Carson V. Heady's Blog, page 64
December 27, 2018
Hitting my Gym Goal, Applying the Same Principles I Apply in my Career
You’ve got to have your own motivations. Mine started because I wanted to lose weight. Over the years, it has shifted to more of a mental mindset – my unplug time where I come up with my best ideas, and so I still look good at age 40 for my wife.
December 26, 2018
The 5 Keys to Reignite Your Fire for a Strong 2019
It’s a new year, with new opportunities and new threats. How will you ensure your fire is re-ignited after holiday absence and customers returning?
(1) Quickly re-immerse yourself into effective routines. You may have been out for a bit, you may have gone away from your routines in the way of health and exercise and maintenance. There’s no better way to ensure you can step back into your selling shoes than following through on the mechanics that have led to past success – in all areas. Get back into that morning workout routine, grab that coffee and get to work. Surround yourself with the silence or scenery that is conducive to work and get to it. The sooner you are back in the arena you are comfortable with performing in, the sooner your processes and results kick back in.
(2) Prioritize scheduling of customer and team meetings. Everyone is as refreshed as they are going to be. Hit the ground running and get to the top of January e-mail inboxes as you attempt to get on calendars that may be relatively empty but will fill up fast. Be the early bird, and etch out your place on their calendar as customers look to spend new budget.
(3) Put pipeline honesty into effect. No better time to flush cold, dead opportunities and leads than the new quarter and year. It’s a cleansing, in essence, as you can take time to true up your funnel and prioritize the leads and deals you are going to be putting the full court press on to come out of the gates swinging.
(4) Don’t stress over a number; focus on process. The scoreboard is back to zero. You may get a momentary pat on the back for 2018, but it’s time to sell again. That big quota can be scary – especially when you’re going to be asked to top last year’s performance. Don’t think about the number. Focus on the new promotions, the tools, the proper selling motions that you need to put in place to prospect, pitch and perform.
(5) Put a concerted effort into coming out of the gates firing on all cylinders. Shake off any dust that settled over holidays or as you sandbagged for a new year or as you rested well above 2018 goal. This is the moment you’ve been storing your energy and re-charging your batteries for. The more focused you are out of the chute, the more effective you are at getting back into the swing and engaging your team and customers better than ever before, the higher the probability your sales processes will start working quickly. The more quickly your processes are in motion and producing, the more quickly results will be realized. From there, momentum will carry you into what will be a successful 2019.
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Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” and sequels “The Salesman Against the World” and “A Salesman Forever” which take the unique approach of serving as sales/leadership books inside of novels showing proven sales principles designed to birth you into the top producer you were born to be. If you would like to strengthen your sales skills, go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICRVMI2/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_yGXKtb0G
Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving.
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail at cvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page: https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
December 17, 2018
The 5 Moments That Will Define Your Career
Our career – like our lives – is a canvas, a body of work if you will. It obviously starts blank and we make many brushstrokes over time. There will be times we create something beautiful. There will be others where we struggle to comprehend where we go next in this search for a masterpiece.
A career is typically quite long, and it leaves room for mistakes and the ability to reinvent oneself. There are many choices and there is risk. You will make decisions that will affect you and the lives of others. The most important things you can do in your career are to build relationships (in all directions – with mentors, peers and with people you can learn from and add value for), brand yourself, be reliable, be effective, be productive, and respond in the right way to whatever occurs. Sounds easy, right?
Your career will be defined by this handful of career-defining moments:
(1) How You Approach Your First Role. You’ve accepted a position – likely a stepping stone to where you envision yourself or perhaps merely a move to gain and earn experience (and money). Mark my words: The impression you leave in that role, the people you meet and the relationships you form will carry on for a long time. It’s likely (if you’re mid-career on), that you can look back at the symmetry amongst your roles – how one role would beget the next, and so on. People you meet and impress (or disappoint) will impact your future moves. Be early, be overly efficient, be supremely reliable, and be a sponge. I’ve had roles where I was completely overwhelmed, as if those around me were speaking in a different language! Take a lot of notes – record everything you can. Use these notes as reference and keep them handy. Latch on to folks who are succeeding from whom you can learn and assimilate best practices. Do everything you can to make a solid first impression and control everything you can – your learning, your relationships, your work ethic. Have no regrets in how you approached your first role.
