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Why I mention this, is I wonder how much all of us can achieve if we stretched ourself like this in all aspects of our life continually.  Anyway, I ran out of things to say 5 blog entries ago…

Namaste

Shane Gibson

As a sales person and a motivational speaker I like to move around a lot, and it was to my surprise that I was able to sit and focus for that entire 24 hours.  My goal was $2500 but i think it looks like we raised $1700.00 (unofficial number).

And by the way I mean “we,” kind messages and encouragement from my virtual running mates really helped keep me going.  (Thanks Duane Storey, Rebecca Bollwitt,  Karen Hamilton, Ayeza Garcia, Isabella Mori, Danny Dang, Mehnaz Thawer, INVOKE, Barbara Doduk, TAGGA, Raul and Colleen Vince. you were all awesome)  Then of course the RedBull ( 2 cans…. no Vodka) came out in full force around 4:30 pm today, I was pretty sure if I closed my eyes for a nap I’d be gone.  Gregory Pinch who introduced me to the MSMF and Yam De La Pena who provided comedic relief played a big part too.

What I liked about this event was that it really proves that there can be a real connection socially (for good) online.  I used my e-mail list, facebook connections, meetup friends, and even did a skype podcast with Fred Shadian today while he was on the island.

Keep Blogging!

This is blogathon entry number 46 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

The Idea
If you want customers to become your brand ambassadors, you’ve got to go “way” overboard on satisfaction. Amazon did. Satisfied that he did not receive the package, they sent a replacement immediately, and it arrived on Christmas Eve. Naturally, Nocera has been talking, and writing, about the experience ever since.

The Risk
The risk here is perceived, not real. Even if one or two customers went to great lengths to rip you off, you’d be ahead in terms of your investment in customer loyalty.

The Reward
What is your return/guarantee policy? If you are a consultant, do you guarantee results or no invoice is cut? If you’re a realtor do you guarantee to sell a home in 90 days or lose your commission? It’s the niche or the ditch—how will you make your guarantee a powerful differentiator?

The Call to Action
If you were Amazon, would you have done the same? What if the customer was an average Joe (or Jo) instead of a business writer (I wonder if that came up). Would you still do it? If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, look for an opportunity to go this crazy!

Neil Godin (a.k.a The Turnaround Guy) is a native of Vancouver, Canada, and is president of Neil Godin International Inc. A former business journalist, he is one of North America’s leading business speakers, trainers and writers. As a conference speaker and seminar leader, he has addressed more than 300,000 people from coast to coast.

This is blogathon entry number 45 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Everything from new ways of mashing up web content or great gadgets like the Flip Video they seem to be on it.  Of course being a sales person myself I like his straight forward rants.

Nicks Online Copywriting blog is invaluable as a resource.

This for me is a five star resource.

This is blogathon entry number 42 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This is blogathon entry number 41 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This is blogathon entry number 40 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This is blogathon entry number 39 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This is blogathon entry number 39 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Become a CMA in British Columbia

Learn about the CMA Designation across Canada

Book Shane Gibson for your next conference

Title: The Career Maker - Relationship Development Skills

This is blogathon entry number 38 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

How can you make the most of your membership in a Board of Trade or community based operation? If you expand your social network and build bridges to other industries, opportunity is everywhere.

One of the first questions we ask when considering getting involved in any association or venture is “What is our return on investment?” It’s all about ROI; unfortunately, most organizations have a narrow definition and limited strategy to maximize their ROI.

If an organization is “money-in money-out” focused with their return on investment measurement, they are simply missing out on long-term business growth. The 360-degree ROI model as seen below takes into account a full spectrum of revenue, brand and relationship multipliers that progressive organizations are using to fully engage the marketplace and maximize their true return on investment, as well as what Darcy Rezac calls “Return on Relationships.”

