Here are the slides to go with the presentation:

Shane Gibson (@ShaneGibson) is a sales and social media speaker who has addressed over 100,000 people on stages on three continents over the past 15 years. He is also co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down. When he’s not speaking or Tweeting he is in the social media trenches working with his clients as Chief Social Officer for Socialized! Ltd. a social media agency and training organization.

5 reasons why you should not let your sales team publish content using social media:

1. You have hired idiots – even if you trained them they would just be motivated idiots.
2. You have so much profitable business that you couldn’t handle any more
3. Your product really sucks
4. Your company and culture really suck
5. You haven’t or will not equip them with
   – The rules of engagement and a social media policy
   – Training in the tools of engagement
   – Accountability in place – once engaged it’s game on – have a framework support and accountability.

10 reasons why you should let your sales team publish content using social media:

1. “It’s not marketing it’s talking to customers” – Scott Stratten of UnMarketing
2. It adds to value added frequency
3. It opens up new channels
4. It can save time
5. Load balance your branding
6. Social CRM is the next big thing – are you cruising or are you road kill (Social CRM Podcast)
7. Immediate data instead of compiled and stale data
8. It makes them almost as smart as your customer
9. You can see the activity
10. It builds a passive pipeline and makes projections easier “If you’re talking to unqualified prospects it’s not a sales problem, it’s a marketing problem” – Zero Rejection Prospecting (Michael J Durkin and Norbert Orlewicz)
11. It builds a fence around the customer
12. It creates joy
13. It elevates sales people above pitch artist to trusted advisor

1. You need buy-in
2. It’s really about creating an opportunity culture
3. You need to reward people, that means everyone
4. “What gets inspected gets respected” – Trevor Greene
5. Move poor fits out quick, and hire the right people
6. Feed the monster – train and develop continually
7. Fix operations if they don’t support sales
8. Fix products and services that don’t meet needs or fulfill promises
9. It takes time, up to 18 months or longer before true leadership evolves

Four Types of Prospecting:

1. Face to Face
2. Extended Personal
3. Community and Network Prospecting
4. Media Marketing/Prospecting

Make a Plan:

1. Have the intent to meet people wherever you go, be aware and focus on rapport
2. Book time everyday for e-mail and phone calls
3. Book time everyday for prospecting on Linkedin and listening/monitoring the web
4. Attend two target rich events per month and one major conference per quarter
5. Budget a percentage of your projected income or revenues and spend it every month on media and press releases etc.

What’s your prospecting plan look like?

Subscribe in iTunes

Bill Gibson Free Goal Setting Guide

Here’s how 28 Days to Better Selling Works:

1)    A daily task that you can easily implement to improve your sales and business
2)    A succinct daily lesson to help you make the improvement

By the end of the 28 days you will have looked at 28 ways to fine tune and improve your sales process and business.  The daily lessons will be in written, video or audio format and will take less than 10 minutes each to review.

Day1  The ABC’s of Targeting

Day 2 Targeting the Right Referral Sources

Day 3 Prospecting in Person

Day 4 Networking Strategy

Day 5 LinkedIn Prospecting

Day 6 Investigative Prospecting

Day 7 Lead Nurturing

Day 8 Don’t Be A Boring Salesperson

Day 9 Listening in Sales

Day 10 Needs Analysis in Sales Part 1

Day 11 Needs Analysis In Sales Part 2

Day 12 Twitter for Sales Part 1

Day 13 Twitter for Sales Part 2

Day 14 Keeping Commitments

Day 15 Selling Benefits and Results

Day 16 Preemptive Objection Handling

Day 17 Sell the Price Different Not The Total Cost

Day 18 Vital Signs

Day 19 Preparing For a Sales Call

Day 20 Team Selling

Day 21 Just Thinking About You

Day 22 Team Players Make Efficient Sellers

Day 23 Day of Rest, Chill Out and Reflect

Day 24 Influencing Top Level Decision Makers

Day 25 Key Skills and Strengths for Selling Intangibles

Day 26 Reducing Anxiety and Worry

Day 27 15 Ways to Close A Sale

Day 28 Operationalizing Your Sales Process

Want to Close Bigger Deals? Buy the Book:

It is not uncommon for salespeople and/or sales managers to get caught in the throes of everyday problems and miss seeing the trees because of the forest.
In most cases there is much more support and help around us than we can see. If most of us could really appreciate what we do have, and be grateful, most of the time we would never have a motivation problem.

There is power in gratitude. For example; Have you ever been forced into giving a kiss and a hug to a relative or a friend of a friend you couldn’t stand? It’s not an inspiring experience. As a matter of fact, it can be downright de-motivating. But if you have ever been asked to hug and kiss someone you secretly admired, I bet you found it to be a very pleasant experience. What’s the difference between the two?
Having to embrace someone you can’t stand, can be de-motivating; embracing someone you admire is motivating.

The same rule applies to situations. Most of us spend time living for tomorrow; living for when we will get that raise, that job, that relationship, or that home. In other words, that’s when we will be happy. We don’t like where we are now, so let us dream about tomorrow. What this means is we are not living in the now. It also means we often set our objectives or goals from a time, place, or state of mind that we do not like, which means we don’t embrace it. Therefore it is de-motivating.
What if you could appreciate the moment and embrace it? It would be inspiring, just like embracing that person you admired.

Gratitude is a powerful motivation. To embrace or appreciate the moment you are in, gives you a deep settled strength, and alleviates anxiety. With this strength you are able to tap into your intuition and be directed into paths that are more meaningful and in tune with who you are. This makes it much easier for you to become enthusiastic and move forward and feel good about the present as well as where you want to go. Having gratitude for where you are now can get you started.

Think about the situation you are in right now that frustrates or even immobilizes you. Now come up with a list of some really positive things that you have going for you right at this moment. Think of things you may be grateful for. A few examples could be good health, living in the country you are in, experience in your field, great relationship with your wife, husband or significant other, certain belongings, past experiences, just to name a few.

Once you finish the list, go back through and mentally say “thank you” to all the circumstances and people you could thank for each one of these. For example; in reference to your health, mentally thank someone who showed you how to eat properly, or who got you involved in some form of physical exercise. Maybe a previous employer believed in balanced living and not just work, work, work. Be sure to thank that person mentally. Thank your government for the facilities that are available and your creator for being so kind to you. As Plato once said; “Happiness is not being in a good state, but rather knowing you are in a good state.”

Once you have completed this exercise, you will have experienced the power of appreciation. You will feel much better about the moment. To see the positive in your present circumstances and to feel gratitude about the moment will get you started and keep you going.

Unfortunately, our egos work very hard at stopping us from experiencing gratitude. Very few of us can openly display gratitude on a daily basis to all those people and situations around us. It is much easier to fill our minds and bodies with self-importance, dissatisfaction, criticism, and victim-style thinking, than it is to put these feeling aside and say thank you. Monitor yourself and see how often you resist or justify not having gratitude. Being aware of your anti-gratitude stance alone, can start you on the road to being more grateful and more productive.

As the manager you may want to share this process with your people. Gratitude is one of the greatest internal motivators of all.

(An excerpt from our “Complete Sales Action System”)

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

#1) Raul in his happy place (He’s blogging for charity tonight too)

#2) This guy I met in Yaletown, his daughter neglected to brush the cat until it’s hair was in knots, the poodle groomer was cheaper. He should be arrested… and shaved.

#3) Doolins Irish Pub at Lunch time. You should see dinner.

#4) This was a joke gift but he chose to wear it in public.

#5) I can’t really top #4 so this post is done.

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Here it is:

Can You Use Social Media To Get International Sales For Your Business?

As a small business owner based in France targeting North American clients, social media makes good sense for me. And it works my business. Why? Because there are no significant barriers created by cultural differences between the social media I use and the people I connect with.

If you want use social media to develop your international business, there are two things you need to remember.

Sales Techniques

You will need to develop strong international sales negotiation techniques.

This comes with practice. But you must be willing to put in the personal effort needed to develop these skills.

Adapt Your Business

Have a look at the 5 different cultural scales outlined by Geert Hofstede:

· High versus Low Power Distance

· Individualism versus Collectivism

· Masculinity versus Femininity

· High versus Low Uncertainty Avoidance

· Long versus Short Term Orientation

What are these scales? They are an attempt to categorize and explain cultural differences.

I will not go into them here, but click through the link above. It is a very interesting table. You will see scores for a long list of countries for all 5 of these scales. And you can choose your country and another one to see how the two sets of cultural differences compare.

Although these 5 scales seem complex and they have their limitations, it is easy to understand why you need to approach people from different cultures differently.

And International Social Media?

Read the news and open your ears. Social media has hit the world everywhere. Here are a few points to remember:

· There are different social medial platforms in different countries

· What is popular in one country may not be popular in another one

· People use social media differently

It is not easy to get international social media statistics. And I am not sure I would even begin trying to get a comprehensive world vision of social media.

I suggest another approach…

Instead of taking on the whole planet, simply because social media is “free’:

· Keep your business in mind.

· Choose one country and jump into their social media environment.

Do not start with social media marketing. Instead:

· Start with social media networking

Get to know how people use social media in their country and then work on finding out how to adapt marketing your business in this new country.

There are some international social media networking scenarios where it is easy to create business relationships from a distance.

If you have any international social media stories to share, I would love to hear them. Please leave a comment below and tell me how you have used social media within part of your sales process.

Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural Marketer & International Sales Strategist based in France.  She uses her dual background in sales & marketing to help businesses improve their international sales conversion and develop country-specific international sales guides. Connect with her on Twitter @CindyKing

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

This is so basic, you would think everyone would be doing it. Not so.

I was sitting across the desk from the operations manager of the company for which I had worked a number of years earlier. We were reminiscing, and he told me this story.

In the time after I had left this company, it had been swallowed up by a large national company. Now, at number two in the nation, it was again being merged with number three. The government got involved, and mandated that every salesperson fill out a form for every account doing over $100,000 in annual business.

The operations manager described how he looked over the forms as he assembled them to send back to the government. As he did so, he got a sick feeling in his stomach. It seems that on many of the forms, the names listed were nicknames, and there was no title indicated.

He told me that he realized that his salespeople didn’t know the full name and correct title of the key contact people in their largest accounts!

While that may sound like an exception to you, I have since discovered that it is the rule, not the exception. The sad truth is that few salespeople have systematically collected and stored the full names and accurate titles of their key contact people. As a result, their proposals and correspondence are amateurish and they look unprofessional to their customers.

Such a simple little thing!

Yet, over and over again, it’s not the big things that separate the Top Gun performers from the pack. It’s the methodical, disciplined adherence to excellence in the little things.

I know there are thousands of salespeople who are reading this right now, thinking “I already know that.” Yet, most of them aren’t methodical and systematic in their execution of this practice. It’s not what you know that makes you into a Top Gun performer, it is what you do.

That’s why the best practices are called “practices.”

About the author: Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales training educators. Since 1988, Dave has worked with over 400 companies, helping them to increase their sales and develop their sales people. He’s been published over 1,000 times, writes a weekly Ezine (subscribe for free at http://www.davekahle.com/mailinglist.htm), and has authored seven books. Dave’s website is available at http://www.davekahle.com, and you can follow his sales blog at http://www.davekahle.com/salesblog.

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Sales Best Practices: Asking questions as a means of facilitating every step in the sales process.

The single most powerful tool that a salesperson has is a well-phrased, appropriately asked question. Nothing else compares to the impact that a good question can have on the customer and the sales process.

That’s because a good question directs and influences the customer’s thinking. When you ask a question, they think of the answer. That simple statement neatly packages the latent power of a good question.

Yet, few salespeople understand that, and fewer still implement it.

A number of years ago, a study was done on this very issue. Here are the results:

“Out of 300 salespeople studied, 87 percent realize the importance of asking questions. However, only 27 percent displayed the ability to ask a well thought out, stimulating series of questions.”

In other words, thirteen percent of the salespeople in the world don’t even recognize the power of asking a good question. And only about 1 out of 4 could actually do it. That means that 3 out of every 4 salespeople, or 75 percent, don’t ask good questions.

There are two issues here: First, realizing the importance of using good questions effectively, and second, actually doing so.

This is such a big issue that my book, Question Your Way to Sales Success, is devoted entirely to this.

Everyone can ask a question. I have a three year old grandson. He can do it. This issue isn’t asking questions; the issue is asking better sales questions. While I can’t condense the book to a few hundred words here, I can point out a couple of things that the best do with this most powerful tool.

1. They prepare their major questions before the sales call. This gives them the time to select the best language and sequence.

2. They are mindful, at every stage of the sales process, of using better sales questions. They understand that there are questions, there are good questions, and there are better sales questions. So, they constantly focus on creating and using better sales questions. Whether it’s a cold call on a prospect, or following up after the sale, at every stage of the sales process, a more effective use of questions will produce dramatically better results. And they know that.

3. They collect good questions over time, and use them over and over again.

A master salesperson is a master at the use of better sales questions. That’s why it is a best practice of the best.

About the author: Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales training educators. Since 1988, Dave has worked with over 400 companies, helping them to increase their sales and develop their sales people. He’s been published over 1,000 times, writes a weekly Ezine (subscribe for free at http://www.davekahle.com/mailinglist.htm), and has authored seven books.  Dave’s website is available at http://www.davekahle.com, and you can follow his sales blog at http://www.davekahle.com/salesblog.

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Anthony McAleer top producing financial advisor for London Life says it this way: “If you’re not getting the results you want, you’re probably not doing the core activities.” Jim Janz, multi-million-dollar direct sales magnate calls these activities “vital signs.”

Vital Signs
When paramedics arrive on the scene of an accident they will check the vital signs of those injured.  Just because someone is standing upright and talking does not mean they’re healthy. Some vital signs to look for are:

•    Balance
•    Checking if the pupils in the eyes respond to light
•    Blood Pressure
•    Heart Rate
•    Breathing Rate
•    Brain function and nervous system response
•    Sensitivity to palpation
•    And many other factors

If any of these signs are out of sync, there is a chance that the injured is presently in danger, or could experience difficulties later on.

Your business, because you are a business of one, is responsible for bringing in revenues and turning a profit, has vital signs.  Just because you’re making phone calls and networking doesn’t mean you have a healthy business.  Revenues alone don’t mean your business is healthy.

Depending on your business some of your sales vital signs could be the number of:

•    Calls per day
•    In person meetings with clients
•    Proposals written
•    Networking events attended
•    RFPs completed
•    Hours per week organizing or planning
•    E-mails sent
•    Blog entries written
•    Presentations made
•    Prospects added to your list
•    Revenues
•    Number of repeat orders from key accounts

You could also produce and monthly, quarterly or even annual vital signs record sheet.  This process will give you a clear picture of how close you are to achieving your goals based upon your activity.  Over time you will also begin to notice a correlation between specific activities and revenues. These activities could be called “Core Vital Signs.”

In direct sales for instance,  Jim Janz could predict the monthly gross revenues of a group of people based upon the number of people who attended training meetings and how many new people were added to the group over the previous 90 days.  You may find that there is a direct correlation between the number of proposals you write and the number of new clients you close.  The number of cold calls could be irrelevant for instance.

One important fact to note is that once you determine what your core vital signs are, you should book those first in your calendar and make sure that your entire plan is focused on you executing those activities.

In sales often when we are no longer getting the results we want we are no longer doing the key activities that make us successful.  Knowing your vital signs and executing them daily is key to your long term success.

Your Assignment Today is:

1)  List all of your core activities that you daily and weekly

2) Determine which ones are your vital activities that lead to your desired outcomes

3) Map out and begin to measure these activities daily

There are two main questions you need answered before proceeding:

Question 1: “Mr. Client, when you say the price is too high, how high is it? And compared to what do you feel it is too high?