(2) What To Do When You Have a Rough Patch: We’ll have our ups and downs in any facet of life. There will be times you have bad management, you encounter a slump, you hate your job, your personal life drags down your performance, or negative spotlights are on you. Remember this: Nothing good or bad will last long. Endurance is the greatest attribute to a flourishing career; you will be tasked with weathering storms. How you do this and that you do this will see you rewarded – with bluer skies, with possible promotions and better circumstances. Don’t lose your composure. Don’t let others see you bleed. Bad managers move on or out (or, sadly, sometimes up!) Things you hate about your job are bound to change (just like things you like about it). Everything ebbs and flows. If you are outwardly negative and emotional about and during your rough patch, this will become part of your brand and that brand will be toxic in nature. Seriously, just do your best. Tackle each appointment, each meeting, each day at a time as best you can and you’ll look back when this crucible completes and bask in the achievement of enduring it. Under no circumstances can you allow this or anything else to crush you – it can be career-threatening.
(3) How You Respond to Unfair Circumstances: Unfair circumstances can fall into the aforementioned rough patch category, but they are of unique ilk – sometimes, things happen to you or around you that are just flat out not fair. Your reaction and response will speak to your character and your reputation. Did someone who was not remotely qualified get the promotion you were promised? Be the first person to congratulate them and accept that it was not the role for you – focus on the next steps for yourself, and the next promotion. Is a manager targeting you because they are intimidated by you or dislike something about you? Focus all of your attention on ensuring you are doing everything you can to make their job easier. Clearly understand their expectations. Get to know them better – as best as you can. Were you targeted and/or fired for completely bogus reasons? Learn from the experience and take the caution and the self-preservation you learn forward into your next roles. Life isn’t fair – things in your career will leave you bewildered, but you’re best served by never reacting out of emotion to anything. It leaves you vulnerable in a place where you are viewed as replaceable.
(4) How You Parlay Your Stock Being High: What do you want to achieve in your career? Are you looking for a more strategic or prestigious role? More money? To do something rewarding? We pay dues and we work hard to move like chess pieces eventually into the desired role. There are times when our stock is high – we’re tops in the office, we’re highly regarded by management, or we have several suitors in the recruitment game. How you nagivate through these waters will go a long way to helping you make big moves – when your stock is high and perceived value maximized, you have the highest ability to move into more aligned roles and make more money. You have the highest ability to create and enhance relationships, gain additional responsibility, get more exposure. How you parlay your stock being high into something better (whether a new role or new circumstances) will help you surge ahead in the career race.
(5) How You Choose To Change Roles. Folks working an entire career with one company is now rare – for a variety of reasons (some economical, some generational, some based on a variety of factors between employers and employees). Even if you are in one organization, it’s likely you’ll change roles – most people have a change in title or company every 2-3 years. It may be something you want to change; it may be forced change. Either way, how you make moves is very important. If you are looking to make a move, and you’re leaving a role, always do it with dignity. Always give notice – even if you absolutely hate your job and feel like you owe them nothing. If one person who matters has a negative taste in their mouth from your departure, it could cost you. Furthermore, if you’re moved into a different role, handle the ambiguity or uncertainty with class – be thankful you have a role, and do everything you can to master it whether you’re committed to it in your mind for the long haul or not. Take your time in making decisions and always compare other potential paths to your current one – it helps if/when explaining your move to someone as to what your thoughtful thought process looked like (pro and con comparison lists are always good). Of course, you don’t want to share too much with people you work with and you don’t want to advertise your job-shopping process. Be strategic in who you seek counsel from, perhaps even sharing with your boss (if you have that type of relationship) what your decisions entail and enlist them in helping you make them. Bottom line: you’ll change roles in your career. Make sure you do everything you can to keep those you’re leaving and those you’re joining feeling good about you, or as good as they can. When in doubt, communicate. Communication is everything.
Whether you are just starting out in your career and taking those first steps or you’re reflecting on a career of moments that led you to where you are now, be responsible, add value, focus on relationships and leave it all on the field. Control your approach and your responses. And build a reputation of credibility and reliability. If you can do these things – during the highs and lows, amidst ambiguity and in spite of things you cannot control and unfair circumstances – you will create a masterpiece career that you’ll be proud of.
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Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” and sequels “The Salesman Against the World” and “A Salesman Forever” which take the unique approach of serving as sales/leadership books inside of novels showing proven sales principles designed to birth you into the top producer you were born to be. If you would like to strengthen your sales and leadership skills, go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073HN3SXQ
Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving.
