Edward Lewellen's Blog, page 12
October 15, 2015
The Habit of Selling Well
What would it be like to consistently sell well, at the top of your game? How would it feel to know that each and every time you approached a sales activity your “A” game showed up? Just suppose you could make this “automatically” happen.
My good friend, Dr. Ali Anani, recently wrote posts on LinkedIn and SlideShare about the habits of customers and how to facilitate marketing and sales efforts around those habits. All of that is true and can greatly enhance the flow of new customers…unless the salespeople don’t have the confidence, motivation, and ability to “close the deal”. Would you agree?
With more than 30 years training salespeople who work for me to sell better than the competition, or even other sales managers in the same company, I understand the details of selling and where automatic behaviors (habits) can greatly increase sales effectiveness. Let’s get started!
The Waking Mindset
How a person views the beginning of their day can affect their entire day. Waking with a positive mindset means more than just telling yourself things like, “I’m a great salesperson. I’m a great salesperson. I’m a great salesperson.” Though, you will find many Personal Development and sales Gurus will tell you to do just that. Imagine you’ve just gone through a routine like that. You have this positive feeling, you have positive thoughts, your shoulders are back, your head held high, and a skip in your step. Then, out of nowhere, something negative happens. It’s like a helium balloon that just got poked by a needle! All that positive talk and posture deflate faster than a New England Patriot’s football!
The Trip to the Office
Let’s say our salesperson makes it out of the door with their positive self-talk and winning posture and begins the trip to the office. On the way, someone almost hits their car and causes them to swerve and go off the road. The Self-Development recording continues to play and our salesperson yells at it, saying “Stop being so positive when my life is ___!” Yes, our salesperson has generalized this event across more than just the moment, more than just the morning, more than just across the day. They have generalized and exaggerated it across their life!
The Day in the Life of a Salesperson
Suppose our salesperson has made it successfully to the office and in a positive mood. Of course, there can be an array of happenings which could, once again, cause them to “crash and burn” into a negative state. But, let’s say they make it through the office politics, the traditional sales meeting with the sales manager who knows more about selling than they do about leading, and all of the other potentially negative events. Our salesperson gets on the phone to make their two hours of cold-call prospecting. They look at the phone and memories of all of the voice messages that have been never been returned, the interrogation-like questioning from the hardened Gatekeepers, the people who are more-than-slightly-upset about receiving an unsolicited phone call, etc. all come to their mind. With all these beliefs, thoughts, and feelings confronting them, a sense of fear and dread enters their body. They begin to sweat and shiver. The only thing that has enough force to move them to pick up the phone is the more intense fear and dread of being fired. So, they reluctantly and hesitantly pick up the phone…
The next few hours are spent going on appointments with prospects. The sales process has been drilled into their head. They know by heart the 5-Step, 6-Step, or whatever step process they have been taught. And, they have been taught to fear wavering from this known-to-be-absolutely-successful-if-followed process. If a prospect doesn’t close, then it becomes obvious they didn’t follow the process. Now they have made into the office of their first prospect. Before going in, they have repeated their mantra over and over, “I’m a great salesperson. I’m a great salesperson. I’m a great salesperson.” And, it works…until the prospect comes in and takes control of the environment, creates an Adult-Child psychological environment, and causes so much stress that our salesperson goes into Survival Mode and can’t even access their well-rehearsed process.
Defeated, our salesperson seeks out a local movie theater, dark coffee shop, or some other secluded place to hide until it’s time to return to the office. When they enter the office, they are met by their sales manager, who asks, “Well, did you make the sale?” Because they fear the consequences of not making the sale, they lie. They make an excuse. They may have even made every effort to avoid the sales manager in order to “live to fight another day”.
