Mark Jewell's Blog: Selling Energy, page 265

Productive Meeting in 7 Minutes Or Less

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Meetings have the potential to be a big time-suck, particularly if the agenda and action items are not clearly defined beforehand. According to a study by San Francisco Chronicle, employees consider "too many meetings" to be the "biggest distraction and waste of time presented by the workplace."  

I wouldn't advocate for the complete abolition of meetings because the fact of the matter is that they're a necessary part of business. What I would advocate for, however, is a second look at how businesses conduct meetings. How many meetings are necessary to accomplish your goals? Are you structuring your meetings in a way that is both time-efficient and effective? Are the action items clear at the end of each meeting?  

If you don't have good answers to these questions, I highly recommend reading an article from FastCompany on “how to hold a productive meeting in seven minutes or less.” This article provides some best practices for running efficient and effective meetings. 

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What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

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A company’s success is directly related to the quality of its management. Without great managers, a business with even the most talented employees will struggle to succeed. So what makes a great manager? There are countless theories; however, many of them are truly “theoretical” and are not backed by actual research.

 

One of the most compelling theories comes from Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, authors of First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. These two gentlemen worked for the Gallup Organization and they decided to do some comprehensive studies involving more than 80,000 managers and over a million employees. Unlike the more theoretical management theories, their findings are backed by real data. In this book, you’ll discover what makes great managers unique and learn how to develop the skills necessary to become a top performer. If you work in management (or if you’re thinking about moving into a management position), I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book.

 

Here’s a summary from Amazon Books:

 

“The greatest managers in the world seem to have little in common. They differ in sex, age, and race. They employ vastly different styles and focus on different goals. Yet despite their differences, great managers share one common trait: They do not hesitate to break virtually every rule held sacred by conventional wisdom. They do not believe that, with enough training, a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They do not try to help people overcome their weaknesses. They consistently disregard the golden rule. And, yes, they even play favorites. This amazing book explains why.

 

“Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization present the remarkable findings of their massive in-depth study of great managers across a wide variety of situations. Some were in leadership positions. Others were front-line supervisors. Some were in Fortune 500 companies; others were key players in small, entrepreneurial companies. Whatever their situations, the managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup's research were invariably those who excelled at turning each employee’s talent into performance.

 

“In today’s tight labor markets, companies compete to find and keep the best employees, using pay, benefits, promotions, and training. But these well-intentioned efforts often miss the mark. The front-line manager is the key to attracting and retaining talented employees. No matter how generous its pay or how renowned its training, the company that lacks great front-line managers will suffer.

 

“Buckingham and Coffman explain how the best managers select an employee for talent rather than for skills or experience; how they set expectations for him or her – they define the right outcomes rather than the right steps; how they motivate people – they build on each person’s unique strengths rather than trying to fix his weaknesses; and, finally, how great managers develop people – they find the right fit for each person, not the next rung on the ladder. And perhaps most important, this research – which initially generated thousands of different survey questions on the subject of employee opinion – finally produced the twelve simple questions that work to distinguish the strongest departments of a company from all the rest. This book is the first to present this essential measuring stick and to prove the link between employee opinions and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover.

 

“There are vital performance and career lessons here for managers at every level, and, best of all, the book shows you how to apply them to your own situation.”

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Weekly Recap, August 14, 2016

 



  
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Monday: Read the one of my favorite productivity books Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better and explore the latest techniques to help us work more efficiently. 


 


Tuesday: How often does the promise of saving money drive your prospect's purchasing decision?


 


Wednesday: Check out this website with sales-related articles, podcasts and videos to keep you motivated and inspired. 


 


Thursday: Use the proper financial metric to use when making a mutually exclusive decision. 


 


Friday: Consider these office design tips to foster creativity. 


 


Saturday: Check out this article from Lifebacker if you find yourself experiencing "idea overflow". 

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Idea Overflow

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Anyone who reads this blog is making an active effort to improve their professional skills. Some of you may own your own business, while others are proactive and motivated employees. Regardless of your job position, you probably have new ideas floating around your head about how to improve your business and maximize its profitability.

 

As an entrepreneur, I’m constantly coming up with new ideas. When an idea strikes, the first thing I do is write it down. I have a good memory, but as a mere mortal I know that my memory is not foolproof. Writing down ideas also helps free up brain space that can be used to focus on existing projects that need present attention.

 

Letting too many ideas stew in your mind can interrupt the execution of your other goals and projects. If you find yourself experiencing “idea overflow,” this article from LifeHacker may have just the solution for you.