When an enterprise is involved in their community or a professional association like The Vancouver Board of Trade, they need to measure ROI in many ways to truly see the full impact of their contribution, networking and branding activities. Following are the fundamental areas we should consider.

Reputation and trust-building

“Business moves at the speed of trust,” says best-selling author Stephen Covey. By making a commitment to be involved, engaged and visible in our business community, we make it easier for our clients to trust us and be exposed to positive word-of-mouth within the community. As more people get to know us and the work we do it takes the fear out saying “yes” to doing business with us.

Corporate capacity building

Our ability to build relationships, communicate, sell, market, and lead is critical to our success as an organization. Through educational programs, networking opportunities, and exposure to your communities business leaders you are growing your individual team members’ capacity and in turn your overall organization competitiveness.

Brand association, PR and exposure

Your people are your brand. With every interaction with the community they have the opportunity to promote your brand, and tell your unique story. People buy from people, and face to face is your best currency.

Business intelligence

You have to have your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your industry, your clients’ industries and the economy in general. Usually by the time it’s reported in the news, it has already happened. Getting involved allows you to see the trends as they are…Read the rest at BoardofTrade.com

This is blogathon entry number 37 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Many years ago I was a top producing local radio advertising salesperson in the Twin Cities market of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

On the East Coast of Canada the harsh winters literally crippled automobile sales. In December, January and February it is not uncommon to have sub-zero temperatures and three snow storms in a month that range from a half metre to a metre and a half of snow. One early November day I called on John Gwynne-Timothy, the new owner of a small car dealership called Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler. He told me that it did not make good sense to advertise in November, December or January because of the ferocious winters. Chrysler Canada had instructed him to put aside C$100 000 for each of the three winter months, strictly for losses. He was also told to cut back on advertising and save the money for peak season. I could understand their thinking – first you have to find the car under the snow before you can show it that time of year.

“The best time to gain market share is in a down economy” – Bill Gibson

My response to John was that with every adversity there is an opportunity and the best time to gain market share is in a down economy. I added that most of the competitive dealerships would also be cutting back on advertising and the buying of inventory during that period. The advertising noise level in the market place was far less in the winter months. This would make it easier to dominate the market with less spending. The other dealers also were not buying cars at the auctions and it would be the best time to buy.
Here was the strategy:

* He went to the automobile auctions and bought at low, low prices. (If you buy right, you can sell right).
* On Friday afternoons at 4 pm we cleaned out his huge service department and decorated it with colourful streamers, balloons and so on.
* We then brought into the service department many of the especially low-price used cars and new ones.
* On the Friday morning we hit with newspaper and radio advertising – all day Friday and all day Saturday. In the weekly and monthly magazines we advertised the Winter Sale Bonanza Friday and Saturday at Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler.
* We had live onsite radio announcers and upbeat music playing in the service depart-ment on the weekends and we sold cars until 9 pm on Friday and Saturday.

The final result was that Gwynne-Timothy profited C$100 000 per month in December, January and February. He budgeted for a C$300 000 loss and instead made C$300 000. In actuality, he was C$600 000 ahead.

“You can gain market share in a tough economy if you take control of your own economy”

In February, the competition eventually tried to counter attack – after laughing at him for what they thought was a waste of advertising money in December and January – but it was too late. He already had momentum. This momentum carried over to peak months from March to October with astronomical sales. He had gained huge market share in the down months that positively impacted the best months.

Within a year Gwynne-Timothy sold his small dealership for a huge profit and bought the largest Ford dealership in Atlantic Canada. Today he is a multimillionaire, simply by being innovative and proactive in a down economy – in Canada during the winter months. The following graph shows that 20% of a smaller market can be larger than 10% of a big market. It is easier to gain market share in a down economy.

A few years later, as a consultant in Canada, I had another client named Terry Straker. At the top of the economy he was grossing C$200 000 a month with his bedding and bedroom furniture stores in Calgary, Alberta. The country went into a recession and competition got stiffer. Eighteen months later, at the bottom of the economy, Terry grossed over C$1 million in one month – a 400% increase.