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail at cvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page: https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
December 15, 2018
How to Create Joy and Achievement in the Mundane
Even if we’re living our best life, there are aspects of life that are less than stellar. I doubt many people often parade the trash cans to the curb, whistling while they work. Few truly enjoy setting an alarm every day with a job they may or may not enjoy where they’ll undoubtedly face uncertainty and occasional stressors. Frankly, even as much as I do enjoy the achievement from exercise or duties or jobs I’ve held, there are occurrences in the planning and execution that are not overly joyful. Yet if we can embrace the unique skills we bring to the table and focus on the desire and reason we long for the outcome it can aid us in the midst of the otherwise mundane.
Mary Poppins – practically perfect in every way – even said, “For every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and SNAP – the job’s a game!” While it may not be possible to really doll up that “TPS Report” you’re filling out at your job (see “Office Space”) or to put a positive spin on taking out the trash, tweaking those jobs slightly can revolutionize the day.
Perhaps while you file your reports or manage your pipeline or pay bills, you flip your laptop or phone to a streaming show or music you enjoy. Maybe as you take out the trash, you make it part of a larger outdoor effort and do it while you’re headed out to take a walk. Don’t enjoy mowing the lawn? Use it as an escape to listen to music or use those extra steps you get to win a Fitbit challenge (I do both!). For example, being on the treadmill is not necessarily my favorite thing, but turning off my brain telling me I can stay in bed, getting up and going to the gym and streaming a show I won’t get to watch that day otherwise (1) gives me much needed escape time while the world is largely at rest, (2) puts me in a place where I can come up with often my best ideas to apply to my work day and (3) gives me a sense of accomplishment at the onset of the day. Plus it makes me feel like I can eat whatever I want as the day progresses.
You may also find yourself in a job that you do not feel fully utilizes your skills. You know what? Unless you create the job yourself, the likelihood of it being tailor-made for you or that it uses all of your skills every day is slim; that said, you have applied for or agreed to this role, you are deemed qualified for the role and there is most certainly something unique that you can bring to it to make it your own and to have fun using your talent in. Is there any free reign you have to bring in your own passions to the role and play around with them? Whether you can dabble in something you enjoy as you plan, organize, prospect, create orders, etc. or you split up your day by reading or listening to music on lunch – add some kind of spice to the day that isn’t just about work. You’ll feel a lot more fulfilled.
Perhaps you are in sales but enjoy marketing, and have the ability to either partner with your marketing team or to dabble in some new forms of prospecting and outreach? Maybe you have an office role creating reports or processing paper work and performing data entry – can you innovate? Can you propose new ways to make the tasks more productive? Can you propose ideas to your leadership that will make the process run more smoothly? Ask yourself what would make your role more fulfilling for you or what would make a task feel like less of a chore – it could be as simple as adding tunes or making a competition or test out of it or toying around with things you have a curiosity about that lead to personal and professional growth.
Not every role or task will afford you the latitude to infuse your own flair, but most will. There is much more sense of achievement felt when you can reflect on a task well done (and with some pizzazz at that!). Find the element of fun or your passion you can bring to what would otherwise be mundane areas of your work and life, and you can make them more enjoyable and likely more productive.
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Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” and sequels “The Salesman Against the World” and “A Salesman Forever” which take the unique approach of serving as sales/leadership books inside of novels showing proven sales principles designed to birth you into the top producer you were born to be. If you would like to strengthen your sales and leadership skills, go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073HN3SXQ
Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving.
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail at cvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page: https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
December 13, 2018
Win the Moment, Master the Day
If you dwell on what’s past or look too far ahead, you lose focus on the important step right in front of you. It’s why you cannot cling to your losses – you take the knowledge with you so future steps don’t become missteps. It’s why you don’t gloat in victory – it’s only a matter of time before you face a loss because we all lose sometimes. It’s why you don’t think about the game after this one or the interview after this one because it will only distract you from bringing your best self to the task at hand.
This past summer, I (a completely amateur hiker and backpacker) spent two weeks in the mountains with more seasoned outdoorsmen in the family. The last time I had seriously camped and backpacked it was my stint in Scouts 20 years ago. Packs have changed a bit. That said, if I looked at some of the places I scaled and crossed after I did them, I was amazed – couldn’t believe my trek had taken me past that part of the journey. There were arduous uphill and downhill places with unsure footing. All I could do was focus on landing each step. If I landed each step and found footing, the journey continued and that’s all that mattered; there was no sense looking up the mountain or to where I was eventually going to be, because that was daunting and detrimental. Focusing on the current step eventually got me to gorgeous views and campgrounds where I could eat and sleep. The journey was fulfilling and destination was the payoff.
