Carson V. Heady's Blog, page 34

The Blueprint for Personal Success and Reaching Your Goals

Achieving personal goals can be a challenging endeavor. In fact, it’s a startling revelation that, more often than not, people miss the mark. But if you follow these principles, you can’t lose.

To improve our chances of success, we must harness the tools and strategies that work so effectively in the business world. Translating these techniques into our personal lives can be a game-changer.

In the face of challenges or setbacks, whether in sales or personal life, it’s crucial to focus on what we can control. Taking charge of the variables within our grasp is key.

Building meaningful relationships and refining your processes are not just professional imperatives but also pivotal in personal success.

Understanding the probability of success for your actions is vital. Broaden your horizons to increase the likelihood of forming fruitful relationships.

Accepting constructive feedback with humility is a powerful tool for personal growth. It’s a gift that can steer us towards improvement.

Building your personal board of trustees or mentors is a cornerstone of guidance and support. It’s not just about formal mentorship; it’s finding the right people for specific aspects of your life and career.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to those who can offer wisdom and support. Asking for help, staying open to learning, and recognizing you’re not alone are steps towards growth.

Be open to accepting and acting on advice, even if it challenges your current beliefs or practices. Growth often stems from stepping out of your comfort zone.

Spending time shadowing those who excel in areas you aspire to improve is invaluable. Sometimes, being a “fly on the wall” in their conversations can offer profound insights.

Be agile in your approach to self-improvement and maintain consistent execution of your processes. This consistency is the pathway to reliable results.

This is the blueprint for personal success and achievement. What has been most important in your journey?

#PersonalGrowth#SuccessTips#GoalAchievement#BusinessStrategies#RelationshipBuilding#FeedbackIsKey#MentorshipMatters#ContinuousImprovement#PathToSuccess 

The Road to Top 10 Percent Sales Success: A Deep Dive with Kristie Jones on Social Selling 2.0

Whether you’re an aspiring salesperson or a seasoned veteran, understanding your unique value and the importance of personalization can set you on the path to becoming a top 10 percenter in sales.

On the latest Social Selling 2.0, the #1 social selling podcast, special guest, author and speaker Kristie Jones of Sales Acceleration Group joins Tom Burton of LeadSmart Technologies, Brandon Lee of Fist Bump and Microsoft‘s #1 social seller and Salesman on Fire author Carson V. Heady to offer a roadmap to achieving exceptional success.

Check out the full episode here:

In this episode, the panel unpacks:

The Importance of Specialization and Finding Your Sales Superpower: Understanding your strengths and weaknesses in the sales process and specializing in a role that aligns with your strengths can be a game-changer.

Executing Ideas: From Concept to Revenue: Formalizing processes and committing to new ideas for a set duration provides structure and encourages sales professionals to push past the initial discomfort of trying something new.

Sales Metrics and Individual Dashboards: Sales metrics are vital, and individual dashboards help track performance and understand unique strengths and weaknesses, enabling tailored strategies.

The Human Touch in Sales: Building meaningful relationships with prospects and customers through personalized approaches, such as leveraging personal information, remains indispensable.

The Journey to Becoming a Top 10 Percenter: The journey starts with self-awareness and finding the right sales role, followed by formalizing processes, committing to new ideas, tracking performance, and embracing the human side of sales.

Sales is an ever-evolving field, and those who adapt, specialize, and embrace the human element will continue to thrive. As we look to the future of sales, these principles will remain as valuable as ever, guiding sales professionals to new heights of success and revenue generation.

#SalesSuccess #SocialSelling #SalesSpecialization #PersonalizationInSales #Top10Percenter #SalesJourney #SalesMetrics #HumanTouchInSales #SalesInnovation

Breaking the Mold: Taking an Original Path to Sales Success – Jeff Kirchick and Carson Heady

If close to 70% of sellers miss goal, why do so many embrace a formulaic comfortable way of mediocrity or failing? Unconventional, probability-based approaches focused on being at the pulse of the customer prevail.

Sales VP and author Jeff Kirchick joins Microsoft‘s #1 social seller and Salesman on Fire author Carson V. Heady to discuss why more sales professionals should be scrappy and resourceful in the pursuit of success.

Salespeople are often presented with prescribed scripts and processes to follow. These tried-and-true methods are designed to increase efficiency and predictability in sales, but they don’t always guarantee success.