How did he do it? He got innovative and aggressive. He knew cash was king so he negotiated hard when buying. He then increased his advertising in the right mediums that targeted his market. Through research he knew the best days and best weeks to advertise. He increased sales training to twice a week. He tied in with charities and ran innovative promotions.

Straker once ran a promotion called Mr Money, where he dressed his brother up in a Mr Money outfit, and on Friday he announced to the media that Mr Money was dropping C$5 000 from the roof of his biggest store on Saturday. The plan was to drop C$500 an hour in small bills for 10 hours. Ten thousand people showed up and he got massive publicity. He had the biggest day ever. The reason is that in a down economy people want money.

He used endless creative traffic building ideas. Among them was a promotion with Salvatore (Sal) Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s brother. Rocky II had just opened in the theatres.

“At the bottom of the economy, Terry grossed over C$1 million in one month – a 400% increase”

Even though the economy was down, Terry increased his sales by 400%. I acknowledge that, yes, with the new credit act, increased interest rates, hikes in petrol and electricity prices and the power crisis there could be tighter times ahead for many businesses in South Africa.

The solution is to believe you can gain market share in a tough economy if you take control of your own economy and get creative, innovative and pro-active. Do not wait for others or external factors to do it for you. Take control.

About Bill Gibson

Bill Gibson lives in South Africa and is the chairperson of Knowledge Brokers International SA (Pty) Ltd. He is the author of the book Boost your business in any economy, and the writer and developer of several sales, marketing and entrepreneurial training systems.  Bill Gibson can be reached at +27 11 784 1720 or info@kbitraining.com

This is blogathon entry number 36 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

My favourite martial arts instructor, Sensei David Harris would always share with me the importance of daily activities toward a common goal.   If for any reason you feel that you are in a plateau, you can continue your level of progression by reading a book on the subject that you are pursuing, you can watch a video on the related subject, you can read a book or magazine, you can attend a seminar or you can even mentally rehearse your desired outcome for your success.

What is most important is to do something regardless of how small or how large.  By taking action daily you create the motion towards your desired achievement.  Another step to consider is to stay focused on the end result and be realistic with your approach by taking a step-by-step progression that leads you to your ultimate goal.  There is a Hawaiian saying: “When the surf is high, go surfing and when the water is calm, wax your board.”  Timing is of the essence when riding the wave of momentum.  If you hop on too early, you might crash.  If you hop on too late, you miss the wave.  By timing the wave correctly, you enjoy the ride all the way to the beach.

Fred Shadian

This is blogathon entry number 35 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

The Vancouver Sun newspaper says “Ian Watt is the star of his own business video, transforming his blog into a live show in which he tours Vancouver dispensing advice, hitting real estate hot buttons, winning over fans and enraging critics.”

Here’s an example of the type of video that Ian uses to market himself and brand himself as a Real Estate Sales Professional, what I like about this is his candid common sense approach is something a number of his peers could benefit from emulating:

This is blogathon entry number 34 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

How has HR changed over the past 10 years?

HR has changed dramatically over the past decade. Some of the more significant changes are: demographics changes including the aging workforce and declining birth rates in most developed nations and at the same time exploding birth rates in most developing nations; the emergence of four distinctly different age groups working at the same time; the global nature of business with massive mergers and acquisitions as well as outsourcing of labour; plus technological advances affecting the need for skills and knowledge upgrading; the proliferation of internet recruiting, flexible HR policies, employment branding; plus an unprecedented talent and skills shortage that will continue in many countries for the next two decades.

What is the key to pre-screening and selecting the right people for a team?