Going Home
Our salesperson gets in their car and, when they start it, their Self-Development recording begins to play. They stop it, roll down the window, and toss it out. Instead, they put on the loudest, most bass-driven music so they can drown out their own thoughts. As they walk through the door, the familiar question melodically rings out from their spouse or significant other, “How did it go today?” They either lie to themselves and those at home about the events of the day, or they head straight to their bedroom, home office, study, or some other secluded place to find a modicum of silence and solace. And, the drama begins anew the next morning…
Did you discover the automatic, habitual behaviors in the story?
1) The morning routine
2) The reaction to a negative event
3) The beliefs about the people they work with
4) The beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors associated with cold-calling
5) The reaction to people in Positional Power
6) The reaction to accumulated stress
Did you notice how their mind and body has been conditioned to form the habitual reactions, beliefs, and thoughts? More importantly, do you identify with any, or all, of those? Most people can.
So, why did I title this post The Habit of Selling Well? Shouldn’t it have been titled, How to Talk Someone Out of Going into Sales? I chose the title because very quickly, very easily, and very permanently all those negative habits can be transformed and changed into truly positive beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors. You see, all of the Self-Development materials and all of the positive-thinking psychology in sales training materials only reach the conscious mind, the part of the mind that thinks at 40 bits of information per minute. All of the habits listed above are coming from our salesperson’s unconscious mind, the part that thinks at 40,000,000 bits of information per minute. It easily overrides its counterpart. All of the training and all of the fear tactics used by sales managers and others will never reach the salesperson’s unconscious mind to truly effect the needed transformations and changes. But, what would happen if your company was able to reach and engage the powerful unconscious mind and put to work the part that process information 1,000,000 faster?
If you would like to know how I effect real and permanent change in salespeople quickly and effectively and with the guarantee that they will be a Top 20% Performer…or higher…then please contact me before you lose another sale!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
October 3, 2015
How to Increase Your Influence
Robert Harding World Imagery
Sometimes it’s the simplest experiences which provide the greatest epiphanies. I woke one early morning around 2:00 AM. I followed the path the little lights of TV clocks, the alarm system, and the refrigerator lit for me. I found my phone in its familiar place on a ledge in the kitchen. It was easy to find because of the blinking light indicating that there were emails, voice mails, and other media that had been sent during the previous evening. When I clicked on the button to display the screen, the light was facing me and I could clearly read what was there. As I began to walk toward my home office looking at the screen, it was as if my surroundings had gotten much darker. I couldn’t see the lights from the refrigerator or the microwave. I couldn’t see the light seeping in through the windows from the street lights outside. The light from the screen of my phone was blinding me to all else. When I turned the phone away from me, then I could see my surroundings so much more clearly. Not only could I see all the little lights from the appliances and the street lights, but I could see the path to my office. I could see the doorway to my office. And, I could use this small light to find my way to my desk and the switch to turn on the light for the room. As I pondered what had just happened, I began to think about the larger meaning that this experience could hold.
How many times do we, as leaders of organizations, companies, and families, find ourselves shining our light upon ourselves, blinding us to our surroundings? We may talk the talk of authenticity, empathy, and caring for others, but with the twist that the light always finds its way back to shining on us. We hope and look for people to thank us for helping someone in need. We make sure that our name is somehow included with a kind gesture. A gift is given with an expected return of acknowledgement and praise. A member of our staff brings up a creative idea which drastically improves a process, increases sales, or has some other positive effect and we take the credit. Just as when I had the light from the screen of my smartphone pointed toward me, yes, I could see myself quite easily and brightly, but I was blinded to so much more that was surrounding me.