When the client answers this question, you know what amount you are dealing with. The important thing here is to separate that amount from the total amount. By the client telling you the amount, you know what they are happy to pay, so you do not sell them on that amount, they are already sold on it. Focus on the difference.

Example:

Client: “I am sorry, but the purchase price of that house is too much.”
Salesperson: “When you say too much, how much too much?”
Client: “About $20,000 too much.”
Salesperson: “So what you are saying is that $280 000 is okay with you, but it is the additional $20,000 that is holding you back?”
Client: “Yes.”
Salesperson: “Well, let’s take a look at what you get for that extra $20,000 or $250 per month in payments. For an extra $250 per month:

• You are just across the street from the elementary school, and you said you wanted to be close to the school.
• The area you were looking in is 10 miles further away from your office. You save yourself 20 miles of travel per day, and in gasoline and wear and tear on your car it translates into $5.00 per day, which is over $100 per month. That is almost half of the $250 per month.
• The house has a view and you really feel a view gives you a sense of freedom.
• You have a two car garage that is very secure.
• Your wife is in love with it.
• You reduce your worry about your children walking to school.
• You save time not having to drive or walk the kids to school.
• You are closer to the office and save time again.
• You end up with a view you want.

Salesperson:    “For a $150 a month on your mortgage I feel this one is the best option we have looked at today.” (You would not use the entire list but probable focus in on the top ones you would feel the client would relate too)

Note:     The salesperson does not say “for an extra $20,000 or for $300,000” which is the total price. The focus is on the difference and the lowest amount and then broken down to a monthly cost

Your Assignment today is:

#1) Look at which services or products you have where you have price objections

#2) Assess how much more they may be perceived to cost in comparison to similar products or services.

#3) Brainstorm all of the additional value financially and otherwise someone would get from paying the extra amount.

#4) Memorize your value added list.

12.     Dependent – “The guerrilla’s job is not to compete but to cooperate with other businesses. Market them in return for them marketing you. Set up tie-ins with others. Become dependent to market more and invest less.” Begin to blog, do interviews and profile your cooperative competitors online and many will reciprocate and help you grow your following and client base.

13.    Armament – Arm yourself with all of the social media tools that your customer consumes or uses.  Also find new markets through arming yourself with new social networks and mediums.

14.    Consent – Permission is number one if you are going to be a Guerrilla Social Media marketer. Take time to build trust and relationships and never overstate or overstep your relationships online with pitches and unsolicited messaging.

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing Secrets Part 1

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing Secrets Part 2

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing Secrets Part 3

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing Secrets Part 4

Today’s assignment is:

1) Brainstorm all possible criteria for CIO and referral sources
2) Pick 5-7 top criteria
3) Make a list of existing and potential A category CIO’s and referrals
4) Book a meeting with at least 2 existing to say thank-you and share criteria
5) Share your thoughts and how you implemented this at http://closingbigger.net

If you haven’t signed up for the program you can join at anytime by signing up below:

Tip #1: Doing business in Vancouver: Your meeting has a good chance of starting late.

Tip #2: Doing business in Vancouver: You will most likely talk about 8 non-related things before getting down to business.

Tip #3: Doing Business in Vancouver: Your meeting will most likely take place in Starbucks (via @robertaw99)

Tip #4: Doing Business in Vancouver: Your meeting may be bumped by something of little consequence until you learn Vancouver priorities (via @Bradinator)

Tip #5: Doing Business in Vancouver: Vancouverites are friendly but take time to introduce and endorse you. They take business personally.

Tip #6: Doing Business in Vancouver: Green is the new bling and being too busy is a sign of business weakness.

Tip #7: Doing Business in Vancouver: Not everyone in Vancouver is into doing business.

Tip #8: Doing Business in Vancouver: When you don’t get a call back right away don’t worry and don’t get offended. Follow-up again.

Tip #9: Doing Business in Vancouver: Everyone knows everyone, and many have done business with each other at some point. via @KontentCreative

Tip #10: Doing Business in Vancouver: It’s all about relationships and what networks you’re connected to.  Take your time getting to know who is connected to who. Join your local Board of Trade and corresponding Vancouver Linkedin and Meetup groups as a start.

3.    Consistent – Don’t change your identity.  Brands, relationships, trust, and technology all take time for adoption and acceptance. Be consistent with your message and on-line social media identity.
4.    Confident – You must be confident and instill confidence in the customer.  Use social media to listen to your customers.  Jay says, “Service is anything the customer wants it to be.” Listen! He goes on to say, “Quality is what customers get out of your product. “  This is great information that can help you provide specific, on topic, brilliant solutions to your target market’s pains.
5.    Patient – Be patient. Be patient with yourself, it will take you time to master the Guerilla Marketing “Weapons of Social Media.” Be patient as you build a community online, build roots and a foundation that will be un-shakable.  Be patient with your target market, they will rush in to use and engage in social media, but they will do it in their time-frame.

A number of you have asked for more information on the program. Here are the major topic areas that will be addressed in the 28-day program:

• The ABC’s of Targeting – How to fine tune and focus your sales process
• Master Prospecting Strategies – How to develop a step by step prospecting plan using offline, online and social media tools and processes
• Rapport – Tips, strategies and tactics for developing instant rapport
• Selling with Style – how to read and adapt to different types of buyers for maximum effectiveness.
• Social Selling – Social media and networking strategies to help you engage and develop business, using tools like blogging, twitter, FaceBook and video.
• Needs Analysis Selling – Using questioning to establish rapport, identify client pains and develop easy to sell solutions.
• Key Account Management – Approached to landing, retaining and growing high value clients
• Life Time Client Strategies – Using personal branding, social media leadership, relationship development, and pro-active service strategies to create a loyal customer base.

Each day participants will have the opportunity to share their success, applications and challenges with each other. I expect this to also be a good networking opportunity. (All this will happen at http://closingbigger.net)

If you are not already registered for the program you can do so below. (There’s no fee, no advertising, and you can start or quit at anytime).

-

If you want to improve your sales and have been too busy to put a plan into place you’re not alone.

I have had many people in the sales community including sales professionals, senior executives and high tech entrepreneurs and bloggers who are all looking for ways to convert connections into long-term clients and relationships.

Their challenge is that most resources available are either one time training opportunities, or extensive and over whelming programs that are tough to implement. This program takes care of all of this.

The 28 Days to Better Selling program is completely free and is 100% content and 0% advertising or promotions. All content focused on helping you.

This concept was inspired by a 31 Days to Build a Better Blog program that Problogger.com put on for 12,000 other bloggers. As a participant it was very helpful for me. The concept is simple:

Here’s how 28 Days to Better Selling Works:

1) A daily task that you can easily implement to improve your sales and business
2) A succinct daily lesson to help you make the improvement

By the end of the 28 days you will have looked at 28 ways to fine tune and improve your sales process and business. The daily lessons will be in written, video or audio format and will take less than 10 minutes each to review.

To Register for the program please enter your e-mail address below:

Shamus Brown did a blog post called “Your Prospects are Human Lie Detectors.” It’s amazing that in this era of extreme transparency that sales professionals and business people still are missing this core lesson.

Simone Blum urged us to be Un Reasonable when it comes to business decisions and launching a new idea or product.

Alan Majer provided a great list of 21 things we can do to succeed in a carreer in selling.

The guys at Sales Roundup put together a good sales podcast on finding and prepping for a sales job.

The guys at the Advanced Selling Podcast did a great podcast on The Rules Tools and Attitudes needed to put more prospects into the sales funnel.

Brad Trnavsky at the Sales Bloggers Union did a good sales blog entry on The Primary Role of a Sales Manager.

Skip Anderson in his Selling to Consumers Podcast talked about the Essence of Selling. It’s all about helping the client make a decision according to Skip.

Lastly I found this sales cartoon from Count5.com and it reminded me of at least half of the sales people that call my office daily. Anyone else suffering from the same?

20 Social Media Tips:

1. Focus on a specific theme in your social media for extended periods of time
2. Your blog is your home base, all social media should feed your home base
3. Social media is 90 % contribution and connection 10 % marketing and sales
4. Social media belongs to the people, they get to make the rules not the marketer
5. Have a social media policy for your company. Help your people be effective and on message
6. Promote other people’s dreams. It builds community, loyalty and brand for you
7. “Marketing is a process not an event”- @jaylevinson
8. Blog, tweet and talk about solutions to people’s pains and challenges
9. Social media tools like twitter are listening tools more than they are broadcasting tools.
10. Nano-cast to many small niches instead of broadcasting to everyone.
11. Learn to break up large blog entries into many smaller entries. It’s more user friendly
12. Take time each month to update your major social media profiles, use key words that your prospects would search for
13. Use social search like http://search.twitter.com and http://blogsearch.google.com to listen to your customers
14. Each social network has it’s own etiquette FaceBook type behavior doesn’t work on  LinkedIn
15. Answer people’s comments on your blog, or @ replies in Twitter. Social media leadership is about bi-directional communication.
16. Think twice, click once.
17. Take it off-line, book in person meetings or hold events for your online social media contacts
18. Use an assortment of tools, it geometrically multiplies efforts
19. Always be asking where are we going? What is the next Twitter or FaceBook going to be?
20. Use a mixture of content on your blogs, top 10 lists, photos, video, audio, guest bloggers, and polls…

Register for updates on Sociable! Shane Gibson and Stephen Jagger’s new book to be released in June 2009.

Social Media Seminars with Shane Gibson.

Related Posts:

• Twitter tips for Sales People
• Social Media Phobia Why Executives Aren’t On board
• Succeed in Tough Times with Social Media

Trucker Network. We are firm believers in the power of business cards, and the following story reaffirms why everyone in your company needs cards. Last week Darcy heard this story about a guy who owns a trucking company who decided to give all his truckers business cards. Soon, his company’s business cards were posted on truck stop cafes and gas stations across the continent. The result? A 20% increase in business! And there was another interesting thing that happened–the drivers started dressing better, looking sharper. Why would that be? These guy and gals had never been given business cards before, and if we think back to the time when we received that very first box of business cards, there was a certain feeling of pride, status and belonging. There were two wins for this owner because of his simple investment in business cards.

– Darcy, Gayle and Judy

To read a story from Work the Pond! about giving cards to everyone in your company go to: www.tiny.cc/shepa

#1) This is actually a live feed of multiple sales bloggers from around the globle. The World’s Top Sales Bloggers List is a great place to discover new sales bloggers and podcast producers.

#2) Dave Kurlan put together a great sales management checklist of must have attibutes for sales leaders and managers.

#3) Kevin Eikenberry posted a good list of 5 ways to do some spring cleaning to your life.  Good tips for those needing to refocus.

#4) Paul Espinosa talked about how critical it is for organizations to get good ar hiring good sales managers in his post on “Sales Managers – The Real Role.”

#5) The guys at the Sales Roundup Sales Podcast put together a great show on “How to price what you sell.”

#6) George Petri from Symvolli posted a sales podcast on “B2B Relationships Don’t Have To Be Lost – Continuous Contact Doesn’t Mean Customer Stalking.” Great stuff on creative follow-up.

#7) Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale put together a podcast on getting to and dealing with decision makers.

#8) Rick Cooper: The Fortune Is In the Follow Up was another podcast that I enjoyed.

Number one Sociable! and it’s principles are needed right now by most of our collective clients.  If we waited a year to release it, and went the traditional book publisher route we would be hypocrites for saying “the rules of business have changed but we are going to write, distribute, market and roll-out our book basically the same it has been done for years.”  So we broke a bunch of rules, and we also set some big aggressive goals that are going to create some real momentum.

Here’s what Mack had to say:

Undoubtebdly you guys are both experts, but a book in 90 days? As a consumer I am a lot less interested in the book as it seems like something rushed. For you to write three books in a year is a great achievement but as a reader I would prefer one Excellent book in a year instead of three that were quickly banged out.  Maybe my assessment is wrong, I’d love to hear why. (Original comment here)

I would side with Seth Godin on this when he said:

Blogs have eliminated the reason for most business books to exist. If you can say it in three blog posts and reach more people, then waiting a year and putting in all that effort seems sort of pointless. The chances that your effort will be rewarded with income in proportion to the time you put in are pretty low. (See the full post at Seth Godin’s Blog)

In order to create ROI for the writer and be relevant to the reader the way books are written, marketed and revised must change. Here’s my full response via video (please weigh in and add comments, I really want to know what my readers feel about this subject):

What I am talking about is real time, permission based data on clients that will have the potential to tell us everything from what time of day they are most likely to answer a twitter comment from us to what events they are attending and what brand of TV they prefer or “favorite.”

This data is available on most contacts you have if you are connected to them on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin but the challenge is managing the noise and the chaos to hone in on the events, preferences, and people that matter most to your sales, networking and community building efforts.

A comment made to me on Twitter just moments after recording this podcast was:

From: @Raize604 @shanegibson it’s also more high maintenance CRM which makes me wonder if its worth it” (He was referring to all the trouble with watching clients and prospects on multiple networks)

A properly engineered and formatted Social CRM can pull all of this data for you, filter it, help you focus on a target group and tell you when specific people or groups are most responsive to what messages in what mediums.  Here’s today’s sales podcast on Social CRM:

Sociable! Is about “How social media and social networking are turning sales and marketing up-side down.”  This book idea really began as a discussion shortly after I interviewed Stephen Jagger for my sales podcast on “Twitter and GrandCentral.com.” Then in January I shared with Steve my goal to write three more books this year and when the topic of Social Media for Sales People and Entrepreneurs came up we quickly decided that we should do it together.  We will also be sharing with our readers how we have managed to write a book in 90 days at some point in the future.

Based upon my experience and the collective experience of the team at Knowledge Brokers International we have seen sales evolve to a true profession. With that said I also feel that sales is broken, a lot of the old approaches such as cold calling or marketing at people versus engaging them are becoming less and less effective (this prompted my podcast last week on “how to avoid cold calling“).

The bare bones pre-launch website for Sociable! is up and you can sign up to hear more about upcoming seminars, events (usually involving beer and social media sales types), at the site.  We will also be selecting about a dozen people to review the book in a protected blog where you will be able to make comments and add your thoughts.  Some of those will be included in the comments section at the end of each chapter.

After spending 8 hours today finishing these Chapters off, I’m done writing for a while.

Chris Maurer did a great blog post on Social Media for B2B Sales, he talked about the importance of laying out a strong strategy for your sales team to use the tools effectively.

Jonathan Farrington said it well when he said “Successful ‘closers’ know that there is no need to use magic phrases or techniques because if they’ve effectively followed the sales process, closing the sale is the next step in a logical sequence.” in his great blog post on “Closing. It’s easy if…”

Neil Godin did a great blog entry in his Marketing Dangerously blog on “May I help you?” and how he was able to help a company double their customer conversion levels by shifting the way they great customers.

Wendy Weiss did a podcast that really talked about the difference between Amateurs versus Professionals in the art of cold calling.  “Fix Your Saggy Butt!”  (I’m glad I never have been a dancer or a model, sales sounds easy after her story).

Colleen Francis blogged about the importance of CRM for sales teams of any size.  The blog was answer to a blog reader’s question. I liked Colleen’s practical logical arguement for those that may still be sitting on the CRM fence.

Stephen Jagger founder of Reachd and Ubertor posted a great video of Vic Jang speaking on the Future of Real Estate Sales.

Skip Anderson posted some straightforward but often missed sales management tips for ramping up your effectiveness in “Sales Manager, How Are You Going to Spend Your Time Today?”