Jeff Kirchick echoes this sentiment, reflecting on his early career, where he was left to figure out his own approach due to a company pivot. While this presented challenges, it forced him to find his own way, leading to innovative strategies that set him apart from the crowd. He shares his belief that a strict adherence to a process can hinder creativity and adaptability when faced with unforeseen challenges.

While salespeople can’t control the cards they’re dealt, they can control how they play the hand. This analogy highlights the importance of adaptability and resourcefulness in sales. Rather than sticking rigidly to a script, salespeople should pay attention to their customers, adjust their approach based on feedback, and be willing to take calculated risks.

Both Carson and Jeff emphasize the need for salespeople to be students of human behavior. By observing customers’ actions, listening to their concerns, and anticipating their needs, salespeople can tailor their approach effectively.

Carson points out that leadership plays a significant role in fostering a culture of effective sales training. Instead of merely enforcing a rigid process, leaders should encourage salespeople to find their sales voice, empower them to build relationships, and enable them to create a community around their products or services.

Sales, like a card game, involves uncertainty, and the ability to adjust, innovate, and take calculated risks can lead to higher success rates. In a world where sales statistics indicate room for improvement, adopting a more scrappy and resourceful mindset may be the key to achieving better results and ultimately rewriting the script for sales success.

#SalesSuccess #SalesTips #SalesStrategy #BusinessDevelopment #CareerGrowth #Leadership #ProductivityHacks #Adaptability #WorkLifeRhythm

Connected Teamwork: Navigating Setbacks and Stretches

Setbacks and stretches test our teams, but also present opportunities for growth. By staying curious, focusing on what truly matters, and encouraging open communication, teams navigate these moments and emerge stronger.

On this episode of the Connected Teamwork podcast, Taming Your Crocodiles author Hylke Faber and Olena Sergeeva of Growth Leaders Network discuss.

Setbacks and stretches, the subject of today’s discussion, are like the “black belt moments” in the world of teamwork. They are the times when things aren’t going as planned, and they test our team’s resilience, adaptability, and commitment. Just as a sailor needs to understand the water conditions they’re facing before setting out to sea, a team must be aware of the moment they’re in to navigate challenges effectively.

Hylke discussed how setbacks have a humbling effect, helping him regain perspective and connect more authentically with his team. Olena talked about how setbacks remind her of the value of persistence and resilience.

Setbacks occur when reality deviates from our expectations. The human mind often clings to what it desires and is disappointed when things don’t go its way. Understanding setbacks and their impact on our team dynamics is crucial.

The way a setback is handled can significantly impact team dynamics and individuals’ beliefs in the team and its leadership.

Both Hylke and Olena share experiences from their careers that exemplify how setbacks challenge self and teams, and the importance of stopping and reflecting on what is truly important, beyond the immediate setbacks.

What have been the most profound learning and growth experiences that have come from your setbacks?

#TeamworkSuccess #GrowthOpportunities #ResilienceJourney #AdaptabilityMatters #EffectiveCommunication #LeadershipInAction #NavigatingSetbacks #ReflectionAndGrowth #LearnFromChallenges

Social Selling 2.0: Strategies for Building Your Brand and Engaging Your Audience

Building your reputation and brand, providing consistent value, and being patient in your outreach creates long-term success in digital marketing and sales. Here is how to dominate the newsfeed with social selling:

Tom Burton of LeadSmart Technologies and author of “The Revenue Zone” joins Brandon Lee of Fist Bump on this episode of Social Selling 2.0 to discuss the importance of using a variety of strategies to engage with a broader audience beyond the 3-5% of ideal prospects actively in the market. These strategies aim to build brand reputation, create rapport, and maintain a consistent presence for future sales opportunities.

Key takeaways:

Episodic Content: Regular content like live shows and podcasts can increase brand recognition and reach.
Personal Brand: Building a strong personal brand on platforms like LinkedIn is essential for trust and visibility.
Social Selling: Focus on rapport-building with prospects before transitioning into sales-oriented conversations.
Targeted Audience: Engage with the entire spectrum of your audience, not just those ready to buy now.
Repetition and Consistency: Consistent engagement and content sharing are crucial for staying top-of-mind.
Efficient Use of Time: Invest time wisely in building relationships with the broader 95% of your audience.
Customized Outreach: Tailor your outreach based on audience interests and preferences for better results.

What has worked best for you in establishing your brand and meaningfully engaging with your audience?