What happens when we are shining our light outwardly, taking the focus off of ourselves? Just as I was able to see my path more clearly and see the bigger view around me by shining the screen of my smartphone away from myself, the same happens when we put the focus away from ourselves in business and life. Let’s say, for example, you are serving on a committee. The committee is finding it difficult to discover an answer to a perplexing problem. Then, suddenly, you have a great idea! The problem is solved through your idea and the committee is now able to move forward with its task. At this critical moment, where do you choose to shine your light? On yourself so that you get immediate recognition and the opportunity to bask in the moment? Or, on the committee, the team that worked together and you contributed to as a member? By focusing the light on yourself, you get immediate and instant gratification. By focusing outward and allowing the light to shine on those around you, there may not be that instant gratification and recognition, but the long-term effects could be so much more. Just suppose you shined the light of your contribution outward to the committee, and, because of that, later on you were selected for a larger role of responsibility? Maybe others will look at your contributing as a team member without the need to take the credit individually as a show of authentic leadership and offer you a promotion. The other members of the committee may recommend you in ways that lead to you being given a position of trust. By shining your light outward and away from yourself, the possibilities are so much more than one of instant and brief gratification.
I imagine you either have personal experiences related to this post or have observed them play out. I would love to hear from you about those experiences for the benefit of the readers!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
September 28, 2015
What You Communicated Wasn’t What You Meant – WYCWWYM
Picture: Courtesy of HuffPost
When the reaction you received wasn’t what you expected, check to see what you communicated.
The meaning of the communication is the response you get.
Those are words to live by. There are many times in our lives when we have the desire to communicate a specific message to another person and the reaction we received was totally unexpected. No doubt you can think of a few times in your personal and professional life when this has happened. No matter how much you would like to blame the other person(s) for not understanding, wouldn’t you agree that no matter what it is which you meant to communicate, it’s over-ridden by the response you get? Let me illustrate how this happens:
In blog writing, there’s a format to write in called “Visual” or, by the more techie people, What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG). This means that how the pictures and writing looks before the blog is posted is how it will look to the readers. The placement of words and pictures will be how the writer is seeing them as they write. Sometimes, the WYSIWYG doesn’t work or the bloggers choose to write in “Text” mode. The pictures are placed in code, rather than as a picture; words that are to be in “Bold”, “Italics” or some other format are surrounded by coding which normally isn’t seen by the readers. “Text” mode isn’t pretty. It’s only made of letters and numbers where even colors are given a code to show only after publishing the post.
What we represent in our minds can be the same. What we formulate in our minds in the way of colors, people, words, sounds, and sensations appear to us in a way we believe is correct. However, when we present the information to others, it may appear totally different in the translation. Others can’t “see” the “coding” we are using to create the representations. So, what do they then do? They fill in the information with their own “coding”. They may or may not recreate the correct representations based on their model of the world and how it appears to them.
What can we do to prevent this from happening so that the response we get to our communications is the meaning we meant to send?
1) Go below the surface
So many times we speak at the surface level and forget there are deeper meanings and associations to what we are communicating. We use pronouns, like: he, she, they, and it when discussing persons or things which can cause a lack of clarity. I was in a conversation recently where one of the group used so many pronouns that I stopped them and asked them to clarify who and what they were talking about. It was as if their communication was in code. Be sure to do the same when responding to communication that seems even a little unclear.
2) Slow down to go faster
We believe that fast is fast in communication. Actually, fast is slow when communicating. Remember back to almost any time when there was a miscommunication and you’ll most likely find that it was caused by someone rushing the communication because they were in a hurry. It took exponentially more time to fix the results of the miscommunication than it would have if they had taken a few more minutes, even seconds, to ensure the proper understanding. So, slow down when communicating. It will make things go faster.
3) Intent
The more authentic and genuine the intent, the better the communication. In my communication course, Stealth Communication, I describe ways people either consciously, or unconsciously, use to manipulate people through communication. People who want others to draw conclusions other than the truth will purposely leave out specifics and open the door for interpretation of the listeners. They will make it seem like time is of the essence and speed is absolutely necessary for the desired result. Any person with proper intent will allow time for clarification, evaluation, and questions.
I would love to hear your stories of times when good communication took place and how that happened, along with times when miscommunication took place and how that happened, as well. So, please share!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
September 22, 2015
Unlearning to Quit
I woke up this morning to a post that really made me wonder, what are people thinking?! This morning, 9/22/15, is the morning following the end of the 2nd week of the new 2015-2016 National Football League (NFL) season. Here’s the title of the post I saw, “Which of the eight NFL teams with an 0-2 record can still make the playoffs?” Among those on the 0-2 list were 3 of the last 4 Super Bowl Champions.
