Carson V. Heady's Blog, page 23

Connected Teamwork: Thriving Together Amidst Chaos and Catastrophe

By prioritizing meaningful relationships, leveraging technology, engaging with communities, practicing self-care, and embracing empathy, we can maintain our connections and thrive even amidst chaos and uncertainty.

How do you stay truly connected and resilient in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty?

In today’s world, conflict and uncertainty seem to be constants—wars, famine, political strife, and natural disasters are just a few of the challenges we face.

Amidst this chaos, our connections become lifelines. It’s crucial to prioritize relationships, not just for our personal well-being but also for our resilience and effectiveness as teams.

Humans are hardwired to crave social connection. When faced with bad news or feeling separated due to polarized views, our need for connectedness becomes even more pronounced.

Whether dealing with personal struggles or global crises, nurturing our connections can provide emotional comfort and a sense of belonging.

Prioritize Relationships: Schedule regular check-ins with loved ones to maintain strong connections.

Leverage Technology: Use video calls and social media mindfully to bridge physical gaps and foster positive interactions.

Engage with Communities: Participate in volunteering and community events to build a sense of belonging.

Practice Self-Care: Ensure you are connected with yourself, practicing empathy, and showing up as your best self.

Be Creative in Outreach: Send handwritten notes or thoughtful messages to keep in touch with past colleagues and friends.

Embrace Rituals and Traditions: Learn about and respect the diverse rituals and traditions of those you work with.

Foster Common Ground: Seek commonalities with others to create unity and reduce chaos.

Extend Empathy: Actively listen and validate others’ experiences to strengthen connections.

Invest in Quality Touches: Focus on deep, meaningful interactions rather than accumulating superficial connections.

Connectedness is not just a personal need; it’s essential for effective teamwork. When team members feel connected, they thrive, contributing to the mission and goals of the organization.

Connectedness improves mental health, reduces stress, and enhances physical well-being. It creates a safety net, providing emotional comfort and a sense of belonging, even amidst chaos.

In times of chaos, our connections are our strongest lifelines, fostering resilience and unity. Embrace the power of connectedness to not only survive but thrive together.

What steps will you take today to strengthen your most important relationships and build a more connected community?

Connected Teamwork Hylke Faber Growth Leaders Network

#ConnectedTeamwork #ThriveTogether #TeamBuilding #Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence #CommunityEngagement #SelfCare #MentalHealth #RelationshipBuilding

Transforming Weak Links: Empowering Your Team for Collective Success

Is your team struggling with a weak link? Identifying and addressing a weak link in your team can be one of the most challenging yet critical tasks for any leader or seller.

Sales VP and author Jeff Kirchick joined me today to discuss actionable steps to strengthen your team when there is a gap.

Before you label someone as a weak link, assess whether your perception matches the reality. Misunderstandings about roles and capabilities can lead to misjudgments.

Coaching and Micro Goals

For team members within your direct influence, focus on coaching and setting micro goals. This can help them improve incrementally and contribute more effectively.

Direct Communication

If the issue is interpersonal, address it directly. Open, honest conversations about working relationships can resolve many conflicts.

Engage with Their Manager

When dealing with someone outside your team, discuss your concerns with their manager. Seek to understand their training and work processes to find common ground.

Empower Through Experience

Give new or struggling team members the opportunity to gain experience. Pair them with experienced colleagues and create teaching moments to build their confidence and skills.

Highlight Positives

When communicating with leadership about a weak link, start with their strengths. Frame your feedback constructively to foster a supportive environment for growth.

Every team has its gaps, but how we address them determines our success.

By supporting and empowering our colleagues, we can turn perceived weaknesses into strengths, driving our teams toward collective victory.

How do you ensure that every member of your team feels valued and empowered to succeed? Share your strategies and experiences!