Ian Watt did a video blog titled “Don’t Become a Realtor for the Money, it Will Eat You Alive” (you can see all of his video blogs here). It’s great insight on loving what you do.

Another great resource for sales blogs and podcasts is the sales channel of Alltop.com

If you have any favorite posts or authors you like please share them in the comments section.

Yesterday was the first day Stephen Jagger and I officially announced our new book Sociable! A book on how social media is turning sales and marketing up-side down.  We did a 30 minute presentation and 25 minute Q&A at the Massive Technology Show in Vancouver. (We will be in Toronto on May7th as well)  The feedback from the seminar was positive and the big question has been when is the book being released?

Based upon feedback from the publisher / printer we’re looking at early June as the soft launch of the book.  We will be announcing a series of events around the book in the coming weeks and how you can get advance copies for review.

If you want to be kept up to date on this you can get on our list here:

I have been working with the Academy of Learning for over a year to launch this program and it is now available through their network of 145 locations across Canada.

New Program Trains Sales Professionals Who Meet the Demands of Today’s Business World

Academy of Learning is pleased to announce the new Sales Professional Diploma program“ said Derek Hamill, President of LaunchLife International Inc., the franchisor of Academy of Learning. “Without sales there is no business. Academy of Learning wanted to deliver a first rate diploma program to guide and prepare graduates for top notch sales opportunities, and that’s what we did.

Academy of Learning, along with speaker, author and global entrepreneur, Shane Gibson, President of Knowledge Brokers International (KBI), designed the Sales Professional Diploma program with the goal to ensure that every student has the necessary sales knowledge and practical tools to succeed in a sales career.

This program is based upon KBI’s methodologies that have been implemented and used by leading business organizations such as SIEMENS, Old Mutual, The Certified Management Accountants of Canada, the Vancouver Board of Trade and dozens of manufacturers and leading financial services companies. Over 100,000 people in the last 10 years have attended KBI’s programs in Canada, USA, Southern Africa, South East Asia, the Middle East and South America.

This program will prepare graduates with the right skills to excel as a sales professional.

Some of the key courses and areas of focus in the program include: Principles of Selling, Business Presentations, Professional Selling, Business Negotiations & Contracts, and Business Law and Ethics. Graduates will be prepared with the right tools for lucrative sales careers in disciplines such as inside sales, outside sales, key account management, retail and large business to business sales careers. This program is ideal for individuals entering the workplace for the first time, re-entering the workplace, or current jobholders who want to upgrade or get formal recognition as a sales professional.

Labour conditions for the sales profession have remained consistent. Jobfutures.ca indicates that there is a broad variety of career opportunities in sales in fields such as advertising, wholesale, publications, hospitality, entertainment, travel, as well as in the telecommunication industry. Companies need to be competitive and that means having the right sales person who knows how to win accounts and maintain business relationships.

A labour analysis conducted by Academy of Learning shows sales positions are still key requirements in the workforce. Additional research relating specifically to the sales profession research found that:

• Graduates of sales related programs can expect a salary at a mid to slightly higher than average annual salary.
• The employment outlook in sales is at a good level for the coming year.
• The Globe and Mail newspaper stated that employers are having difficulty filling Sales Representatives positions.
• 72% of those with previous work experience found a job within one month of graduation.
• 45% of respondents in the Canadian Professional Sales Association study on “The State of the Sales Nation” stated that finding good sales people was very challenging.

According to Rob Simas, Director, Academic Division at LaunchLife International, “the labour market findings allowed us to develop a comprehensive and focused Sales Professional Diploma program, designed to meet the outcomes and objectives of program standards used by many of the community colleges, without sacrificing vocation and integrity.”

Mr. Simas concluded by saying, “We are pleased to provide a program to individuals looking for a well-rounded introduction to sales. We are confident that this program will open the door to entry-level positions within the exciting and rewarding field of sales.”

Contact the Academy of Learning ]]> http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/03/professional-sales-diploma-program-launched-in-partnership-with-the-academy-of-learning/feed/ 6 http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/03/sales-podcast-transactional-vs-relationship-focused-selling/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sales-podcast-transactional-vs-relationship-focused-selling http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/03/sales-podcast-transactional-vs-relationship-focused-selling/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:33:37 +0000 Shane Gibson http://www.closingbigger.net/?p=306 Today’s podcast comes from a question submitted to me by Dave Macdonald via twitter (@davemacdonald).  Here’s what he asked: “What are some sound strategies to ensure that positive or negative momentum doesn’t result in purely transactional behaviour?”

It’s an interesting question. Falling into being transactional when things are going well or when things are not going well is a bad long term sales and business strategy.  Non-transactional selling is relationship based, focused, purposeful and customized for your client and market. I answered his question via podcast. If you have a sales question you want answered follow me on Twitter.

Here’s today’s podcast:

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If you could pull together your sales team for three hours, give them just three things to implement that would increase their efficiency by even 5% your Return on Investment over the next 90 days would be worth much more than the 3 hours they spent out of the field. In addition to this, I found the blog entry to be another one of many coaching versus training blog entries. Why can’t we all just get along?

Organizations that really have their sales performance strategy together will be driving forward with both training and coaching working synergistically. Each plays and important role in maintaining competitiveness, motivation and retaining star players. Have a listen to my rant on this topic:

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As a sales performance specialist, author, speaker, and someone who loves connecting people; I’m one of the biggest proponents of networking and socializing. Yes I’m referring to non-sterilized out from behind the computer connecting with real genuine people.  If that’s true then why defend social networking and social media? After all, most of my clients pay me to teach their people to teach them how to network, prospect, cold-call, present, handle objections, and then close the deal. I make money from promoting this way of doing business. I like this way of doing business, I’m good at it.

So why? Why defend or promote the medium?  I’m one of those people that is totally open to other people’s opinions, in fact rarely do I debate with or correct people, even if I feel they may be wrong. Unless of course what they’re talking about keeps them in an negative or unhealthy space, even more so if they’re affecting other people.

I have had several people forward me links to an article recently that I think presents a very one sided and one dimensional view of a very multi-dimensional tool and movement.  What I’m talking about is a recent article posted in The Register. It’s at best a one-sided article making an extreme interpretation of an article released in the journal of the British Institute of Biology this past February 2009.

The article in The Register blames social networking sites and social media including FaceBook, Linkedin, and Twitter for cancer, heart attacks, lupus, dementia and more.  Why not blame it for the recession as well? (The ironic thing is the article at the bottom encourages people to “share it on Facebook” or to “digg” it.)

There’s some really bad assumptions made. You can read the original article and the study (PDF) and judge for yourself.  Number one most of the data in the article and the studies cited were from studies conducted observing people for a period of years leading up to 1998! What a leap!

Connecting internet usage in 1998 prior to the advent of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Blogging, Youtube, Skype, Google was practically an unknown entity.  The study that most of these extrapolations were based upon came at a time of dial-up, slow-broad-band, and Yahoo Chat!, I almost developed an ulcer myself just waiting for the java applet in Yahoo! Chat to load as my Windows OS and first generation Toshiba Satellite creaked and groaned in protest.

Digging up and using old data to condemn platforms that have only existed for less than 5 years is a stretch. In fact a new study that just came out in 2009 out of Taiwan cites that blogging, may make you happier. (Study via Andrew Devine on Twitter) Doctor Ben Goldacre in a recent blog entry shared several counter studies from well known scientists that refuted the Register article as well:

Many of them do not support Dr Sigman’s theory. These are the ones he completely ignores.

For example:

1. Caplan SE published a paper in 2007 entitled: “Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic Internet use.” Dr Sigman did not quote this paper in his article. Why not? “The results support the hypothesis that the relationship between loneliness and preference for online social interaction is spurious.”

2. Sum et al published a paper in 2008 with the title: “Internet use and loneliness in older adults“. Dr Sigman chose not to quote this paper. Why not? I don’t know, although it does contain the line “greater use of the Internet as a communication tool was associated with a lower level of social loneliness.”

3. Subrahmanyam et al published a paper in 2007 called “Adolescents on the net: Internet use and well-being.” It features the line “loneliness was not related to the total time spent online, nor to the time spent on e-mail”. Dr Sigman ignored it.

What is interesting is these studies are done in this decade, not in the 90′s.  Overall this in my opinion is just an opinion and people are entitled to them. The study was a jumble of other studies mashed together. We all know that statistics can be spun in any direction to support just about any conclusion.  Another good blog and retort of The Register article can be found here by Mind Hacks.

Here’s what’s most dangerous about buying into far reaching claims that sending your Granny a video over Facebook will kill her: It will keep you from enjoying all of the benefits that are attached to using these tools properley.

Anything used to excess is bad. Yes MacDonald’s, Beer, Sunlight, all will kill you if you use them to excess.  Social Media and Social Networking if used properly can help you break the ice and make connections with people in your community or across the globe.  Most people on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin who really jump in and use them (not dip their toe in the water and condemn it but actually try it) will have most likely attended events, had lunch, done business and even collaborated to help a charity using the tools.

These tools don’t replace networking, from my experience they leverage your networking efforts if you use them well.  Before people blamed the internet for anti-social teenagers they blamed Metallica and before that they blamed Bob Dylan (as I digress).

In their book “groundswell” Charlene Li of Forrester Research and Josh Bernoff (Published by Harvard Business Press) state that “this movement can’t be tamed.  It comes from from a thousand sources and washes over traditional businesses like a flood.  And like a flood, it can’t be stopped in any one place.  Often it can’t be stopped at all. This is the movement we call a groundswell. And while you can’t stop it, you can understand it. You can not only live with it: you can thrive in it.”

Maybe people are just afraid.

I personally think I will stick with Forrester Research and Harvard for my data on the benefits of Social Media and Social Networking. Let’s bring this back to the beginning though; I love people, I love networking and building relationships, I make money teaching other people how to do that. I like these technologies because they can accelerate that process. I suggest that you do both, not one or the other.

Criticizing Twitter and saying it’s unhealthy is like saying “hammers are bad,” yes it’s true they have been misused, been responsible for many broken thumbnails, even murder. A hammer is just a tool, it’s how you use it.  Don’t fall in love with any of these tools. Use them to enhance your effectiveness.  I have met no less than 300 people face to face in that past 6 months that I first met through Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Meetup. The founder of Builddirect.com Jeff Booth originally connected with me after reading this blog. Jeff and I see each other every week now in person, and we follow each other on Twitter.  How is that unhealthy?

I would really like to hear readers thoughts on this and any stats for or against my opinion.

As they say in Nova Scotia SOCIABLE!

Networking Interruptus. Here is a very typical networking situation: Sam and Salima are talking and someone comes over, interrupts, and proceeds to talk only to Sam. You can picture Salima’s expression! What should have happened? Let’s start by saying that sometimes you do have to squeeze into the conversation. But barging in and completely ignoring the other person is not how to do it. Instead, the person should have entered the conversation by saying “Sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I just have a quick word with Sam?” The interrupter should then remember to keep the circle open so Salima is not left hovering. Most conversations aren’t ‘spy-worthy’ so everyone can be included. Besides, if it is highly personal it really shouldn’t be discussed at a networking event.

– Darcy, Gayle and Judy

Got a great networking tip? Share it with us at: info@workthepond.com We are giving away a copy of the audio version of Work The Pond! for the best one!

No. 265- February 22, 2009

Dive Right In. Let’s talk about the job market in a positive way. Yes, people are losing jobs, but they are also finding new ones, or getting promotions. Here is some excellent advice on one of the first things you should do when you get that new job. William C. Byham, chairman and CEO of Development Dimensions International, in Start Networking Right Away (Even If You Hate It) Harvard Business Review, January 2009 says, “Even if you have an aversion to networking – as many people do – it’s imperative to start forging deliberate connections within the first 30 to 60 days after a promotion, the period when people in a new division or company are making up their minds about whether you’re dependable – or a loser who should never have been hired.” To read the entire article go to: Harvard Business Review

– Darcy, Gayle and Judy

Got a comment on this article? Visit Darcy Rezac’s SHEPA Circle

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Thank-you to Split Mango (Ubertor and WordPress Specialists) for editing the CSS and PHP for this quiz to make it legible and functioning!

Careers in High-Tech and Web-Based Industries

For every successful technology company there are dozens that fail and leave behind an array of lost promises, disappointed investors, and stressed former employees.  This sector offers a highly engaging, and potentially lucrative career in sales. With that in mind, we must be willing to ask some hard questions about the company we are going to potentially work with.
The following are examples of questions and topics we need to address when seeking out potential employers:

1.    What is the basis for their technology? Do they have something proprietary or innovative that will allow me to build up a client base? Will this technology give us a sustained competitive advantage?  Or are we just another “me too” technology that can eventually be built better and cheaper by some other company?

2.    Is this technology proven, scalable, and have a track record? Many organizations make grand claims about their latest invention but cannot back it up. Remember, when you are out prospecting, presenting, and visiting potential clients, you are going to get some hard questions. Make sure there is something of substance that you can sell.

3.    Does the company have a solid infrastructure, quality control, technical standards, and sufficient resources for customer support? Too many start-ups lack this infrastructure and back-office support. What occurs is as we land larger clients and sell multiple instances of our software or solution, and the production side of the company fails to keep up. This results in delayed projects, poor customer service, and loss of clients, market share, and opportunity.  Make sure the company you work for has those key systems in place.

4.    Does the company have a proven executive team? Leadership and the personal motivation and drive of key executives are very important, especially in the initial stages of business growth. Has the CEO surrounded themselves with intelligent, competent division heads, or have they surrounded themselves with an entourage of “yes” people?

5.    One of the most important questions is: “Is this solution a cure to a pain or a problem?” If it is, creating a business case for people to buy it will be achievable. If it is one of the many technologies with no real market demand (i.e. just another interesting technology tool) it is not going to be a priority purchase for anyone.

6.    Does the company and solution have a defined, accessible market? If the target market is difficult to reach or is ambiguous, much of our initial tenure at the company will not be spent selling, it will be spent trying to define the market and through trial and error, learning how to access it. This is not a formula for large commissions.

7.    Does the company equip the sales staff with the right marketing and collateral materials as well as tools necessary to sell the solution? In addition to this, do they have a well-defined and potentially lucrative compensation plan that will reward me for my efforts?

If you find it hard to answer positively about one or more of these questions the reality is you’re probably not being offered a sales job of real substance in web or high tech based industries.

I know of several sales people who’s resume’s are full of 3 or 6 month stints at half a dozen of these companies. The time frame makes them look like flakey employees who can’t commit or be loyal. The reality is they were great sales people who worked for companies of no substance.

- Shane Gibson

Following are the five key elements of Operationalizing sales:

1.    Tools

In order to operationalize our sales process and achieve our goals we will need the right tools to get the job done.  These tools include everything from electronic devices, research tools, business cards, marketing materials, software, and accounting and billing tools to name a few.  It is important to be aware of the core tools needed to effectively execute the plan.

2.    Measurement

What gets measured gets improved.  Without measurement there is no feedback, positive or negative, regarding our progress.  A goal helps us push ourselves in positive ways and fuels improvement, motivation, self-esteem and team spirit.

What gets measured gets improved.  Without measurement there is no feedback, positive or negative, regarding our progress.  A goal helps us push ourselves in positive ways and fuels improvement, motivation, self-esteem and team spirit.

3.    Processes and Knowledge

Once you have a goal, a measurement process, and the right tools needed to identify the process to follow, you can identify any knowledge or skill gaps that may affect progress.  Being a master at sales is a process of constant improvement, self awareness and personal growth.