What bothered me about the post, and especially the title, was how quickly the author was giving up on the 0-2 teams and writing R.I.P. (Rest In Peace) beside their names. The underlying thought he may not even know he’s teaching people is how to easily quit when the odds are against you. Now, I realize that the post and title are purposely designed to draw attention so that they get read. But, what is the signal to people with this type of thinking? Here are a few of my suggestions:
“If you don’t start as winner, then give up. The stats are against you.” (Only 11% of 0-2 teams make it to the playoffs)
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.” (W.C. Fields)
“Only the best and most talented succeed”
Can you imagine the people you work with having this attitude? Maybe, more than imagining, you’ve experienced it:
A Sales Manager to a new salesperson – “You didn’t close either of your first two presentations, which means that I’m already looking for your replacement.”
A manager to a new staff member – “Your first two new ideas haven’t worked, so there’s no need to try anymore. Your chances of success are too low.”
Anyone to their self – “I’m 0-2 on _______. I’m just not cut out to be doing this.”
Yes, there are the stats and people love to say, ‘Numbers don’t lie.’ So, what? So, what if 89% of the 0-2 teams won’t make it to the playoffs?! What about the exception to that rule of the 11% that do? And, you don’t want to be the “rule”, the average, the mediocre, do you? You want to be the exception to the rule. Beyond that, you want to be EXCEPTIONAL! Being exceptional starts within your own mind, because, before you can practice your skill more, before you can think like a champion of your trade, you have to believe in who you are and that you will not to accept mediocrity!
If you’re believing, thinking, feeling, and acting like the average, the usual, the run-of-the-mill 89% of the 0-2 teams of the NFL, now is the time to change. Become the exceptional 11%! Break the rules. Tap into your internal resourcefulness and points of personal power. Beat the odds through shear focus, determination, and clarity of the goal! Unlearn how to quit!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
September 18, 2015
September 16, 2015
Endorsement from a Mental Health Professional
When you’re looking for help, you look for someone that you know you can trust. Someone that others have seen great results from. Someone that really cares about you and your future. Dr. Edward Lewellen has helped hundreds and hundreds of people over the last 30 years to become more than they thought they could be, or knew they could be more, but just didn’t know why they weren’t reaching their full potential.
Kristin V., a mental health professional, endorses Dr. Edward Lewellen for personal and professional coaching. As you watch and listen to the video, notice how Kristin speaks from the heart about the dramatic changes she has made that have allowed her to pursue and reach her dream goals!
Whether you’re an executive, a salesperson, or in any position where your personal best is required, then you really should be at the top of your game! If you’re an athlete that aspires to greatness you really need that extra mental edge. As a family member, having the patience and calmness to interact day-in and day-out that creates stability and enjoyment, you want to be there for your family physically and mentally.
So, I wonder, what’s keeping you from reaching your goals? Whatever you think it is, it’s all in your mind.
Set an appointment with me today and change your mind tomorrow!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
Executive Coaching with a Former Sr. Dir. of Sales Training at Hyatt Hotels!
Robin Farrell – Former Sr. Dir. of Sales at Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Rapid. Illusive. Impactful. Disruptive. Mind-Boggling. Business-Changing
These few words are how people describe what change means to them in the business world. So, why is the former Sr. Dir. of Sales for Hyatt Hotels Corporation and now President of The Farrell Factor smiling so big in the picture above?
There are few things that can offer business executives:
the edge on their competition
inner peace
strong confidence
and, the ability to foresee and adapt to change quickly and effectively all together.
Working with an Executive Coach is considered a long-term engagement where the desired changes and transformation takes place over months, maybe years. Many times, by the time the changes and transformation is made it’s too late. All during those months and years the business world has been changing quicker, faster, and in more disruptive ways. After all the time the coaching consumed, executives find themselves still lagging behind what’s needed and a never-ending loop is created.