#DigitalMarketing #SocialSelling #PersonalBrand #BrandReputation #TargetedAudience #ContentMarketing #RelationshipBuilding #SalesStrategies #ThoughtLeadership

Connected Teamwork: Unlocking the Power of Connectedness and Teamwork for Authentic Self-Discovery and Personal Growth – Robert Washington & Hylke Faber

To enhance connectedness in your team, fill your mind with content that aligns with who you want to be. This will help create the neural connections needed to connect authentically and manifest the team’s potential.

On this episode of Connected Teamwork, Hylke Faber of Growth Leaders Network talks to Microsoft‘s Robert Washington, a senior leader, mixed martial artist, and a retired Navy veteran. Robert shared his journey of connectedness, shedding light on self-discovery, building relationships, and embracing authenticity.

He highlighted the importance of connecting with ourselves first. Robert stressed the significance of understanding our own subconscious programming and differentiating it from who we truly are.

By creating space between our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, we can gain an outside perspective, allowing us to respond rather than react to life’s challenges.

Robert’s remarkable journey shows that we all have the power to be the most authentic version of ourselves by embracing introspection and building meaningful connections. It reminds us that we must become students of life, continuously learning and understanding others.

Check out the full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/live/JOKCSnUNEag?si=DYZwoswMrFWnRqMH

#Connectedness #Teamwork #Authenticity #SelfDiscovery #Relationships #Leadership #Growth #AuthenticSelf #PersonalDevelopment

Reimaging Personal Brand, Becoming a Thought Leader & AI in Sales – Jeff Winter on Social Selling 2.0

From how to craft a truly powerful personal brand and navigating the art of becoming a thought leader to harnessing the transformative force of AI in sales, this episode of Social Selling 2.0 is a must-listen for professionals.

Jeff Winter of Hitachi Solutions America and formerly owner of the top #SocialSelling Index at Microsoft joins “The Revenue Zone” author Tom Burton of LeadSmart Technologies, Brandon Lee of Fist Bump and Salesman on Fire author Carson V. Heady, the #1 social seller at Microsoft, to discuss.

In this episode, we delved into Jeff’s remarkable journey in building a strong personal brand and becoming a thought leader on LinkedIn from under 1,000 followers to over 80,000 in 2 years.

We discussed his insights, strategies, and the power of consistency, which led him from being an average LinkedIn user to becoming one of the top thought leaders in the world in a relatively short period.

In your personal brand, you should determine your primary knowledge and skill areas. These areas give your online presence focus and direction. Jeff recommends selecting a knowledge or skill area that you want to be known for.

Jeff Winter’s journey from an average LinkedIn user to a top thought leader on LinkedIn offers valuable lessons for anyone looking to build a strong personal brand and become a thought leader.

With dedication and the right approach, you can also achieve remarkable growth and recognition in your chosen field. Be intentional, be a storyteller, and meaningfully comment, insightfully post and consistently engage, and you will be amazed by the results.

#LinkedInSuccess #PersonalBranding #ThoughtLeadership #AIinSales #ProfessionalExcellence #SocialMediaStrategy #CareerGrowth #LinkedInStrategy

Plays that Get You Paid: How to Level Up Your Sales Prospecting

Success in sales is all about relationships and execution – executing plays that deliver value and resonate with the right stakeholders in the right way. But play execution isn’t sending an e-mail once and hoping you get leads.

A few years ago, I worked with my team to create “Plays that Get You Paid.”

The goal was simple. I had 80 people touching my territory’s customers and sought to understand exactly how each of them got paid. If I was going to deliver quality leads to them, what titles and conversations would be most lucrative to them? Once I knew that, it came down to building a predictive framework and engine for outreach with those goals in mind.

This isn’t a run-of-the-mill prospecting approach. It’s a meticulously designed grid and framework that combines surgical precision with scalable tactics. From targeted outreach to demand generation engines through newsletters and webinars, we’ve covered all the bases to ensure our conversations hit the mark and resonate with our audience.

Before you can feast, you’ve got to set the table. It takes time, but it’s worth it when 60-70 people from your biggest prospect show up to every single webinar you do.

This process has generated over $350M in revenue that never would have existed otherwise and influenced over $1B in pipeline.

“Plays that Get You Paid” isn’t just about executing plays; it’s about creating a dialogue that leads to tangible results. We’ve mapped out our strategy around the pillars of what our customers want to talk about and what truly resonates with them.

What are you experimenting with in your top-of-the-funnel prospecting? How can you create plays that not only engage but also lead to those desired wins?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Thank you, Morgan J Ingram, for the timely and powerful discussion!