#ModernSelling #SalesLeadership #TeamBuilding #SalesStrategy #LeadershipDevelopment #Empowerment #Coaching #SuccessMindset #SalesTips

Transform Your Sales Leadership: Mastering Modern Selling with Coaching and Care

Mastering Modern Selling: Key Insights on Sales Leadership

Welcome to another engaging session on Mastering Modern Selling! This week, we had the privilege of hosting Keith Rosen, an expert with over 32 years of experience in sales leadership and coaching. Keith shared invaluable insights on the intricacies of effective sales management, focusing on leadership, coaching, and the importance of care. He joined Brandon Lee, Tom Burton and Carson V. Heady on Episode 94 of the podcast.

Background on Keith Rosen

Keith Rosen started his practice 32 years ago, focusing initially on developing sales teams. He soon realized the critical gap in coaching was at the managerial level. Keith has since dedicated his career to training leaders globally, working in 75 countries across six continents, helping them develop a universal methodology for coaching.

Key Insights on Sales LeadershipWhy People Transition to Sales Leadership

Keith shared a story illustrating common misconceptions about sales management:

Assumptions: People often believe management offers more power, authority, and money.Reality: Management involves extensive responsibilities, less autonomy, and often less pay than anticipated.The Importance of Coaching

Keith emphasized the necessity of coaching in leadership:

Lack of Training: 74% of managers haven’t been trained to coach.Dependency: Managers often end up doing their team’s job, leading to a lack of scalability and reduced team confidence.The Role of Sales LeadersEffective Sales Leadership TraitsMindset: Putting others first.Communication: Mastering the language of leadership through coaching.Care: Demonstrating genuine care for team members.Strategies for Effective CoachingABC of Leadership: Always Be Coaching.Enrollment: Engaging team members in the coaching process with positive intent.30-Day Success Plan: A structured approach to assess and support underperformers.Practical Advice for Sales LeadersBuilding a Culture of AccountabilityAsk the Right Questions: How do you like to be held accountable? How should I follow up if you don’t honor commitments?Collaboration Over Interrogation: Engage in conversations to create solutions together.Maintaining a Present MindsetBe Insatiably Curious: Constantly seek to understand others’ perspectives.Detach from Outcomes: Focus on the process and development, not just results.Key TakeawaysCare: The new sales methodology is demonstrating genuine care.Coaching: Transforming managers into effective coaches is essential for team success.Accountability: Building a culture of accountability through mutual understanding and support.

Great sales leadership is not about managing results but about developing people. When leaders demonstrate genuine care and invest in coaching, they cultivate a culture of trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.

How are you demonstrating genuine care for your team, and what steps are you taking to transform your leadership approach?

#SalesLeadership #ModernSelling #LeadershipDevelopment #CoachingCulture #TeamSuccess #SalesStrategy #LeadershipMindset #SalesCoaching #SalesTips

What’s Your Unique Voice? Discover How to Build a Personal Brand that Stands Out! 🚀✨

Establishing a personal brand isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a must. But how do you do it effectively, especially if you’re new to an organization or just starting out?

Building a personal brand starts with understanding who you are and what you stand for. Reflect on these key aspects:

Unique Voice: What truly matters to you? What are your passions and values?

Strengths & Skills: Identify your unique strengths, skills, and superpowers.

Core Message: What do you want to be known for? What sets you apart from the rest?

Remember, your personal brand is not tied to the company you work for. It evolves with your experiences and grows over time.

The best professional relationships aren’t built on products or solutions—they’re built on value and community. Here’s how to approach relationship building:

Proactive Outreach: Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Reach out, seek to serve, and add value wherever possible.

Value Addition: Focus on how you can help others achieve their goals rather than selling something.

Community Building: Create a sense of community by engaging with colleagues and clients on a personal level.

Seek to Serve: Approach meetings with a mindset of service rather than sales. Show how you can help achieve mutual wins.

Focus on Wins: Collaborate with clients to identify what success looks like for them and work towards those goals.