This was all completely out of my comfort zone, but I said yes because of the new experience and survived it by focusing on landing a step at a time.
Every day survived is a day achieved; a day will seldom go precisely as you plan or intend no matter how much attention you pay to constructing the agenda. Your reactions (or lack thereof), how you pivot and evolve to each unexpected situation will determine success. You can only control so much; while it is vital to control the variables you can, your response to the uncontrollables is the difference-maker.
Each day is a part of the body of work; you may set out to start a new routine, a workout regimen, a diet, or a new process at your job. How often have you begun a path – had a great day or week only to have it railroaded by an unexpected turn of events and you’ve jettisoned the changes as a result? It got too hard, you told yourself. It’s just not possible, you told yourself. Consistency is everything – make the most of your day. If you can create the opportunity to exercise, do it. If you can’t, acknowledge you tried and when you wake up tomorrow give it your best shot then – do NOT tell yourself “Oh, I’ll just do it tomorrow” because you can never guarantee how tomorrow will go. Just wake up each day with your gameplan and put all of your focus on the steps that will make just that day a success.
Certainly, we have some set in stone and some loose plans for the future. If there are steps that must be taken in the interim, commit to those, plan them out and execute. Don’t get lost thinking about the end result but focus on ensuring the step you’re on is executed successfully.
Was today a loss? In certain areas, it may have been, but God willing you’ll wake up tomorrow morning with another chance to focus on each agenda item and execute successfully. God willing you’ll have another chance to make good on anything that you didn’t do the prior day or at least take the knowledge and experience from the losses forward.
It’s easy to come up with goals of what you want to achieve in various facets of your life. It’s often tough to actually achieve the goals because we tend to look at the gap between ourselves and the goal and eventually we just get tired and give up no matter how much momentum we had toward the goal at any given point.
Any goal can be achieved, any situation endured or time period of your life or career fruitful if you focus on mastering the task and step at hand – not dwelling on the past and not getting caught up too much on what’s ahead. Win the moment and master the day and your body of work will be full of substantial successes.
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Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” and sequels “The Salesman Against the World” and “A Salesman Forever” which take the unique approach of serving as sales/leadership books inside of novels showing proven sales principles designed to birth you into the top producer you were born to be. If you would like to strengthen your sales and leadership skills, go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073HN3SXQ
Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving.
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail at cvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page: https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
October 15, 2018
The Call That Changed My Career
Years ago, I received a phone call/voice message whose ramifications I never really considered until recently. In fact, I almost did not return the call.
Through unforeseen circumstances, I found myself on the job market and was sticking out a lot of feelers to find my next role. My first book had recently been published. I was interviewing with a few places and was into final interview with one organization between another individual and me. During that time, I received a voice message from someone looking to interview me; the organization name was vague and I did not immediately return the call.
I didn’t get the job I was to the final interview for – my background was in telecom and advertising and the role was in financial sales. The chosen candidate had a financial sales background. Initially a little upset, knowing I had to go back to the well, I considered options and gave that voice mail another listen. I did return the call and left a message.
Fortunately for me, the person hiring – the CEO of this small organization – called me back. He was affiliated with a rather large organization as a business partner. We interviewed and then I interviewed with his other business partners in subsequent weeks. I went on to take the role – which went well, until this group was purchased.
That said, during this experience I met a contact who led me to my next role. There, I made a contact who led me to my next role – at Microsoft. And – looking back – if I had never returned that phone call, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Furthermore, he revealed to me that the only reason he called me as opposed to the hundreds of other applicants who did not proceed was because I had done something unique: gotten a sales book published.
You never know what unique attribute you bring to the table will be noticed – so shine. In any way possible. And never fail to respond to every door knock – you never know which opportunity will be life- and career-altering.
May 15, 2018
23 Experts on Closing the Sale
Honored to be featured in this article! Here’s my blurb: “To close more sales during the appointment, be personable, do less talking than they do, and aim your focus solely on finding ways to add value – even if you do not see the immediate benefit. Customers become clients and relationships when there is rapport, trust and mutual respect; ask thoughtful questions and be genuine with respectful responses and suggestions. If you come across as sincerely trying to support and service, the temperature will be a lot more ripe for a customer to decide they want to change their way of doing things. Ultimately, you don’t sell them anything; they choose to change their behavior because of recommendations from a trusted source. You can become that trusted source by understanding their process, finding any weaknesses or gaps in it, and showing them that the risk to change is less than the risk of remaining status quo.”
https://www.homeprosuccess.com/23-experts-on-closing-the-sale/