The quick answer is to “pre-screen for competency and select for character”. What this means is that the entire pre-screening process should focus on answering the fundamental question, “does the person possess the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to do the job?” In other words, are they competent (able) to do the job? Once you are satisfied that the applicant possesses the requisite abilities then the selection process begins. It is here that you need to “select” the best candidate in terms of best fit with the company. To do this you must focus your energies on examining the person’s character which is made up of their attitude, and personality. The most insightful part of the selection process is the face-to-face interview.

What are some of the main reasons that some sales people are successful and others are not?

Contemporary wisdom suggests that the key to successful selling lies within the sales person’s skills, knowledge and selling techniques. Although I agree that these issues are all important, I believe that the single biggest contributor to selling success is the person’s attitude. Their attitude entails many elements, such as their attitudes: towards themselves in the role of professional selling, their attitude as it relates towards the selling process; their attitude towards the company they represent, the products and services they offer their attitudes toward their customers, and their team-mates. These attitudes will ultimately determine their level of selling success.

As a respected authority on customer retainment as well, how is it possible to turn a one-time buyer into a life-time customer?

People the world over complain to me that there is no customer loyalty and that a client will change suppliers to save even a tiny bit of money. I feel this is an over-simplification of the issue. Yes, people are always seeking bargains, but at the end of the day it’s value for money that will win out. I don’t believe that a company has to be the lowest priced provider; rather they need to fully understand the needs of their clients and then exceed the customer’s expectations. This is done by investing in client relationship building, having highly skilled and knowledgeable, sales, and customer service professionals, and constantly seeking ways to improve the life and or business of your clients. By adopting this “imbedded partnership mindset” you will become the supplier of choice for your key accounts.

In your best-selling book “the ABCs of Making Money”, what are some of the strategies that ordinary people can implement to create extraordinary wealth?

Actually, the answer to this question lies within the title of my book; it’s what I refer to as the “ABCs” approach and is doable by anyone who has the desire to succeed and is prepared to put the effort in. It all starts with adopting the right attitudes. By understanding the attitudes of successful, wealthy people, and then engaging in highly effective day to day behaviours (such as living within your means, investing your money at an early age, develop critical skills in the areas of selling, communicating, negotiating and priority management; and finally applying the principles of creating money by owning your business and developing numerous sources of passive income… the idea of earning money even while I sleep is very appealing to me!

This is blogathon entry number 33 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

The Board has helped me grow my personal network, increase my personal leadership capacity and even after several years as a  member I now see an endless flow of new business coming in from referrals and opportunities at the Board.

Fiona’s question is: “What qualities of a successful leader are also shared by successful sales people?”

Answer: Due to 18 hours of typing (my hands are a bit stiff) I will be answering this in audio or podcasting format! But here’s the coles notes version:

1. Vision
2. Influence
3. Networking Skills
4. Coaching and Mentoring Skills
5. Teaching and Training Skills

This is blogathon entry number 31 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This podcast is on how to run effective sales meetings.

This is blogathon entry number 30 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Question: Dear Shane “stop presenting, stop selling, be prepared to leave” do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Answer: Dear Darren,

Darren this is very connected with the previous question you asked.  It would be too much of a cliche for me to urge sales people to be solution finders and not product peddlers or pitch artists.  Now with that said I will say this: many people even when asking questions or listening are still selling or presenting.

Standing in front of a room full of executives with their custom graphic designed PowerPoints they roll through their clever presentation based upon the research and previous needs asessment they did on the company.  Even at this point, a final presentation, not engaging the client in questions, dialogue, and involving them in collaboratively defining what a successful solution will look like can be fatal for a deal maker. (Maybe fatal is a little extreme, but it is a deal killer).

“Be prepared to leave!”

This is a bold statement that is powerful.  Prospects can smell weakness and desperation.  If we are willing to do a deal at a low margin, bending over backwards for them to get the deal this causes all kinds of challenges:

#1) People like to do business with top organizations and top sales people, and they rarely grovel for business

#2) If the client does business with us, generally the repeat business will also be at a low margin.