4.    Maximize Selling Time

Your end goal is to build solid client relationships that result in sizeable amounts of revenue.  Using this as a core goal, we can  maximize the time spent doing the things that move us toward that goal.  Many sales people have failed because they became experts at paperwork, staff meetings, research, and a myriad of other activities that have very little to do with closing the deal or building relationships with the right clients.

Sales professionals need to have a process that supports the core goal and the courage to fight for the time needed to do these things.  This process is about delegating, automating or deleting these activities from our life that are not harmonious with our goals.

5.    Support and Accountability Structure

“One is too few a number to achieve greatness” – John Maxwell.

John Maxwell, leadership expert says it well in this quote.  We need a team to help us reach our goals; many of us will do more for other people than we would do for ourselves.  Having a set of checks and balances and a manager, coach, mentor or peer that holds us accountable is a key ingredient in driving sales results.

- Shane Gibson

Enjoy:

People and companies do not generally seek out technology; they seek out solutions to their pains or positive emotional states. Technology for the sake of technology is not a great marketing strategy. When our clients purchase from us, they are really buying outcomes, feelings, results, and solutions.

Too often those involved in the high-tech sector bury their prospects in endless streams of jargon, highly technical diagrams, and gratuitous numbers of acronyms. These terms and over-complicated descriptions often confuse the client, clouding the core benefits and failing to answer the basic questions: “What’s in it for me?” and “What’s unique about this solution?”

Some of the most effective sales professionals who sell these types of solutions are good at taking complex solutions and communicating their benefits in very powerful but non-technical terms.
The following example is a technically filled pitch for web development and marketing that contains a lot of unnecessary jargon:

Example #1: Technical Jargon

I would suggest that when we build your site that we use an open source CMS that has a WYSIWYJG editor built in. Drupal would suffice, in fact it is also very SEO friendly and can be formatted to have an RSS feed for each page. This will be important when we’re trying build you back links, as back links are an important part of the Google page rank algorithm.

This description really misses any opportunity to talk about value. It simply rattles off multiple technical terms. In this example, the salesperson most likely thinks they sound like an authority when what they are really doing is potentially excluding the prospect in the process.

The following example is a benefit-oriented pitch for web development and marketing:

Example #2: Benefit-Oriented

You said that you would be frequently updating your website and that you wanted to save as much money on doing the updates as possible by reducing the need for a web developer in the future. My suggestion is that we us a CMS called Drupal with a WYSIWYG editor.  The site will be constructed in a way that search engines like Google will give it a higher ranking on search results than some of your competitor’s sites. This will of course result in more traffic and business for you.

Drupal is free software that requires no on-going fees to be paid. A CMS is a Content Management System which basically allows you to make changes to the look and feel of your website, and even where information appears on your site without having to do a lot of expensive redesign.  A WYSIWG editor stands for “What You See Is What You Get” and what it allows you to do, without any additional software or understanding of programming, is to log into your site and access a page that looks much like a Microsoft Word document. From there you can create new pages and edit existing ones without the assistance of a technical guru.

This example takes and expands the technical terms, educating the client in an inclusive manner, and focusing on the core outcomes, results, and benefits of using the technology.  The bottom-line is when we talk over people’s heads, use jargon and lack empathy we don’t get the deal.  Keep it simple, include the client in the process, and position yourself as a resource and a coach.

One sector that often comprises both intangible and complex sales is the high-tech sector. Many of the solutions are literally invisible—they run in the background and the majority of people are oblivious that they even exist.

Saying that someone is in the high-tech sector or industry is somewhat ambiguous in this era, as most organizations harness technology to make their businesses run. Everything from engineering solutions, to cars, cell phones, and legal services use technology as part of their offerings to the marketplace. So even if you do not consider yourself to be “in technology,” you will most likely be selling solutions that involve technology now or in the future.

Communicating the Benefits of Technology to Different Types of Buyers

We have to realize that there are often many types of people that are involved in the procurement of high tech solutions. For instance, if you were selling Customer Relations Management software implementation to a client, the following buyers may be involved in the decision making and evaluation process:

•    The CEO
•    Finance/Accounting
•    The sales staff who will use the software
•    The VP of Sales
•    The training department that will insure use and implementation
•    The IT department or team who will have integrate and support it once it is installed

Each of the buyers or contributors will need to have the solution communicated differently:

•    The CEO will most likely want to know the big picture, the bottom-line and how the  return on investment will be measured. They will not want to get bogged down in details and specifics and should not be asked questions related to those specifics.
•    Finance and accounting will be concerned about capital costs, warrantees, process management, risk and on-going fees.
•    The sales staff will want to know how to use it, how it will impact their ability to do their job, and the amount of  control others will have over them.
•    The VP of Sales and the training department will want to know about measurement, implementation, tracking tools, and how it will impact their ability to support the sales team.
•    The IT department will want to know specifics on programming, quality assurance issues, debugging, scalability, programming language security, and a myriad of other technical issues.

Most people are comfortable communicating with one or two of these types of stakeholder groups. Great salespeople in this sector have a strategy to address the needs of each of these groups, and they communicate the benefits in a way that is unique and applicable to each buyer type.

In addition to this, there are several other important attributes relating to great high-tech sales professionals as follows:

Knowing the Market

Understanding our target market and niche is critical. We need to understand the unique circumstances, competitive environment, and business processes of our target market.  In doing this research and preparation, we are better equipped to address the needs of our target market and identify what core business challenges our technology can address.

Knowing the Client

We need to go beyond the market and spend time getting to understand each individual corporation’s situation and circumstance. Each client will have unique business challenges and processes that need the support of technology in a customized way.

Factors that will affect the type of solution needed will vary depending on their stage of business growth, existing business processes, corporate goals, immediate and long term challenges, as well as management and operations philosophy.

Know All Applications and Limitations of Your Solution

In order to fully service the client and become a true resource and problem solver, we must understand all the applications of our products and services. In addition to this, it is imperative that we also understand our weaknesses and limitations.

At times clients have un-reasonable or un-defined expectations—by understanding our limitations and communicating them effectively we can dispel any misconceptions.
Why this is important is that a small misunderstanding early on could result in a largely off-target project or solution. On the positive side of course, by knowing all of the applications of our solution we make sure that we truly maximize revenues and client satisfaction.

Be a Problem Solver

This is an integral part of selling technology. Most new technologies evolve out of a client problem for which there is no solution.

Have Great Consulting Skills

Elevating ourselves from the status of order taker to trusted advisor can give us a real advantage in the marketplace. To be seen as a consultant, we need to have a thorough needs analysis approach, build our profile as a subject matter expert, have a high level of rapport with the potential clients, and look for ideal solutions—not just “our solution” to client problems.

Great Project Planning and Management Skills

Many large high-tech sales deals will require numerous people on our team to help us close the sale. There most likely will be a need to engage technical and support staff and then coordinate their interaction with key staff in our client company. Once we have the deal, there will be a need to continue to monitor these interactions to ensure that the promises we made to the client are in fact fulfilled.

Risks:

Not Targeting
If we do not have a clear idea of who our ideal clients are (referred to as A’s or the 20 percent that bring us 80 percent of our revenues) then we can be spending a lot time prospecting the wrong companies and opportunities. It is often a large effort just to get in the door and if we are knocking on the wrong doors, it can be costly.

Not Managing Pipeline
Being organized with a clear game plan is imperative as there are so many details and variables in a complex sale the deal can easily get side-tracked. By being organized in our sales process and managing our pipeline, we can reduce the chance of losing the deal due to apathy or distraction.

Not Knowing the Buying Process
We need to really understand how the client assesses potential suppliers and what process they use to do so. Too often we push our own agenda at our own demise.  Spending time probing, asking questions, and researching is critical in helping us understand the likelihood of landing a deal. It also ensures that we do not miss critical pieces of information and steps that are important to the prospect.

Taking the Wrong Advice

We need to gather information from multiple sources to make sure that our approach is in line with the values of the key decision makers. If someone is blocking your access to the internal network of your client company, and all the information comes from that source, there is a good chance that your proposal will miss the mark.  Take advice and gather information from people without personal agendas.

Not Having a Bid Qualification Process
Just because a big company sends you a Request for Proposal (RFP) it does not mean you should apply. Many companies have failed because they won the wrong contract and went bankrupt trying to service a large client and/or one with unique and expensive specifications.

As big complex deal hunters, we need to know what a profitable deal looks like. More importantly, we need to know how we could lose money or burn up time on deals that are a misfit.

Guest Blog By Bill Gibson bill@kbitraining.com

Top level decision makers are results-orientated. Both tangible results and intangible results appeal to them.  When we talk about results we can talk about both tangible and intangible results.

Tangible Results

The kind of tangible results that appeal to them are:

Raising Revenues:
Show them how their overall volume can be increased; in other words, an increase in sales. They know that an increase in sales means more profit if the expenses are well managed.

Increase Efficiency:
They want a sizable return on their monetary investment. If they see that their employees, or their equipment, or other capital will be more efficient, then the chance of their buy-in is higher.

Keeping Shareholders Happy:
Top-level decision makers are the ones who have to answer to the Board of Directors and to the Shareholders in a large corporation. Keeping the Board or shareholders happy is their main priority. This means that you are showing them ways to improve the value of the company, in turn improving the value of the shares paid out, or returning a bigger profit so that larger dividends are declared and paid to the shareholders.

Lowering Cost of Production:
Again, more logical, linear, left brain appeal to the top level decision makers. Lower costs equal better margins and bigger profits.

Increasing Market Share:
They are interested in advertising, marketing and business development strategies, tactics and methods to increase market share. Taking market share from the competition is something that inspires them. Also, gaining a bigger share of the average client’s   buying power  also means increasing market share to top level decision makers.

Higher Return On Investment:
Can you show them how they will get a bigger return on their investment for the money they invest with your services, products, ideas and concepts? If you can, they will want to know you and they will also open to investing time with you.

Dealing With Market Changes:
A sudden down swing in the economy, a new big competitor grabbing market share, a sudden market switch to a new technology, a new way of doing business, new government regulations that affect them adversely, a major change in consumer behavior are all examples of market changes that corporations have to adjust to and capitalize on. If you come with solutions for market changes that affect them, then they will  take the time to explore the possibilities with you.

Intangible Results:

The types of intangible results that appeal to top-level decision makers are:

Lower the Risk And Worry:
Anything that you can do to lower or eliminate the risk makes them feel better. Showing them how you will finish a project on time, protect their investment, handle unexpected situations, save them personal stress or personal hassle are all examples of what they consider to be valuable as an intangible. It makes them feel better and reduces their worries.

Personal and Corporate Pride:
Senior executives and top-level decision makers are at the top because they have personal pride and are proud of the business results that they achieve. Whatever you can do to make them feel even more proud of themselves and their company, will usually provide positive results.  One particular business journalist who works for the Globe and Mail uses this as her primary strategy to get senior executives to call her back for interviews.  She will leave a message or send an e-mail genuinely complementing them on their achievements and track record and citing why she thinks they are an industry authority.  Her callback rate is almost 100 percent.

Image – Personally And Corporately:
Yes the car they drive reflects their success level. The suits, the shoes they wear, the house they live in, the office address, and the image their marketing material portrays are all examples of personal and/or corporate image. Not all top level decision makers hold image as a top motive for buying, although most do, whether they admit it or not.

Retaining And Attracting Good Employees Who Work Beyond The Norm:
The top level decision maker knows that you win when you have exceptional people working with you. Show them how to attract and keep really good people who work beyond what normal people do, and they will be open to listen. When they see these types of people around them they are impressed and it gives them that intangible result of a sense of pride and comfort.

The following provides a brief overview of some of the skills and strengths needed to be great at selling intangibles.

1) Personal Brand of You
When selling intangible solutions, it really is about credibility and the relationship. Because the solution is intangible, the purchase is largely based upon the believability of the salesperson. For example, a business coach sells a very intangible service. They are often evaluated by their own personal presence, ability to communicate, and by third party endorsements and certifications.
Having a strong personal brand helps people understand who we are, what we are about, and it removes uncertainty. There is so much information out there to process that it is almost impossible for a consumer to choose a service or product—instead they choose the right company or the right sales representative and leave the product selection up to them.

2) Differentiation
People who are good at this type of sales often communicate what they do in a unique way. This means specializing and unique positioning is often necessary. Thousands of people in Canada call themselves “financial advisors” and the minute we hear that term we mentally lump them into the same category as the last 100 advisors we met and lose interest. One of the top one percent of advisors at London Life/Freedom 55 Financial refers to himself as a “Wealth Management Specialist” and just by the nature of his positioning, attracts very affluent clients. Find a way to present what you do in a way that makes it memorable and creates a distinction between you and the rest of the people in your industry.

3) Passionate Evangelist/Industry Authority or Both
As an extension of our personal brand and our ability to differentiate, our passion and knowledge are critical in selling intangibles. Because the client cannot often experience the service or solution in a tangible way, their experience of you has to be credible and inspiring. In fact, their experience in dealing with you will determine if they purchase or not.
Passion is really about having a strong conviction and unwavering level of confidence in ourselves, our company, our industry, and our solution. It is also critical to be seen as an industry authority—consistently doing such things as writing articles for local periodicals, blogging, being a guest speaker for local business or community groups, maintaining a regular newsletter, and having endorsements from well known people in the community.  A combination of passion and being an authority increases our believability factor and takes away the fear of saying “Yes” for the client.

4) Clarity

In communicating, your greatest enemy isn’t the noise around you – it’s the noise you create, un-wittingly – Harry Beckwith, author of What Clients Love and Selling the Invisible.

Brevity and focus are key. If we focus on one or two core things we are good at and communicate those proficiencies really well, we can own a large portion of client mindshare and wallet share. Clearly communicating what we do, and not trying to be all things to all people, sets apart the high-paid specialists from the generalists.

Nick Usborne, author of NetWords makes an interesting distinction when he says that:

We’re not just writing to be understood, we are also writing in a way that insures we are not misunderstood.

Make sure the message about what you do is clear, focused, and void of any ambiguity. Focused, predictable service providers make clients feel safe.

5) Value Builders
Because what we are selling cannot be seen, touched, or measured, we need to be good at building value. Your ability to articulate the real value in terms of return on investment is very important. Solutions must be presented in a way that solves a core client pain or challenge. Describing our solution as innovative, leading, next generation etc. is not enough. These are weak business cases that are uninspiring. Look for client pains, fears, and challenges, and then talk about your solution as a pill for their pains. Back up your claims with research, data, client references, and proof. Help your clients measure what they cannot see.

What do you think about Social Media Phobia? What are executives and business owners afraid of? I had some great responses from people online via Twitter.