#SalesSuccess #SalesStrategy #SalesLeadership #ProspectingTips #BusinessDevelopment #RevenueGrowth #CustomerEngagement #B2BSales #SalesEffectiveness

How to Be a Multiplier: Elevate Everyone Around You!

In today’s fast-paced world, success isn’t just about personal achievements; it’s also about empowering others to thrive. Being a multiplier is all about this transformative approach, and here’s how you can embrace it:

Authenticity: The journey begins with authenticity. Be true to yourself and your values, as this forms the basis of your personal brand.

Find Your Channel: Discover your unique way to stand out and make a difference. Whether it’s through weekly motivation messages, informative blogs, or inspiring podcasts, find your standout channel to share knowledge and insights.

Teach to Learn: One of the most effective ways to master your craft is by teaching it to others. The act of teaching deepens your understanding and helps others grow simultaneously.

Leave a Legacy: Being a multiplier means leaving a lasting legacy. Invest in the success of others, and you’ll find that your impact goes far beyond your own accomplishments.

Connect on LinkedIn: LinkedIn offers a fantastic platform for meaningful connections, learning, and sharing. Don’t hesitate to connect, learn, and grow together with like-minded professionals.

As we strive to be multipliers, let’s pay our knowledge and success forward. By uplifting others, we create a ripple effect of positive change in our professional communities.

Grateful to Skyler Radcliffe for his contributions to my notes for this post!

#MultiplierMindset #SuccessStrategies #AuthenticLeadership
#LegacyBuilding #TeachToLearn #CareerGrowth
#LinkedInNetworking #PayItForward #EmpowerOthers

Strategies for Sales Success in 2024: A Conversation with Morgan J Ingram on Social Selling 2.0

On a recent episode of Social Selling 2.0, we had the pleasure of hosting Morgan J Ingram, a four-time LinkedIn Sales Voice, to discuss the ever-evolving landscape of sales and marketing. Morgan shared valuable insights on the changing dynamics of the industry and offered strategies for sales success in 2024. Here are the key takeaways from the conversation.

Shift from Capture to Creation: One of the central themes of the discussion was the need for sales organizations to shift their focus from capturing demand to creating demand. Traditional methods of cold calling and cold emailing are losing their efficacy, and businesses need to find ways to engage with prospects more meaningfully. Instead of pushing their products or services onto potential clients, sales teams should aim to understand the buyer’s journey and create content that resonates with their audience.Understand the Buyer’s Journey: Morgan emphasized the importance of understanding the buyer’s journey, breaking it down into different stages, and aligning your sales and marketing efforts accordingly. Sales teams should focus on enhancing the buyer’s journey, providing valuable information at each stage, and creating experiences that build trust and engagement.Complimenting Marketing Efforts: When it comes to messaging, Morgan highlighted the need for sales teams to complement marketing’s messaging rather than replicating it. While marketing tends to broadcast messages, salespeople need to engage in conversations. The two departments should work hand in hand, with sales contextualizing the messaging and adding a personal touch that appeals to prospects.Live Events Done Right: Live events, such as conferences and exhibitions, can be powerful tools for sales organizations when executed correctly. Morgan discussed the importance of making your booth a destination at such events. Rather than simply existing at the conference, sales and marketing teams should plan to dominate the show. This includes creative booth setups, equipping sales reps to engage with attendees effectively, and having a clear plan for lead acquisition and follow-up.Building Relationships: A common thread throughout the conversation was the significance of building relationships. Sales professionals should aim to cultivate relationships with prospects, clients, and even other customers. By fostering a community and enabling connections between customers, sales organizations can create a movement that goes beyond simple transactions.Focus on Impactful Outcomes: In planning for 2024, businesses should focus on impact and tangible outcomes. This involves evaluating past performance, identifying what worked and what didn’t, and making necessary adjustments. Prioritization is crucial, and efforts should be directed toward activities that generate revenue and meaningful engagements.The Three Understandings and Three Beliefs: A valuable framework proposed during the discussion was the concept of identifying the three things buyers need to understand and the three things they need to believe to demand your product. By tailoring your content and messaging to address these key points, you can significantly impact the effectiveness of your sales and marketing efforts.

As we look ahead to 2024, the world of sales and marketing is undergoing significant changes. Cold outreach methods are declining in effectiveness, and businesses need to adapt to new strategies. Morgan J Ingram’s insights highlight the importance of creating demand, understanding the buyer’s journey, and building meaningful relationships. By embracing these principles, sales organizations can set themselves up for success in the years to come.