Evolving Brand: Recognize that your personal brand will evolve with your experiences and adapt accordingly.

Building a personal brand is a journey of self-discovery, relationship building, and continuous evolution. By focusing on your unique voice, proactively engaging with others, and always seeking to add value, you can establish a powerful personal brand that stands out in any organization.

What steps are you taking today to ensure your personal brand reflects your true self and adds value to those around you?

#PersonalBranding #ProfessionalGrowth #CareerDevelopment #SelfDiscovery #RelationshipBuilding #ValueAddition #CommunityEngagement #ServeFirst #EvolvingBrand

The Mantra of Success: How Consistency Compounds in Reaching Peak Performance in Sales & Personal Branding

I’ve been on a 15-year journey to build my personal brand, one that started in the telecommunications and advertising sectors with zero network and eventually required a complete reinvention as a social seller at age 35.

Joining the greatest tech company in the world 10 years ago, I found myself surrounded by younger colleagues who knew everything about cloud and technology. It felt like they were speaking another language.

However, I knew how to create content rooted in my experiences, both past and present.

I tell my mentees and anyone I coach in this space: your experiences matter. They’re relevant. Someone else is having, has had, or will have those same experiences, and your willingness to share them will resonate deeply.

My mantra for the first half of the year is “consistency compounds.” This idea is more than just a catchy phrase; it’s a principle I’ve lived by.

When I look back, it’s clear that showing up every day and consistently putting in the effort has been the cornerstone of my success.

Personal branding feeds every element of what you try to do. Whether it’s creating content, mentoring others, or leveraging a podcast to connect with prospects, consistency is key.

Standing out from the noise is crucial. One way to achieve this is by presenting a unique message or value proposition right from the start.

This approach can significantly increase the probability of securing meetings and establishing trust. Not everything will be perfect, and that’s okay.

Evolution and improvement are continuous processes. We’ve likely all radically changed our approaches over the years to be relevant and successful, always aiming to better meet the needs of our target audience.

Keep learning and evolving. Whether you’re creating content, engaging with your audience, or honing your craft, continuous improvement is vital.

Each of us has transformed our methods over the years, ideally centered around our unique value prop and superpowers, adapting to better serve our goals and connect with our desired audience.

This constant evolution ensures that we stay relevant and effective in a rapidly changing landscape.

How can you start showing up more consistently in your professional life, and what unique experiences can you share to resonate with your audience?

#SalesSuccess #PersonalBranding #ConsistencyIsKey #SocialSelling #CareerGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #SalesTips #Leadership #ContentCreation

Mastering Modern Selling: Unlock C-Level Deals – AI & Automation Tips for Sales Success! 🚀

Prospecting to C-Level executives challenges most salespeople, but it doesn’t have to. With automation, AI and humanity, I’ve opened 50 new executive relationships and booked 120 workshops in 2 months.

It’s a Moneyball approach. Mapping out the key relationships you need to achieve what you want to achieve, you can control the quality of your message, quantity of outreaches and consistency of execution of your prospecting.

With Microsoft Copilot, I can feed in the customer’s website and LinkedIn profile to craft the “perfect” message aligned to how we could be a unique and compelling partner.

As Brandon Lee says, however, you have to ensure you inject your humanity. It can’t read like AI. I use AI because I may be able to find some really compelling points from their site or LinkedIn page and craft a perfect message in 30 minutes or so, but AI will do it in seconds. What a time saver, right?

But you can’t let your critical outreach to this important stakeholder reek of AI, either.

Be brief, be brilliant, be gone. Most anyone will ignore long e-mails. The shorter and more direct on your unique value prop that stands out from the noise, and your ask for a meeting, the better.

Automation is critical as well; using Octopus CRM and Sales Navigator I can quickly export every C-level and VP-level from any organization.

Finally, never let any of your CRM or marketing leads lie dormant or untouched. Some of my greatest deals have been as a result of building community with those leads, passively educating, offering value and workshops and newsletters and webinars.