GusF @shanegibson I think the big fear is that they have to interact. Also once they say something it’s out there, no turning back. 11 minutes ago from TwitterFox in reply to shanegibson

	eagranieyuh @shanegibson It’s a paradigm shift – you can’t control the message anymore. Throw in new technology and people get scared. 5 minutes ago from web in reply to shanegibson
	KyeGrace @shanegibson I think many think Social Media is the Wild West & in many ways it is…some choose to ride their horse through town some don’t 24 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to shanegibson
	Renbor @shanegibson I’d guess it is the visibility they don’t like. 26 minutes ago from web
	maurylum @shanegibson I think part of phobia is fear that if things “too” personal, will not be professional. Can they co-exist or help 1-another? 29 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to shanegibson
	IanWatt @shanegibson I need some office support 35 minutes ago from web
	igorskee @shanegibson wasting money )) 38 minutes ago from twhirl
	davemacdonald @shanegibson They are still upholding the illusion that the company owns the brand and that less transparency ensures more control. 40 minutes ago from web in reply to shanegibson
	Raize604 @shanegibson “social media” is simply a way to socialize online…some people are just more grounded in real life than online life 43 minutes ago from web
	Financial_Plan @shanegibson I think the phobia of social media comes from maintaining a single corporate image, and compliance dep.; bottom-line impersonal about 1 hour ago from web in reply to shanegibson
	michaelallison @shanegibson Partly, it’s not understanding the value. If they’ve been successful without it all these years, why start now? about 1 hour ago from web in reply to shanegibson
	raincoaster @shanegibson Simple: they are afraid of You and Me and everyone else. That’s why they have receptionists. To keep the curtain closed. about 1 hour ago from Power Twitter
	OtotheLtotheM @shanegibson This is just a matter of adjusting old mindsets to new ideas; easier said than done. about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck in reply to shanegibson
	OtotheLtotheM @shanegibson Phobia comes from the unknown; Unsure how to implement, think it will take too much $/time, no direct way of measuring impact about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck in reply to shanegibson
	tyamdm @shanegibson I was talking about that with @jesus_hoyos last week and for example in LatAm privacy and safety are a big Issue. about 1 hour ago from web

To a large degree the consensus is people are afraid of technology and/or they are afraid to lose control of their brand.  Regardless of whether or not we like it, what people are saying about our brand line, is now our brand.  Getting invovled in social media and learning a few simple tools (Twitter is easier than Hotmail to use) is a lot less painful than not being part of the conversation and/or watching our competitors mop up mind share and wallet share using social media.

I would be very interested in your thoughts on why people aren’t willing to dive in sooner than later?

RSVP Like You Mean It. We recently attended an event–a very popular wine tasting hosted by a large firm. At the end of the evening, we noticed the registration table still had about 15 guest name tags! These were the folks who hadn’t bothered to show up. It was a shame because this event had a waiting list. In this day of instant communication, sending a quick email, text message or making a cell phone call would have been an easy way for those no-show folks to inform the organizers that, unfortunately, they had to withdraw their RSVP. Being a no-show simply looks bad. It’s your reputation, protect it.

–Darcy, Gayle and Judy

Got a great networking tip for 2009? Share it with us at: info@workthepond.com We are giving away a copy of the audio version of Work The Pond! for the best tip!

Here’s how I use the tool for recruitment and even succession planning:

Step 1 The JSI or Job Style Indicator

I have several senior sales leaders, along with existing sales executives fill out the JSI or Job Style Indicator.  (view a sample report) This will give me a 360-degree view of what the characteristics, attitudes, behaviors and competencies of the ideal sales candidate for that particular organization will most likely be.

It’s important to note that based upon organizational culture, geography and the leadership style of the organization that two companies or even divisions will often have varied Job Style Profiles.  Just because you do well selling for BMW doesn’t necessarily mean you will fit in at Ford.  In other words successful Ford sales people may have a different profile than successful BMW sales people because of the varying corporate cultures and client demographics.

Step 2 The SSI or Sales Style Indicator (view sample report)

I don’t do this profile with every candidate but if I have a position to fill it is one of the last tools I use to find who comes closest to the profile I am looking for.  The Sales Style Profile is one of the most comprehensive and consistent tools I have used for profiling and selection.  Unlike a temperament based tools like DISC or Myers Briggs type tests I find it much more accurate (personal opinion and experience) and it’s also less than $50 per assessment.

It is important to note employment law in your region as with some Canadian provinces and some states in America disqualifying a candidate because of personality style can be deemed a violation of the law.  A better way to frame the tool is that you want to understand how they will need to be managed and motivated if they in fact do get the job, the profile itself is not a determinant but a “get to know you tool.”

With that said each short-listed candidate fills out a profile online (it only takes 12 minutes ) and then we can compare and contrast how well they are aligned with the JSI, we can also determine based upon style their orientation to team work and how well they will relate to the style of their future sales manager.

From a leadership perspective when I am coaching or managing a sales team by understanding their Sales Style Profile I can save days or even weeks of effort that it would traditionally take to understand what really motivates individual sales people.

My suggestion is even if you’re a one-person show, this tool can help you improve your sales process and your approach to relating to clients and prospects.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you manage a sales team of 20+ sales professionals or are a recruiter, I have access to  a limited number of demo or free assessments  that CRG has made available to me for those that want to test them out and compare them to what they’re using now. E-mail me at shane@kbitraining.com to see if you qualify.

Five Minutes with VITO is a must read for those that are frustrated with long sales cycles, corporate dead-ends in the sales process, and pretty much anyone else who is serious about meeting their sales targets.  The book will not tell you where to find CEO prospects, nor will it talk much about key account management or “Closing the Deal.” Instead it focuses on the critical 5 minutes with THE senior executive in your sales process, and how to deal with this true decision maker during this “make-you-or-break-you” window of time.

Listen ot my full podcast review below:

Click the book to learn more…

Click Below to Add to itunes

I have been on Twitter for a year but actually didn’t start experimenting with it’s reach and impact until September 2008.  Twitter is populated with every kind of thought leader imaginable, it’s also full of a lot of chatter, but most just learn to glaze over that and pick out the good stuff.

I follow on Twitter everyone from Richard Branson to a Buddhist monk and everyone in between.  For the sake of my readers and in the interest of brevity I’m focusing today’s blog entry on my PERSONAL Top 10 Sales and Business Gurus to follow on Twitter and 10 Tips fro Sales Professionals on Using Twitter.

Lets start with who to follow (in no particular order):

Jerimiah Owyang – Forrester Research
Twitter.com/jowyang
Why? – He’s an incredible source of advice on great and not so great social networking behavior, tools, and strategies.

SalesBlogCast
Twitter.com/salesblogcast
Why? – One of the few http://sales.alltop.com guys on twitter they really contribute and carry a good conversation about sales.

Skip Anderson
Twitter.com/skipanderson
Why? – Great updates and information on B to C selling. Skip gets it!

Dave Saunders
Twitter.com/davesaunders
Why? – Easy to use strategies on attracting clients using social media

Jim  Connolly
Twitter.com/Jimconnolly
Why? – He does a lot of good blogging and Twittering about how to use social media and networking to enhance client relationships and networks

Nancy Sutherland
Twitter.com/nancymk
Why? – She updates a lot on what is happening and what is being written about sales and personal development in general.  She’s always uncovering gems on the web.

Peggy McKee
Twitter.com/salesrecruiter
Why? – If you’re looking for sales jobs or a recruiter for medical sales Peggy seems to have a steady stream of opportunities she Tweets about. Also she’s a good source of information and events in the sales vertical.

Steve Jagger
Twitter.com/sjagger
Why? – Steve is a sales professional and successful entrepreneur that got me on twitter and he’s a wealth of knowledge in both sales and social media

Danny Brown
Twitter.com/PressReleasePR
Why? – Danny is great at what he does, using social media to drive grass roots PR for his clients. Watch and learn.

Ian Watt
Twitter.com/Ianwatt
Why? – Ian doesn’t give a lot of advice regarding sales and marketing on Twitter but he’s a great example of a sales person that uses it effectively to drive business.

10 Tips for Sales Professionals on Twitter:

#1) Start by customizing and completing your profile.  It is your digital business card.  People are less likely to follow or communicate with people who use alias’ or who don’t answer the basic questions “What do you do?” and “What do you believe in?”

#2) Just like in offline networking, we need to have the same positive networking ethos and ask the question “How can I help?” when we make a new connection online

#3) Twitter is not a tool for mass marketing, spam, or generic corporate jargon and ad slogans.  You must write like you’re talking to a bunch of friends.  Add value by sharing great ideas, linking to valuable blog posts, and positively encouraging those that you are following or that are following you.

#4) Mix it up.  Your comments should be both person and professional letting people see what you have to offer professionally but also giving them and opportunity to get to really know you personally.  If it’s all business you will likely begin to lose followers or connections quickly.

#5) Bring it offline.  Once you have made the online connection plan a #tweetup or invite them to a Meetup or VIP function.  We get permission to begin the relationship online and the in person meeting helps us take it to the next level. ( You can do this via long distance using Webinars or Ustream as well )

#6) Always say thank-you and give credit where credit is due.

#7) Realize that anything you post can literally be shared in seconds with thousands of people.  Think before you tweet!

#8) Think long term about building a network, and becoming a trusted source of information on your industry, resist tweets about today’s “blue light special” this appeals to very few people.

#9) Encourage people to connect with you via Linkedin and FaceBook, this enables you to expand the context of your relationship and learn more about who is a qualified business prospect.

#10) Social media and networking is about positive conversations, your Twitter Stream should be reflect that through replies to comments and getting involved in dialogue outside of your industry or what you sell.

Remember “Sales is about creating an environment where an act of faith can take place.” This tool isn’t transactional, it’s a trust and brand building tool to help you create that positive environment.

Follow Shane Gibson in Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/shanegibson

As most of my stories start, it began with Guinness and good times.  I tipped several pints over several nights with Trevor and Robyn and we formed a friendship.  Eventually I asked Trevor to help me as a Ghost Writer for my book ( later named “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals”) yet after a few weeks of working with him his in depth of experience as a real crime reporter, Bloomberg business writer, and all around brilliant guy, I asked Trevor if he would be co-author with me instead of just a writer in the background.  At that time I had the first glimpse of this gentle warrior genius and I knew that I wanted to share more adventures, successes and creative moments with him.

It soon came to pass after many months and some great mentoring by people like Dr. Denis Cauvier and my father Bill Gibson that the book was ready for market. Trevor and I liked to celebrate a good day of writing with a a few pints after work.  We calculated that “Closing Bigger” took 386 pints to write. Not bad. We should have had more Guinness and written the sequel too.  All joking aside, in the year we worked together sided by side we forged a great relationship, and for the first time in a very long time I had found a business partner that I could completely trust, COMPLETELY.

So it was with great sorrow and angst ( I hope I hid it well ) that I bid Trevor farewell from the Yaletown brewing company in Vancouver, gave him a big hug (wasn’t something we did normally) and watched him walk out the door.  It’s the last time I witnessed him walk.  He as a reservist turned full time military officer he was heading to Afghanistan to emancipate those without a voice. Trevor dreamed of fresh water, young girls with access to education, and renewing hope for those who had lived under tyranny, ignorance, and war for decades.

Three months later; just before 7:00 am in early March 2006 my phone rang.  The call displayed “Gregory Kirkpatrick” a mutual friend and rugby buddy of Trevor’s and mine from the Vancouver Rowing Club.  I knew it could only be one thing. Trevor Greene.

“Trevor’s been hit in the head, he might not make it, he was ambushed”

I originally thought he had been shot in the head. I later learned that while meeting with some village elders in a small town attempting to find out what rebuilding they needed (schools, infrastructure etc.) he was “Brained, LITERALLY” (as Trevor describes it) with an axe to the head by a deranged young man.  The axe literally chopped part of his skull and brain in half, leaving bone, blood and gray matter on the ground.  They all thought he was dead. The young man that hit him was riddled with bullets and died before he hit the ground. ( You can read more about the incident here )

That morning was for me the lowest emotional point of my life. We had built a friendship, a brotherhood, and a dream together and now it was taken away from me, from him, from Debbie and little Grace.  I woke my wife up sobbing, wailing actually.  I had held people while they died, I even while living in Africa witnessed up close an execution/gun fight in front of the Hard Rock Café in Johannesburg of all places, but nothing in my past compared to this.

I was angry, I should have done more to make him stay.  I should have made him quit.  This angst spread into a low level numbness that lasted months.

Back to Trevor: First he had to stabilize, then they would fly him to a US Military hospital in Germany where they would operate on him.  While I was full of sorrow and a healthy dose of self pity Debbie Lepore, Trevor’s Fiancée was arriving in Germany and about to begin an incredible journey with Trevor.

They told her that he might not live, and if he did, he probably wouldn’t wake up.  If he did wake up, he would be a vegetable.  Debbie simply replied “You don’t know Trevor.”  This would become her mantra. Their mantra.  No one had ever come back from this, there is no medical case history. Once a Doctor told her to put him in long term care and get one with her life. “You don’t know Trevor” she replied

Experts defined: Ex= “a has been” Spirt= “a drip under pressure.” The problem with these people is they attempt to measure the infinite with finite tools.  As much as Trevor’s story is about a hero and a warrior it is one about infinite love and faith.  That cannot be measured by indoctrinated “group thinkers.”

“He will not wake up”
He woke up.
“He will be a vegetable”
He responded and was aware
“He will not talk”
He talked
“He will not survive several bouts of pneumonia”
He healed, he survived
“He will not have use of his limbs, he will not be able to move on his own”
He now can feed himself, he can now push his own wheelchair and sometimes if he’s really motivated he can tip his own beer.
“But he will not walk again.”
YOU DON’T KNOW TREVOR

I visited Trevor and Debbie in the hospital several times when he was in Alberta.  One trip I visited and he according to others was just coming out of a depression of sorts. (I worked with him, and we’re both moody at the best of times!)  I asked him why the positive change? What happened? Why had his progress rapidly increased all of a sudden?

In his own words to me:

I forgave my attacker, you can’t hate and heal at the same time.

Love heals. Love creates abundance. Give what you most want. If you want love, give it. If you want respect, give it. If you want peace, give peace.

In the documentary about Trevor Greene and Debbie Lepore that airs today at 7pm PST on CTV here in Canada (done by an amazing woman Sue Ridout) Trevor answers a question and his answer is something that stuck to me, permeated my being.

The question was “Trevor do you have dreams about what happened?”  Trevor answers “Yes.  I’m in Afghanistan, I’m sitting in the village where I was attacked, I am talking to the boy that attacked me, and I tell him, I’m sorry, I’m sorry that my friend killed you, I was there in uniform in your home, with a weapon.”

Many people think it’s too late to change, to change their lifestyle, to change their habits, to learn new things.   At 41/42 years old Trevor has been able to rewire his brain, retrain his Nero system, and rewire the brains of anyone who is influenced by Trevor and Debbie.

Trevor and Debbie, their story, and their friendship has changed me forever.  I feel blessed to know these two heroes, these two healers.  Some of the lessons that I have been blessed with as a result are:

• Trust your heart not the experts
• One person is a majority not a statistic
• You can’t hate and heal at the same time, so make up your mind
• Love and faith are really great medicine
• See the miracle in every moment you spend with those you love
• Tell them how much they mean to you sooner than later
• With faith, focus, and follow-through anyone can create massive positive change in their life, in their body, and in their community.

==========================================

December 14th Update:

Summary in Macleans Magazine of the Documentary on CTV ( W five )

Video Trevor Greene “Peace Warrior” You can now watch parts of the documentary on CTV.ca

Rodney and Stephen from Reachd Training

Last week I had the opportunity to do something I haven’t done in a while.  I had the opportunity to sit through 3 half days of training on social media and social networking facilitated by Reachd training. I asked Stephen Jagger co-founder of Reachd to meet with my client Builddirect.com and have a brief discussion with the executive team about how they go further engage their customers using social media and social networking.  After this initial discussion it was decided that Stephen Jagger and Rodney Bartlett would run a 9 hour ( 3 half days ) bootcamp with the team.  Because I’m working with the sales team I wanted to understand what they learned and how we could integrate it with the sales process.

As someone who has sat through a lot of training sessions and seminars I was impressed. The training was relevant and customized for the client. Here’s briefly what they covered:

Day 1 – Video Blogging

Although I already do some vidoe blogging this day re-inspired me to do much more of it.  In fact it opened my eyes to many other positive applications.  They covered everything from what good content is right through to how one can get massive distribution for their online video blogs.  We even watched a video of Ian Watt take his pants off on Tom Everitt’s show. Ian was named as a top 10 Real Estate Blogger by Inmann News, and I don’t think he did it by being safe

Day 2 – Twitter, Twitter and more Twitter

Great day.  Twitter is a micro-blogging and social networking / communications tool.  This day was focused on how to create valuable conversations with your clients, customer, partners and even the media using this tool.  Companies like Zappos and Comcast as examples have used Twitter to directly engage their customers online.  Mostly early adopters, thought leaders and of course chatter boxes of all types.  Steve and Rodney were great and outline clear strategies to use the tool to engage customers, increse blog traffic and offered revenue generating examples as well.