This is great for the coaches and their bank accounts. It’s frustrating for those being coached.
Please watch and listen to the video where Robin Farrell shares her experience of quick, effective, and even unexpected change and transformation! Once you’re done, reach out to me right away to begin the fast-track to your success
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
Executive Coaching with a Former Sr. Dir. of Sales at Hyatt Hotels!
Robin Farrell – Former Sr. Dir. of Sales at Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Rapid. Illusive. Impactful. Disruptive. Mind-Boggling. Business-Changing
These few words are how people describe what change means to them in the business world. So, why is the former Sr. Dir. of Sales for Hyatt Hotels Corporation and now President of The Farrell Factor smiling so big in the picture above?
There are few things that can offer business executives:
the edge on their competition
inner peace
strong confidence
and, the ability to foresee and adapt to change quickly and effectively all together.
Working with an Executive Coach is considered a long-term engagement where the desired changes and transformation takes place over months, maybe years. Many times, by the time the changes and transformation is made it’s too late. All during those months and years the business world has been changing quicker, faster, and in more disruptive ways. After all the time the coaching consumed, executives find themselves still lagging behind what’s needed and a never-ending loop is created.
This is great for the coaches and their bank accounts. It’s frustrating for those being coached.
Please watch and listen to the video where Robin Farrell shares her experience of quick, effective, and even unexpected change and transformation! Once you’re done, reach out to me right away to begin the fast-track to your success
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
September 15, 2015
The Stress of Under-Performing
Having been a VP of Sales leading over 100 salespeople, I know the stress and pressure of getting a team to performing at a superior level and maintaining that. When the CEO of the company sees a dip, then she/he addresses it with the President of the company, the President of the company addresses it with the Executive VP, the executive VP addresses it with the VP’s and the VP’s/Sales Managers have the task of addressing it with the salespeople. Just like the game of “Telephone”, the message that originated with the CEO can become distorted by the time it reaches the first-line VP/Sales Managers. What may have started out as, “Let’s see what we can do to help bolster the numbers”, becomes, “What the ____ are you doing with your sales team?!!! Why are they performing so poorly?! Why haven’t you been keeping an eye on this?!”
Unfortunately, that message is often communicated to the salespeople and the results can be devastating; to the people and the profits. So, please consider that the message received as a VP/Sales Manager, no matter how earth-shattering it may be or how intense the delivery, needs to be put into a vacuum and shielded from your people. That is, if you want the performance of your people to improve. You see, your people are already beating themselves up in ways that a Sales Manager couldn’t even conceive. They have already seen themselves being fired. They already have a bottle of Pepto in their car because of the growing ulcer. They are already wanting to take “Sick Days” because they really do feel physically sick. If you really want the performance of your people to improve, please consider the following:
When was the last time you desired to to a bad job? Unless you had a motive to cause harm to a person or company or you just didn’t care, you wanted to do a good job, right? Whether it was personal or professional, you consistently want to do a good job. Why is this an innate trait of humans? Because the work we do is representative of who we are.
If you have children, think about what you’ve told them about keeping their room clean and in order. You probably told them that it reflects upon how other people view them. You may have taken the “shame” approach and told them that no one would want to be in their room when it’s messy and how ashamed they should be of it when it is a mess.
Not only have we always been taught the value of doing a good job and the reflection it has on us, we have an inner “compass” that compels us to a good job, even if it’s just for our own self-ego and self-worth.
Now, take that information and apply that to a salesperson working for you that’s currently under-performing. When a salesperson is under-performing, most sales managers begin feeling negative toward the person because of the pressure from the people, or person, to whom they report. They may hold the belief that it’s the people below them causing the problem. Here are some of the behaviors they exhibit:
Provide no, or very little, personal interaction with the person who is under-performing. Why? They believe that if they take away this personal interaction that the person will perform better to win back their approval. Here’s a Manager’s Alert for those who invoke this tactic: You’re not that important to your people! This behavior only reinforces what they may already believe, that you only care about the numbers and not them.