#3) If you’re supposed to be in a leadership position as a solutions provider it will be tough to implement because the client won’t respect us.

Being willing to walk away from deals that aren’t ideal or that are one sided in the clients favor is an attribute of a big deal closer.  Bill Gibson likes to say: “You don’t get out of life what you want or deserve, you get what you negotiate.”

This is blogathon entry number 29 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Dear Shane,

What advice could you give to employers that are seeking to hire top sales performers in what is still an employees’ job market (especially when we refer to top sales producers)?

Dear Minto: There are several factors that we need to look at when recruiting top performing sales people.  The first step in my opinion is to:

Write up a complete description of the type of sales job it is, including the following:

1. Amount of phone selling, cold calling, proposal writing, group presentations.
2. Geographical area
3. Amount of travel
4. Amount of time away from home
5. Level of independence
6. Hours expected to work
7. Work culture of the company
8. Reporting and paper work expected
9. Client entertainment factor
10. Type of customers or potential customers
11. Level of acceptance by the customer in reference to
    • the company
    • the products and service
    • the industry
12. Level of selling
    • Product/service focused
    • Relationship marketing focused
    • Customer and solution focused.
13. Size of average sale
14. Length of the selling cycle and any other important factors you can think of.
15. Trade show selling and seminar selling etc.

With the above job description in mind, carefully describe the characteristics, behaviors, values, skills, experience and abilities you require in this person.

Secondly realize that top producers are rarely ever unemployed.  Being in the recruiting business you know that top producers are constantly being courted for other job positions.  My suggestion is hire in advance, network where these producers work and play, and even offer finders fees to your own internal sales team if they find you a winner.

My last thought is winners like to win, and they like to win quick.  If you’re recruiting top performers you better have a sales opportunity and a process that enables them to hit home runs early.  Showing up to a disorganized sales environment with no sales process or culture is something that will quickly repel most top producers.

Thanks again Minto for your contribution to the MSMF Blogathon!

This is blogathon entry number 28 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Question: Dear Shane “You get more from the questions you ask than the stories you tell” do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Answer: Dear Darren,

I absolutely agree with this statement.  My favorite stat that I like to share with audiences is that great sales people and great leaders listen 70% of the time and ask intellient questions and make powerful statements the other 30% of the time.  One of my other favorites is a quote from Zig Ziglar and this is what he said “I have never heard someone listen their way out of deal… but I’ve heard lots of people talk their way out of a deal.”

Having a solid strategy for questioning clients or what we at KBI like to call “Needs Analysis Selling” is  vital especially in closing large, or complex sales transactions.  As a leader in a negotiation this process also becomes vital in helping the leader build bridges and connect with those that they are networking with.  By asking intelligent questions we display our insight, show the other person we are genuinely interested in them and help people look at themselves and their business in a different context (usually involving our company and solutions).  If we ask great questions and use the conversation to build strong rapport and trust often the deal will close itself.

This is blogathon entry number 27 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Question: Dear Shane “Leadership is taken not given” do you agree or disagree with this statement.

Answer: Dear Darren,

Thank-you for your generous contribution to the MSMF and the Natalie E Pinch Memorial Library.  Your question is a great one.  Although leaders can be “made” or developed one cannot give another person leadership.  They can give them a position or a title but this is not necessarily the mark of a leader, we have all seen children born into wealthy families squander their wealth because they were given a title or a place in society.

Leadership development is a two way street.  The leader and the developing leader must have a high level or rapport, a solid mentoring relationship and the mentee or developing leader must be willing to answer the call to leadership.

I see so many managers today frustrated because they want someone to succeed more than the other person actually wants to ascend from a leadership perspective.  The potential leader must step up to the plate, fully understanding what price and sacrifice must be made to take their life or business to the next level.  Then they must step forward and through action demonstrate their intent.

Does this answer your question?