Thanks to these methods, I touch thousands of customers per month. The odds are ever in my favor.

How are you leveraging AI and automation and data to combine with humanity and boost your sales game?

Mastering Modern Selling
Tom Burton
Salesman on Fire

#ModernSelling #SalesAutomation #AIinSales #SalesStrategy #Prospecting #SalesTips #SalesSuccess #TechInSales #SalesLeadership

Mastering Modern Selling #93: Leveraging Personal Branding & Networking to Outshine the Competition

Amidst the noise and competition of sales, standing out can feel like an insurmountable challenge. However, there are those who not only get noticed but become trusted voices in their fields. How do they do it?

In Episode 93 of Mastering Modern Selling, Tom Burton, Brandon Lee and Carson V. Heady unravel the secrets of mastering personal branding in modern selling.

Personal branding isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a crucial component of modern selling.

Consistency is crucial. The more consistently you show up, the more trust you build.

Balancing personal and corporate branding can be tricky, but it’s essential.

LinkedIn is a goldmine for personal branding. Consistent activity on LinkedIn leads to recognition and opportunities that might not otherwise come your way.

Your network is your net worth. Networking is not just about connecting with others; it’s about building a community where you can learn, grow, and thrive together.

Bring Humanity into Business: Humanity makes you memorable. Sharing your interests, hobbies, and experiences helps others relate to you on a human level, making your professional interactions more impactful.

Embrace AI and Automation: Technology can amplify your efforts. Using tools to repurpose content and automate routine tasks allows you to focus on creating meaningful connections and delivering value.

Rising Above the Noise: Standing out in a crowded market requires strategy. Combining personal anecdotes with professional insights creates content that captures attention and engages your audience. This blend makes your brand relatable and authoritative.

Engaging with Your Audience: Engagement is a two-way street. Commenting on posts, responding to comments, and participating in conversations all help build a robust, engaged community.

Mindset Matters: A growth mindset fuels your brand. Personal branding is as much about mindset as it is about strategy. Embracing a growth mindset, being open to feedback, and continuously learning are crucial for sustained success.

Personal branding in modern selling is not just an option; it’s a necessity. It’s about showing up consistently, blending your personal and professional personas, and leveraging tools to amplify your efforts.

By embracing your humanity and actively engaging with your audience, you can build a powerful personal brand that not only stands out but also builds trust and drives success.

What steps are you taking today to ensure your personal brand rises above the noise and resonates with your audience?

#ModernSelling #PersonalBranding #SalesStrategy #LinkedInTips #Networking #SalesLeadership #SocialSelling #Authenticity #ProfessionalGrowth

🌟 Mid-Year Reflection: Propel Your Sales Strategy for a Strong Finish! 🌟

As we enter the second half of 2024, it’s crucial for sales leaders to pause, reflect, and recalibrate to ensure a successful year.

Sales leader and author Jeff Kirchick joined me today as we delved into the importance of analyzing Q2 outcomes, realigning goals, and making strategic adjustments to stay on track.

Now is the perfect time to evaluate our processes, focus on career development, and prepare for a stellar finish to 2024 while laying the groundwork for a prosperous 2025.

Reflect on Q2 and H1: Take these slower moments to evaluate what went well and what didn’t. This is crucial for aligning goals for Q3 and beyond.

Recalibrate and Adjust: We need to reassess our strategies based on the data and outcomes from the first half. Are our assumptions holding up? Do we need to make new bets?

Think Ahead to 2025: It’s never too early to start planning for next year. Test the waters on new initiatives now to be better prepared for 2025.

Focus on Career Development: Ensure that personal and team goals for career development are being met. It’s about leveling up, not just hitting metrics.

Analyze Processes: Use data to diagnose your processes. Are there areas needing adjustment? What’s working and what’s not?