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Office Design Tips to Foster Creativity

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The design and cleanliness of your workspace can have a major effect on your ability to work productively. A workspace that is ergonomic, clutter-free, and conducive to focus and collaboration is worth its weight in gold. Inc.com published an article with some great tips to reinforce culture and creativity. Check out the slideshow and see if any of these ideas resonate with you and consider giving them a try: 

http://www.inc.com/ss/jessica-stillman/10-office-design-tips-foster-creativity

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Define the Decision-Making Space

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One of the most important steps on the road to helping your prospects approve capital for a given project is defining the decision-making space. Is it a mutually exclusive decision or a non-mutually exclusive (or independent) decision? As its name implies, the mutually exclusive scenario involves selecting only one option from a field of two or more. The non-mutually exclusive scenario involves selecting one or more options from a field of two or more. Today, we’ll discuss the proper financial metric to consider when making a mutually exclusive decision. 

Suppose your prospect has a boiler that is way past its rated life and having major maintenance problems. Your prospect knows that he’s going to have to replace the boiler before the next heating season. This is a good example of a mutually exclusive decision. You are going to remove one piece of equipment, and you are going to choose a new one to replace it from the list of possible options. 

The financial metric on which you want to focus your prospect’s attention is life-cycle cost. After evaluating the life-cycle cost of each of the options, the option with the lowest life-cycle cost should emerge as the winner. You could have three different manufacturer’s reps, each with good, better, or best (nine total options); however, at the end of the day what are you going to do? Pick the boiler with the best paint job? Pick the boiler that comes from the manufacturer’s rep who sports the nicest neckwear? Pick the boiler with the lowest first cost? No. If you’re savvy, you’ll help your prospect select the one with the lowest life-cycle cost. 

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Sales Gravy

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As all of my students know, I believe that it is vital as a sales professional to consume sales-related literature on a regular basis. One of the sites I often recommend is called SalesGravy.com.

 

The SalesGravy website is most popularly known for its sales-related job postings, but hidden below the surface is a wealth of great literature from a variety of expert sales professionals. You’ll find articles, podcasts, videos, and featured interviews to keep you motivated and inspired. If you haven’t explored the site before, I highly recommend taking a look around:

 

www.salesgravy.com/sales-articles

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Money Saving Driver

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How often does the promise of saving money drive decisions? Well, let me rephrase that. Here in America, are we known as being a nation of savers? I don’t think so. If we were, we wouldn’t have credit card debt three times what it was in 1994.

 

So what makes you think that when a person goes to his or her office, all of the sudden they become parsimonious and very, very careful with their money…or with their boss’s money? In fact, it’s even worse because at the office, they’re spending somebody else’s money. Just be careful about assuming that, “Oh, but look at all the money we’re going to save you in lower utility bills!” is going to be the close that’s going to get the deal done.

 

On a related note, there is a considerable amount of research out there suggesting that folks value avoidance of loss more heavily than the promise of gain. If avoided utility expense is the crux of your benefits list, you might think about how to rephrase that as avoiding a serious loss rather than capturing a windfall.

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Lifehacker

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As effective as time-tested productivity methods can be, there’s always room for new and improved techniques – particularly with the constant advancement of technology. Smartphones and computers leave the door wide open to new possibilities, whether it’s a productivity app or new software for your desktop computer.

 

One of my favorite productivity books comes from the folks at Lifehacker (who also happen to author one of my favorite blogs). This book, titled Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better, is unlike a lot of other productivity books in that it covers the latest and greatest techniques – not just the ones that have been around for years. Yes, you may have to buy more than one copy as new editions come out (they’re currently on the 3rd edition); however, in my opinion, it’s a worthy investment considering how much time (and money) you can save using their proposed methods.

 

Here’s a summary from Amazon Books:

 

“Lifehackers redefine personal productivity with creative and clever methods for making life easier and more enjoyable. This new edition of a perennial bestseller boasts new and exciting tips, tricks, and methods that strike a perfect balance between current technology and common sense solutions for getting things done. Exploring the many ways technology has changed since the previous edition, this new edition has been updated to reflect the latest and greatest in technological and personal productivity.

 

The new ‘hacks’ run the gamut of working with the latest Windows and Mac operating systems for both Windows and Apple, getting more done with smartphones and their operating systems, and dealing with the evolution of the web. Even the most tried-and-true hacks have been updated to reflect the contemporary tech world and the tools it provides us.

 

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier by helping us work more efficiently. Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better, Third Edition is your guide to making that happen!”

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Weekly Recap, August 7, 2016

 



  
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Monday: Read the book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, by John Medina, and explore how your brain functions can affect how you choose to use it. 





Tuesday: Four things you can learn from stand-up comedians. 




Wednesday: Ask your prospect to provide insight into project barriers rather than trying to predict which objections might surface.  


Thursday:  Do brochures get in the way of a conversation with your prospect? 


Friday: Explore how successful people handle emails effectively. 


Saturday: Check out this article from Fast Company on "5 pro tips to beat procrastination every time". 

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