Day 3 – FaceBook for business and Blogging

FaceBook has entire blogging communities devoted to it’s mutiple uses.  In Canada in particular it has high numbers fo subcribers compared to MySpace and in the US it basically is tied in regards to the number of users.  Most people reading this have probably been on FaceBook for a year or more. So I’ll spare you “What is FaceBook” rant.  With that said Rodney shared innovative ways to use video, photos, the events function, groups and pages to engage and grow your client and fan base.

Blogging – This was a great overview of how to write to create a following and an engaged client base.  The core message was blog and blog often. Also focus on shorter posts with a single focus this also helps with search engine optimization and you don’t tend to lose the readers interest.  One other good tip was when people comment on your blogs, answer them back, even drop them a quick e-mail to let them know you replied, this stimulates levels of engagement and personalizes the interaction.

This was a very brief review (I have 9 pages of notes) from the training but it was comprehensive yet down to earth and easy to understand.

Related links:

Follow them on twitter: Jeff Booth CEO of Builddirect, Rodney and Stephen of Reachd, Builddirect.com Corporate and for Upcoming Reachd Training events

Follow me Shane Gibson on Twitter

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Managers’ Toolbox

Speaker:	Shane Gibson, President (North America), Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd.
Topic:	SELLING AND SUCCEEDING IN TURBULENT ECONOMIC TIMES
	Many sales professionals and entrepreneurs are concerned about how they are going to weather today’s global financial storm. The rules of the game have changed with the meltdown in the banking sector, along with globalization and the introduction of disruptive technologies to almost every industry. Succeeding in turbulent economic times is about proactively taking control of our own personal economy. Shane Gibson, president of Knowledge Brokers International, will share with you strategies to succeed in any economic condition. Fortunes have been made during times of change and economic downturn; sales people and entrepreneurs must develop a tool kit to help us adapt to and succeed in this ever-changing environment. It’s not what happens that defines an event; it’s how we respond to it that matters. This fast-paced session will give attendees the tools, insight and strategies needed to respond to today’s marketplace conditions. You will also learn: How to develop and fine-tune your sales process for any environment; Why the best time to gain market share is in turbulent times; The power of community and connecting; How to use technology to reduce your marketing and sales costs; How and why to swim against economic tides and trends; Tips and steps to maintaining sanity and focus in tough times. About the speaker Shane Gibson is a Vancouver-based international speaker, author of Closing Bigger: The Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals, and a global entrepreneur who has addressed several thousand people over the past thirteen years. As a trainer, coach and motivational speaker he combines a diverse background in sales force leadership, new entrepreneur development and extensive sales and leadership coaching. Who should attend Business owners, executives in the areas of sales, marketing, business development, sales staff, entrepreneurs and anyone responsible for or part of a team that needs to generate revenues. Presented by The Board’s Small Business Council MAKE IT COUNT The Vancouver Board of Trade’s 2008 Managers’ Toolbox Series qualifies for The Company of Young Professionals Engaged Leadership Certificate Credits. One session = 2 credits. Please refer to http://www.tcyp.ca for further details.
Event#	090722
Date:	Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Time:	Registration: 7:30 a.m. Program: 7:45 – 9:45 a.m.
Location:	The Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites, Stanley Park – Comox Ballroom 1763 Comox Street
Sponsors:	Certified Management Accountants Presented in co-operation with: Small Business BC
Tickets:	Members Individuals $64.00 + GST Register Online Table of 6 $462.00 + GST Register Online Members save at least 30% ! Future Members Individuals $96.00 + GST Register Online Table of 6 $750.00 + GST Register Online Not a member yet? Click here for Membership Benefits!

Don’t Abandon Your Friends. In these crazy economic times, money is on everybody’s minds. While the temptation is to drastically cut back, local businesses can suffer. We’re talking about the nearby restaurant where everyone knows your name, the ‘mom and pop’ coffee bar where you buy your morning paper and coffee, or the little flower shop that makes those great bouquets you love. Remember, just as you don’t want your customers to abandon you, the same holds true for those who rely on your business. These are stressful times and everyone can use the support. Order a less expensive bottle of wine, coffee instead of latte, but show up. We are all connected.

- Darcy, Gayle and Judy

5 things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Living in Sandton (Johannesburg) South Africa
2. Going on African Safaris atleast once a month
3. Driving an Opel Cadette at 230 km/h on left hand side of the road (Yes this was a bad idea, hoping we’re at the statute of limitations on regards to this one)
4. Had a tequila with the Spring Boks Hooker and the All Blacks Prop in Cantina Tequila in Belville the night the Boks beat the All Blacks (Dankie!)
5. Experienced true reconciliation first hand “Simunye”

5 things on my To-Do-List Today

1. Finish writing the last 5 pages of “Selling Intangible and Complex Solutions”
2. Send an e-mail to Thailand about a speaking engagement there in January
3. Have dinner with my beautiful wife Wannapan
4. Find 5 bloggers to tag in this meme
5. Edit a podcast interview I did last week with Chip Terry GM of Enterprise Solutions of Zoominfo

5 Snacks I like

1. Green Mango with Shrimp Paste
2. Pumpkin Seeds
3. Irish Potato Nachos From Doolins
4. Avacodo (plain)
5. Cucumbers (With sea salt and apple cider vinegar)

5 Things I would do if I was a millionaire

1. Spend more time with my wife and my son
2. Use my talents to help more people
3. Build a retreat in Thailand (and invite my friends)
4. Donate a lot of money to “Room to Read“
5. Take a year off

5 Places I have lived

1. Sydney, Nova Scotia
2. Calgary, Alberta
3. Vancouver,  British Columbia
4. Victoria, British Columbia
5. Johannesburg, South Africa

5 People I’ve tagged:

Brian Gardner

Stephen Jagger

Daniel Smith

Mari Smith

Gerard Yoofi Hagan

Click Below to Add to itunes

When this credit is pulled back, people reduce purchases; this creates negative news, bulging inventories, fear and panic.  In service businesses bulging inventory is people.  Lay-offs begin, purchases reduce, inventory is liquidated, and more bad news hits the marketplace and the fear multiplies.  The severity of this most recent downturn has been created by the evaporation of available credit due to the insolvency of so many major banks.  Eventually we hit a point of excessive pessimism in the marketplace. (I had to dig through the entire business section of the New York Times to find one positive article yesterday).

The question is: “What stops the economy from continuing its downward plunge?”  The answer is of course “Smart Money.”  We all can recite the phrase “buy low and sell high” and a few smart individuals begin to do just that.  The “Smart Money” is bargain hunting for everything from stock to real estate, and corporate acquisition targets stabilize the market, it creates the floor.  From there the tide begins to turn as optimism builds.

You as a sales person or entrepreneur don’t have to have Warren Buffet’s billions to profit from this environment, but you do need his mindset.  Realize that your competitors, not unlike today’s investors, do not see the real value of the market, and most are refusing to really play.  They are too busy hiding out by the water cooler and watching the stock ticker and the negative news on CNN.

So here are 7 tips on how to profit from today’s economic downturn:

1. Build a fence around your key accounts.  Of those clients that you are presently doing on-going business with, how many do you have really strong relationships with?  Make a list of your top 20% and immediately call them, if possible go visit them.  Not to sell them stuff, but to find out how you can better service them.  If things are really slow, take advantage of it, engage them more, buy them the lunch you never had time to when the economy was hot.
2. Harness physical and web-based networks in order to connect with positive people.  Most of us have goals and dreams that require resources beyond those that we possess.  By engaging your online and offline communities, sharing resources, ideas, and inspiration, you can collectively achieve greater things.  Now is not the time to go to less Board of Trade meetings, it is the time to really connect.
3. Reach out beyond your existing community with social networking tools such as Linkedin, Twitter, and FaceBook.  Recently as a resident of Vancouver, BC Canada I secured a new client in Asia through my blogging and activity on Linkedin, while some of my existing markets are suppressed, I am finding new ones across the Pacific Ocean using technology (free technology!).
4. Have a pro-active game plan for every day.  You have fewer competitors now, and the ones that are still in business are probably not that motivated.  This trend will continue until we reach the bottom of the downturn.  This is the time to gain market share.  Get to work an hour early, and plan your day out the night before.  It may take more calls to land the same number of clients, but also realize that you will be able to gain more market share due to less competition, or at least a mentally weaker competition.
5. If you have some cash reserves start investing in your business.  If you use advertising as a tool to attract clients you can now negotiate a better rate with publishers, and because competitors have pulled back their ad spend your message will have less noise to compete with in the marketplace.  Fuel prices have dropped and people are traveling less, this also means better rates for business travel to far-away markets.
6. Take control of your own mental economy.  The most expensive thing we can do as sales professionals and business people is have a day of negative thinking.  When we are focusing on what we don’t have, and we are wallowing in our own self-pity, we’re not thinking about creating positive business outcomes.  My suggestion is to commit to reading at least 30 minutes of positive news, or personal development books per day, find some great motivational CD’s or podcasts (iTunes has thousands that are free) and pro-actively seek out and associate with other people that are refusing to participate in the recession.
7. Be disciplined in your execution.  At the top of an economy when clients are abundant and optimistic, closing the deal is easy.  If you miss a deal because of bad follow-up, or a poorly written proposal there is always more opportunity out there.  Anyone can look like a rainmaker when things are hot.  When things slow down our bad habits become more evident.  When you do have a great prospect in your sights, have a sound sales process and follow the fundamentals of great selling obsessively.  There are no mundane steps in a sales process, treat every detail like it is the deal-maker, especially when prospects are fewer and more easily dissuaded to buy.

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. ” – Abraham Lincoln

As sales professionals we have to realize that it is not the events in our lives, but our interpretation and response to those events that will impact our level of success.  John Maxwell goes further than this to state: “A leader is defined by the size of the crisis.”  The core message here is that almost anyone can captain a ship in fair weather, but during a storm or turbulent conditions it becomes obvious which people truly should be wearing the rank of Captain.

As the storm hits the shores of our industries and communities many people will begin to jump ship, looking for safe harbors or metaphorically tying themselves down and just waiting for the storm to pass.

It is impossible to write on this subject without reflecting on the millions of people whose lives have been affected by what is going on in these turbulent economic times. It is equally clear that this is also a time of immense opportunity to define ourselves in this crisis as leaders in our industries and respective professions.  You can succeed in this present state. In fact, in many industries this is a time of unparalleled opportunity.

What I do know is that in North America alone there have been major recessions or turbulent times approximately every 7 years since 1900.  In each of these instances there were people who panicked, froze, or opted out of society in general and some never recovered.  On the other side there were people who prospered; in fact there was more new wealth created coming out of the great depression than any other time in history.  If your in the profession of selling, turbulent times can be a gift. This represented a major shift in the world power base from an economic standpoint as well.

Just to illustrate this point here’s a run down of the level of turbulence in the economy over the past 100 years, look at these trends and you decide when the best time to be selling or marketing.  I personally think it’s not about the environment but our reaction to it that determines our destiny.

An overview of turbulent times in the past 80 years.

1930′s

1929 Wall Street Crash
1934 Depression
1935 Spanish civil war
1937 Recession
1938 War clouds gather
1939 War in Europe

1940′s

1940 France falls
1941 Pearl Harbour
1942 Wartime price controls
1944 Consumer goods shortages
1945 Post-war recession predicted
1946 Dow tops 200 – “too high“
1947 Cold war begins
1948 Berlin blockade
1949 Russia explodes A-bomb

1950′s

1950 Korean War
1951 Excess profits tax
1952 U.S. seizes steel mills
1953 Russian H-bomb
1954 Dow tops 300 – “too high”
1955 Eisenhower ill
1956 Suez crisis
1957 Russia launches Sputnik
1958 Recession
1959 Castro seizes power

1960′s

1960 Russia downs U-2 plane
1961 Berlin Wall erected
1962 Cuban missile crisis
1963 Kennedy assassinated
1965 Civil rights marches
1966 Vietnam War escalates
1967 Newark race riots
1968 USS Pueblo seized
1969 Markets fall

1970′s

1940 France falls
1941 Pearl Harbour
1942 Wartime price controls
1944 Consumer goods shortages
1945 Post-war recession predicted
1946 Dow tops 200 – “too high“
1947 Cold war begins
1948 Berlin blockade
1949 Russia explodes 70 Cambodia invaded
1972 Record US trade deficit
1973 Energy crisis
1974 Nixon resigns
1977 Market slumps
1978 Interest rates rise
1979 Oil prices skyrocket

1980′s

1980 Interest rates at all-time high
1981 Steep recession begins
1982 Worst recession in 40 years
1983 US Marine barracks bombed
1984 Record federal deficits
1985 Economic growth slows
1986 Dow nears 2000 –”too high”
1987 Record market fall
1988 Junk bond scandal
1989 October “Mini-Crash”

1990′s

1990 Persian Gulf crisis
1992 Riots sweep Los Angeles
1993 Bombing of World Trade Centre
1994 Rising U.S. interest rates
1995 Oklahoma City bombing
1997 Collapse of Thailand economy 1998 US impeachment proceedings
1999 Y2K

2000′s

2000 Internet stocks plummet
2001 September 11
2002 Corporate earnings scandal
2003 Iraq war
2004 Oil price rockets
2005 Oil price rockets further
2006 Emerging market sell-off
2007 Sub-prime crisis
2008 More of the same!

Even with all of the negative news that we have been bombarded by there are still positive things happening in the marketplace.  For instance, in Canada there has been a record drop in the currency value and the stock market, yet there were still over 100,000 new jobs created in the same month (September 2008).  This is the largest one-month gain since they started keeping records in 1976.  This was coupled with a 4.6 percent year-on-year increase in average wages (inflation was 3.5 percent).

We have so many dichotomies in the marketplace because this is not just about an economic downturn. The rules have changed, and technology and globalization have had real impact on how we do business.  We are no longer economic islands and those that realize that and embrace the new landscape can win, just like the legions of millionaires created during the great depression.
There are a few things we can count on at the bottom of an economic cycle:

1. You will have fewer competitors during turbulent times than you did during easier times.  Many will go out of business, or pull back any proactive efforts that cost money.
2. Those competitors that are left will be less motivated.  Most will make fewer calls, spend more time watching negative news, and lack the confidence they had when getting orders was easy.
3. Your competitors will spend less on advertising and training.  There will be less noise in the marketplace and they will also stall in the areas of personal and professional development.
4. Your competitors will pull back and isolate themselves, becoming self-focused, further spiraling their motivation level and reducing their networking, selling, and community connections.
5. Many people will resist trying new things and getting creative, sticking with what has always worked.  The problem is, of course, that what got them here, is not what is going to get them to where they want to go.  A new economy needs a new playbook.

