catch up to you and visit you as a problem.

So, if you are using your phone 'inconsistently' you should correct that: there are a number of ways you can correct it.

The top 3 are:

  1. Change your voice-mail message so it aligns with the action you know you will take after receiving messages on your phone.
  2. Start returning phone calls so your actions align with the message you have on your voice mail.
  3. Remove voice mail from your phone.

 

PS: Successful People Have More Time

PPS: There is an economic justification for 'consistency'. And, of course, there is an interpersonal justification.

Tags:

Communication: Improving Communication | Leaders' Thoughts | Marketing | Sales

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Thought Tweet #527

by Rick Baker
On Jul 24, 2012

Thought Tweet #527 Business leaders possess strong drive and will. Those are defining traits. But, there must be more...

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

The best business leaders have the ability to focus their drive and will. They focus it, usually, in one of two ways: (1) toward ideas and (2) toward people.

The very-best of business leaders possess extreme drive and will and the ability to pick the perfect focal point, exactly balancing ideas and people.

Tags:

Leaders' Thoughts | Thought Tweets

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Bad Signals & Signs of Existing and Impending Business Problems

by Rick Baker
On Jul 24, 2012

All businesses experience a series of problems. Solving problems is essentially what business is all about. However, business should not be a strung-out set of stressed-out problem-solving experiences. Business should not be that painful.

When you boil business down you find people. 

So, restating the above:

People's jobs and careers should not be struggling, painful experiences dragged out over long periods of time.

People should step back every once in a while and check the health of their job, career, and business.

Does their workday contain any unhealthy symptoms?

As introductory examples, people could check for:

  1. Failure to reply to phone messages and email messages...2 main reasons why this is unhealthy: it closes the door to potential opportunities, especially the value embedded in weak links and it brands you and your company as self-focused....this is especially a problem if you and/or your business are active with other aspects of social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube. [another idea to consider - ] Successful People Have More Time
  2. Stalled Sales...there are root causes. What are they? [an idea to consider]
  3. Chronic errors...there are root causes. What are they? [an idea to consider]
  4. Software or process technologies falling behind [an idea to consider]
  5. Tightening cash flow [an idea to consider]
  6. Increased disharmony among employees [an idea to consider]
  7. Increased turnover [an idea to consider]

Tags:

Communication: Improving Communication | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Leaders' Thoughts | Sales | Solutions & Opportunities

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A New Wave of Sales Philosophy...or is it?

by Rick Baker
On Jul 17, 2012

During a conversation last week, I mentioned I had been studying sales performance at a number of companies.

During the last 15 years, many B2B enterprises have experienced difficulties with sales. For some, the tech meltdown about 12 years ago caused major changes which neutered their sales performance. For most, the worldwide economic meltdown which began about 4 years ago and still lingers on as [at least] the tail of a recession shook sales performance to its core.

It is time for better sales performance, better results in the near-term and growing results as the future unfolds.

All of us who run B2B enterprises should be working on this.

As part of my effort, for small to mid-sized B2B enterprises, I have been considering 4 main questions:

  1. Does a Sales System - that is - does a process containing specific steps and routes - when followed, lead to sales success? 
  2. If the answer to #1 is 'Yes' then can a wide range of people be trained to follow those steps, or, are only certain types of people able to learn how to succeed?
  3. If the answer to #1 is 'Yes' then is that the only way to succeed?
  4. Have the steps/routes changed in response to technological developments commonly known as social media?
My conclusions:
  1. Yes - more than ever it is essential to have a sales system. Also, more than ever it is important for your sales system to reflect and be a sub-set of your overall business premises, philosophies, vision, values, mission, rules, goals, & measurements. This must be your CEO commitment and part of your company mandate.
  2. Yes...to a degree...most sales people can improve their performance if they adhere to their company's sales system. However, that Yes only applies if the company's sales system is 'integrated' as introduced in Conclusion #1. Also, it only applies if the sales system receives an ongoing stream or premises/insights to fuel the salespeople's efforts. And, of course, some salespeople will be far better performers than others. Providing food for sales-process thought must be a company mandate.
  3. Yes - sometimes the sales system is not formalized, housed in a single brain or a few brains...we see that in successful entrepreneurial start-ups. We see that when entrepreneurs lead with revenue. However, soon, as staff are added, the sales system must be formalized and it must be taught. Teaching sales process must be a company mandate.
  4. Yes - the most important change is the increased difficulty in capturing and keeping clients' attention...at the outset of the sales process and throughout the sales process.

Tags:

Leaders' Thoughts | Marketing | Sales

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Repeating business errors: defying common sense

by Rick Baker
On Jul 12, 2012

If you see too many errors and repeated errors in your workplace, there likely are several causes at play...

  • information overload, overwhelmed & overworked feelings
  • poor communication, mixed-up & unclear messages
  • weak processes, insufficient discipline & misunderstanding of work steps 
  • unclear goals or lack of goals
  • lack of confidence in your company's ability to succeed
If you believe there are too many errors at your workplace then set aside time to fix that problem: some suggestions -
  • consider apparent causes...but also dig deeper to find root causes: most people have difficulty identifying the true causes of their errors and need help to get over their 'error filters'
  • consider individuals...but, of more importance, consider the various situations around the errors
  • good process helps people, so, remove ambiguity around routine aspects of work: as examples - have clear role descriptions, clear goals, clear & regular performance reviews
  • create a system for handling e-mail and phone communication...set some best-practice guidelines
  • create a system for problem solving: for example, P=2S+O
  • be clear about your expectations of accountability and follow-up regularly, implementing consequences
  • lead by example...make personal changes to illustrate you are serious...show the standard you desire to see in others
 

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Leaders' Thoughts

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