People and Relationships: Evaluate if you have the right people and relationships in place, both internally and with customers.

Stay Laser-Focused: Q3 is about getting laser-focused on what’s viable for this year. Make sure you have line of sight to your game-changing deals.

Enjoy the process, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to recharge and spend quality time with family.

#SalesLeadership #MidYearReview #CareerDevelopment #FocusAndExecute #2024Goals #SalesStrategy #ReflectAndRecalibrate #ThinkAhead #FourthOfJuly

What are you focusing on as we move into the second half of 2024?

Consistency Compounds: Turning Challenges into Triumphs on the Road to Success

Consistency compounds.

There are no short cuts, and success is a long journey with many meaningful deposits and crushing defeats.

My career in sales started by accident thanks to a relationship and resilience when 10 of 12 in my training class dropped out because they didn’t want to do it. I had no choice.

The others in my center were disgruntled, but I didn’t compare myself to them or listen to complaints. I did my best, was #1 and got promoted 3 times in 6 years, winning every award.

Unexpectedly, I lost my job twice in a 1-year period, but I didn’t sit around; I wrote a book and got it published while applying to over 1,600 jobs – a book that made me stand out, got me noticed, led me to my next gig, where I made a relationship that landed me at the greatest company in the world.

Over a several year span, I fought and clawed to earn a strong personal brand and win the biggest awards in the company, named by some as the top field seller in the company and top social seller in tech. But it didn’t start out that way; I was nearly derailed Year 1 when a manager didn’t like my social selling process or me and tried to work me out of the business. Thankfully, I latched on with people who believed in me and invested in me, as I consistently honed my craft of outreach, adding real value, and developing deep trusted relationships while understanding every resource I could bring to bear.

I was overweight after college ended and a family member’s remark sent me on a 20-year journey of calorie tracking and exercise. I’m in the best shape of my life at 45, only because I am chasing my 9th straight annual gym record amidst back, knee, shoulder and foot pain. I’m in the gym every morning while everyone else in my home is asleep.

I also landed my dream girl, but we broke up 3 times before we finally married. Now we have 3 talented, smart and beautiful girls, 2 pets and a white house with the white fence.

My point is this: Life is a long road, but you have pivotal choices that will define yours. Every day, you choose what relationships you invest in, what you do to better yourself, and how much of yourself you put into what you care about.

Consistency takes your snowball of effort and passion and turns it into an avalanche. There is pain and defeat, but the payoff is fulfillment and no regrets.

Top 5 Career Lessons for Ultimate Success: Transform Your Journey Today

What are the best career lessons and bits of advice you’ve gotten? Ever wondered what the secret sauce to career success is? Here are my top 5 game-changing lessons that transformed my journey!

1. Your Network is Your Net Worth: It’s all about relationships! Every career move I’ve made has been due to relationships or reputation. Cultivate genuine connections, and your network will become your most valuable asset.

2. Control What You Can Control: If something is within your control, own it. In your career, you can control your effort, attitude, preparation, and response to challenges. Focus on what you can control and don’t stress over what you can’t.

3. Become the Obvious Choice for What You Want: To win an award, get a promotion, or land a new job, you must be the obvious choice. Understand what it takes to succeed, prepare relentlessly, and build relationships that make you the clear frontrunner. De-risk the decision-maker’s decision and you give yourself the best probability of success. Study what others who have won what you want have done to get there.

4. Be a Problem Eliminator: Listen to senior executives and customers to identify key problems. Find solutions and train others to do the same. Building a reputation as a problem solver can define your career.

5. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others: Focus on what’s possible, not on keeping up with others. Strive to unlock your potential and achieve what’s within your reach. Your competition is with your own potential, not with others.

What are your best career and life lessons? Share your favorite learnings in the comments!

#CareerAdvice #ProfessionalGrowth #SuccessTips #Networking #ProblemSolving #PersonalDevelopment #Leadership #Motivation #CareerGrowth