This is blogathon entry number 26 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This is blogathon entry number 25 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This is blogathon entry number 24 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

We are often mentoring people because we have a road map or insight on how to get somewhere that they want to get to. It’s okay for someone to outgrow the mentor or even outgrow their goals before they get there. As a team we can mentor someone on starting a successful consulting practice, we can even train a sales force of 500 or 1000 people, but when the mentee starts requiring advice beyond our scope and experience at we know it’s time to help them find a new mentor. Some people may see it as a failure to no longer be able to offer additional insight or direction to a mentee, but we would like you to reflect on the following quote from an unknown Japanese author:

“The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer.”

- Japan 300 B.C. - Author Unknown

This is blogathon entry number 22 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This is blogathon entry number 21 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

In helping people set effective goals we need to be to answer yes to the following questions:
• Is the goal S.M.A.R.T?
• Does the goal inspire them?
• Have you connected or aligned it with their values?

S.M.A.R.T Goals

The S.M.A.R.T acronym for goal setting has been used for decades and it’s still one of the best formulas I have seen. S.M.A.R.T goals are as follows:

Specific – the goal is focused
Measurable – there are benchmarks and metrics in place to measure progress and confirm success
Achievable – based upon the individual’s assets, skills, attitudes and behviours the goal is achievable
Realistic – Considering all of the factors influencing the goal is it plausible it will be achieved or are we setting this person up for failure?
Timely – set a specific time for completion (there are no unrealistic goals only unrealistictimelines)

Inspiring
“Have a goal so big that it scares your neighbours”

When helping people set goals try not to make them too safe. We don’t want goals that far outpace someones self-concept but we also want goals that make them stretch and keep them up at night (or more importantly out of bed early and excited).

The word inspiring actually comes from the Latin word Inspiro which means to breath upon. to breath into… to put the spirit within. As mentors if we are to inspire others and pit the spirit within them we must first be inspired ourselves. Be passionate and excited when helping people set goals.

Values Alignment

When developing goals it is important to put them through the “values test” to make sure that the goals were are helping them set will help them feel on purpose while striving toward them.

One approach to doing this is to simply list all of the core activities, people, and daily disciplines associated with the goal and then compare them with the mentee’s values. If 70% or more of the activities and disciplines fulfill their core values then chances are the goal will be an energizing, pleasurable thing for them to work toward. If it is less than 70% it is suggested you help them build a new path to the goal or find a new goal that satiate their core values and drivers.

This is blogathon entry number 20 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause. Also if you live in Vancouver please check out the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program.

Too many organizations invest heavily in recruitment yet fail to retain star performers because they lack a thorough plan and process for starting their people right and continuing to develop them. Winners want to win quickly; hire a winner and you have to have the tools and mentorship program in place to help them win.

Furthermore winners leave when there’s no more challenge or personal or professional growth opportunities. When recruiting University Graduates one interesting statistic to note is that “More than 60% of college and graduate students listed mentoring as a criterion for selecting an employer after graduation” (MMHA)

In a recent study of 3000 companies done by Accenture Analytics and 18 other organizations globally found that the top 25% of companies in multiple industries as compared to the bottom 25% were those organizations that had significantly more mature and effective human resource development plans with strong leadership and mentorship development components in those plans. The bottom-line is mentorship and people development makes a difference to your bottom line.

The need for mentorship is particularily true for the millenial generation or generation Y.  This demographic tends not be of the live to work mentality.  They don’t just talk about “balanced lifestyle” like their boomer parents did, they put lifestlye first and see work as a tool to support that lifestyle.  Recent studies also show that without mentorship Generation Y is not equipped with the contrast between their sheltered (and good for them by the way!) upbringing and the realities of the work-force and the demand of society financially, socially, and otherwise.

Having a solid mentoring process along with training, personal development and a good dose of entertainment can help retain the up and coming star players of tomorrow.

This is blogathon entry number 19 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause. Also if you live in Vancouver please check out the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program.