Embarrassment and harassment. A sure way to get your salesperson who is already under-performing to quit performing at all is to embarrass and harass them. This behavior on the part of a sales manager most likely goes back to two sources; parent(s) and bosses. In the “Dark Ages” of management, it was thought that people only perform for compensation, so the ego and emotions of people were considered unimportant, other than to humiliate and shame them into producing. Those tactics may work very short-term, but, as people like Bobby Knight of Indiana University, Tom Beckman of the University of Illinois, and countless managers in business have found out, they aren’t tolerated in today’s world.
They threaten termination if productivity isn’t improved. When a person’s livelihood is threatened, primeval instincts take over. People go into “Survival Mode”. The brain shuts down all the creativity, excitement, motivation, enthusiasm, etc. All the traits the sales manager wanted to bring to the fore have been totally squashed. The moment the threat is stated, in their mind, the salesperson has already reworked their resume and begun deciding where to start sending it.
These beliefs and behaviors I have seen most Sales managers exhibit are all self-defeating and counter-productive. They create the opposite result of their intention. So, what can and should Sales Managers do differently?
1) Accept and own the lack of performance. Asking questions that cause them to consider how they have contributed is a great first step! Here are a few examples:
Have I given my people all the resources they needed to perform at a high level?
What areas have I neglected in training, coaching, and/or support?
Are their behaviors on my part that are causing a lack of respect, distrust, or other negative attitudes?
Do I know each salesperson’s needs and desires so that I can properly motivate them?
2) Find out what the real message is from above. As I illustrated above, the message you received may not be the original message or the intent behind it. It may be someone else’s interpretation.
3) Take the high road. Rather than playing the “Blame Game” and finding reasons why the sales are poor, which is focusing on the past and you can’t change, focus on the future using the KISS Model:
Discover what is working well and KEEP DOING those things
Find out what doesn’t work well and STOP DOING those things
Have a brain-storming session and discover new and different things you and your people can START DOING to increase sales.
For sales success, rather creating more stress that leads to counter-productive results, find ways to help your people move toward the intended positive results! Also, if you would like to learn how to implement strategies that will boost your sales 10%, 20%, or more, contact me to set up a no-charge consultation today!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
September 9, 2015
You Should Fear the Fear of Fear
Fear is a natural part of being human. We need fear to avoid being hurt; whether that’s from falling down a flight of stairs, touching a hot stove, or engaging with someone that has obvious intent to harm us. However, we have come to have fears that we create totally and unequivocally only in our minds. From being fearful of what you think others are saying about you at the water cooler, to fear of losing your job, to the dreaded speaking in public, the reality is there is no reality to your fears until (more like “if”) they happen. Until then, most fears are of our own creation; imaginations, hallucinations, and energy-draining thoughts that diminish our ability to perform at the level we have the potential to reach.
The next time you feel that sensation in your stomach that seems to spin through your core up to your mind and creates the sensation of your thoughts spinning out of control, remember the following story:
Once upon a time the Emperor of the gods decided to go on a trip and leave all the little gods in charge. While he was away a big monster came towards the castle they lived in and they grew very afraid; and the more scared they became the bigger it grew until it was gigantic. The little gods quivered and cowered behind the castle walls. Just at that moment the Emperor of the gods came home and saw what was happening…’Oh you fools!’ he laughed. This is no monster, this is fear, he lives on your fear of fear. ‘Oh!’ said the little gods and as they became unafraid the monster began to shrink and shrink until it was no bigger than a mouse. ‘Shall we get rid of it?’ asked one of the little gods. ‘No’ laughed the Emperor, ‘Let’s keep him, he might have some uses, sometimes, from time to time…’
Dr. Edward Lewellen is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of The 90-Second Mind Manager
972.900.9207
Ed@Trans-Think.com