Check back shortly for part 2 of this blog post

October 15th 2008: Today i visited the children’s hospital in Maputo …we took some bread and jam and milk and juice… just saw kids in one ward…many kids’ moms were with them but didn’t haveany real idea about care and attention for the kids………the floors were dirty and cockroaches crawling…the main desk nurse in the ward was sleeping at her desk it took me to yell at her after 10 min to wake her up… back to that later…We went into each room and talked to the moms and learned about the kids….they are avg 2 beds and some have 3 and one had even 5 beds in about 300 sq feet…this room had 5 kids and all kids’ families were there as they are local kids…crammed in there … hard on the kids…. the other rooms are non local from the ruralareas..moms were there only..sitting beside the kids beds all day and night… no regular nursing support…dirty floors soiled sheets with urine, chipped paint on the metal beds…no air con in the rooms and some had ceiling fans not much relief though in +30 heat….a few kids were in sheer discomfort … You just look at them and they cry like ‘for god’ssake somebody give me relief…’ and a few were so quiet and easygoing…little souls are they all.  I managed to get one little girl to laugh with me who was actually the biggest ‘complainer’ and needed care but her mom didn’t even touch her or pick her up…most of these kids just in need of big loving…to help them heal… There’s a lot of ignorance about basic caregiving…let alone the proper environment for kids…at least its a place dedicated for them..that didn’t exist 10 yrs ago.

No staff, no skills, lack of nutrition and low hygiene are biggest needs…the meals the kids have are void of nutrition..they don’t get milk/protein or calcium or veggies etc. at all and they need this most….they get rice and little other nutrition other than when brought by family.  Also the aids kids on antiretrovirals don’t get the extra nutrition they need to withstand the side effects of the arv drugs drugs which and harsh for the little bodies… if nothing else hygiene and nutrition are things we can do something about most easily…

The other thing i learned is tht there is no recourse or retribution if someone on staff is negligent in the hospitals…they simply don’t care…no recourse, investigations or anything..many pregnant moms lose their kids upon or after birth and don’t know why…but no one cares or questions…one of our drivers, benedito, and his wife lost their baby this way…frustration and lack of care and respect from the system…

Its amazing there is so much money in Mozambique but no where near enough is coming to the hospitals…especially the kids….

The key message here for me from Craig is that we (as in all of us) have a lot more work to do, and it starts with a willingness to be be deeply compassionate for, especially for those who are too young or weak to fend for themselves.  If you personally would like to do more for children in Mozambique you can visit the SOS Children’s Villages site for more information.

Thanks for your great contribution Craig!

Growing up on the West Side of Vancouver and attending Prince of Wales High School I often compared myself to the son’s and daughters of some very wealthy people.  These kids drove to school in brand new BMW’s and Lexus’ (not all of them, but a lot).  I had a 53 Chevy Pickup that looked great but was truly held together with bailing wire and a prayer, I went through fuses like they were tic-tacs.  Funny I actually thought we were broke?  Then in 1993 in my first year of work in the family business we had some really tough times pretty soon we went from a new Lincoln, Turbo Volvo, and Whistler ski weekends to a new version of reality I wasn’t accustomed to.  All the things I thought I needed no longer seemed to matter.  We struggled to pull together enough money from our ailing business to buy groceries, pay rent, and utilities (in fact we survived by the grace of friends like Bill and Donna Pearson, Del Hughes, Dave and Lynn Ferris and Jim and Sharon Janz). Somehow I thought we were suffering, but by global standards we were still very fortunate.  We had access to a network of great people, mentorship and help in solving our financial problems, free medical care, and we lived right in the middle of one of the most livable cities in the world.  With my limited life experience correct or not I thought that this was suffering.  I really never understood what dire poverty looks like until I left Canada and moved to Africa for 2 years in 1997-1999.

Flying into Johannesburg (3.3 million people) was a big eye opener.  This wasn’t the Africa that Hollywood portrays (until recently).  In driving to the hotel in Sandton from the Airport my driver directed me to look out the window to my left.  There it was a somewhat unofficial settlement at that time. Alexandria or “Alex” as the locals called it.  A squatter camp that sprawled literally as far as the eye can see. Some paved some dirt roads, tin roofs and walls, much of it without electricity or running water.  I’m not sure of the figures now but at that time there was 60% unemployment, and many these unemployed people in the Joburg in Alex.  Some people claim there are over 1,000,000 people living there but there is no official census numbers for “squatters.”

I did not have the opportunity to go right into Alex when I lived there (worlds worst homicide and carjacking rates per capita at that time), but I did flirt with the outskirts from time to time, and spent a considerable amount of time in smaller townships that were equally as destitute in other regions in South Africa.  I found most Africans to be proud and kind regardless of their economic plight.  Resourceful, eager to learn, and they seemed to be hardwired for entrepreneurism.  In most cases it wasn’t just personal finances that were lacking, but access to a way out of their plight.  Education, mentorship, and the basics like clean water and electricity.  I don’t want to be seen as painting a picture of helplessness, there are many people who have succeeded in that environment.  For me though, it was an eye opener as to how much we have as North Americans, and how little gratitude I had personally had for all of those things I thought were my God given right to possess.  It was then that I started to realize that many people are possessed by their possessions.  We can do so much more with our talents than collect and hoard things.

There in Africa I was first exposed to micro lending and what it can do as a force against poverty.  I would often walk past a kind man who sold oranges out of the back of a large wagon.  One day my brother stopped to talk to him.  We were mesmerized by his enthusiasm for his business.  He was unemployed for years before he started his orange stand.  A local South African Bank helped him get started, and when he started he didn’t even have a fixed address.  They loaned him money daily, to buy inventory.  He would buy his oranges, mark them up, and turn a small profit daily.  The daily loan was less than $25 Canadian, which he would repay and then get another short term loan.  I know there are several popular micro lending formats but this one to me was interesting because it was not a hand-out, and it also helped him learn about cash-flow management and build his credit.  A $25 loan helped him eventually move into a real address, eat healthy food, and begin educating himself on running a business.

http://www.kiva.org/ is one tool that anyone in the world can use to begin to participate in micro lending.  A donation of $25 can make a real difference, and a $1000 can help an entire village.  Muhammad Yunus founder of Grameen Bank was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his ground breaking work in taking this concept and making it work on a large scale.

One final thought or story in regards to how to make a difference is that money is great, but sometimes it’s not all that people need.  Mentorship, volunteering, and contributing by actually getting involved (in person or the way 11,000 bloggers are doing it today) is also needed.  Alfina worked for our family in South Africa, her son was unemployed and living Alex.  She asked me if I could help him get a job.  What he needed was help writing a resume.  He had no access to a computer, or printer and Alfina and her son had never written a resume.  He showed up 4 hours late, with no shoes on.  Someone had stolen them, and he had no money for public transportation, so he walked.  He walked from Alex to my place in Sandton, in bare feet, so someone could help him get a job.  I thought I was going to give him a lecture on being on time during the job hunt.  Instead he taught me a lesson on commitment and succeeding regardless of our resources.  NO EXCUSES.  We wrote his resume (his only job was “towel boy” for a soccer team) and it was pushing the barrier between non-fiction and fiction but we got it done.  He left with a pair of my shoes, some clothes, and big ambitions.  He canvassed every business in Johannesburg with no luck, so he hopped on a bus and with his very last resume in Port Elizabeth landed a job as a stock boy and eventually rose to cashier. Gainfully employed.

In giving we also receive, he taught me a big lesson on commitment. “Give to live for to withhold is to perish”  – Kahlil Gibran

Team Building Made Easy

Do you have new people starting at your organization after Labor Day? Instead of having your new employee introduce him or herself at the next department meeting, have an existing team member do the honors. Connect them up before the meeting. Have your new recruit share enough background info to allow that person to do a Glowing Introduction an interesting and flattering way to sing someone’s praises. It’s a great way to create a bonding experience in your firm.

- Darcy, Gayle and Judy

It’s officially 30 days since my “twitter” experiment began.  I believe in Social Networking, Social Media and tools like blogging immensely.  Last month I had Stephen Jagger on my podcast show and interviewed him about blogging and twitter (twitter is often referred to as a “microblogging tool as you can only post 140 characters at a time).  I’m on facebook, linkedin, have a friendfeed, video blog, and even an old fashioned well optimized web 1.0 sales website that still sends me a lot of business. So the question was “How valuable could this “twitter” tool be for sales people and marketers?”

Firstly I have spent most of the month observing other marketers, sales people, and entrepreneurs on twitter to see how they are using the tool to enhance sales, marketing, and branding.  The real power of this is the brevity of the message.  You have to get really good at writing headlines if you want to attract attention, and generate dialogue.

There’s a catch though, as with all other social networking tools pitch artists, spammers, and people who like to talk about themselves are shunned, and within the 25-45 year old early adopter professional demographic they don’t want to hear about mundane things either.  The conversation needs to add value, entertain, inform and be about more than just you, people tend to “follow” you.

Another attribute of great “tweeters” that I have also observed is that they spend less time trying to be interesting and more time being interested.  Jeramiah Owyang is a good example of someone who is highly interested by having consistent dialogue and positive input in other people’s twitter conversations that he follows, along with being highly interesting in regards to his posts about the entire social networking, marketing and branding space (not to mention the odd comment about the US election).

Although the number of people who “follow” me only numbers 70 at this point I have seen the impact of the “retwteeting” (someone posting your microblog to their network).  I launched my sales video podcast on August 22nd and had 80 visitors in the first hour from twitter.  Not a monumental number in the grand scheme of things but how long does it take a new website to attract 80 new visitors in it’s first hour live from Google? (Doesn’t happen).

How I got a Martha Stewart Ironing Board Using Twitter

A quirky and fun experience with twitter (not really connected to sales, but positive socially anyway) was noticing that Tod Maffin (podcasting maverick, CBC radio personality, and self professed Uber Geek) made it known to the twitter community that he was giving away “Sound foam” that a person could use to dampen noise and improve the quality of their podcast.  I sent him a quick tweet which was followed by an e-mail and the next day I got to meet Mr. Tod Maffin in person, and he even gave me a Martha Stewart ironing board (BONUS! almost new).

What was even more fun is carrying a big piece of black foam and an oversize ironing board through downtown Vancouver to my office (wearing a blue suit and my Prada sunglasses).  A client saw me and looked very confused.

Below: A pic of me in Tod’s place with my new found bounty (Thanks Tod!)

All quirkiness aside twitter has the capacity to spread news with it’s 140 character sized posts like a wild fire spreads through a parched forest.  Some of the results so far in using twitter for me have included but have not been limited to:

• Connecting with a Speaker’s Bureau in Asia
• Getting an RFP for Speaking at Conference Series
• Being able to better monitor the activities and happenings within the hight tech community in Vancouver and beyond
• Keeping tabs on new and evolving popular conversations (real time marketing intelligence)
• Finding out what people are saying about my existing and potential clients online (opportunity identification)
• Increased readership and listener / view base for my audio, video, and written blogs
• Getting minute by minute updates from Barack Obama (I’m positive he was doing it personally)
• Hearing about current events before it’s posted on mainstream media sites

One question / statement someone e-mailed to me after I invited them to connect on twitter was “How the hell do you have time for this?” I thought it was an entertaining question.  I post about 5-10 mircoblogs or tweets per day.  It takes less than a minute to write 140 characters.  To me that’s a high impact low input marketing tool.

This is not my final post or commentary on this tool. Hopefully it can open up some dialogue and I hope that as you read this you will post your comments and experiences with twitter and other social networking sites.

Here’s a short-list of some of the people I follow on twitter that are really harnessing the tool:

Jerimiah Owyang
twitter address: http://twitter.com/jowyang
blog: http://web-strategist.com/blog

Stephen Jagger
twitter address: http://www.twitter.com/sjagger
blog: http://blog.ubertor.com

Viddler
twitter address: http://twitter.com/viddler
Video Site: http://www.viddler.com

Rebecca Bollwitt
twitter address: http://twitter.com/Miss604
blog: http://www.miss604.com

Raul
twitter address: http://twitter.com/hummingbird604
blog: http://www.hummingbird604.com

Ian Watt
twitter address: http://twitter.com/ianwatt
entertaining real estate video blog: http://www.ianwatt.ca/RealEstateVideos

John Chow
twitter address: http://twitter.com/JohnChowDotCom
blog: http://www.johnchow.com

Tod Maffin
twitter address: http://twitter.com/todmaffin
blog: http://todmaffin.com/category/blog

(Follow Shane Gibson on Twitter)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This may not seem like a big deal but what we’re losing is the tradition of connection between our elders or mentors and the next generation. What’s lost here are the high impact tidbits of tacit knowledge, the street smart lessons, insights learned in the school of life, values, access to the mentors resources and networks, and opportunity to learn the often untold principles of success that aren’t taught in University or found online. In all of it’s glory it’s too easy to hop onto the web and get an answer (who writes that stuff anyway?). But it’s about using the information and sifting through what is relevant and what is not. The very personal exchange that occurs through mentorship and even connecting with our peers is lost. The information age has spawned the disinformation age. Try weeding through and verifying the facts you find on one of the 9 billion WebPages indexed by Google and MSN.

As mentors and leaders this knowledge and ability we have comes with a responsibility. We believe strongly that if members of our community can share the roadmaps they have discovered and experienced, along with their insights from these journeys be it for business, personal, marital or spiritual success and through sharing this insight by investing as little as a couple hours a month the difference that can be made in many lives will be massive. Doing this within our community, including the chance to increase our shared prosperity will build the kind of high impact legacy we can all be proud of.

This is blogathon entry number 18 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.

The Role of Mentorship provides an important role in the development of global socio-economic infrastructures. It provides critical capacity building support and opportunity for entrepreneurs, corporate executives and government officials and leaders in creating long term stability and competitiveness for nations and their economies. Mentorship in the areas such as fine arts, sciences, and the not for profit sector is paramount to improving and sustaining the quality of our lives as a whole. Building capacity is means strengthening and increasing insight, ability and talents, as well as visioning and implementation and execution skills in a specific discipline or disciplines. For instance Vancouver’s economy boasts a strong, growing high tech sector but still has only begun to tap its global potential.

This is largely attributed to capacity gaps in marketing technologies and distributing them on a broader platform. In order to increase the capacity to grow and export Vancouver’s technology base and applications, building the sector’s mentorship capacity and resources can help the key entrepreneurs, executives and innovators within the local technology sectors meet their full global market potential. Mentorship can provide a prospective road map from someone else who has walked the path before – like an entrepreneur who taken a tech company from 12 employees in a basement apartment to 500 employees and a listing on the TSE with global distribution.

Typically, however, the steps, pitfalls, and challenges aren’t well documented traditionally; they’re taught, and modeled by mentors and leaders and passed on to their protégées and partners. Its a proven fact that the higher mentorship capacity levels you have and the higher the quality of mentorship in your community the higher capacity economically, environmentally, and socially you will have. Unlike traditional education environments, corporate training programs and courses, mentorship is a very personalized form of support and transferring knowledge. It is primarily based on a specific relationship between two people and at times between an individual or group of individuals or advisors. [This is the first post of a two post series on this topic Click Here to Read Part 2]

This is blogathon entry number 17 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

? Raising Revenues: Show them how their overall volume can be increased. In other words, an increase in sales. They know that an increase in sales means more profit if the expenses are well managed.

? Increase Efficiency: They want more return for their money invested. If they can see that their staff and management will become more efficient, or their equipment or other capital and human assets will be more efficient than the chance of their buy-in is higher.

? Keeping Shareholders Happy: Keeping the Shareholders happy means that you are showing them ways to improve the value of the company inturn improving the value of the shares, or returning a bigger profit so that larger dividends are declared and paid to the Shareholders.

? Lowering Cost Of Production: Again, more logical, linear, left brain appeal to the top level decision makers. Lower costs equal better margins, which means better profit.

? Increasing Market Share: They are interested in advertising, marketing and business development strategies, tactics and methods to increase Market Share. Also gaining a bigger share of the average client’s or customer’s wallet (spend) is also increasing market share to them.

? Higher Return On Investment: Can you show them how they will get a bigger return on their investment for the money they invest in your services, products, ideas and concepts?

? Dealing With Market Changes: A sudden down swing in the economy, a new big competitor grabbing market share, a sudden market switch to a new technology, a new way of doing business, new government regulations that affect them adversely, a major change in consumer behaviour are all examples of market changes that corporations have to adjust to and capitalise on.

This is blogathon entry number 15 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

This quote albeit brief says a lot.  Fred Shadian a good friend and mentor of mine has told many many times that 90% of achieving a goal is knowing why we’re doing it.  Too often I see people half way to their goal and they cool off, coast or just plain quit.  Other people with less talent, ability and charisma pass by them and claim the prize.

Knowing why is about creating a burning desire, a passion that cannot be subdued.  The flame of desire needs to be stoked with personal dialogue and constant visualization to stay alive.

When I talk about dialogue, what I am referring to are the questions we ask our self.  After setting a goal (or dusting off an old one) it’s important to ask ourself the following questions:

1. If I follow-through on this goal how will achieving it impact my finances, family life, health, spirituality in the next 3 months? 12 months? 3 years? and 5 years?
2. If I don’t follow-through on this commitment to myself how will it impact my finances, family life, health, spirituality in the next 3 months? 12 months? 3 years? and 5 years?
3. What is the price I need to pay to achieve this goal?
4. What is the price I will pay for not working toward this goal?

Questions like this create leverage, they bring home the reality that our daily activities shape our long-term happiness and well being.  The leverage and positive pressure that desire puts on us also helps us tap into resources and capabilities that we rarely use when we are just coasting along.  Make a habit everyday of asking yourself these four questions about your major life goals and your daily disciplines. It creates a level of awareness, focus and intensity that few people possess.

This is blogathon entry number 14 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

“Find a short or long-term strategic partner with the resources that offset the need for investment. A great idea for a concept, product, service or a business that requires specific expertise is often held back by the lack of it, or enough money to hire someone with such expertise. However, there are ways to get around these obstacles.

Scott, a young Johannesburg entrepreneur, investigated suppliers of a high-precision grinding machine, used for the highly specialised grinding down of high-tolerance material. During his search, he found an owner who was a partly retired engineer and who was not using his grinding machine. Scott and an associate entered into an agreement that gave them one year to generate revenue with the machine. If successful, they would buy the machine by paying an agreed monthly amount.

They launched their business this way. Without this deal, they could never have raised the money to buy the machine in their first year of operations. Another option would have been to give the owner of the grinder a share of the business. Then Scott could have avoided paying for the machine entirely. The advantage to this approach is that you may be able to go to market much faster than you would if you were waiting until you were able to raise the capital to build your product or open your business. In the case of the grinder, Scott gained valuable equipment, but you can also gain expertise that is needed – not just hired expertise, but expertise with a stake in the business. A strategic partner who has suitable expertise may be exactly what you need, provided you are able to work with this person.

At the onset, negotiate a reasonable buy-out option, so that eventually you can be the full owner of your business or concept. It does not mean that you are compelled to buy your partner out – it just gives you the option. Your investor may be more valuable to you as a long-term business partner. You could also negotiate a ceiling amount – the partner is automatically bought out once this amount is paid out. This figure would have to take into account a mutually determined base value of the investment in services, support, overheads and expertise. You may need a third party to help with this. Be sure not to give away too much in the beginning. Expertise is not the only resource you may need. Under certain circumstances, it could be in your interest to open a small business via a large company that allows you to use unused machines. In turn, they could either receive revenue, a percentage of the business or both. Resources cost money. You can trade either shared revenue or equity for the resources. However, remember that equity, once traded, may be gone forever.”

Stephen Jagger will be talking about using the web and technology to amplify your small business and help you move into the big leagues.

Norman Stowe will be talking about how to effectively work with the media using PR and other tools.

I will be talking about how to build personal relationships that develop depth and credibility and in turn create an endless stream of referals for sales people and entrepreneurs.

Here’s the Board’s description of the event:

In today’s business climate, a small business can position themselves strategically to compete with some of the fastest growing companies in the world.

These experts offer clear guidelines and a wealth of information on how to make a big impact with your clients, raise your company’s profile, and use the power of technology to move your business ahead.

Focus your brand, communicate effectively, fine tune your online presence and your small business will not only succeed, but make a big impact.

It will be interesting to see how we contrast and overlap with our approaches.  I know both Steve and I are big believers in using technology and the web but both of us use the tools a little differently.  Norman Stowe’s events have involved people like the Dalai Lama and Bill Clinton and will have a very global view of branding and networking.

I have a couple of extra tickets for people who are not already members of the Vancouver Board of Trade.  Drop me an e-mail (shane@kbitraining.com) this weekend with your name, telephone number and company info and I’ll hook you up (first come first serve).

Click Here

I’m looking forward to your feeback on this new assessment.

This is blogathon entry number 8 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

There are often other factors that help trigger the buying process. By spotting these factors in situations, you immediately become aware of a need, want, or desire. Within your industry, it is important to know what these factors or motivations are and how these factors could trigger specific buying motives.

Examples:
1. Someone just received a promotion
2. Money has just been won or inherited
3. There is an addition to the family
4. Just bought a house
5. Just moved
6. It is a birthday or anniversary
7. There has just been an amalgamation of companies
8. There is a new executive team
9. Someone has passed away
10. The market has gone for a dive and business is tough
11. Centralizing or decentralizing of a company
12. New budget year coming up
13. A land mark. A 50th anniversary or 21st birthday
14. A wedding
15. Move to a new building
16. Just secured a major contract or was awarded a huge project
17. Share price dropped
18. Has decided to start exporting
19. News headline that scares people
7-12 Principles of Selling
20. Special time of year – Religious Holidays, Summer Vacation
21. A heavy snow fall
22. A heat wave
23. A cold snap
24. A new face
25. A new law has been introduced
26. A change in government
27. A new growth trend
28. A market switching quickly from one item or system to another
29. Person or company reaching a different status level
30. A new competitor has moved on to the scene
31. Someone recently started a business
32. A new area is being developed
33. Someone recently got fit, lost weight, new look
34. A celebration, for example a big sports win!
35. A company has lost its position in the market place
36. A company has gained a higher position in the market
37. Government de-regulations of crown corporations (parastatals—a company
or agency owned or controlled wholly or partly by the government)
38. A natural disaster
39. A crime wave
40. A huge event … Olympics, Expo, World Cup etc.
41. An industry boom, i.e. tourism
42. Someone received poor service from a competitor

As a professional salesperson, it is important to have your “sales opportunity antenna” up at all times. This way you can take advantage of using the right timing. Right timing means you have caught the client at a time of high need, high want, or high desire. During these times, customers buy much quicker, and much more easily.

Bill Gibson is a motivational sales speaker based in South Africa who has addressed over one million people on stages in Canada, USA, Asia, and Africa over the past 30 years.

This is blogathon entry number 9 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Motivation
The successful salesperson who is motivated:
• desires to be the best.
• is competitive by nature.
• has the edge through customer service.
• turns problems into opportunities.
• moves, stands, and talks in a positive way.
• refrains from negative, pessimistic statements, and ignores those made by other
people.

Following is a break-down of these success qualities:

Precision
The successful salesperson is precise, focused and detail-oriented:
a) Focused:
• The ability to decide what is important
• The willingness to tackle unpleasant jobs
• The willingness to spend time convincing the prospective client that the car is right for them—therefore price may not be such an important issue
b) Detail-oriented:
• Doing the job consistently and systematically
• Planning and organizing
• Keeping notes of appointments, actions, reminders, and deadlines

Direction
The successful salesperson has positive direction.
a) Assertive:
• Tough-minded and confident in negotiation
• Believes in themselves and believes in the product and an ability to show it
• Handles negatives and insults well
b) Relationship:
• Builds rapport with prospects, customers and colleagues
• Understands that people buy from people
• Focuses 100% on prospects by listening and maintaining an acceptable level of eye contact
• Praises service staff and reception staff internally and externally

Flexibility
The successful salesperson is flexible. They possess the ability to:
• read people and situations and to adapt their behavior.
• get excited when the customer gets excited or be business-like when the customer is business-like.
• adjust their posture, volume, and tone of voice to match their client.

This study very quickly summarizes the many characteristics that most of us need to rise above average in sales and in business.

This is blogathon entry number 8 for the MSMF Blogathon. Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Is deviance from truly ethical behavior appropriate or inappropriate, in the end? I kind of feel it is somewhat inappropriate.

This question was posed in context of my four part blog entry on ethics in selling.  Lets look at deviance for a moment.  Dictionary.com defines it as “One that differs from a norm, especially a person whose behavior and attitudes differ from accepted social standards.”  In my opinion deviating from social norms, politically correct pressures, or cultural traditions (including corporate culture) is not necessarily a bad thing in business and in life.  Alexander Graham Bell was seen as a deviant in many aspects, so was Martin Luther King.

For me Raul’s question made me think of the Dalai Lama’s comments on creating Karma.  For good or bad karma to be created he states, there are three elements. #1) Intent #2) Action #3) Result.  I think as we look at the result of our actions, in causing harm to others, or advancing at the loss of others with harmful or un-ethical behavior and succeeding in doing so then this behavior is absolutely inappropriate.  So in short, next time one feels like labeling someone a deviant the questions we must ask are “What was their intent?”…”Did they act upon this intent?” and “Did their actions cause harm or suffering to others?”

This is blogathon entry number 7 for the MSMF Blogathon.  Visit this page to learn how you can support this cause.

Situational ethics relies on one principle—what best serves oneself at a given time or in a given circumstance. This person’s behavior rises and falls as they tend to justify the deviance from true ethical behavior based upon each circumstance. Comments from situationally ethical people may include:
• “If I didn’t take advantage of this someone else would!”
• “It’s just business, don’t take this personally.”
• “It’s only illegal if you get caught.”
• “They won’t know the difference between the old stock and the new stock; we can easily charge the same price.”
• “This is the only way to get ahead today…. Everyone else is taking shortcuts!”
These people blend into society and have the veneer (appearance) that they are just like you and I. Although they understand right from wrong, and often weigh the crime against the potential punishment, deep down their choice is unethical as long as their exposure to risk is low or non-existent. Even when caught, this fraudster will often justify their actions playing the victim of society or the mega-corporation for which they work. Their actions may have come from a feeling of desperation or being “caught.” When issues like addiction in the workplace (i.e. drugs, gambling, and alcohol) come into play, their recklessness or behaviors often become more risky as they look for a quick exit, or out of desperation are looking for more funds to fuel their habits.

The situationally ethical person is not without hope. Often this person has formed a false belief that they can only get ahead if others lose. They could also have low selfworth or self-esteem and not believe that they can achieve success legitimately. Taking some of the steps described in other modules around building self-confidence and associating with positive and successful people can be a first step to moving toward a more confident and productive mental picture of ourselves.

Association (people who we connect with over time) can also erode one’s moral compass. Another cause of situational ethics is caused by social or peer ethics. Who we socialize with, their conversations, personal beliefs and ethics can begin to warp our own outlook. In the instance of the Enron Scandal, many otherwise law-abiding citizens accepted and enabled the behaviors of senior management because it became a cultural norm or social ethic. The situationally ethical person can change their associations, find new positive peopleor organizations to work with and over time this new environment can help them develop a more accurate and healthy set of personal and business ethical boundaries.

This is Blog Entry #5 for the Vancouver Blogathon. A 24 hour blogging marathon for charity. Please check out my charity the MSMF foundation and help us bring hope and prosperity to children in rural India.

Those who hire unethical people often revere them for a short period of time as they tend to be results-oriented people. Without the confines of ethical, environmental, or legal restrictions, profits may appear in the short term. However, the company eventually suffers for collecting funds without a conscience, and inevitably lawsuits, government intervention, criminal charges, and consumer backlash all follow. There are a series of high-profile ethics cases in the United States where people are now spending a lifetime in jail, while the corporation sits in receivership (bankruptcy). One such case is the Enron Scandal.

Next Blog Entry “The Situationally Ethical” person.

This is Blog Entry #4 for the Vancouver Blogathon. A 24 hour blogging marathon for charity.  Please check out my charity the MSMF foundation and help us bring hope and prosperity to children in rural India.

Intro to sales ethics:

What are ethics? Ethical behavior can be described as conforming to accepted standards of social or professional actions. Therefore unethical behavior is viewed as wrong, not conforming to accepted standards or professional actions, contrary to conscience, or morality, or law.

There is no such thing as “ethical selling.” You are either ethical as a person or you are not. The issue of discussing ethics in sales somewhat misses the global aspect of the concept of ethics. Whether we are in the office or at home, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, we are judged by our behavior. Our personal friends and community network and our business network are inseparably integrated. Ethics have no boundaries as we live in a globally connected world.

In the NHL (National Hockey League) if a player is convicted of drinking and driving, the league suspends them. Although the unethical activity occurred outside of work hours, the league understands the impact of a team member’s behavior on the sport. We are always representing our organization’s brand—even when we are not in uniform. Conversely non-business activities like volunteering at your local soup kitchen to help
feed the homeless, or with a local community group, positively affects your personal and business brand.

With that said lets get back to the topic of Murphy’s Sales and Technology law: “If something can go wrong, there’s a good chance it will.”  If you sell software or web based technology my suggestion is to heed this law and prepare for the worst. (I myself am an optimist, this is both a strength and a potential risk in business)  What this means is if you are going to a clients office to demonstrate software or a web application we must assume and prepare for the following circumstances:

Dead laptop: Always bring your presentation on a USB or even e-mail it to your client in advance asking that they have a back-up laptop just incase.  If you’re selling ina team environment get each team member to bring their own laptops (with the presentation or softare required)

Dead projector or bulb: If you’re using a projector assume the bulb could die or the projector itself could malfunction.  Bring a back-up bulb, suggest the client readies their projector just in case and always bring a hard copy of your presentation in case of technical failure (one copy for each person in attendance)

Error messages or no web connection:  Assume that where ever you plan on doing your web based demo could have a loss of connectivity also assume that your software may not load, even with 99.9% effectivenes you could be the .01%.  My suggestion is that you also have an offline non-live demo in the form of screen captures in PowerPoint so that you can walk clients through a simulated version of what your software can do.

The reality is that most prospects and clients realize that no software, web application, or presentation enviroment is perfect but or response to the challenge will often determine if we are seen as problem solving, flexible solution providers or someone they choose to pass over in their search for a supplier.

Shane Gibson

for a 24 hour Blogathon for Charity. Over 24 hours I will write 48 blog posts to help build a school in India that will provide hope, literacy, and options to a very impoverished region of that country.  Some posts will be in the form of audio podcasts to give my hands a rest.

I will be answering questions and blogging on sales, leadership, personal development, and motivation.  Here’s a couple ways you can help:

• Sponsor and entry for $50 and submit a  question on sales, leadership, personal development, or motivation.  Your blog entry will have your answer and a personal profile of you and/or your organization and 2 links back to your website(s).
• Pledge any amount via e-mail (everything helps)
• Spread the word and let your friends and associates know about this event
• Visit my blog and post some comments of encouragement during my 24 hour blogathon 10 pm Friday July 25 to 10 pm Saturday July 26th

To make this as simple as possible I have set up an e-mail account for pledges and after the blogathon I will send you directions on how to make your donation online directly to MSMF.  My e-mail address for pledges is blogathon@kbitraining.com.  Any bloggers who sponsor an entry also will be added to my permanent blogroll as an extra thanks.

For more information on the MSMF foundation and why I chose this charity click here.

To donate immediately click here

Any questions call me at 604-351-5539 or e-mail shane@kbitraining.com

Participating Bloggers: